Stephanie, this is such a lovely description of how we can tune into myth as a living fiber weaving our own stories, ourselves as part of the natural world, and our ancestors. I'm still in the motherhood phase with a near-teenager, but as an "old" mom, I see hints of my crone self in the distance. I actually really look forward to that phase, but I'm inviting myself to be more curious about how to use the myths of motherhood to learn to love the phase I'm in. Thank you for sharing what you've been learning on your journey so that the rest of us can grow from your wisdom. Cheers to the Enchanted Crone!
Lori, I raise my glass to your awesomeness! Cheers. I love the phrase "living fiber weaving our own stories." Speaking of weaving -- In the mother phase, you might relate to Creatrix. The Creatrix was one of the three Greek fates. There was a spinner, a weaver and a cutter. The weaver was the Creatrix, a name that means "a woman who makes things." Midlife women have never been so rich in making things; making art, advocacy, daughters, mercy, love and gorgeous prose. May we continue to celebrate giving voice to women's stories. Big hugs.
My daughter is 16 and so I'm in the motherhood phase, too. I consider myself an "old" mom because I adopted my daughter from China when I was an older adult. I wish I could say I was a "wise" mom because of my older years, but I can't say that! And she reminds me that I can't say that. LOL
Thanks for the laugh! My son reminds me of my waning wisdom, too. I know it’s developmentally appropriate, but sheesh! 😊
I never feel wise in the state of life that I’m in, only when I look back with the benefit of experience. And even then, “wise” may not capture the experience for me.
So glad to be sharing the experience of older motherhood with you!
I love this and you painted stones for your siblings, that you carry them around with you sometimes and feel them in your hands. How powerful such a good idea I have a friend who told me about a mutual friend of ours in England, passed away recently, and they painted her casket , of course it was wooden but what a beautiful ritual. I wish I could’ve been there.
As you know, my current myth is Medusa. I find it to be incredibly powerful. In fact, I found a novel called “stone Blind” the author whose name and forgetting right now humanizes her and family with her sisters who are immortal. It’s fantastic and bringing so much more of Medusa is to me to life.
Thank you very much for this.
I’m glad you’re getting so much out of your course.
What an amazing event that must have been, to paint the casket of a good friend. I find those kinds of rituals so meaningful in the way that they help us to remember more than just the loss.
I want to look into Stone Blind. I promised myself today (I don't always keep my promises) that I wouldn't buy anymore books until the new year. There's quite the tall stack of to-be-read on my desk. And, of course, you make me want to read more about Medusa and the different interpretations. I love how you made the myth your own. Your Medusa piece inspired me to write down some of my own thoughts about working with myth. Keep it salty, sister. You inspire. Thanks for a being a part of my world. Big hugs.
Living out myth can be very difficult at times, in that we create tremendous responsibilities for ourselves to live up to.
I identify as a warrior poet, recognizing that I’ll never wholly live up to that ideal. It’s not that I’ll ever have a big, end-of-the-movie fight, I don’t actually want that. But, my presence may have already helped folks…undramatically. Or it may yet will.
My scrambled point is that we hold the line on our myths as best we can, never knowing when/if we got to fully embody them.
I feel it, from time to time.
❤️ to you for writing this, it moved me. Thank you.
The idea of personal mythology, puts the emphasis on the personal -- For example, I'm not trying to live out the Persephone myth, but rather looking at the template of that myth as a guide for the cycles of descent and ascent that I see in my life. Patterns of the human condition are what show up in mythology, as expressed in metaphor. The place where I push back on your point, ever so slightly, is that I believe we can consciously work with myth to learn about ourselves, making it less about embodiment and more about template. In other words, someone else's interpretation of myth doesn't define us, we define the myth through our own world view. Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Eric. I love how you parse through ideas and think about things. Big hugs.
This is a beautiful, thought-provoking essay. I have read it more than once. Stephanie is inspirational and comes up with tremendously insightful posts. And this one is no exception.
Your earth art is absolutely beautiful. I am in that transition stage of becoming a crone. I am lucky not to have experienced too much loss yet aside from a dear friend we lost to cancer at the start of the pandemic. I commemorate her by wearing her jewelry, which was distributed to her group of female friends so that we could have something that was close to her and hold her in our hearts. I have a lot of jewellery from my mother and from my grandmothers as well as things from my dad who died over 25 years ago. When I wear them, I feel close to them.
