Annual gatherings about women of age, for women of all ages, sharing stories, enriching connections to ourselves, each other, and the world.
Crones Counsel Mission
Crones Counsel, Inc., is dedicated to claiming the archetype of Crone through the creation of gatherings that honor and advance the aging woman’s value to society.
Registration for Crones Counsel XXXI Gathering scheduled for October 12-15, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV is now open. Get complete information.
The Crones Counsel Newsletter features original Crone writings. Read this one by Karuna Chapman as she reflects on being 80.
The February Crone Times is available featuring articles on Mentoring. Coming soon! See other issues of Crone Times.
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Who is Crone?
Crones Counsel uses the term crone to reference, and to reclaim, the name of the wise woman of ancient times. The concept of crone existed tens of thousands of years ago when women’s life patterns were conceptualized in three stages — Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The Maiden was the youthful, independent woman. The Mother was a woman who guided others–as a biological mother or as a teacher. The Crone was the postmenopausal woman who enjoyed a special, revered status. The elder woman was viewed as a fount of wisdom, law, healing skills, and moral leadership; her presence and leadership were treasured at every significant tribal ceremony and each personal occasion from birth to death. In that light, Crones Counsel consistently focuses on the empowerment and well-being of older women and claims the honored status of the ancient crone for contemporary women. Read more.
Crones Counsel Today
By Susan Ann Stauffer
The word Crone, in its most simplistic sense, designates an old woman, a woman past her childbearing years, a post-menopausal woman. Today, the most common definition of a Crone is a “wise old woman.” Thus, a Crone is a woman who has moved past mid-life and who acknowledges her survivorship, embraces her age, learns from the examined experience of her life, and, most likely, appreciates the wrinkles on her face.
A Crone is a woman concerned with housing, social security, pensions, healthcare, her relationships with children, grandchildren, and siblings. A Crone is a retired woman, a soon-to-be retired woman, a widow, an empty nester who desires good health, energetic living, and independence. A Crone is a woman who is adapting constructively, often gracefully, to the process of aging. A Crone is a woman who is comfortable with her spiritual self, her intuition, and her creative power.
A Crone may be a woman of any color, race, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, educational level, lifestyle, or political persuasion. She may be disabled or abled, introvert or extrovert, single, married, widowed, or partnered. She is like you and me. What does set the Crone apart, however, is her willingness to tell the truth about her life.
Crone women fly directly into the face of ageism and sexism. They refuse to be put down. They do not walk meekly on the road to old age. They are keen to assert their presence if not their influence. Read more.