She Who is the Mist of Ages

(From an article by Katie Kesterton – submitted to Spheres Of Light by Bev)

“Goddess of the night, the waning moon,
Your time is full of mystery and wonder,
Misty valleys, barren moors and enchanted woodlands
Is where you reside,
Weaving your web of power upon the land,
The wonder of all things is locked within you,
The knowing and sight only time can reveal,
Your smile is that of understanding,
That in the spirit of us all are the seeds of you.”

The goddess of the waning moon, the crone, strikes a chord that resonates deep within all of us. She is a mysterious figure that is revered and sometimes feared.

When you acknowledge the crone she banishes your fear, offering an understanding of what lies beyond our physical existence. She is with us at the end and beside us before the beginning, offering us up to the light of rebirth and releasing us from all that is worn out and old. She relates not only to life, death and rebirth but also to the changing aspects that surround our day to day lives.

One of these aspects is the cycle of the seasons, the ever-turning wheel of the year. The crone represents the still earth full of dormant life just before the spring. Dead leaves and vegetation cover the ground, protecting it from the harsh frosts of winter. This is symbolic of the goddess as crone. At spring time new shoots and buds appear representing new life and growth (the maiden goddess). Flowers blooming and fruit ripening in the summer represents fertility and birth (the mother goddess) and then the dying back of plants returning to the earth, the rotting of leaves, the sinking sap in the trees. This represents the end of the growing cycle and the dormant life awaiting the spark of new growth.