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'Croning Ceremonies'
Women's Wisdom, Wise Crones and Sages;
Coming of Age, Rites of Passage, Moon Rituals
Rebirthing, Cave Purification Ceremonies

 

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On your private island retreat we offer:

Professionally supported pre cleansing medical services, that include colonics, live blood, urine, stool, blood, thyroid and cholesterol analysis,
plus a follow-up therapeutic post cleansing, supplementation plan to continue your self-healing program when you return home.
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Relax, read up about holistic health and learn why disease, breast, cervical and other cancers and all disease can and does occur and how to help prevent them.
Help yourself with Candida, Chronic Fatigue, Emotional, Mental and Physical Stress Management, Constipation, Diarrhea, Gall Stones, Kidney Dysfunction, Depression, Headache, Migraine, Psoriasis-Acne-Asthma, Heavy Metal Toxin-Gluten Intolerance-Arthritis-Liver, Cystitis, Intestinal Parasites.

• A Good Book To Read
• Resources for Wise Woman
• FAQ
• Guidelines for Personal Croning Ceremony
• Croning: What Would It Take
• Croning: Another World Is Possible

For many women, especially after they reach 50, aging is a sensitive subject and they feel like their social value has become diminished in a youth-crazed culture. Some may face the end of active mothering, an empty nest, while others may experience age discrimination for job opportunities.
Almost all find an affirmation for the aging process. Women, who have learned to appreciate these blossoming years are now celebrating their arrival at this stage of their life of wisdom in an increasingly popular traditional rite of passage: This ceromony is called Croning.

In the ancient traditions, women's lives were divided into three distinct phases:

The Maiden
The Mother
The Crone

Croning is the ceremony in which women coming the end of their years as mothers will then celebrate the end of their final years.

These may or may not have involved the raising of children, yet it does herald the arrival of old age and deep wisdom.

Says Celia Hawe of 'LifeSuccess and Diamond Coaching' 'Yoga for Slimmers' and Clear 'Mind Open Heart Yoga Cards',

" when its time for a woman to move into her crone years, she will be letting go of her mothering roles and honoring her final years of aging without fear. Her energies can now be directed towards healing, guiding, spiritual goals, teaching, and being a wonderful living model for younger girls and women."

While it is quite easy to identify the period of motherhood, crondom is a little more ambiguous.
Some people say that a woman may become a crone at age 50, while others say it is at age of 56 onwards.
Some say it is when she has not menstruated for 13 months, or possible when she becomes a grandmother.
Due to the many differences of opinion we feel that women should listen to their innate internal wisdom and decide for themselves.

Unlike the earlier years when most of us, especially females, wish to be younger instead of honoring that we are growing wiser,
the coming of our crone years is to be looked forward to and not put off just because we are older.

These are our blessed years to be treasured and honored.
What better way after finally finishing our menopause, than to experience a Croning ceremony on a beautiful tropical and sensual
island in the middle of the South China Sea.

We are here to offer this to you; a marking into the fabulous NEW dimension of your lives.
Moon Rituals - A Rebirth - A Cave ceremony and much more...

A good book to read:
Coming to Age: The Croning Years and Late-Life Transformation. - book reviews

Whole Earth Review, Summer, 1994 by Lois Anderson

How welcome and necessary this is! More than an analysis of aging and description of the croning years, this book gives a fresh perspective on the inner events of that period from the 50s to the 70s (not young and not old by today's standards, as we live longer and more productive lives).

Focusing on the Demeter-Persephone myth, Jane Pretat guides us to creatively affirm our destiny in this transition to what Jung called "metanoia," the profound change to which the trials of the croning years can lead.

* Today in the Western world the human life span is increasing, and as it does, the need grows for a deeper wisdom that can help older persons honor rather than deny the physical and psychological relinquishing that precede a late blooming. The threshing and tempering of such a time can be overwhelming. Not only is our conscious and habitual perception of ourselves, built up over the course of our lives, being sorely tried, but psyche and soma are also being tested in ways that can be extremely painful. We're not sure we like it, but we are in transition whether we like it or not. Our lives are changing. Yet no one tells us how to relate to these changes.

