History Main / TheHecateSisters

** Hecate herself avoids this, as not just her three aspects when she's represented such way have the same age, each one ''is'' Hecate too (ie, she's better described as three-formed/three-bodied than as a triple goddess.)

* As an exploration of themes regarding femininity, it is fitting that the women of ''Theatre/OnTheVerge'' form this trinity: Alex (the Maiden), Fanny (the Mother), and Mary (the Crone).

* In RealLife, while there have since been several triple-goddesses, the idea of Maiden, Mother, and Crone is almost certainly modern, invented in the 20th century. In ancient times, goddess triplets were depicted as [[TheWeirdSisters equally old]]. The trope's widespread application to numerous goddesses from multiple pantheons is certainly entirely modern.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has a total of 4 mystical BarrierMaiden{{s}}, but accomplishes this trope through the 3 Maidens that [[TheDragon Cinder]] faces in her quest to steal all the power for herself. The first Maiden she pursues is Fall, a naive and inexperienced young woman named Amber. The second Maiden she pursues is Spring, who turns out to be [[spoiler: Raven, the mother of heroine Yang]], who gained her powers a decade prior. The third Maiden is Winter, who turns out to be an elderly woman at the very end of her life. Fria's declining health does not prevent her from demonstrating what a Maiden with decades of experience can do. The final Maiden, Summer, remains unknown.

[[quoteright:294:[[UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hectatesisters.gif]]]]
[[caption-width-right:294:Waxing, full, and waning.]]

* The Sanderson Sisters in ''Film/HocusPocus'' and ''Film/HocusPocusTwo''; Sarah the youngest is the Maiden, Mary the right hand one to Winnie is the Matron, and Winnie takes on the role of the Crone.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'': Princess Amelia, a just young woman with [[BlackAndWhiteMorality clear-cut morals]] is the maiden, Lina, an intelligent yet [[HairTriggerTemper short-tempered]] sorceress, is the mother, and Milina, a [[SugarAndIcePersonality snarky, cold]] mercenary, is the crone.

* ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' has CuteWitch Tabitha (mauden), HotWitch Samanths (Mother), and WickedWitch Endora (Crone).

* In the prologue episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'', the three people most involved with the Gundam Lfrith are developer Dr. Cardo Nabo (crone), test pilot Elnora Samaya (mother), and her daughter Ericht [[spoiler]]who ends up activating it[[/spoiler]] (maiden).

* ''Series/{{Bewitched}} has CuteWitch Tabitha (mauden), HotWitch Samanths (Mother), and WickedWitch Endora (Crone).

If, as is often the case, [[TheWeirdSisters the three are witches]], the maiden will usually be a CuteWitch or a HotWitch if a bit older, the mother will be a HotWitch in the maiden isn't, while the crone almost always conforms to [[DarkIsNotEvil at least the visual stereotype]] of the WickedWitch.

If, as is often the case, [[TheWeirdSisters the three are witches]], the maiden (and sometimes the mother) will usually be a HotWitch, while the crone almost always conforms to [[DarkIsNotEvil at least the visual stereotype]] of the WickedWitch.

* ‘’Manga/FairyTail’’: Lucy Heartfilia, a newcomer to the guild, is the Maiden, Erza Scarlet, who is rather no nonsense, is the Mother and Mirajane Strauss whose power is considerable is the Crone.

* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'' has the witchy generations of the daughter Marnie Piper (the main character and interested in witchcraft), the mother Gwen Piper (who tries to protect her children from witchcraft), and the grandmother Aggie Cromwell (a skilled witch). This makes them partially overlap with ThreeSucessfulGeneration or rather, subvert it.

* Creator/GustavKlimt's ''The Three Ages of Woman'', showing an old woman, a mother, and a female child intertwined with each other in Klimt's signature stylized style.

This trope has the unusual distinction of being either OlderThanFeudalism, or NewerThanTheyThink: Most of what we know about triple-goddess mythology comes from the author and mythologist Robert Graves, who, like many of his early 20th-century contemporaries, tended to add his own ideas wherever he felt they were needed. Initially, the triad reassembled more TheWeirdSisters, with no substantial variations in the goddesses' personalities. When Graves got his hands in the matter we got the idea of each goddess symbolizing a stage of womanhood.

* In the book series ''Literature/NightWorld'', witches' rank is described as a mother, a maiden, or a crone. The heads of the witch clan are also split up into this, with each being described as the head of their third of the group.

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', some asari (including squad member [[HotScientist Liara T'Soni]]) worship the goddess Athame, who cycles between maiden, matron, and matriarch stages. This was once the most popular religion among asari, but it has been supplanted by siari. Asari themselves cycle through these stages during their lengthy lifespans, with each stage being about three hundred years long.

* Mercedes Lackey's ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series features a ''four''fold goddess of the [[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] and Shin'a'in peoples, who adds the Warrior to the standard trio of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. As patron of main character Tarma in the ''Vows and Honor'' books and a fairly active diety in other stories, the Warrior is the only aspect seen. The three sister goddesses Agnetha, Agnira, and Agnoma, as mentioned in ''By the Sword,'' may also fit the trope with Agnira as Maiden/Warrior, Agnetha as Mother, and Agnoma (who is not described beyond the fact that snowflakes are her emblem) as the likely Crone. To complement the fourfold Goddess there is a Fourfold ''male'' deity, with faces matching that of the Goddess: the Rover, to match the Maiden, for East; the Guardian to match the Warrior, in the South; the Hunter, to match the Mother, in the West; and lastly the Guide, to complement the Crone, for North. Vkandis Sunlord of Karse is hinted to be the same or related to this male deity and is mentioned to have aspects corresponding to the passage of the sun across the sky, appearing in disguise as a child ("sun-in-morning") to Alberich.