The Rise Of The Modern Crone

 

I get a strange look from a lot of folks when they look at my business card for the first time and read the title. Like my blog, it reads “Crone Confidence”. I can tell that they are not sure what a Crone is or why anyone would have the confidence to be one. A few even venture as far as to ask what a Crone is. That makes me happy, because then I get the chance to explain.

For those who have heard of the word “Crone” before, there is usually the look about them that says, “Why would anyone choose to call themself an old hag?” I can assure you, I am no hag. Well not in the physical sense, although piss me off before I have had my morning coffee and I will not be responsible for the actions of my inner bitch. That being said, let’s get back to what a Crone is.

I will only mention briefly what traditionally the title of Crone meant before Hollywood got it’s hands on it and turned it into something negative for their dramatic purposes. A Crone represents the third stage of a woman’s life. She is post menopausal, and no longer able to bare children. Before the world became youth centric, the wisdom of the elderly was respected. The Crone was the wise woman of the village, the healer, the mediator and a respected source of knowledge.

Now lets fast forward to today. Baby boomers (1946-1964), one of the worlds largest population groups are now in their senior years. At least from the perspective of our youth obsessed society. It is said that by 2030, 20% of the population in north America will be over the age of 65. That’s a big chunk of the population. So no matter how much we, as a society value being young, the grey hairs are a force not to be ignored.

The woman of the baby boomer generation were pioneers for the youth of today. This was the group that demanded equality. They left the kitchen in droves, burned their bras, got educated and went out into the work force like no other female generation has ever done before.

No longer content to stay in traditional roles, this generation of women have created a legacy of empowerment by breaking down barriers of the previously male dominated corporate and business worlds. Today, a young woman in western society can be anything she wants to be and travel anywhere in the world that she desires.

Like the suffragettes of the early 1900’s who fought for the right for woman to vote, the baby boomers fought for the right to have choice. The vast career opportunities that young woman have today are in part because of the woman’s liberation movement of the 1960’s and 70’s.

Now these trailblazers are moving into their senior years. As a whole, this emerging older segment of the population are better educated than all the generations of females before them. They also have more personal wealth than their ancestors. Some of these baby boomer females are the first generation in their family to have had a career and will enjoy comfortable pensions of their very own because of it. And now, they also have the time.

There is one other factor that makes the baby boomer generation different and that is health. Never before has access to health care been so available. We are only a click away from knowledge. We have specialists for every part of our bodies and for every ailment. The results are, that we are living longer and in better health. The average life expectancy of a female today in Canada is 83.3 years. A hundred years ago it was 50 years. That is over 60% longer.

Never before has there been a population of female seniors with this level of education, money, mobility and personal power. But these assets do not automatically make these woman Crones, at least in the modern sense.

What we considered old 100 years ago is now what we call middle age. We now have more years to learn and become experts in our chosen areas of interest and more years to gain wisdom. We are becoming vast fountains of knowledge with our own unique library of experiences in our brains.

A vast fountain of knowledge is useless unless there is someone willing to drink from it.

Not every woman who retires from working life becomes a Crone. All that knowledge and unique perspective is useless if it remains locked in ones head. Wisdom is meant to be shared. It takes a woman with an understanding of two of the most basic of human needs to evolve into a modern Crone. Those needs are connection and community.

There is a spiritual component to connection and community. First, it is to understand the integral network of life. That every one of us is connected to the same source energy. What effects one, effects, at least on some level, all of us. So what we offer up in service has a ripple effect in our world. Knowledge is just information. But a modern Crone knows that what she does with her knowledge and how she passes it on requires an understanding of the law of connection in order for her wisdom to make an impact.

Being an active and contributing member of ones community is another important factor for the modern Crone. But it is more than just volunteering your time or being of service. A modern Crone must embrace her legacy.

The origins of the word “Crone” is rooted from the meaning, “crowned one”. As in having sovereignty over one self. A Crone has mastered the complexities of her life and is in complete control of her own destiny. She is the boss of herself. When a modern Crone contributes to her community it is because her service has meaning for her on a personal level. Her actions serve her community with unique gifts developed from years of experience and mastery. She contributes with a purpose and not just to fill time.

Many are called. Few will answer.

This is an amazing time to embrace your inner Crone. More than ever the world needs the comfort and certainty that wisdom and experience from a life well lived can give. The voice of expertise and mastery combined with the sageness of maturity and wisdom assures us that their is hope. We need these enlightened guides to bring us safely into the future. That is the role of the new modern Crone.

The modern Crone has tenacity. She has fought in the trenches of conformity and won. She knows her worth like no other generation before. She has broken rules and glass ceilings and has seen the vast blue sky of possibilities. But to be a modern Crone is to understand that there is also a responsibility to the generations to come. Mentorship is greatly needed. Not to sit in judgement, but to act as wise council.

That is the new healing role of a Crone. In sharing her history, offering advice and coaching the young to navigate the undercurrents of the world today, the modern Crone can act as a balm to help heal the social epidemics of divisiveness, protectionism, greed and inequality we are seeing in society currently.

To be a modern Crone is to share your knowledge and wisdom to those who seek it. It is in being purposeful with your gifts and offering the best of what you embody as a wise soul that is the legacy of the modern Crone. Like the ancient Crone of old, today’s version offers much to be revered and respected. It is time once again for the wise old woman to stand in her vast power and take her rightful place in society. But this time with the confidence of a life time of success as a member of a trailblazing generation.

The female baby boomers fought for equality and made great strides. The modern day Crone must reflect the progress made in her youth and continue to trailblaze into her senior years. Luckily a diverse bounty of choices has been created over the years so that every older female has a vast array of possibilities available within her.

Whether it is to continue on with your life’s work, travel the world and explore, volunteer your time, become the matriarch in your family and carry on the values and traditions of your clan or all the above, the modern Crone has the power to choose what ever she wants and more.

So the question is, are you being called?