Sheila, I totally get it about wearing your friend's jewelry and feeling close to her when you do. My mom left me some of her pieces and I always think of her when I wear it. And wearing it usually brings me sweet memories and a smile. May you remember your friend with great sweetness. Sounds like you and your friend are part of a loving group of women. Very special in this world. Biggest of hugs.
Wow, Stephanie! This is a beautiful, stunning piece of writing on acceptance of where we are in life and where we are going. I love your self-description and peaceful embracing of the enchanted crone. I agree that we can use myth to create our own stories.
I am so sorry about the deaths of your siblings, and find the grief stones a wonderful, poignant way to remember them by. These must be a great source of comfort to you.
And I love the altar you created. So lovely and very fitting. I love all of your post, but this struck me: "I’m rooted in the creative act of making art, crafting stories, and weaving personal myths. Making earth art, like my altar to loss, is an action of sacrament: taking earth into my hands; gathering seed pods and leaves; making beauty that will disappear into the elements, just as I will one day fade."
Beautiful. Acceptance.
The way you feel about earth art as a kind of sacrament is how I feel about the art I create on canvas. I look at it as a holy endeavor.
Thank you so much for the shout-out! You are definitely part of my tribe, and I am grateful.
Beth, I can totally see how your painting is sacramental. Maybe that's what I see, because your art calls me, pulls me and because of you, I now see art has its own kind of storytelling voice. I'm enjoying making these altars, but I think the process of creating them speaks just a loudly to me as the finished work. Do you ever feel that way about your paintings? Sending big hugs, wise friend. . . (I'll never tell your daughter that we used that word between us -- I promise.) ;-)
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your kind words. For me, the process is everything. It's such a spiritual experience. Your altars, so much a product of your creativity and the natural world, inspire me so much. Thanks for referring to me as wise. Yes, my daughter will never know....lol
Thank you, Stephanie for the shout out. And wow! I can feel the ALIVENESS in your share.
I began “Morning Alters” and somehow got distracted. It’s been on my mind a lot the last few days, and your mention of it here, is yet another way it calls to me. THANK YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Lila, based on some of our communications about love of earth and nature, I think you'd really resonate with the book. It might make a good winter study. And please let me know how it strikes you. In the meantime, may you continue to capture on film those images which fill the heart and nourish the soul-self. Hugs to you, sweet woman.
Power to the Enchanted Crone, indeed. It's time we reclaim and reshape some of our women's stories, and make them more accurate and authentic representations of our divine selves. Hugs.
Thanks for the shout out, Stephanie! This week I turn 83 and I feel vibrant and fortunate, so very grateful for the fullness of my life. I'm happy we can exchange ideas about the layers of myth that reside in all of us as a blueprint for deeper understanding of our life path, especially as a woman. It's important now as women are being challenged in our country, even in their basic rights.
On Monday I posted thoughts on my Substack page on the heroine's journey, part of my new book I'm serializing on Substack, "The Fairy Tale Heroine," how her narrative has been suppressed. Yet her story lives in all of us.
In these posts, I've mentioned that the fairy tale/myth that captured my attention and provided direction throughout my life was "The Girl in the Iron Shoes" as a girl and the myth of "Psyche and Eros" as an adult. Surprisingly I discovered in my research that these two tales and their variants are the same tale type—princess (maid) in search of her lost husband—or motif index ATU 425. I discuss this in some depth here: https://farrellk.substack.com/p/the-fairy-tale-heroine-live-and-create-1e5
However, I'm still wondering why this particular tale was so attractive to me personally. Hmmm...
Happiest of Birthdays, Kate. May your life continue to be full. I'm looking forward to reading The Fairytale Heroine. Isn't it amazing that there's the story that's history and then there's the story which needs reclaiming, and can be found within us. You are a treasure and a real find for this nerdy humanities loving Crone. Sending you big birthday hugs.
Stephanie, this is such a lovely description of how we can tune into myth as a living fiber weaving our own stories, ourselves as part of the natural world, and our ancestors. I'm still in the motherhood phase with a near-teenager, but as an "old" mom, I see hints of my crone self in the distance. I actually really look forward to that phase, but I'm inviting myself to be more curious about how to use the myths of motherhood to learn to love the phase I'm in. Thank you for sharing what you've been learning on your journey so that the rest of us can grow from your wisdom. Cheers to the Enchanted Crone!
