The crone eludes precise definition. Some traditions, organizations, and individuals variously define the crone as a woman who is 50, 52, or 56, post-menopausal, consciously aging, willing to acknowledge her shadow.

Crone is a term used to describe an ancient archetype, an aspect of the triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone), and the third phrase of a woman's life. When a woman is near, in, or past menopause, she is potentially a crone. The designation refers to a perspective or point of view rather age or biological change.

A woman who calls herself crone is willing to acknowledge her age, wisdom, and power. Through conscious self-definition, she helps to reverse hundreds of years of oppression, degradation, and abuse aimed at old women.

Although she may prefer to be called elder, grandmother, or wise woman, she does not dismiss, disavow, or use pejoratively terms such as crone, witch, or hag. The wise woman/crone/grandmother realizes that the true meaning of these terms, and the woman-centered traditions from which they originate, have been obscured and distorted by patriarchal systems.

—Bayla Bower
Croning.org
Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Bayla Bower