Laurie Lippin - Crone
I’m so delighted to introduce you to the wonderful Laurie Lippin, who I met on a remote section of a beach in Lo de Marcos in 2024.
Laurie was only 82 then, and had come to this little Mexican village from the neighboring pueblo for an afternoon swim. She wondered what was past the rocks and around the corner and there she found Mark and me, enjoying our own vacation. There was no one else in sight so naturally there were greetings but what followed was a chat that was so engaging that we knew we weren’t done. Laurie invited us to join her for lunch the following day in San Pancho, where she was vacationing with her friend. A beautiful and unexpected friendship was formed.
Laurie is an extrovert like me, and a fabulous conversationalist! She lives in Guerneville, Ca where Mark and I had been before, and her background as a diversity expert from UC Davis can’t help but spark deep and meaningful conversation. Laurie believes that we will not end racism until white people are just as committed to ending it as are people of colour. Her life’s work could not be more needed in these turbulent times.
She has many other fascinating facets; supporter of queer community, spiritual seeker and sought after accordion musician who plays her own music as well as part of a musical collective. Oh, I do love the accordion.
And I love this woman! We particularly enjoy chatting about aging, eldering and croning. Laurie is coming to visit us in Victoria this summer as part of her birthday celebration which happens to be on Juneteenth, a coincidence of timing given her life’s work in diversity. I can’t wait to show her our beautiful island and introduce her to my fellow sages.
In the basic style that I’ve adopted to reveal the wisdom of the crones in my life; I share here my most recent conversation with Laurie on her experience of becoming and embracing crone consciousness.
At what age or time period did you become a crone (and how did you know for sure)
For my 65th birthday, nearly 20 years ago, I created my own rite of passage with a Priestess Rabbi celebrant. Jewish girls were not bat mitzvahed at this time and turning 65 felt momentous so I created this rite of passage for myself. I invited my family and dear friends who also witnessed this milestone. I laugh now to think that I thought myself wise, just because I had turned 65. It took some stumbling through my 60s and 70s to arrive at the wisdom that I now feel in my 80s. Cronehood is now energetically calling me in!
Did anyone mentor you in becoming a crone?
While I didn’t have a mentor, I have always been interested in the wise woman archetype. I saw the reclaiming of the crone as a spiritual path, something very wise to aspire to. I am an extrovert by nature but introversion and solitude have become more accessible to me later in life. With less external stimulus and the benefit of silence and passing time I can be more contemplative and connect with my crone. She comes to me with depth, from my soul.
What do you personally value or appreciate about being a crone
I have found that rather than going out into the world, the world now tends to come to me. As a crone, I feel more called to stay in my grounded place. I feel more resistant to starting new projects and I long for more solitude, peacefulness and communing with nature. Jung said that the 2nd half of life wants more expression than the first and I am feeling this.
Have you met any challenges in being a crone
Because a crone’s identity is more secluded, I want to allow my soul what it wants but I find that external demands of everyday life pull me away. This has been very interesting to me as a life long extrovert, that I now long for more solitude. I welcome it with curiosity.
What would you like to share with others who are not yet a crone
I want to share that a crone is not a bad thing, though we are programmed to think so. Sadly, the societal definition of crone tends to combine two denigrated entities, OLD and WOMAN. I encourage all women to reclaim and honour the word crone and the energy of the crone at its highest possible level, to honour the crone in its truth, benevolence, to honour the women in your life, to interact and listen and learn from and respect from the women who have come before us.
Are you open to sharing how many years of life experience you have.
Kas, I have to tell you, I find this question to be very ageist! We have earned our years, please, let’s share them. This year I will be 84 years old. I can share a great deal about internal ageism and why this doesn’t serve us. Maybe I’ll do that next!
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Please, don’t be afraid to embrace the crone archetype. Simply being older is not the same as becoming an elder. I feel that those whose comfort zone is in getting ‘older’ are still connected to the external world and its social influences whereas the elder moves inward. Once you are an elder you can listen for the call to become a crone. May you embrace crone consciousness and the wisdom that is inherent in this beautiful archetype!