Loud-mouthed liberal feminist. Anarchist knitter. Tequila-drinking artsy-smartsy fat chick. Bluesy folk-rock singer-songwriter. Rebel with too many causes. Quirky eclectic pagan poet. Paradoxical intuitive smartass. Sarcastic brainiac insomniac. You know, for starters.

9.20.2004

Alas, no shagging over the weekend.

Hey, guess what? I didn't get swept off to the Med by a handsome kilt-clad stranger.

I know. I was shocked and horrified myself, but what can you do?

Meanwhile, I did have a kick-ass time at Celtic Fest listening to bagpipes and Mary Black and all kinds of good Celtic music. I mean, really, you haven't lived till you've heard a pipe band's rendition of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You."

It was a good, if chaste, weekend.

So, I was reading an article in a magazine by this woman, and I had this sudden realization about why I am so drawn to Skuld: she's a young crone.

((Now, for those who aren't up on their crone imagery, the crone is the wisewoman, the elder, the old lady who shoots her mouth off and who cares who it offends....the crone is death, endings, a reminder of life's cycles, destruction and balance. Or at least, she is to me. Also, you can read this for a more eloquent explanation.))

I've always been crone-oriented...the way I grew up led me to an understanding of cycles and endings and beginnings pretty early on. My female role models were my grandmothers, two women who both demonstrated - in very different ways - the idea of enduring life's challenges, of strength earned through suffering, of wisdom gained by experience. I spent a great deal of time around older women who did not censor themselves, who said the thing that needed to be said, who spoke the truth fearlessly, even if it was harsh, because it was the truth. That's what I grew up admiring and emulating. Toss in a little raised-by-my-daddy toughness, and voila! I skipped maiden and mother and went straight to crone.

Now, I'm not one of those wet-behind-the-ears young'ns that can't deal with old people - I was raised to respect my elders and I believe in that very strongly. I run into trouble, though, because I pretty much expect to be treated with the same respect, and I don't get it very often, which frustrates me. I feel like there's some sort of respect double-standard, based on age. I've got a crone attitude, but chronologically, I'm just a kid. It drives me crazy!

Enter Skuld. She's the youngest of the Norns. She's the future, she's mysterious, perhaps she rides around the battlefield with the Valkyries picking worthy Viking warriors to go to Valhalla...but she's got that crone attitude - she is the end, she is the harsh truth, she is the severing of ties to old baggage that brings the freedom to start anew. She is the un-doing, the destruction, and death. She's a young crone.

So, yeah, I think that explains my fascination with Skuld. Now I just need to learn the crone art of tempering truth with compassion. Fucking compassion will be the bane of my existence.

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