an ancient tradition
a return to the matriarchy
Women’s circles used to be commonplace.
SISTERHOOD WAS WEAVED INEXTRICABLY INTO OUR LIVES.
We gathered in simple ways. In sacred ways. In rebellious ways.
We shared stories around kitchen tables, crackling fires, milking pails and weaving looms.
We passed on wisdom in red tents, grand houses, old barns and ancient woodlands.
We shared truths with children, sisters, mothers, aunts and friends.
We shared in collective ritual at seasonal sabbats, births, deaths and marriages.
Women gathered to give voice to their lives, to tell their stories, to pass down their experiences, the traditions, and their ancestors’ ways.
To feel the thread of sisterhood and shared wisdom.
They gathered to be heard and witnessed in all the pain, joy, loss, grief and love that is the human experience.
They gathered to be held, and to hold others, in both the big, and small, moments in their lives.
And they did so in a space where their voices weren’t wrong; or talked over. Where they were encouraged to take up space, to count, to matter.
These gatherings were the original ‘village’ - an intergenerational space where women were bonded by things that run deep as bone.
AS THE WORLD CHANGED THOUGH, SO TOO DID THE WAY WE GATHERED.
And spaces where we can be our most authentic selves, without judgment, are becoming harder and harder to find.
Women’s circles are how we find our way back to our shared wisdom, to ourselves, and to each other.
They are spaces where we can bring ritual to the passing of time, to seasonal shifts, to milestones and moments of discovery.
Where we can reflect on our lives, on the lives of each other, and remember the thread of shared experiences runs through us all.
Where we can connect more deeply with ourselves, with our inner voice and wisdom - and with each other, bringing comfort by simply showing up and being there for ourselves, and each other.
About me…
I trained in women’s circles 2022 and have been running circles, retreats and events ever since. I am also a mentor and head of community for Sister Stories (the leading women’s circle training in the UK), training and supporting more women in how to run women’s circles. And, a couple of years ago, I founded a successful nationwide online women’s circle directory for circles in the UK and online.
My journey to circle was a circular one (!) but one that, when I found it, tied together all the threads of my life, like the answer to an eternal question I had always been asking.
The things that have always been important to me - supportive and compassionate female spaces, inspiring words and stories, gathering with others, a connection to nature, self-knowledge, soulfulness, hosting and holding space for women, creating beautiful experiences, music, finding my inner wildness - all came together when I discovered how powerful the simple magic of circles can be.
It takes a village, they tell us, but that village has all but disappeared. Women’s circles answer some of that need, by providing the regularity of a space to share, to bear witness, to connect more deeply to ourselves, to nature and to the wild women around, and within, us.
There is so much power simply in sitting in circle with other women. Feeling the soft, wild courage of other women. Understanding a sisterhood that goes beyond what you know and reaches back to something ancient and ancestral.
I believe deeply in the power of female voices and stories, and in creating beautiful spaces for women to come together, to find sanctuary and soulful connection as often as they need it. We all need a space that we can rely on, where we can come as we are, and be met in that place.
This place, is circle.
Circle enriched my life, my work, my family, my relationships and my community in so many ways - spiralling into a rich tapestry of experience, connection, knowledge and wisdom. I am enormously blessed to be able to call this my work in the world.
Circle work is my soul-food, my medicine, my way home and my journey forward.
My mission statement…
When I was training in circle, one of the exercises we did was profoundly illuminating - and really helped me to find a sense of purpose and direction. It was a simple journalling exercise, where we wrote down all the things we believed about our work in circle. We captured these thoughts without a need for clarification or perfection, they were just the words that came to us in that moment.The words below are what came to me then, and remain absolutely true for me now, over four years and more than 150 circles later…
I believe in the importance of slowing down and connecting with yourself and your community of sisters.
I believe in Sister Stories’ mission - that ‘going to circle’ should become as commonplace for women as going to yoga.
I believe we need regular ritual in our lives, something that signals to our minds and bodies that it is time to stop, to be curious and open.
I believe we all deserve the chance to spend time in the presence of beauty. That beauty is an access to joy. That we all deserve to make time for joy.
I believe in being inspired by the words and stories of others, that all women, all over the world, have a story to share and something to teach us.
I believe that my home can be a sanctuary for other women, a soft place to land and be held with love and intention.
I believe women deserve to feel special, important and loved, and I want to create a space that every time feels like it has been made just for them.
I believe that women are deeply rooted in nature and the more we connect with our wildness, the more we can connect to ourselves and each other.
I believe that women are wise and magical beings and that we have only just begun to touch the possibility of our power.
And I believe that we have never, ever needed a circle space more.