The Magical Crone: Celebrating the Wisdom of Later Life

My favorite thing: toward the end of the book there is a great group ritual titled 'The Crone Zone'. I experienced it with a group of women and I really recommend it. It addresses the Crone's power, talent and wisdom within every woman. In a later part of the rite each woman enters Hecate's cave and a personal rite of power is done. Death is faced and yet the immortality of the soul is affirmed. There is a magical drink made in a central cauldron, with the blessings of each woman contributed to the elixir. Then, we 'drank' the combined blessings. I found this group rite to be very empowering. That night, everyone that was present said fairwell with a smile on their faces. Still feel the glow.

A flurry of feminine refreshment! A necessity for those inclined towards a magical life! This book is rich with knowledge and a great assistant to reawakening the majesty within each of us. A long overdue writing that finally addresses the eminence of cronehood. The activities provide for real bonding and are such great fun! Thank you and thank you and we so look forward to your next publication.

I have just finished reading the MAGICAL CRONE and it has been a wonderful experience that I'm passing along to other friends of crone age. It was most empowering of all to see the wealth of material throughout the past centuries that refers to the powers of the crone. The book is extremely well researched and documented with an excellent bibliography, which I plan to explore further. The authors seem to have examined every shadowy corner where crones are hiding and brought this information to light. I was especially interested in the Indian, Middle Eastern, Greek and Native American aspects of the crone. It is gratifying to see that major cultures worldwide have considered this time of women's life. Being an American, I am aware of a general worship of youth and tendency to dismiss the importance of those who grow older, especially women.Besides the scholarship, I also made use of the spiritual aspects. It is a great thing to connect one's spiritual beliefs with what we know of our roots and ancestors (no matter how far away they may be in human time.) Besides offering much information, the book is a good read with many meditations and verses that can be used in rituals, such as the following one of my favorites:Mother of One Thousand NamesI hear your voice in the windAs rustling leaves speak your many names:Bare Branch, Ripening Fruit, Unfurling GreenYou are all...vast and enchantingYou are every power that is.For many coming into cronehood or who are crones themselves, it is good to be reminded that the crone contains aspects of all three stages of life - mother, maiden and crone. So there is much wisdom to draw from studying the crone. With a charming cover and engaging pictures, the book is an excellent compendium of all things "crone" from Magical Seasonal Sabbats to Wise Woman Crafts (which I have tried) to bios of the Crone in Modern Culture. It's a book for all seasons.

For me (and my women friends), the heart of this book is in the Crone Journal work, the rituals, and the chapter on Wise Blood. We are working with the material as a group and have found a great sense of support and encouragement through doing this work. The journal work includes not only things like "Your Wisdoms," and "Your Talents," but also things like "Your Follies," so this may not be for the feint of heart. Goals, accompliments, dreams, health issues, and more are covered. Serious internal work, as well as fun are part of this path. Shared, the journal work becomes healing and deeply profound. It makes us realize that we all have not only talents and dreams, but imperfections and short comings, and that we can heal and be joyful with it all. Loved the chapters on the various Goddesses Dark, Wise, and Magical; there were some we had not yet come across. The chapter on Wise Blood has some primary Goddess energies featured: Tara, Kwan Yin, Binah-Isis, and Shakti-Lakshmi. We were already familiar with these, however they were accompanied by some lovely original rites and poetry, as well as suggestions for interior work. The Magical Crone is a very valuable book, not meant just as something to read, but as something to actively use to improve yourself and your life. Highly recommended. I say hail to the Crone!

"The Magical Crone" is really a deeply moving book, not only for those of us women who are a bit older, but for young women who also recognize the power of the Crone inside of them. Reif and Haleff see the Crone as containing Maiden-Mother-and Crone, and so all of the powers of the Great Goddess triune are hers. Here is a view that sees women as increasing in power as each day passes by. I love this.Resource information includes some history of the Crone, a great review of Goddesses, Dark, and Wise and Magical, wonderful Wise Woman Crafts, Crone Symbols, Rituals and Meditations and so on. The info on herbs, herb gardens, and incenses were of special interest to me, and the chapter on Wise Blood really grounded me in the awareness of my Crone Power.By the way, the cover is really spectacular. I swooned over it for a bit ! Don't miss this terrific book, its a treasure.