Reclaiming The Crone
Why we need the Rite of Passage into our Wisdom Years…
In the ancient world, the transition into Cronehood was sacred. Long before modern medicine named it “menopause,” our ancestors recognised this powerful transformation in a woman’s life as a vital rite of passage.
The Crone archetype was not hidden away in shame or silence, she was honoured as a spiritual elder, a truth-teller, a wise woman and often the keeper of medicine, story and ancestral knowledge.
In our society, which often worships youth and productivity, women entering peri-menopause or menopause can feel invisible, discarded or even broken. But the truth is: this time in a woman’s life is not an ending. It’s an initiation.
Who is the Crone?
The Crone is the third aspect of the Triple Goddess, the Wise Woman, the Elder, the Seer. She comes after the Maiden (youth, possibility) and the Mother (nurturing, creation) and she represents deep knowing, inner stillness and fierce clarity.
The Crone no longer bleeds for others; her blood now flows inward as wisdom.
But in today’s world, this archetype has been buried under layers of fear, ageism and silence.
It’s time to dig her out.
The Rite That Was and Needs to Be Again
Our ancestors marked the transition into Cronehood with ceremony. Women were gathered by their community, honoured and given the space to grieve what was passing and welcome what was becoming. These rites offered:
Acknowledgment of the physical, emotional and spiritual changes unfolding
Support through story, ritual and communal connection
Empowerment to step into a new role, not of invisibility but of deep visibility
Without such rites, we lose not only our personal compass, but our cultural anchors. Women flounder through this powerful portal with little guidance and the wisdom they carry is often left unspoken, unshared.
What Happens When We Don’t Mark the Passage?
Imagine this:
A woman begins to experience hot flashes, brain fog and a deep exhaustion that no amount of sleep seems to fix. She worries she’s losing herself.
Another feels waves of grief she can’t explain, sudden surges of rage, or a quiet desire to be alone more than ever before
Someone else feels a strange discontent with the life she’s built, she no longer wants to “mother” everyone. She wants something else. Something deeper.
These are not signs of breakdown These are signs of transformation
But without understanding the Crone's journey, many women feel lost. They may become depressed, anxious or disconnected from their intuition. Their relationships shift. Their bodies change. But because no one speaks of it in a sacred way, they feel shame, confusion and isolation instead of reverence, clarity and power.
Why the Crone Rite Is So Needed Today
Reclaiming the Crone rite of passage does more than serve the individual - it heals communities. When women honour their transition into Cronehood, they:
Claim their voice without apology
Step into mentorship, becoming guides for younger women navigating their own thresholds
Cease performing and begin living from the truth of who they are
Reclaim their time and energy, investing it in what nourishes them
Deepen their spiritual connection, often finding themselves more attuned to the Earth, the ancestors and their own inner knowing than ever before.
Reclaiming Our Sacred Thresholds
We need these rites again, not as a nostalgic return to the past, but as a radical reclamation for today’s world. If you are entering or walking through the peri-menopausal or menopausal threshold, I invite you to ask:
Have you marked this passage?
Have you been witnessed, celebrated and initiated?
Have you been given the space to let go of who you were and welcome who you are becoming?
If not, perhaps now is the time.
The Crone is not a withering shadow of youth. She is a blaze of truth, standing at the edge of the world, calling us all to deeper ways of being.
And she is waiting for you.