We look for answers but find little information. As Jane Wheelwright, an analyst in her eighties, tells us, older persons may well wonder, "Where are the guidelines for us as individuals? They will find that there are none."

* Such experiences have affirmed my belief that Jung's concept of metanoia is just as applicable to late-life transformation as it is to the changes that take place in midlife. Those of us in that transition have an important task ahead of us -- to explore and experience the years of our late fifties and sixties in a way that can open our understanding of the trials and triumphs people go through as they come to age. This involves a struggle to recognize the opposites -- the good-evil, conscious-unconscious, hope-despair, youth-age -- within ourselves, our bodies and our world.

*********************************************************

Just as there are many definitions of a "Crone", there are many ways of conducting croning ceremonies.

Says Lee Ann Cruz, owner founder of Private Island Natural Health Spa,
"There are no specific formulas which are needed to create the croning ceremony.
The ritual of passage can be developed by those who have been "Croned" or in conjunction with the new crones"

" In OUR ceremonies, words and gifts of wisdom might be exchanged, with the newly honored crone sharing the many events she has learned and experienced.
Sometimes she might even summarize each and every decade of her life, while asking others in our croning circle to bestoe their blessings and spiritual gifts upon her.

Sometimes the women in our little groups might feel encouraged to share some stories and insights about the new crone being honored.
Recalls Glynda Taylor of Perth Australia (one of our earlier crone honorees) she described it as "feeling a little bit like being at your own funeral thought definitely alive, not dead, and hearing all the wonderful things everyone has to say about you!'"

In addition, our groups may have other rituals, such as:
1. The new crone would be buried almost up to her head in the sand and relaxing in the weight of it all, then coming out
of the sand grave... reborn, a new wise women.
2. Or soaking in our Jacuzzi tub, immersed in pure coconut milk like the goddess she is, imagining she is Cleopatra.
3. Or covered from head to toe in a flower arrangement, and walking through a birthing arch in our Peace temple and symbolizing her rebirth.
4. Journeying into a mystical cave, with an underground freshwater lagoon and after a spiritual healing, continue into the water for a purification ceromony.

'OUR' ceremonies usually include a wonderful selection of beautifully decorated plates of raw foods and the gifts of nature.
We also coach on the psychological side too, coaching and setting into place strategies of success and working through the
2nd half of their lives in a wonderfully fun way, opening them up to this new dimension of spiritual development.

."We encourage various forms of fun and laughs along with the seriousness of it all too" says Cruz.
It's about being older and wiser, and also being given the permission to feel like a child of the universe at the same time.

******

And how does it feel to undergo a croning?
Taylor says;
"I felt amazingly empowered, very supported, wonderfully loved, and definitely ready to live every further minute of my life to
the fullest as a wise sage for the younger generation to follow"

Says Jessica Pratt of Vancouver Canada;
"Women of this wonderful age can sometimes not recognize their own true power and potential.
A Croning Ceremony is a fun and delightful way of affirming this. What a treasure to have found it, I feel very blessed"

Trina Lamb, Deavon, UK feels that;
"Aging and Saging" ceremonies should be a necessary part of every women's growth.
I'm so glad I had this opportunity to experience one here at Private Island Natural Health Spa, El Nido, Palawan"

Croning, Crones, Ceremonies
Resources for Wise Women


Women's Wisdom - Our Heritage http://www.croning.org

For millennia women’s wisdom was honored; crones were revered. Today women are reclaiming the identity and status of the ancient crone. We are coming of age, accessing our wisdom and acting upon it. Croning is the process of becoming active wise women.

Croning can begin at any age and is particularly relevant for women 45 and older. Personal experiences of aging and ageism provide the impetus to recognize and reverse the negative images (internal and external) of old women. We can activate our potential as wisdom carriers and guardians of the future by learning of our ancient crone heritage, honoring the cycles and seasons, respecting the web of life.