Lori, I raise my glass to your awesomeness! Cheers. I love the phrase "living fiber weaving our own stories." Speaking of weaving -- In the mother phase, you might relate to Creatrix. The Creatrix was one of the three Greek fates. There was a spinner, a weaver and a cutter. The weaver was the Creatrix, a name that means "a woman who makes things." Midlife women have never been so rich in making things; making art, advocacy, daughters, mercy, love and gorgeous prose. May we continue to celebrate giving voice to women's stories. Big hugs.
Ooh, thanks, Stephanie! I hadn’t made that association, but yes, I do relate to Creatrix. I appreciate this gem you’ve shared! 💚
Hi Lori,
My daughter is 16 and so I'm in the motherhood phase, too. I consider myself an "old" mom because I adopted my daughter from China when I was an older adult. I wish I could say I was a "wise" mom because of my older years, but I can't say that! And she reminds me that I can't say that. LOL
Hi Beth!
Thanks for the laugh! My son reminds me of my waning wisdom, too. I know it’s developmentally appropriate, but sheesh! 😊
I never feel wise in the state of life that I’m in, only when I look back with the benefit of experience. And even then, “wise” may not capture the experience for me.
So glad to be sharing the experience of older motherhood with you!
Cheers to the enchanted crone, and cheers to the wise mother who knows that the ground she is on at present is RIPE…💝
It does feel ripe! ✨
Hi Stephanie
I love this and you painted stones for your siblings, that you carry them around with you sometimes and feel them in your hands. How powerful such a good idea I have a friend who told me about a mutual friend of ours in England, passed away recently, and they painted her casket , of course it was wooden but what a beautiful ritual. I wish I could’ve been there.
As you know, my current myth is Medusa. I find it to be incredibly powerful. In fact, I found a novel called “stone Blind” the author whose name and forgetting right now humanizes her and family with her sisters who are immortal. It’s fantastic and bringing so much more of Medusa is to me to life.
Thank you very much for this.
I’m glad you’re getting so much out of your course.
🌹
What an amazing event that must have been, to paint the casket of a good friend. I find those kinds of rituals so meaningful in the way that they help us to remember more than just the loss.
I want to look into Stone Blind. I promised myself today (I don't always keep my promises) that I wouldn't buy anymore books until the new year. There's quite the tall stack of to-be-read on my desk. And, of course, you make me want to read more about Medusa and the different interpretations. I love how you made the myth your own. Your Medusa piece inspired me to write down some of my own thoughts about working with myth. Keep it salty, sister. You inspire. Thanks for a being a part of my world. Big hugs.
I needn’t explain how your own work has benefited me. But I don’t mind saying thank you a couple hundred more times.
🙏🏽🐒
Thank you. It's a pleasure to know you and converse with you writer to writer / thinker to thinker.
Living out myth can be very difficult at times, in that we create tremendous responsibilities for ourselves to live up to.
I identify as a warrior poet, recognizing that I’ll never wholly live up to that ideal. It’s not that I’ll ever have a big, end-of-the-movie fight, I don’t actually want that. But, my presence may have already helped folks…undramatically. Or it may yet will.
My scrambled point is that we hold the line on our myths as best we can, never knowing when/if we got to fully embody them.
I feel it, from time to time.
❤️ to you for writing this, it moved me. Thank you.
The idea of personal mythology, puts the emphasis on the personal -- For example, I'm not trying to live out the Persephone myth, but rather looking at the template of that myth as a guide for the cycles of descent and ascent that I see in my life. Patterns of the human condition are what show up in mythology, as expressed in metaphor. The place where I push back on your point, ever so slightly, is that I believe we can consciously work with myth to learn about ourselves, making it less about embodiment and more about template. In other words, someone else's interpretation of myth doesn't define us, we define the myth through our own world view. Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Eric. I love how you parse through ideas and think about things. Big hugs.
This is a beautiful, thought-provoking essay. I have read it more than once. Stephanie is inspirational and comes up with tremendously insightful posts. And this one is no exception.
Your earth art is absolutely beautiful. I am in that transition stage of becoming a crone. I am lucky not to have experienced too much loss yet aside from a dear friend we lost to cancer at the start of the pandemic. I commemorate her by wearing her jewelry, which was distributed to her group of female friends so that we could have something that was close to her and hold her in our hearts. I have a lot of jewellery from my mother and from my grandmothers as well as things from my dad who died over 25 years ago. When I wear them, I feel close to them.
thank you for this lovely article .💕
Sheila, I totally get it about wearing your friend's jewelry and feeling close to her when you do. My mom left me some of her pieces and I always think of her when I wear it. And wearing it usually brings me sweet memories and a smile. May you remember your friend with great sweetness. Sounds like you and your friend are part of a loving group of women. Very special in this world. Biggest of hugs.
