Abstract

What does it mean to women's souls to grow older in a society that values masculinity and youth? When a culture's language has no word to connote "wise elder woman," what happens to the women who carry the "Grandmothe" consciousness for the collective? This article examines our culture's male bias and androcentric attitudes surrounding women's experience of aging, particularly the stereotypes and myths about menopause. From a perspective of archetypal psychology, a feminist re-vision of mythological portrayals of older women is offered, focusing on five specific figures symbolizing the ancient "Grandmother" archetype of the Crone. In addition, two important conceptual constructs, created by women writing on archetypal theory, are presented as female-defined models and perspectives of empowerment for women who are journeying through the soul-passage of menopause, entering the powerful "liminal" space of mature femininity, of becoming true elders.