As you may have read in other posts, or in various place inside the Cauldron, one of our main reasons for starting this Cauldron of Crones venture was so that Meghan and I could get creative together … with our writing, our art, our videos, our spoken words.

But this did not “just happen”. A Cauldron of Crones (this website, our Substack page, our Instagram page, and our posts inside Gene Keys Unleashed with Hayley Curtis) was born out of the inner work that Meghan and I are doing.

We are both almost at the end of a year-long journey through our Gene Keys Golden Path, in the company of 12 women. This is not the first time through our Golden Path for either of us. And this Gene Keys work is building upon decades of inner work and seeking that we’ve both been doing on our own.

Each article, every podcast, all of our offerings, reflect where we’re at in our own inner journeys. Meghan has written the most delicious and intimate article about this inside GKU. You’ll have to join that glorious membership, if you want to read it in full, but I just had to pull out this part …

One of the exciting things about Lizzie's and my creative home on the internet, A Cauldron of Crones, is that it is now a vessel for our particular form of expression... inner work creativity ... is there a better word for this? Internal Arts? Artistic Depths Within? Creative Spirit? Imaginative Power? Whatever IT is called we find ourselves called to create ... to be inspired by our inner journeys enough to want to share them using our own genius in whichever medium is called for. We've found that at the moment our Internal Artists are processing and creating from the work we are doing in Devoted, and as such there have been a series of articles, art journal pages, podcasts on the same set of concepts.

So, that’s why we are here … but you may be wondering if A Cauldron of Crones is meant for you, especially if you are younger than your crone years, and indeed you may struggle to identify with the archetype of the Crone at all.

So, I thought I would tell you about why it is important for me to share this inner work with the world, and what sort of women might benefit from embarking on their own inner journeys.

Who Am I Writing For?

For me, one of the most important aspects of creating this website is that I want to encourage women to find their own voices through doing this inner work, through contemplation, through journaling, through writing down then allowing, accepting and embracing their truths so that they may heal; so that they may learn to love themselves. Journaling and doing the inner work quite literally saved my life, and I want to share that with other women.

We, as women, are brought up to believe that women’s voices are not as important as men’s. Even if you were lucky enough to be brought up in a family where the feminine is valued, society tells us at every turn that men are more important than women. Men’s voices are always the loudest! A woman speaks up and she is denigrated … she is labelled a “harpy”, a “nag” or a “feminist” … as if “feminist” is a dirty word.

But our voices ARE valid.

What we have to say IS important.

We have a right to speak our truths.

I personally believe that journaling is an incredibly powerful tool for allowing us to do that. It’s where we can try out our truths on ourselves, we can drill down and delve deep into what is true for us.

We can ask ourselves, “What do I believe in?”

And we don’t have to be ashamed of the answers!

We’re allowed to feel what we feel!!

Women Like You!

So, who exactly am I writing for, when I write these articles?

I’m writing for women who want to find their own voice.

I’m writing for women seeking clarity about themselves.

I’m writing for women seeking creativity in their everyday life.

I’m writing for women who have been stuck/ abused/ neglected/ suffocated/ stifled/ dominated.

I’m writing for women who are ready to break free of negative beliefs that have limited them.

I’m writing for women who are ready to say, I have a voice, I count.

I’m writing for women who want to explore their creativity … in every way!

I’m writing for women who are trying to find their purpose.

I’m writing for women who want to live more mindfully.

I’m writing for women who have spent their lives taking care of others and who know it’s time to start taking care of themselves.

In other words … I’m writing for WOMEN LIKE YOU!! Whether you’re in your crone years or not.

The Entire Point of this Spiritual Path

My guide, Hayley, says that “the entire point of this spiritual path should be to integrate back into society and be with the people, instead of cutting oneself off.”

I know this to be true; I know that I’m not doing this work just for me. I’m not doing this work so that I can be healed in a vacuum. Even though it is tempting to still hide out in my hermitage in the woods, especially since I realised how spectacular my inner woods are, I know that there has to be more.

There has to be a bigger picture that I am part of. There has to be something more that I am meant to do.

There are countless women out there who feel lost, who are looking for more meaning in their lives.

There are countless women who have forgotten, or who never even learned, just how fucking amazing they are.

We all have Gifts and talents.

We are all worthy.

We are all creative.

We are allowed to be and do all the amazing things we want.

But we forget.

I want to remind women that all the strength they will ever need lies inside them, untapped resources, treasures buried in the Shadows.

I want to be the torch-bearer too, the one who shines a light in the darkness, because let’s face it, sometimes diving into your own interior world can be pretty dark and scary.

It’s what I’m meant to be doing.

This is why I don’t do this work in a vacuum.

I have to integrate it into my life, and then I have to integrate with the outer world so that more women get to experience this.

This inner work that I do … to dive into my own wounding patterns, to de-program my negative self-beliefs, to learn how to love myself … I truly believe that everyone can do this work.

Some Ideas on Where You Can Find Ways into the Inner Work

So, the first place is right here in A Cauldron of Crones … you can dive into our website and find lots of inspiration for your own inner journey in our stories about ours. You can even find journal prompts to get you started inside our regular Bite Sized Bravery posts.

I know that I am very lucky, and that not everyone is as fortunate as I am and may not be able to afford to work with a guide like Hayley Curtis, but everyone can read her Instagram page which is full of the juiciest content.

And of course, there’s the Gene Keys website which has got so much amazing content, even if you can’t afford to purchase one of their courses. You can also sign up for The Pulse newsletter and get access to an audio of the Gene Key of the week for free.

And there is also the Gene Keys Instagram page, which is just wonderful. Richard Rudd drops in with his morning contemplations sometimes, and they’re an absolute tonic!

And as for journaling, which is my go-to method of contemplation … all you need is some paper and a pen, and the willingness to show up for yourself.

And if you’re put off by the blank page and wonder, where shall I start?, then you could always have a look at my Pinterest board, Wonders out of a Redhead Motivation … there are motivational quotes and questions to get your journaling juices flowing.