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The Sphinx asked something similar...

I think that with each personage, your magic takes on a different meaning or power, like the mother's magic could be more of healing or protecting. This is just what I think.

My experience is that this is a way of expressing female empowerment. Women of all ages like to feel validated, and this is how neopagans have come about to help them along. It goes back to architypal psychology, it is something that women everywhere can relate to and feel they can thus connect with a divine source out of this image. Plus, it helps males to see the value in femlaes of every age and phase of life...not just the hotties.

This is how I see this aspect.

Maiden:You are just coming into your powers and your magic is just starting to surface. You have become a student

Mother=You have nearly mastered your magic and have learned to heal and protect others. Still a student but are slowly becoming a teacher as well

Crone=You have mastered your magic and have learned many things. You have become a wise woman and a teacher

the maiden has been chosen, the mother has inherit it (excuse my spelling if its wrong, hate night shift) and has grown to become a mother of the craft, the crone, is in a phase of transmmiting her craft to the next mother or the maiden chosen

i believe that one who has truly mastered the art of magick...will obtain the personages of all three being maiden mother and crone and that none of these characteristics ever get lost but can become dorment at times.

I believe that the maiden, mother and crone, is just a way to show the three aspects of life, and it was just adapted to women, this is what i think i am not sure about it...

Emeleth said it all………
It comes from a time where computers and written words didn’t exists, the family unit was strong and the learning came from word of mouth and stories telling around the village fire. A peaceful community of love and magic.

I am Wiccan, and I do believe there is truth in it. I believe that this cycle of life covers all, and it keeps going for years to come. Also, I believe in the spirituality of it all.

The three phases of a woman's life was very important to ancient cultures in that child bearing and raising was important to the furthering of the population. I think it was worked in to religion to make a benchmark to remind people. The three phases are tied to the lunar cycle and to lunar magic in Wicca

The waxing moon is the maiden, the full moon is the mother, and the waxing moon is the crone. Some Wiccans use this symbol of the triple-moon goddess to sign off emails - )O(.

The ancients also didn't understand the entire connection between intercourse and pregnancy and believed that pregancy had a divine and magic aspect to it.

I have to say I agree with Pepper.....the 3 stages do not just abide to magic alot of native americans and irish believe in that as well.....I myself have experienced the maiden and mother parts of my life I am not starting to head toward the crone and as I age it seems my magic abilities grow and get stronger

that is true..there are stages in everything and most cultures of the old has such beliefs..i feel that the maiden,mother,crone aspect has alot to do with self discovery,experience and ones ability to fulfill certian duties.

I like the way that all three parts of a persons life are valued and respected.

Now thats what I call team work.

In my look at things it is impossiable to even bigin to understand the path of the wise unless you first understand the maiden,mother,crone aspects and individualaties first.This could take more than one lifetime to accomplish.

Pepper, you have explained this in the easiest terms to understand.

If anyone would like more information I can recommend the book:

Maiden, Mother, Crone by DJ Conway.

i am a daughter and priestess of the Morrighan, and she is tri-faced. mother, maiden and crone apply to her specific ways. but i believe that all three faces have their strengths and purposes, just as each phase of such holds the same in a woman's life.

personaly it depends what you believe. and i would think even for my age i would be the crone.

i feel that it is more about experience than with age although the 3 do represent the different ages,i feel that you aquire their personage characteristics to how advanced you are in magick.

i think that each of the 3 is a metaphorical symbol of the stages of a woman. you start young and fruitful, you age a little, learn a lot and begin a family. u become less worried about yourself and more of a protector. then finally you have gone through it all and have a much better wisdom than when you were young. i think that each of these things is important not only within the realms of witchcraft but in every aspect and all walks of life.

I am a mother in both forms and if you go by the meaning of crone (old crone when your married ) then i am that to :) No but really I do beleave it is experiences you have and comes with age.

Along this same line... How many people consider the Triple GOddess just a symbol for the sacred feminine? And how many actually pray to her for their magic? Or simply out of devotion?

Is there a prefered aspect you feel more affinity for?

i don't pray but i do spell work and have 3 deities in my altar that are of (3) symbolizing different aspects of the goddesses.
i think everyone views it differently and has their own ways to how they connect with such trinities.

as a native woman i will start in the reverse,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,crone is an insult to an older woman,,,,,,,she has wisdom and teachings of the old ways of our people and can ezplain much about tradition, we call her grandmother to honor her years here on this judgemental mortal koil...............people r basically ignorant to any of the old ways unless they r explained,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the others explain themselves, however if u would like to write me on my profile i will respond,,,,be well

i think its mostly myth, everyone is an individual.I don't like to group people.

I agree that in most culture the maiden mother crone is looked at as an aspest of gaining wisdom i do think that every women will or might experience the aspect in their life i my self have seen and grown thru a transition of wisdom as the facets of my life have changed

"ravenswing" i find your views about this subject different but interesting at the same time;it just goes to show you,that we all have our own personal beliefs and practices on how we look at things.

i feel that there will always be a million answers to (1) question.
-BloodxCreep-

i know that other cultures use the maiden mother crone beliefs but some call it something totally different i do find that with age comes experience and that we gain from our mistakes and can connect with such as the (3) with our personal experiences that we have.

To answer the first part of the question I feel it is a viable distinction of three personas, or elemental qualties.
The Yin, The Yang, and the Grey line between.
Embodied as men, women, or chemical elements, the distinction of three represents the completed self.

The physical body, the spiritual body, and the will that unites them.

As for their powers being applied to witchcraft, it is the energy and the intermediaires which is how witchcraft opperates.

My experiences don't nessicarily lay in the aspects of the maiden mother crone so much as they do in

Ahriman, Akoman, Az....(Ahriman the body of shadow, Akoman the mind, Az the fleshy body)

Lucifer, Lillith, Cain (the spiritual body, the physical body, the balance between, here Cain represents the Baphomet)

Not really the maiden mother crone but also like unto Osiris, Isis, Horus.....they manifest as not a divine feminine, but as the union of male and female with the child/blended/neutral current as the resulting union.

Yes I believe the the aspects of the Godess

This depends on your belief system, the different aspects also can represent the season of the year or your spiritual growth in you beliefs and practices.

I believe in the power they symbolized.

Know's there is strong truth behind it...

i believe in the aspects of the godness but i also believe that its just a myth and everyone believes what they want

That sounds similar to the trinity the father, son , holly spirit.

I started as a maiden, young to the craft, but I feel more the mother now as I have gotten deeper and more educated with each passing year.

When I start something new, especially a new year of teaching. I ask the blessed maiden(goddess) help aide me and my students in this new year. Maiden is pure of heart, innocenct, and new to the world.

When ever I travel or a loved one travels, I ask the Mother (goddess) to watch and protect over me or my loved ones. Mother is that of the child bearer who has life giving forces and the power to protect her young if need be.

When I am having personal issues or need to make decisions that just stump me, I call upon the Crone(goddess) in her wisdom to help me through my troubles.

These are just different instances which I call upon the three to aide me in my doings. To me is all the same person, but just looking back to the times of when she was going through her innocence, motherhood, and reveling in her ancient wisdom.

i believe that those who practice do take on aspects of the maide mother and crone... we start out as the maiden when we first start practicing..young fruitful full of energy we grow into the mother who has learned over time and starts to care and appreciate life more and then crone full of wisdom and knowledge

all three are very important