Archetypes: Maiden, Mother, Crone
Previously I have written about archetypes, their somewhat imperfect nature influencing our lives, and the importance of shadow work. One of the chief archetypes for women specifically is the relationship between the Maiden, Mother and Crone. These follow a woman through three major seasons of life and have their own problematic subversive connotations. One of the ancient depictions of the female experience within womanhood, is the triple-faced Goddess Hecate. She is a Goddess of Witchcraft, the Underworld, and crossroads, and appears as both triple faced and in any of the forms of Maiden, Mother and Crone. Her ability to transition between all three forms is something unknown in nature and an act of divinity. A mortal cannot be Crone one moment and then Maiden the next. To examine the subtle layering of these three, we need to know what each represents alone.
The Maiden is known as our spring season, we are youthful and full of potential. Like the fresh sprouts of tulips and daffodils, there are infinite possibilities before the Maiden. She is portrayed as naive because of this youthful essence and lack of experience with the world around her. She represents all things new: new beginnings, jobs, relationships
The Mother is the more experienced form of our adulthood. She has left behind the lessons of her youthful days and embarked as a mentor and teacher. The mother not only cares for us, but gives life and the critical skills needed to interact with the world. Her magic is not about harnessing the infinite possibilities like the Maiden; she is a channel to bring life into the world through the alchemy of marriage, fertility and childbirth. The Mother symbolizes Summer, neither new growth nor need for harvest, she is the middle season of life. Another smaller off-shoot of this Mother archetype is known as the Enchantress, who are no longer doing the physical magic of motherhood but also not at the same level of the Crone. Because of this, the Enchantress is symbolic of the harvest in Fall.
The Crone is Winter. She has both grown her buds in spring, been fruitful and has seen the harvest. Through experiencing these major life seasons, she holds a vast library of wisdom. Also commonly known as the “Wise one” and “Hag”, She has turned to death as her body is no longer capable of creating and sustaining new life. This great mystery is passing down the knowledge and wisdom to the youth. Both within human and animal societies, the grandmothers - crones - pass along vital survival skills to children not under their mother’s direct care.
All three of these faces of womanhood are a representation of the divine feminine, but unfortunately in modern society there are expectations placed upon these different seasons. The Crone should be a recluse and withdraw from society; the Mother must manage a household, children in addition to a career and contributing financially; and the Maiden is oversexualized for her virginal status since she has been initiated into motherhood yet. The simplicity of these female roles and how women move through them in their lifetime isn’t as well-defined as it was previously. For instance, I identify as an inbetween of Maiden and Mother because while I am not a mother nor experienced childbirth, I also have more experience that the typically defined Maiden and share that knowledge with others. I’ve also had women in my life who exemplify Crone while also being in a “mother” stage of life.
All of this to say, this is an invitation to explore the different parts of this archetype trifecta to learn about the intrinsic power womanhood holds and the themes throughout our lives. We no longer gather and live within a village where the Crone can distill her knowledge to the children, nor are there meadows for a Maiden to frolic in, but we can embrace these aspects as helpful energy as we transition to different chapters in our lives.