Engaged in the process of Croning, we can act in ways that embody the changes we want to take place in the world, in our communities, families, relationships, and within ourselves. When we apply our wisdom to effect positive change, we improve our own lives and leave a legacy for future generations.

When do we become crones? See "Crone: Wise, Empowered, Self-Defined" (below).

For information about the rite of passage, scroll down to the second article, "Croning Ceremonies."

Hi, I'm Bayla Bower, an eco-crone, ritualist, hypnotherapist, frame drummer, and emerging gourd artist. I've been active in the crone movement since 1993 when I joined my first crone circle. Since then, I've organized national conferences, written a column in Crone Chronicles, offered workshops and classes, convened rituals and croning ceremonies, written and produced a performance piece ("Revered, Reviled, Reclaimed: Our Crone Heritage"), and facilitated monthly crone gatherings (for four years in Berkeley, CA). Currently, I write a column called "Croning" in Buffalo Woman's Vision (see Articles and the eco-crone site), offer workshops, ceremonies, and circles at conferences, gatherings, and for groups and individuals (see Events), coordinate a network of crones concerned about the environment, human rights, peace, and global justice (eco-crones), convene croning ceremonies and Crone Moon Rituals, and create goddess-inspired gourd artwork (see Gourd Creations).

Contact me for information about workshops, rituals, croning ceremonies, trance journeys, private sessions, and consultations.

For activist articles and links, go to www.eco-crones.org.

Crone: Wise, Empowered, Self-Defined

Copyright © 1996, 1998 Bayla Bower

The crone eludes precise definition. Some traditions, organizations, and individuals variously define the crone as a woman who is 50, 52, or 56, post-menopausal, consciously aging, willing to acknowledge her shadow. Crone is a term used to describe an ancient archetype, an aspect of the triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone), and the third phrase of a woman’s life. When a woman is near, in, or past menopause, she is potentially a crone. The designation refers to a perspective or point of view rather age or biological change.

A woman who calls herself crone is willing to acknowledge her age, wisdom, and power. Through conscious self-definition, she helps to reverse hundreds of years of oppression, degradation, and abuse aimed at old women. Although she may prefer to be called elder, grandmother, or wise woman, she does not dismiss, disavow, or use pejoratively terms such as crone, witch, or hag. The wise woman/crone/grandmother realizes that the true meaning of these terms, and the woman-centered traditions from which they originate, have been obscured and distorted by patriarchal systems.

In ancient times, the crone was revered as an old woman who embodied wisdom and knew the truth of cyclic existence. Crones cared for the dying and were spiritual midwives at the end of life, the link in the cycle of death and rebirth. They were healers, teachers, way-showers, bearers of sacred power, knowers of mysteries, mediators between the world of spirit and the world of form. In prepatriarchal societies, women’s wisdom had healing power, and crone wisdom was the most potent of all. For nearly thirty thousand years, old women were strong, powerful sources of wisdom. Crones were respected and honored in their communities.

Then patriarchy demanded obedience to outer authority and acceptance of linear concepts. Death became a finality, the end of the line. Because crones followed inner guidance and knew the truth of the cycle of life, they were dangerous to the hierarchy. Old women were persecuted, shunned, and denigrated. Although our forecornes resisted, persisted, and adapted in any way they could, most of our traditions have been lost. The lineage of crone teachings, herbal remedies, sacred practices, and wise-woman ways was broken when the information was burned, buried, and otherwise silenced.

Crone consciousness is on the rise today, spreading in a grassroots movement through America and around the globe. We are awakening the ancient crone within ourselves, and learning to trust the power of our inner knowing. We will not become invisible, trivialized, or shamed by a society obsessed with youth and terrified of aging.

We honor each person’s wisdom, and take part in dismantling the ageist, ableist, racist, classist, sexist, heterosexist, and other hierarchical structures that separate us from ourselves, our forecrones, one another, and our connection with all beings. We teach, speak, and quietly inspire one another, all women, and all peoples who wish to embrace the totality of life.

