What Does It Mean to Be a Crone?

I’ll admit it: when I first heard the word crone as a child, it wasn’t flattering. It conjured up images of bent old women with crooked noses, muttering curses over cauldrons. It was a word meant to diminish, to make invisible.

The old tales didn’t help. In the Brothers Grimm version of Hansel and Gretel, the witch is described like this:

“Suddenly the door opened, and a very old woman, leaning on a crutch, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands. … The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. … Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.”

Not exactly a flattering image.

And then there are the social double standards. As Anthea, the Water Crone observes:

“The loss of teeth was a disaster for women. When a man lost his teeth, his face collapsed too, but he could grow a mustache and beard, and was considered wise. A woman’s face collapsed, and she was called a crone.”

But in Rowanswood, the Crone—capital C—is something very different.

The Crone in Story and Symbol

Elspeth, the Air Crone explains it best in The Chic Crone:

“The Crone is the one who is far seeing, who looks into the spaces between the worlds and can see the future, the past, and the present. The Crone represents wisdom, transformation, and change.”

That doesn’t sound like a caricature to me. That sounds like power.

Fun Fact: The word “Witch” comes from the Old English “wicce”, meaning wise woman, as witches were once considered healers and midwives in ancient communities.

Reclaiming the Word

Olivia, my heroine, doesn’t like the word at first either. It grates (she read all those fairy tales, too!), carrying all those years of mockery and invisibility. But over time, she learns that being a Crone is not about frailty—it’s about foresight, resilience, and claiming one’s truth. It’s the wisdom that comes from decades of living, losing, and loving. It’s the fire of transformation, even when life has knocked you flat.

And perhaps most importantly, it’s a reminder that magic doesn’t fade with age. It deepens.

Why It Matters

In our culture, women over fifty are often pushed to the margins. But fantasy gives us a chance to reframe that narrative. In Rowanswood, the Crone is central, powerful, and necessary. She’s the one who holds the threads of past and future, and who isn’t afraid to ignite change in the present.

For Olivia, embracing the Crone means embracing herself—not the person she used to be, but the woman she is becoming.

Your Turn
What does the word crone mean to you? Is it time we reclaimed it as a badge of power rather than an insult? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.