The “Wise
Old Woman” archetype is found within many folktales, myths and legends. The importance of this archetype is essential
to our understanding of aging and wisdom.
We see examples of the deplorable treatment of our elders within these
stories. We search within to discover
our own discomfort with that which is
not young and beautiful. We examine
ourselves for times when we have marginalized others and found them invisible.
The “Wise Old Woman” archetype
teaches us who we can truly be: someone who embraces both our light and our
darkness, our education and our experience.
She is a woman who can maneuver deftly through the mire of her culture,
who can speak truthfully and is unafraid of the opinions of others. She makes the invisible visible. She shows us the worth in unlikely
sources. The “Wise Old Woman” archetype
continues on the journey as the unlikely hero, while providing service to
others as the helper.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes may have expressed this
the best when she said, “Though I myself find perils and challenges of age to
be true, we must disavow the old prejudices about women and age. The true
vision of the wise woman is one of bounty of love and age and wisdom. As she
gathers years, like an ancient tree, she grows ever more arms, even more
flowers and fruits. She is more rooted, more vast, more sheltering—developing
her callings to be throughout life, maiden mother, medium, crone, elder,
healer, teacher, artist, knowing woman.”[1]