BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Pagan Maiden, Mother and Crone

Many traditions held a view of the Goddess as being threefold, taking the form of Maiden, Mother and Crone. Learn more about these Goddesses and how they connect with the cycles of life.

Maiden, Mother and Crone

Great article, Rae.

I had Brigit visit me the other day. I made a little altar with my crystal ball in the middle, 4 crystals representing the 4 seasons around it, and a picture of Brigit from Doreen Virtue's Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards behind the crytal ball.

Wonderful article! As you know, I was recently croned in ritual. I have wondered sometimes if we ever do leave the mother stage...... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The indigenous tribes say that the mark of a healthy person is one whose three faces are intact, meaning that we should keep and integrate parts of all of them - especially by accepting becoming older!

I just was at Goddess Temple in Cactus Springs, NV again recently. They have so many images of the Goddess you really get the idea of just how many forms She can take!

Parthena, my own meditations on mother stage have been how to realize that while being someone who has chosen to not have children. I think that the surrogate relationships that seem to form easily in my various alt gatherings will take care of it.

Ah, then you are what I call an "angel" mother - Clarissa Pinkola Estes describes this as the woman you meet who is like a spiritual mother - you just go, "Mama!" when you meet her. Being a mother can take as many forms as the Goddess does! We are all mothers when we nurture anything, from people we mentor and support to our creativity to pets to gardens!

I very much agree. I also have chosen not to have children, but I still find myself in the mother role often. I also agree that we need to maintain a balance of all three faces within ourselves. I think each face resides in us all and we achieve a balance in that way.

I think that we don't necessarily only realize these stages on a chronological/physical level. But that there are aspects of life in which we may cycle through the stages many times.

An example that comes to mind for me personally is teaching. I begain in the Maiden stage as a student, learning the basics and working through my beginnings. Currently I am a teacher of those same basics, which I feel is a sort of Mother role. And in some areas, I am looked upon with some feeling of expertise or wisdom ( which is still a very strange thing for me)which I consider Crone traits.