We respect the crones who preceded us and pass on our wisdom to those who will follow. We tell our sacred stories one-to-one, in small and large gatherings, at meetings, events, and conferences. We name our blessings and challenges, the truths and treasures of our lives, sharing the harvest of our life experience. Empowered from within and strengthened by our growing numbers, we claim our place as wise-woman elders in our families, communities, and groupings. We are women of age, power, and wisdom. We are honored to be known as crones.

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Croning Ceremonies

Few of us were welcomed into the maiden phase of life, celebrated the first flow of blood in our monthly cycles, initiated into women’s mysteries. We likely viewed menstruation as a curse or an obstacle. If we became mothers, we may have received special attention until we gave birth, but then the focus shifted to our children. If we mothered projects, careers, creative endeavors, we might have been celebrated for what we produced, but seldom for ourselves. Now, for the first time in our lives, we have an opportunity to be celebrated for who we are--crones.

The croning ceremony honors a woman's passage into the third phase of life. Often celebrated at age 50, ceremonies range from spontaneous cronings at birthday parties to pre-planned ceremonial rites of passage. Some ceremonies are personal, others are shared, some are convened by an ongoing group for new crones, and others are large rituals at women's conferences and gatherings.

Being initiated into the ancient sisterhood of wise old women involves response-ability. We have an opportunity to personally reclaim the once-honored designation of crone, to take a special name, and to make commitments to ourselves, our communities, and the earth. Intention is primary and that is what we declare, our intention to be true to ourselves, to walk our talk, to become a link between the crones of the ancient and recent past and the women of the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age can I be croned? Although traditions vary, it's generally accepted that age 49 (one’s 50th year) is the minimum. Many women wait to be croned until they’re 56 or 60. In my experience, each decade, starting with the 5th, brings its own challenges and blessings, resulting in newly harvested wisdom.

Do I have to be post-menopausal? No. Today some women still bleed in their 60s and others experience menopause after an operation in their 30s. We honor this rite as a woman's (blood) mystery, but the timing depends more on age (see above) and personal readiness than biological factors.

Who does the actual croning? Again, traditions vary. Typically initiations are conducted by those already initiated. If initiated crones are not available, women who deeply appreciate and acknowledge what it means to be a crone can conduct/priestess the ceremony.

Who can participate? Croning Ceremonies often take place in women's circles, gatherings, and conferences. Private ceremonies can include crones only, women only, or women, children, and men. While those conducting the ceremony and performing the actual croning should be women, all participants can honor the new crone and engage in other aspects of the ceremony.

Can I be croned more than once? Can I be croned for the first time at 70 instead of 50? Claiming our wisdom is a constant process: One can never be croned too many times, and it’s never too late. I’ve been croned in a personal ceremony, with circle sisters on a weekend retreat, and with new and previously initiated crones in gatherings of 100-300 women. Each ceremony is a unique celebration, an opportunity to reaffirm old commitments and make new ones.

Can I be croned in a group ceremony before I have my personal ceremony? Yes; there is no order in which to be croned. Participating in large group cronings will often spark ideas for a personal ceremony and vice versa.

Do I have to have a crone name? Many women take this opportunity to rename themselves or take a special name, but it is not a requirement.

Do I have to make commitments? Croning is a significant step, a recognition of wisdom gained through years lived. Although not required, I strongly encourage the new crone to act on her wisdom by making a three-fold commitment to healing--herself, her community (however she defines it), and the earth. This can be simple or elaborate, general or specific.

Guidelines for a Personal Croning Ceremony

The ritual can follow a celebratory meal (save the dessert until after the ceremony)

It can take half an hour to two hours depending on the size of the group and how many people speak, give gifts, etc.

