They are the three faces of the Goddess: Maiden, Mother and Crone. These are the ancient yet still relevant phases of female life, divided by the three "blood mysteries" of first blood, childbirth and menopause. Each stage has a central task to be mastered: discovering creativity in the Maiden Stage, taking responsibility in the Mother Stage, and sharing wisdom in the Crone Stage.  Unfortunately, the word Crone has come to mean something dread and ugly. It conjures up images of dark, disfigured old women,  feared for their maliciousness. In the Goddess cultures, these were the wise women who were respected and revered for their great contributions to society. Some of them practiced sexual mastery, which is the task of Crone Stage sexual development.