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Gaia bless, Anne Newkirk Niven
Sneak Preview of SageWoman #82
“The Wise Woman”:
A Final Interview with De-Anna Alba.
 Editor’s Note: DeAnna Alba (far right) longest continous columnist for SageWoman, died in January, 2012. DeAnna wrote for SageWoman for over twenty years; she was interviewed by her life partner, Lea Pierce (left in photo) shortly before she died, on the subject of the true nature of wisdom and Crone consciousness. This interview is an excerpt of the one which will appear in SageWoman 82.
Lea: What is the definition of Crone?
De-Anna: There really is no agreement on when one becomes a Crone. The Crone is the third aspect of the trinity of Goddess: Maid, Mother, Crone. In her most kindly and benign aspect, she’s grandmother. Then we get into what I think is her most mystical aspect, the psychopomps (from the Greek, meaning “guide of the soul.”) Her main function in this capacity is to bring about change in the life of the person being guided. Hence, her association with wisdom.
If a crone is not defined by age, how do others recognize her? How does a woman know that she is a crone?
She is — and isn’t — defined by age. I find the subject of Crone to be so circular that it’s hard to flatten out and explain in a linear way. In our culture, we tend to think of Crone as “an old woman” but then question arises, “at what point does a woman become old?” Part of this depends on lifespan; if the life expectancy in a culture is forty, then a thirty-five year old can be a crone. But in our culture, lifespan goes into the eighties and beyond.
One answer — and there’s a whole school of thought behind this view — that a woman becomes crone when she believes herself to be crone. I disagree; such a discussion is too fluid to be useful. When I was in my twenties, it seemed perfectly reasonable to me to consider someone to be a crone at forty — because that seemed old to me at the time.
Another definition is that a crone must have raised a child to adulthood. But that leaves out lots of women.
So, if childbearing is not the guideline, what are the other qualities that comprise the Crone aspect of Goddess?
Another idea is that a crone must be post-menopausal. But women today sometimes undergo surgical menopause at young ages, so does that make them crones? I say no, because they haven’t had enough life experience. My preferred definition is that a crone has lived through her second Saturn Return, which occurs around age fifty-four.
Why is the second Saturn Return important?
Unlike childbearing/child-rearing, it is a universal cycle that reflects having been alive long enough to garner wisdom.
You speak of Crone as a title. Can you expand on that?
You become a Crone when someone else says that you are because they recognize it in you. It’s not something you recognize in yourself, it’s something others recognize in you. And, of course, it includes a call from the Goddess.
How did you hear your call to Crone from Goddess?
It happened when I was diagnosed with cancer and you [Lea] said to me: “you have to decide if you want to live or die.” The words came out of your mouth, but it was clear to me you were not the One talking. You were a vehicle for Cerridwen, my matron goddess.
I had a sudden visceral realization that it’s the Crone that carries the will to live: the Crone who has the strength to withstand anything in order to live. She will keep chasing you and keep chasing you until it gets down to the nitty gritty and then She will ask you, “do you really want to live?”
Are you are saying that an emergent crone must deal with death in order to become fully initiated?
Yes. Maid and Mother are too busy dealing with daily life. The Crone knows — and can impart — deeper wisdom because she has gone through death experiences. However, even a Maiden can become a Crone by being curious, by asking the right questions — and by being ready to survive the answers.
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All new subscriptions will begin with the next issue published; SageWoman #82 “The Wise Woman” will publish in late March and Crone issue #5 “Grandparenting” will publish in late April. Digital versions of both issues are still available. |
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