Use the ritual structure of your tradition (or contact me for a general outline); the working is the croning

Select songs and chants that feature old women, crones

Call crone goddesses, ancestresses, crones of ancient times

Decide what will symbolize the initiation--a flower or star garland crown, a crone staff, a cloak or shawl, a ribbon or flower lei, a special gourd

Decide what will be used to represent the passage (a birthing into cronehood)--a gateway, threshold, curtain, a woman’s legs
(she stands on a chair)

If people will be present who don’t understand the significance of the ceremony or of reclaiming the once-revered designation of crone, give a brief explanation

Everyone participates in honoring the new crone--written or verbal blessings, stories of her wisdom, poetry, song, chant, drumming, dancing (building toward the moment of croning)

The new crone crosses the threshold, emerges between the legs, parts the curtain

Once on the other side she can be anointed with Hecate oil, rose petal water, rattled, wanded with lavender

The priestess asks for her crone name (if she is going to take one) and commitments

Then the priestess says some appropriate words and blessings as she presents the new crone with her symbol of initiation
(placing the crown on her head, the cloak/shawl around her body, the staff or gourd in her hand)

Songs, chants, drumming/rattling

Other symbols and gifts can be presented to the new crone

The new crone speaks her wisdom, gratitude, expands on her commitments

End the ritual in the traditional manner

Celebrate with food and drink

Enjoy the afterglow.

Events & Articles
Events

Crone Moon Ritual

Sunday, November 23
7 - 9 pm, $15

Change Makers
6536 Telegraph, Berkeley, CA

Crone Moon is the darkest dark moon of the year, the new moon before the light returns at Winter Solstice. We will contemplate the luminous darkness, listen to the wisdom of the ancient crone, release the drek of the past, and prepare the space for next year's dreams, visions, and actions. Reserve your space.

Planning Ahead: Two Great Gatherings in 2004

Crones Counsel will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 7-10. Check the Crones Counsel website for updates.

The Bioneers Conference will happen at Marin Center (San Rafael, CA) October 15-17. This year the plenaries were beamed to 12 U.S. locations via satellite. The locations will increase in 2004. For more information, go to the Bioneers website.

Email me and add your name to the emailing list to receive notice of events (mostly in the Bay Area of California) that are not posted here.

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Articles

CRONING: What Would it Take?

(This is a reprint of Bayla Bower’s "Croning" column, written at the end of July 2001, published in Buffalo Woman's Vision September/October 2001.)

Are they really my friends? Do we share the same values? Did they respond to my request?

Days ago I sent a plea for action via e, voice, and snail mail, asking people to protest police brutality in Genoa. Of the 45 women (most of them crones) and 5 men (all of them gay) only a handful responded. Attempting to minimize my dis-appointment, I rationalized. Maybe they called the Italian consulate or sent emails to the government officials, but didn’t tell me. Maybe they forwarded the message to 10 of their friends, greatly increasing the number of people aware of the situation.

I began to ponder what it would take to move people to action, even the relatively safe and simple action of phoning a consulate and sending a few emails. What if I was in Genoa and had first-hand knowledge of the brutality? Would those 50 friends and colleagues respond? Do we have to know someone personally to be motivated to act? Are we so complacent and anesthetized that we don’t believe an account of pacifists being beaten in their sleep, psychologically tortured, made to shout "Viva El Duce" (in an interrogation room with pictures of Mussolini on the walls)? I cannot, just can not bring myself to say that we don’t care.

There is no torture, abuse, or humiliation that doesn’t affect us. Brutality against anyone is brutality against all of us, against the earth that sustains our lives. The rape and plunder of our national resources is the rape and plunder of our humanity. We must do something to change that. We must act right now to bring about the world we want to live in. Please, please do something today that will make a better world tomorrow. Pick up the phone. Go to that web site. Send that email. Work on a project. Commit to an action that embodies the change you want to take place. If you don’t know what to do, ask your activist friends or contact me for suggestions.

