Beltane Papers

This is one of those books that constantly comes up with too many juicy quotes for one review. We do have the Mother definition from the book to lead off this issue, but Donna also has defining comments about Maiden, Queen and Crone. Someone once asked her to write a crone article— assuming that she considered herself a crone, of course— and Donna suddenly realized she didn’t really think she was "there" yet. She didn’t write that article, but her reaction led to her concept of a fourth stage/phase between Mother and Crone that she named Queen. Others have come up with a fourth between Maiden and Mother they call Warrior. A TBP article awhile back suggested a MMC aspect of each of the phases of MMC! It’s just too hard to completely box up a woman, who naturally multi-tasks, from childhood through ancient crone jumping around the "phases" when situations call for it. It just happens! It also makes sense that women can "name" for themselves different phases—someone did once upon a time. Where does folklore (or any kind of lore) come from? The folk, and in our case, the womenfolk, and folklore by its nature is alive and ever-changing. So if you’re reading this and haven’t felt you "fit" any of the maiden/mother/crone stereotypes, now you see that you aren’t alone and that there are indeed other choices! (And that you don’t have to follow anyone else’s path.)

Buffalo Woman's Vision

I have always been somewhat uncomfortable with the triad of Mother, Maiden, Crone. It never felt quite complete to me, and at 60 I have never comfortably fit the role of Crone in my own mind. This book has brought to me a new concept, which feels right.

Perhaps because I relate to the sacred “fours” of all life the four dimensions of a woman’s life as explained by Mama Donna speaks to me of wholeness: the four directions, the four elements of life, the four phase of Grandmother Moon, the four seasons. For me it completes the circle.

Mama Donna says that contrary to the assumptions of many women, the Triple Goddess model is not universal, nor is it herstorical. She says that theory was first articulated in so many words by Robert Graves, a classical scholar, mythographer, and poet, who in his 1948 study, White Goddess, synthesized the nine most important early Greek goddesses into three main types.
CLICK HERE to read more

As I rapidly approach my fiftieth year, I cannot imagine being a crone. I do not feel equal to the task of passing on aged wisdom to the next generation. Nor do I feel aged. I have, however, learned much, changed much, experienced much since maidenhood passed away and the empty nest of motherhood approaches. I have always looked forward to turning 50. All the women I know at this particular benchmark are so vivacious, so eager, so active. Along comes Donna Henes with the answer to the question that we can barely express. We are not old at 50 in this modern world. The tripartite mythology of a woman’s life is no longer viable. There is a fourth stage between motherhood and crone. Henes names this stage the Queen of yourself! She encourages us to consider a coronation rather than a croning! Reading this brilliant book of personal anecdotes, quotes, exercises and encouragement, I found myself nodding my head, “Yes. Yes. I get that.” Delving into this superb book will make you stand a little straighter and walk a little more gracefully as the Queen within you evolves. If you do not read another book this summer, read this one!

Bucks County Courier Times

40 is just a matter of how you look at it

Over the weekend, my younger sister celebrated her 40th birthday, though celebrate is hardly the
right word. CLICK HERE to read more

Goddess Pages UK

The Queen and I

I first heard of this book and the concept of women becoming “queens” in midlife when working on the Glastonbury Goddess Conference website early this year, and to be honest, wasn’t at all sure of the necessity for such a new paradigm. What, I wondered, was so terrible about being a crone? Aren’t we just spoiled Western women, lucky enough to have vastly extended life spans and now unwilling to carry the energy and archetype of the hag? What about many women in – say – South Africa, who are lucky to see their fiftieth birthdays, let alone become octogenarians? Shouldn’t we be trying to redefine or reshape the old archetype?

But deep down, I knew I was being a bit of a hypocrite, for even though I’m 55 this year I’ll be damned if anyone’s calling me a crone quite yet.

Then I reviewed Donna Henes’ book. CLICK HERE to read more