ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept and evolution of “Maiden, Mother, Crone,” as one interconnected deity in Wiccan-Witchcraft practices. Despite being absent from early Wiccan materials, the concept of Maiden-Mother-Crone has become an integral part of many Wiccan-Witchcraft traditions. Since the idea’s introduction in print in the 1950s, the Maiden-Mother-Crone figure has undergone constant reinterpretation and application by practitioners.
Several influential books that have contributed to the development of Wiccan-Witchcraft and comments from present-day practitioners on the use and understanding of Maiden-Mother-Crone in their rituals and world views are cited as source materials. The Maiden-Mother-Crone figure is most often a decentralized construct, its exact role changing from individual to individual and group to group. These continual changes to Maiden-Mother-Crone are examined through the idea of folk religion.