Here’s one thing we can do right now. What if we, the women of the world, ended the abuse--of ourselves, in our families, among our friends, at our work place, in our professions and organizations, in our government? What would it take for each of us to make that commitment? We could start with ourselves by reframing the negative self-talk, the voice that says, "I’m not (fill in the blank) enough," "I should," "I can’t." That’s a big one, an ongoing process, but let’s not stop there. Let’s end the verbal abuse in our lives--what we say to others, what we allow others to say to us. Let’s reclaim our place as way showers of the human tribe, as wise women who teach by example. Let’s harvest our wisdom and act on it every day.

Crones are even more obliged to act, for we are the guardians of the future. In our decades of adulthood, we have witnessed the destruction of the planet, the disappearance of species, the brutality of othering. We already have the venues to collectively raise and direct our crone power. When we feel most inspired and empowered, in our conferences, gatherings, and circles, we can focus our energy on healing the earth. We can make personal and group commitments to continue the work of restoration, social justice, and healing. We can support each other in our activism.

Once a year hundreds of crones gather for several days of networking and celebration. While we bathe in the glow of support and acceptance, people are being tortured all over the planet, the earth is calling, the crones of the future are watching. Of course we need the validation and inspiration engendered by our gatherings. We need to tell our stories and listen to our sister crones. We need to trace our lineage back to ancient times and forward to the present in order to fully embody our crone identity. We need to honor our elders, learn from each other, and appreciate our diversity. We also need to recognize our responsibilities, to leverage our crone energy not only to influence the world, but to change it. Croning, we can do both.

Croning implies an awareness of the personal as political, of knowing when to say no and when to say yes, of working with our fear so it doesn’t prevent us from acting. A familiar word (as in croning ceremonies) in a new context, croning is a process that begins when we identify as crone. It’s more specific than conscious aging, or from age-ing to sage-ing, for it applies only to old women.

Croning is not easy. I am aware that I am swimming upstream against the dominant culture because I’m not trying to rid myself of wrinkles, gray hair, and sagging breasts. I am not willing to become invisible or inactive (quite the opposite), or to take up less physical, energetic, and intellectual space because I’m an old woman.

Croning is about old women coming into their power, a power that arises from within, that is fueled with passionate concern for our planet, tempered by compassion for ourselves and all beings. Croning is about empowering ourselves to share our wisdom, to live our values, and to act in harmony with both. Croning, we not only harvest the wisdom from our life experience, we act on that wisdom to embody the world we want to create.

What would it take for you to commit to this process, to engage in croning?

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CRONING: Another World is Possible

(Reprint of Bayla Bower's "Croning" column, published in the January/February 2002 edition of Buffalo Woman's Vision)

September 11 rocked our world and plunged us into shock, grief, and despair. When we could function again, we began to look more thoughtfully at the world around us. We were moved to learn about global issues, attend rallies, send donations, sign petitions. Then our awareness began to wane. The erosion of our hard-won civil rights is so steady and silent that we often don't notice until it's too late. We read the alternative press less often, and out of habit or laziness, become mesmerized by mainstream media.

Most of us would rather go back to life as it was on September 10th, but we realize that the world was a mess then too, and we were just naive or intentionally uninvolved. We may attempt to dull out in front of the TV, to cover our fear with a blanket of distraction. If we start to believe that reducing Afghanistan to rubble will eradicate terrorism, that we are fighting a righteous war against evil, that restricting our civil liberties guarantees our safety, or if we are paralyzed by fear and despair, we have fallen under a spell.

According to magical activist, Starhawk (www.starhawk.org), "A spell is a story we tell ourselves that shapes our emotional and psychic world. The media, the authorities tell a story so pervasive that most people mistake it for reality...The counterspell is simple: tell a different story." She continues, "The counterspell for fear is courage: facing the possibility of the worst and then going ahead with what you know is right. The counterspell for despair is action in service of a vision. The counterspell for paralysis is stubborn, persistent passion."

"Another world is possible," a slogan of the global justice movement, functions well as a counterspell because it lifts depression, advances positive thought, and encourages us to co-create that possible world. Could it work for crones? We appear to be paralyzed as a group, somehow hoarding our wisdom, vision, and passion. We need a counterspell, a different story.

