Faces of the Crone: Roz Bound

Roz Bound could be considered as one of the pillars of The Goddess Conference. For years she held the registration desk with her firm but gentle energy, but there is so much more to this amazing Crone woman.

Roz grew up in a conservative environment, where girls grew up to be wives and there was no need to develop any talents. Roz told once that she despite this, started her BA at 24, but because of all that happened in her life – including following her husband to different countries and later becoming a single mother – she graduated at 56 and got her Masters at 61, at which time she has already started to become part of The Goddess Conference family (she was there for the first year in 1995), and became a Doctor of Ministry in Wisdom Spirituality at 75.

Roz, who now lives in Canada with her partner Vicky, originally came from England and a retreat in her beloved Lyme Regis resulted in the collection of her first poetry book ‘Spirit of Lyme’ (2003), which was followed in 2012 by ‘The Fireman’s child’. Her latest book ‘Aging Consciously, Dying Awake’ was published at the Winter Solstice of 2022, just in time for the Crone Goddess Conference, in which Roz will be a presenter, undoubtedly talking about the topic of her book.

I got to know Roz, like everybody else who has ever gone to The Goddess Conference, at the registration of my first Conference. She was without a doubt the one who was in control, and I thought she must be the organiser of the conference at first. She held such strength and oversight of the seemingly chaotic situation. While I was waiting in the queue, I watched her showing people where to go, giving instructions, greeting others friendly, before moving to the next task and all with a smile on her face. I was well impressed.

Through the years I got to know Roz as an incredible reliable person, who was there when she was needed, but who also wasn’t afraid to shake off all responsibility and have fun. She was the turn-to person, with all the (practical) answers: whether it was which venue to go to, or what time a workshop started, or where to find the lost-and-found, Roz knew the answers.

I started to appreciate Roz as a writer first through her editorials of the Goddess Temple Newsletters. She always knew exactly to capture the energy of the season in the most beautiful prose. Roz also gave writing workshops at The Goddess Conference, which sadly I never managed to go to, but I was lucky enough to be able to listen to her wisdom shared on stage as a presenter.

It was lovely to celebrate Roz’s eightieth birthday in The Goddess Conference and understandable, but sad, that she decided to step down as Registration Pillar after 2019, after having been to every single Conference from the first one in 1995. It will be so lovely to see her again after three years, this Summer as she steps into the circle of Crone Priestesses, holding a strong ceremonial presence.

Roz was and will always be a great inspiration for me, in how she kept it all together in the midst of apparent chaos that is the beautiful world of Goddess, how she always had a listening ear and wisdom to share and how she would both physically, but more importantly energetically ‘hold the door’, the entrance portal into the ceremonial space, keeping us all safe. It is therefore that I continue to honour Roz Bound as trailblazing Goddess Conference Elder.

Goddess Conference co-organiser
Marion Brigantia van Eupen