Journey to the Crone for Power and Renewal By Jane Roco Evans and Kim Smith This is a ritual of healing to help women get in touch with their power and with the most neglected aspect of the Goddess in our society. It is written for eight different roles (High Priestess, Centers I & II, the four Quarters and the Meditation Guide), but it is easy to combine them in various ways (or trade off responsibilities) to fit anyone's preferences. Throughout, this ritual stresses the importance of `immanence'—the Goddess is continually invoked as being within us. We identify with the Goddess as we take our power as women. The Crone is central to the work. She counteracts ageism, as we recognize the value of honoring the old wise woman within us. The gift She bestows, `the Name,' is linked to recognizing a new aspect of our power. Each time we name ourselves, we redefine ourselves, claiming new power for ourselves. To begin, the High Priestess draws the Circle. The coveners line up outside and as each enters, the High Priestess censes her with burning sage, sacred to Artemis. Then the quarters are invoked: East:
Artemis,
From the wilderness
We hear Your cry.
The moon lights Your path
To us.
Silver as your arrows,
Your spirit circles through us
As a wind in the forest,
Sister
Of all women. South:
Amazons of the South!
Free fierce women
Riding your horses
On the plains.
Bring your resistance
To us,
Your independent spirit. With you
We go beyond male control
And keep our commitment
To ourselves,
Our goals! West:
Hecate, Hecate!
Elusive Moon Goddess,
We meet at the crossroads,
At the tombstones.
We call on You to guide our souls
With mystery,
With secrecy,
With magick.
Your primal waters
Wash over us.
Cleanse our past.
Purify us! North:
Rhiannon,
Who rides to us on a white mare,
You who rose out of the mound of darkness
Into the light,
Be our guide into freedom.
As you risked all for love and truth,
So teach us to do the same. Center I:
Inanna, You are clothed in black—
Black for bravery. With courage
You go down,
Risk the boundaries,
Break on through,
Break the silence,
Give voice
To what hurts us,
What alienates us
From ourselves, from each other.
With You inside us
We find the strength
To shout!
Still our fear
As we go down. Center II:
Hail Crone!
Ancient one
Who shapes our souls.
We honor your presence in us,
For you teach us
That there is power
In what is old, ridiculed,
Feared.
Healer of the spirit!
Illuminate our path;
Bestow the sacred gift
That gives meaning
To our lives! Meditation In this example, the meditation is a journey to visit the Crone in the Underworld and receive from Her a gift. The gift is a name of power that the Crone bestows upon the seeker. The one who leads the guided meditation should take care to give the others enough time to fully experience each scene, without waiting so long that people get side-tracked. Remember throughout this meditation that you can always easily return to this reality. All you have to do is turn and the end of the path will be directly behind you. Also, nothing you encounter will harm, but if you do become uncomfortable to the point that you are fearful, simply turn around and see the end of the path. One step will be enough to bring you right back to the circle. For the meditation to be effective it is important that as you visualize, you stay on the path. Don't let yourself be distracted to wander away from it. Meditation Guide:
A path has appeared beside you. Walk it. You are no longer bound by your everyday life. Here around you is a forest, filled with wild things, yet nothing will harm you. Enter the forest and begin your journey. Smell the sharp scent of the trees, the moldy smell of decaying leaves. Listen to the sound your footsteps make as you move along. Animals will come to inspect you as you pass. They will not harm you. Look at them, remember them. Greet them, if that is your desire, and if one of them accompanies you, then remember that. With every step you take you leave behind a portion of the old life. Worries and pains fall away from you like dead leaves fall from a tree. With every step, with every contact with the earth, you regain power, so that you are young and strong and beautiful and powerful. A gate appears across the path. Touch it. Examine it. Remember what it looks like. The forest beyond the gate is different, wilder, farther from home than you have ever been before. Open the gate. Open the gate. Walk through it and continue on the path. Off to one side of the path, you see the opening of a cave. Look closely at it. Now enter it. Smell the deep, ancient scent of the earth. Feel the earth under your feet. Sense the profound silence of the heart of the earth. Walk through the cave. Your feet will move you with sureness; you will not stumble on your journey. Far, far away, you can see a tiny, faint light. Move to the light. As you approach, you can see the light comes from a fire in a hearth in a room within the cave. In this room a woman sits and spins, singing to herself. As you approach, she looks up at you. She speaks. Remember what she says. Remember what she looks like. There is a chair. Sit in the chair. Rest. Listen. When your soul is rested and your spirit refreshed, rise to leave. Before you leave, thank the woman for her company. When you give her thanks, she will stop spinning and give you a parting gift, the gift of a secret name of power. Pass through the cave to the opening again. Journey down the path. When you come to the gate, close it behind you again. If an animal of the forest has been keeping you company, thank it and bid it good-bye until you return. In the distance you can see the fire of our circle. Move toward it. See us as we sit here. See yourself in the circle. Come back to yourself and bring with you the power and renewal of the forest journey and the gift of a new name. Open your eyes. Raising Power After the meditation, the High Priestess (as Inanna) asks one woman at a time to step to the center of the circle. The other women gather round her. This is all done to a drumbeat. High Priestess:
What do you name yourself? Woman:
I name myself [name of power, for instance, Falcon]. Coveners then chant her new name once, shouting: Falcon, you are Goddess! They chant her new name of power over and over until they raise a cone of power (Falcon! Falcon! Falcon!) Each woman then takes her turn stepping into the center of the circle as the others chant her new name. Once everyone has given their names of power, the drumbeat continues as the coveners chant: Sing our names. Names of power. They repeat the chant until the cone of power is intense. Blessing the Wine, Bread and Spirit High Priestess:
We bless this bread to nurture ourselves.
We feed our spirit.
We gain strength to achieve our goals.
We bless this wine to refresh and renew ourselves,
Our humor,
And our spirit! As the bread and wine go around the circle, each woman in turn receives a piece of bread and a sip of wine from the woman before her, then turns to the next woman and feeds her bread and a sip of wine, and so on until the circuit is complete. Closing Center I:
Fare thee well, Crone!
We have entered Your sanctuary,
Warmed ourselves
At the hearth
Of Your sacred temple.
Spirit healer,
We have taken our names,
Taken our power,
Inspired by Your living flame! Center II:
Fare thee well, Inanna! With You
We have found
The courage
To break through our fear.
We have found our voices.
You have taught us
That the Goddess is within! North:
Fare Thee well, Rhiannon.
Ride off on your white mare.
You have assessed truth
For us,
Grounded in peace and
Understanding.
Blessed Be! West:
Fare Thee well, Hecate,
Elusive Goddess of the Moon.
We come out of the depths
Of Your unbounded
Ocean realm
Cleansed, purified.
We bless you! South:
Fare thee well, Amazons.
Ride back on the plains.
Ride fast and furious.
We carry your spirit
Of resistance in us!
Blessed Be! North:
Fare thee well, Artemis!
You have acted swiftly
To empower us.
Hunting by torchlight
With moonlit vision,
We keep within us
Your independent woman-spirit!
Blessed Be! Centers (together):
This sacred rite of the Goddess is ended!
The Goddess dwells in our hearts forever. | 