In the past year I've attempted to activate our collective crone involvement in ecology, human rights, social justice, and now, peace. I don't understand why we have no obvious presence (as a group) in these movements. Do we not care? Do we not grasp that the need for literacy, health care, and independence of Afghan women (and all women) is also our need? Are we too busy, scared, or comfortable to stand in a peace vigil, march in protest, participate in a magical action, or provide support for these activities? What are we doing with our time, energy, and wisdom?

September 11 rearranged our priorities. We reflected on what’s important and opened our hearts to strangers who were affected by the attacks. We gave of ourselves--our money, time, and energy to help those in need. Surely we can see that mother earth is in need, that people all over the world need our support, that our wisdom could benefit many.

We need to reconsider our crone priorities. If we’re serious about reclaiming the crone, then we must become 21st century crones with a global vision, and we must act in the service of that vision. We’ve been laying the groundwork for the past ten years.

When we focus our energy, wisdom, and passion on rituals, performances, and storytelling, we inform, educate, connect, inspire, and transform. We may not call it magic, but we do change consciousness at will (the simplest definition of magic). Now we need to move that wisdom, focus, and magic out of our living rooms, meeting halls, and conference centers. We no longer have the luxury of time (not that we ever did), security (we had less than we thought), or healing ourselves before healing the planet (they are intertwined).

In our small and large gatherings, we have the venue to bring forth the crones' vision of another world. Participating in those gatherings, we glimpse what that world could be--a compassionate, caring, articulate, wise, thoughtful, spiritual, diverse community. After our time together, we leave home feeling supported, energized, inspired.

But we never go far enough. We lack a unified vision, a collective consciousness, a method of manifestation. We say we value wisdom and connecting with other crones, but where is that wisdom and connection in action? Where are the crones concerned about the environment, social justice, human rights? Our gatherings always end in the same place, with good feelings, but even those feelings are not enough to sustain us from one year to the next.

The time for feel-good-only events is past. Storytelling is a wonderful, life-affirming process, but if the wisdom expressed in our individual stories is never pooled and applied for the good of all, we are not making good use of our time. Now, more than ever, we need to be seen and heard; we need to actively cocreate the crones’ vision of a better world.

Once we have that vision, we can renew it at every ritual, workshop, circle, gathering. We can energize it in our daily spiritual practice. We can write, paint, speak, invoke, act on it. We could express the vision to our friends, family, colleagues, and we could develop a plan of action to manifest that vision. Our 2002 crone gatherings could be the place where we articulate and outline our crone vision.

Of course, it will take work and organization. We must start now by naming the components we want to see in that world. What would be the basic necessities guaranteed to every human being? What would be our relationship with the earth, the other beings with whom we share the planet? What would be the role of crones, mothers, maidens?

We need to do this collectively--to pool our knowledge, experience, wisdom, and passion. Pooling our wisdom means that none of us has to know everything, and there is much to know and do. We need to research and update our knowledge, learn strategies and tactics, and harvest our life experience for vision-building tools, resources, and processes. We also need to acquire skills and information. How do we: Form direct democracy groups that use a consensus process that works (with spokes councils, etc.); create an action plan for an evolving vision; convene public rituals that enact that vision; collaborate with other groups and individuals? What goddesses will be most helpful to us? What rituals and ceremonies will help us tell a different story, create a better world? What is the crones' role in this new world and how do we build that into our lives now?

Don’t succumb to that media spell. Tell a different story, a story of crones working together to envision and manifest a different, better world. Start with something that interests you, research it on the internet, in the library, in your memory bank and inner world. Then expand, express, develop, discuss, and contribute it. Send your contributions to me or to Buffalo Woman's Vision.

Another world is possible. Let’s co-create it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Other editions of Bayla's columns can be found on the Eco-Crone site.

For more information about the magazine, visit Buffalo Woman's Vision.

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Copyright © 2001-2002 Bayla Bower (unless otherwise noted). All rights reserved.

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