Maiden, Mother, Crone: The Myth & Reality of the Triple Goddess

by D.J. Conway

For over 2000 years, the symbol of the trinity has been represented by a male deity. Through this trinity people have looked for salvation and revelation. But the time has come to reveal the ancient truth, one that precedes the male interpretation of the spiritual journey by thousands of years. This truth is the Triple Goddess: "Maiden, Mother, Crone." Through knowledge of the three aspects of the Goddess, people throughout the world have come home to the Divine Center of themselves. Now you can apply the formula of the Triple Three to daily life and use the empowering knowledge for self-discovery and growth, just as others have done for centuries. The Triple Goddess is an invaluable guide to your individual evolutionary journey.

Genres: Wicca, Paganism, Spirituality, Mythology, Religion, Witchcraft, Nonfiction

229 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

A native of the Pacific Northwest, author D.J. Conway has studied the occult fields for over 35 years. Her quest for knowledge has covered every aspect of Paganism and Wicca to New Age and Eastern philosophies; plus history, the magical arts, philosophy, customs, mythologies and folklore. In 1998, she was voted Best Wiccan and New Age author by Silver Chalice, a Pagan magazine.

She lives a rather quiet life, with most of her time spent researching and writing.

Reviews

[Jaqui · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give a book 0 stars.

This book was terrible. It's biased, incoherent, and blatantly incorrect in places. The author, editors, and publishers should be ashamed of themselves for the misinformation and wildly speculative conclusions presented as factual in this.

For a book that claims to explore the conceptualization of the triple goddess, it was surprisingly limited to Western mythologies, barely skimming her varied incarnations in other cultures. The myths that were covered were jumbled, disorganized, and clearly re-imagined through the author's proselytizing religious inclinations.

The only reason I finished this book at all is because a) I paid for it, and b) I know every book can teach me something: spiritually, philosophically, intellectually -- it can even teach me something about myself if it falls short in every other way. I learned that I truly can rely on my own discerning mind and lifetime of knowledge to sieve out the bad seeds from the good ones I find while I explore Paganism as a spiritual path.

Don't buy this book.

[Miya (severe pain struggles, slower at the moment) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was expecting, but it was still interesting and informative. The layout was a bit odd, but again, I appreciated the information.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This felt more like a college essay, poorly done. The last two chapters, Meditations and Rituals, are the only part I felt had value. There is a lot of research in this book, and much information, but it is conveyed in a manner that makes me want to walk out of the lecture. Don't read me the Power Point, but elaborate in a fashion that engages and entertains.

[Kaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, detailed explanation about the different phases of a woman's life and how mythology and ancient religions thought of women as goddesses. The maiden can be called upon when embarking on new pathways, ideas, jobs, relationships, all types of new beginnings regardless of our age if we meditate and call on her for help.It is interesting how throughout ancient societies there were myths of virgin mothers- Buddha, Greek Hermes,Mary - mother of Christ, etc. The goddess as mother is consulted to see plans through to completion, raising children, life choices, decisions in life, acceptance of the choices we have made etc. The 3rd goddess as crone is the end of life and she will be there to guide us on to the continuing cycle of death and rebirth. Consult the crone for times of introspection, rest from the stress of raising a family, career. The crone can help us when we are ending an era, death of a loved one including pets, divorce, and an ever changing life. The crone is used for spiritual protection. Women typically do not look at the world the same as men. Both male and female aspects of god are necessary for balance in the world.

[Gianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not terrible, but nothing to get excited over.

[Christine Kayser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved digging into the history of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Such rich mythology and history.

[Kelly L Bessaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for women to read. It tells how women and goddesses were kicked out of present day religion and how their roles were rewritten by men.

[Jenni Gehring-Treloar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purchased this as a gift as it was stated on the book that it was a comprehensive guide to the tryptych archetype. Turned out that although it had information regarding the MMC aspects, it was incredibly preachy to the point where it annoyed the hell out of me. I felt cheated and disappointed. I thought this was more of an academic exploration of the archetype... How wrong I was.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part self help book, part encyclopedia. You almost need to have a pencil in hand while you read it to mark any useful passages. There is a lot of information glossed over and tossed at you, but the ritual section could be useful.

