The stages of a woman’s life

A woman’s life is divided into three stages, the first is the stage of the maiden or virgin, the second the mother, and the third a crone, or old woman.

The notion of female trinity has been with us since time immemorial. Throughout history, in hundreds of cultures around the world, maiden, mother, crone, goddess appears.

In some cultures, and mythology, the stages are equated to the phases of the moon.  The new moon, waxing moon, full moon, the waning and dark moon,  all symbolize the waxing and the waning of female fertility as well as fertility of the earth. There are few people today in Western culture who perform rituals to the moon goddess, but many gardeners are still fully aware that things planted or transplanted during a moon’s waxing phase are generally better than those planted by the waning phase.

For many women the word crone (old woman), conjures up the image of a wrinkled, warty, witchy woman, often written about in fairytales, and what we were taught about in childhood, think Hansel & Gretal, so it is understandable that many women find the word 'crone' repulsive., especially as so much emphaisis is made on beauty and ageing well, and keeping our beauty. Ageing is a natural stage of a woman's life as we pass over into menopause and today some women are beginning to embrace the word 'crone' by holding croning ceremonies for their sisters that have reached menopause and passing over the bridge into the third age of their lives.

Recommended reading:

Reference: ‘Transformation through menopause, Marian Van Erk McCain
‘Elderwoman , a handbook for the later life journey’, Marian Van Erk McCain
‘In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the second half of life’, Alan Chinen

Menopause

There comes a point in every woman’s life when she will be taken over the bridge into menopause, the third age of womanhood, and we should start to talk about it more in schools and with our daughters.  This is the stage where all a woman’s wisdom is harvested.

I'm 56 and have just reached this stage with very few symptoms thankfully, however some women are not so lucky and have a terrible time so let's look at menopause and what reflexology can do to help.

Menopause & cultural differences

In many cultures the menopause is generally am uneventful time, with no symptoms, and where there is non-industrialised working, for example the agrarian.  However, in western industrialised cultures many experiences fatigue, weight gain, mood swings, rapid ageing and many other symptoms.  The differences are thought to be due to lifestyle, but also to the stresses of industrialised living in the west. 

In east Asia they respect menopause and view it as maturity and wisdom,  embracing this time of a woman’s life. In the East crones are viewed as wise women or matriarchs, whereas here in the west, menopause is seen as loss of fertility and children, and we often feel invisible as a woman, as our physical and emotional body begins to change.