The Charge of the Crone

Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:
She who has been known as
Hecate, Erishkagel, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma,
Anna, Perenna, Spider Woman,
and many other names
- some feared, and some loved,
but none ever ignored.
She it is who brings wisdom and
the awareness of eternity.

She has been the Maiden, and remembers that joy.
She has been the Mother, and recalls that pleasure.
But age has changed her,
and taught her the mysteries of
the Wheel that is ever turning,
the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.
She is the whirling tornado, the erupting volcano,
the rising tidal wave, the trembling of the earth's crust.
With age comes an understanding of the past,
and a glimpse of the future.
For, in the turning of the Wheel,
the past is the future,
and the future is the past.
She is the Learned One, the Teacher,
the Bringer of Inevitable Change.

She is the Dark of the Moon, the Hidden One,
the invisible unknown that lies ahead.
But do not fear her for she is not malicious,
and her touch, however harsh, is love.

Only in ignorance is she scorned and reviled.
Those who do not know her,
parody her as the ugly old woman
whose powers were said to blight crops
and sour the milk in the cow.
It is fear that turns her age into abomination,
her wrinkles into hideous deformity,
and her voice into an evil and manipulative cackle.
For those who sought power over the earth were afraid
to face her wisdom and her unalterable truth.

But in the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore.
From her came the knowledge of the healing herbs,
and the chants and songs that shaped our lives.
She sat in honour at our councils, our marketplaces, in our homes.
She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws.
She gave focus to our changing seasons.
She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.

Come, honour her as of old,
listen now to the words of Wise One,
the ancient Seer, the Crone!

 

A Moment in Spring

The grasses spring up defiantly
in unbelievably vibrant hues of green
moisture clings gently to each blade
dew mixed with rain glistens in the sun

Look . . . . . there is a path
a narrow muddy path trodden in the grass
it is an ancient sight . . . a timeless sight
who made this walked on path in the deep grass?
was it a cow, or deer, or craftsman going to work?

Is it a path made by children heading for the pond?
or was it made by shaman nearing the sacred cave?
what is this path among the grasses? where does it go?

It is a timeless sight seen by our ancestors through time
and it is all these thing and much, much more
it is proof that creatures have passed this way in spring.

It is the small moments that create a meaningful life.
It is the simple sights that open open our spirits to true Magic.
To know the wisdom of the ancients, look to the experiences that are timeless.
The rising Moon, the feel of the rain, the glow of firelight, the buds on a plant in spring.

True Magic lies in understanding of these simple miracle of the ordinary.
Nature is the most Ancient Shaman of all.....the Great Teacher and Sacred Seer.
To really see the Magic...look to the ways of Nature and the rhythms that do not change.
Look deeply into the simple things and the complexity of the Universe will reveal itself to you.

It is in shared experiences of All People and All Generations that True Magic resides,
Waiting to be discovered and understood.