[Anita]

This was the first one of DJ's books that I read, and I really enjoyed it, felt that it deepened my beliefs.

[Gordon Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maiden, Mother and Crone as a trope/concept was a Victorian armchair invention. While there were many deities who appeared as triplicities, MMC was not a thing. Blame can be placed squarely on the desk of Robert Graves for popularizing this concept in the White Goddess, a book that at best is born of inspiration. It should be read in the context of the other Goddess fiction literature around in the 1930's and 1920's in England, and with "Watch the North Wind Rise" by Graves, as well as "A Goddess Arrives" by Gardner.

[Lizzy Fogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of mythological matriarchs from around the world. I appreciate all the resources at the end of the book, but the writing does somewhat feel like it came off of a poorly formatted blog written by a 40 year old. Not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely not in a good way. A LOT of binary language though.

Still, a good resource for any spiritual person.

[Victoria Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative! Gives history of each aspect of the goddess and lore of all the goddesses of various mythologies that coincide with the Triple Goddess herself. Includes meditations and rituals for each aspect of Her.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chock full of information about the triple goddess throughout history and the world. It's barely possible to read it without wanting to take notes. I will probably refer to it many times. In addition, the bibliography is lengthy and thorough.

[clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt more like just an appendix of information

[Gaile · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting although over whelming book. It describes the practice of worshiping the Goddess all over Europe long before Christianity took over. It describes the goddess as mother, maiden, crone, gives all the names she was called, the myths and stories associated with them. From there the author goes on to describes the old tales of the three the Greeks believed to weave the lives of all of us, the furies, the Valkyries of Norway. I found all this material a bit overwhelming
as she names goddesses all over the world. It is difficult to remember all of them and all the stories connected with them. The book also explained the various festivals and rituals celebrated for them.
In the appendix are descriptions of meditations, rituals, symbols and a dictionary of terms.
She emphasizes the worship of the goddess was always based on the concept of working with the cycles of nature, bringing the Earth our planet into harmony, paying attention to the waxing and waning of the moon.
This is no way a book on religion as the practice of worshiping the goddess by whatever name you call her is an individual decision. It doesn't involve joining any church, baptizing, initiation or calling upon any clergy to tell you how to do it nor does bringing the Goddess into your life mean you must give up the church you now belong to. The Goddess she writes is the divine center, within all of us and She waits patiently for us to come back to her.
The triple form of the Goddess as Maiden, Mother, Crone is the same idea of the three in one of the holy Trinity, Father, son and Holy Spirit although I always thought the Holy Spirit was a mystery in itself as nobody could ever explain it to me in a way that makes sense. I think of the Holy Spirit as Mary whom so many of us in the Roman Catholic Religion pray to. This book however doesn't mention Mary. IN Buddha practice, the mother of Buddha is also worshiped.
There is also a bibliography at the end of this book with a list of books the curious might wish to pick up for further reading.

[Katharine · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interest in paganism peaked while reading The Mists of Avalon gave me reason to read this book. I've heard it's a better reference book than anything - and I would agree. A lot of interesting information about the religion itself as well as various meditations and rituals, but a huge portion is pretty much a list of how this religion has been represented over the years and throughout the world. This made reading it somewhat difficult, but if I want to refer to it later (and I already have) I can do that much more easily now.

[Night · Rating 2 out of 5]

A reference book, for sure, but a reference book if you are brand new and don't know where to start. This book is something of an info dump, skipping from one blurb to another. If you do not know where to begin, sure start here, but be sure to do more exploring on your own.

[Michelle Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a lot of mythical stories of the Goddess but at times it was just too much info.

[Cyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly wonderful book which describes the phases of the Triple Goddess.

[Ueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about the phases of the Goddess. It is a must read for any interested in paganism.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting introduction to Goddess mythology.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry. Dry. Dry. Hard to read. Not even sure it's accurate.

[Emily Soupal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spiritual text I will always go back to!!

[Michele Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very well written and kept my attention. Conway helped me see the connections between the Goddess, my self, and history. Very enlightening.