Women's Circle
What is a Women’s Circle?
A womens circle is a gathering of women for women. They also go under the name of goddess circles, red tents, or moon lodges.
Ideally, they comprise women from every phase of life - maiden, maga, mother and crone.
Due to similarities between lunar cycles and female cycles, many gatherings take place during a new moon or full moon. Historically the moon has been seen as harnessing the divine feminine.
Women’s circles are a supportive environment in which women can feel heard, held and seen without judgment.
Toko Pa Turner wrote about the hunger we feel for connection in an age of screens and isolation:
The word ‘community’ is used often to describe the mashup of folks who have been
thrown together by geography and milieu. But there is another version of the word which conjures an image of living in intimate communion with others for a unified purpose. A vibrant hamlet where we of like-hearts dwell together.
We long for this life, in which everybody has a role to fill and all of our needs are met. But for the many of us who don’t have a sense of the village in our own lives, its very mention can be alienating. Community can feel like that oasis of hope that disappears the moment we get close to it. We speak about it yearningly, like a fairy tale we ache to find ourselves in. And its absence has a great presence in our lives.
In order to find it herself, Toko had to leave her comfort zone, meet strangers and allow herself to be vulnerable. But in doing so her life expanded out of sight.
What happens in our women circle?
Each event is different depending on the theme of the evening.
We open the meeting by discussing what is present in the collective energies.
Through sharing and activities, we connect as a sisterhood, each having the opportunity to share our wisdom and experiences.
We incorporate a calming ritual, guided meditation, oracle cards or intention-setting.
Aside from being all female, the format is fluid. Essentially, it is a space for self-reflection, laughter and rest, free of judgement.
Benefits of a Women’s Circle
As modern life becomes more demanding and stressful for the average women, we release ever more cortisol. The connection we feel during a women’s healing circle counters this by fostering oxytocin.
Women’s wellness circles also build a sense of community in an era of rampant loneliness and fragmentation. Having a supportive space to share what we’re going through helps unburden ourselves while realising we are not alone in our struggles.
Being an ancient tradition, we tap into the deep feminine collective conscious and continue the lineage of gathering, sharing stories, learning, laughing and healing.