Hugs right back, Stephanie. I am so, so lucky.
Wow, Stephanie! This is a beautiful, stunning piece of writing on acceptance of where we are in life and where we are going. I love your self-description and peaceful embracing of the enchanted crone. I agree that we can use myth to create our own stories.
I am so sorry about the deaths of your siblings, and find the grief stones a wonderful, poignant way to remember them by. These must be a great source of comfort to you.
And I love the altar you created. So lovely and very fitting. I love all of your post, but this struck me: "I’m rooted in the creative act of making art, crafting stories, and weaving personal myths. Making earth art, like my altar to loss, is an action of sacrament: taking earth into my hands; gathering seed pods and leaves; making beauty that will disappear into the elements, just as I will one day fade."
Beautiful. Acceptance.
The way you feel about earth art as a kind of sacrament is how I feel about the art I create on canvas. I look at it as a holy endeavor.
Thank you so much for the shout-out! You are definitely part of my tribe, and I am grateful.
Beth, I can totally see how your painting is sacramental. Maybe that's what I see, because your art calls me, pulls me and because of you, I now see art has its own kind of storytelling voice. I'm enjoying making these altars, but I think the process of creating them speaks just a loudly to me as the finished work. Do you ever feel that way about your paintings? Sending big hugs, wise friend. . . (I'll never tell your daughter that we used that word between us -- I promise.) ;-)
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your kind words. For me, the process is everything. It's such a spiritual experience. Your altars, so much a product of your creativity and the natural world, inspire me so much. Thanks for referring to me as wise. Yes, my daughter will never know....lol
I'm really chewing on the idea of the "process" being paramount to the end-result. To be continued . . .
Thank you, Stephanie for the shout out. And wow! I can feel the ALIVENESS in your share.
I began “Morning Alters” and somehow got distracted. It’s been on my mind a lot the last few days, and your mention of it here, is yet another way it calls to me. THANK YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Lila, based on some of our communications about love of earth and nature, I think you'd really resonate with the book. It might make a good winter study. And please let me know how it strikes you. In the meantime, may you continue to capture on film those images which fill the heart and nourish the soul-self. Hugs to you, sweet woman.
Thanks for the lovely shout out Stephanie and I love the idea of an Enchanted Crone!
Power to the Enchanted Crone✨🧚♀️🤸♀️🌼🌷🌈🌺🪷💕
Power to the Enchanted Crone, indeed. It's time we reclaim and reshape some of our women's stories, and make them more accurate and authentic representations of our divine selves. Hugs.
YES!!! And I love that you are doing that✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
Thanks for the shout out, Stephanie! This week I turn 83 and I feel vibrant and fortunate, so very grateful for the fullness of my life. I'm happy we can exchange ideas about the layers of myth that reside in all of us as a blueprint for deeper understanding of our life path, especially as a woman. It's important now as women are being challenged in our country, even in their basic rights.
On Monday I posted thoughts on my Substack page on the heroine's journey, part of my new book I'm serializing on Substack, "The Fairy Tale Heroine," how her narrative has been suppressed. Yet her story lives in all of us.
In these posts, I've mentioned that the fairy tale/myth that captured my attention and provided direction throughout my life was "The Girl in the Iron Shoes" as a girl and the myth of "Psyche and Eros" as an adult. Surprisingly I discovered in my research that these two tales and their variants are the same tale type—princess (maid) in search of her lost husband—or motif index ATU 425. I discuss this in some depth here: https://farrellk.substack.com/p/the-fairy-tale-heroine-live-and-create-1e5
However, I'm still wondering why this particular tale was so attractive to me personally. Hmmm...
XO
Happiest of Birthdays, Kate. May your life continue to be full. I'm looking forward to reading The Fairytale Heroine. Isn't it amazing that there's the story that's history and then there's the story which needs reclaiming, and can be found within us. You are a treasure and a real find for this nerdy humanities loving Crone. Sending you big birthday hugs.
Thank you, Stephanie! I so appreciate your good wishes and your understanding of the power of the stories within in. XO