Warning
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Jenny Joseph
What is being old? Is is something chronological? Physical? Mental? Emotional?
Rhetorical question. Very few can define old age. Specially those of us that are nearing it.
I'm not crazy about celebrating my birthday. (Not because I fear the "passing years". Luckily, I have a genetic blessing and I've always looked younger than what my birth certificate affirms.) Maybe it's because I am reminded too much of the list of things I want to do in my life that are still undone. But there was a birthday that I really wanted to celebrate bigtime: my arrival at the half-century mark!
Unfortunately, the message did not get through clearly to my family members and I spent it as quiet and tranquil as others before it.
From that time a half-decade has past. Today I am 55 years old. My body has begun to show signs of passing from the Mother to the Crone stage. Only problem is there is still much Maiden in my way of thinking. Quite a paradox!
I think is was author Amber K who mentioned a fourth aspect of the Goddess: The Matron, that mature stage in a woman when she basically has ended her full time Mothering without yet having reached the retirement of the Crone.
Yes, I think that's where I'm at. My daughters are all grownup with their own broods and I can't afford to retire just yet.
But, spiritually, The Crone has already made her presence known in my life. (In my particular case I prefer to refer to her as Dark Goddess since her visual expression has nothing to do with the chronological appearance of old age.) In this case the poem I quoted at the beginning of the blog expresses Her energy.
The Saturn Return is the astrological positioning of the planet in the same place as in your natal chart, something that occurs every 29.5 years. The second return is around 56 to 60 year mark. There is a lapse of years because of the times Saturn is retrograde. For me, the time lapse will begin the 30th of October 2009 until the 7th of April 2010.
According to what I've been reading, "The Second Saturn Return is about letting go of superficiality and moving to a more real or more basic lifestyle. This does not mean giving up all of your creature comforts, but modifying them to fit into a retirement lifestyle. You cross a threshold of leaving behind tools that no longer serve you and adopt new tools for survival as a mature adult."
Well, let me not focus too much on this yet and enjoy my day.
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To me, that is!
(Please excuse me while I go put on my purple dress...only this time it goes with my white hat.)
Beautiful! Happy birthday!!!
chicoryflowerI hope you get wonderful presents, and a party and beautiful food. : )
03:26 PM AST