Women’s Circles,
Women’s Wisdom
....in circles where we face
ourselves,
we listen like a miracle,
and I reclaim the song which is mine....
~ Janice Mirikitani
If you are a woman,
I recommend that you visit this page and consider joining or starting
a women’s circle to support and further your own journey of body,
mind and spiritual growth.
C.C. - Ghent, NY
About Women's Circles
Once a month we gather as close to the date of the new moon as possible. We meet at this time
so that we may align with the lunar energies of rebirth, reawakening and
beginning anew. To cleanse and clear our energies, habits and patterns
that no longer support us. As we become more aware of this powerful resource
that is available to us, life shifts, becomes more effortless and feels
like it flows.
We meet in the group leader’s home,
in a garden, on the beach, or in different members’ homes, whatever
place can best create a safe and inviting environment for sharing, listening
and reflecting. Each month we contribute by bringing healthy snacks, flowers
and/or unscented candles and co-creating the space together.
At our gathering, we share a theme that is indigenous to the time of year
or holiday, or a theme requested from the group leaders. We make time
to share within our circle and there is always an invitation to do "homework"
during the month.
It is our intention in creating these circles that we truly do evolve,
body, mind and spirit. Our themes will focus on all of these aspects of
ourselves. You will be invited and encouraged to take on a project. Possibly
something that you have only dreamed of, and now, feel an urge to blossom.
And you will be invited to stretch into new places, in new ways, always
honoring your pace.
As with everything, we get out what we put in. The more you use the reflection,
wisdom and support of the remarkable vessel that a circle can be, the
more abundance you will feel.
A gathering of women each new moon for
almost three years: what a powerful and deeply supportive experience.
We sat in a circle, held in the nurturing energy of our facilitator, Naomi
Call. We took turns providing a beautiful spread of healthy snacks and
a colorful center piece of flowers and candles. We shared and listened
to intimate moments, celebrating and supporting each other from month
to month. Our trust and bond grew in strength, our walls and sense of
separateness diminished. Deep friendships developed as the group itself
took on its own energy and personality. Naomi moved away...although the
group as it was no longer meets, its spirit lives on in each of us. I
am ever grateful and feel blessed to have been part of this extraordinary
experience, and carry it with me as I sit with a new group of women...
Valerie Toenes - Chatham, NY
History
of the New Moon Gatherings
Historically, women of multiple generations came together at this time. They gathered in "red tents" sharing their stories and supporting each other. For this was a time when women were more harmonized with the moon. When women lived off of the land and were out in the moonlight more they used to start their menstrual cycles in the dark of the moon. The full moon was their ovulation time, a time to be with their mate. Just like in nature. However in this day and age, with more time inside, streetlights and very different eating and living habits, women have fallen out of harmonizing with nature.
My own experience with women’s circles began many years ago when I joined my first group in rural upstate New York. It was a bunch of rather wild women who met on every full moon. They came together to support each other; sharing their stories, lives, gifts, wisdom and food, often experiencing nature with raw, ecstatic enthusiasm, jumping nude into cold lakes or making snow angels au natural in the glowing moonlight.
And as fun and nourishing as it was, it seemed to only whet my appetite for something deeper. I searched within myself for something different and more reflective. Through these meetings I became more conscious of the lunar cycle in my personal life. I began to study about the history of women, their cycles and their evolving relationship to the moon. I witnessed that many of my students, too, felt unsupported and were in search of a union they had yet to find.
My desire to honor my ancestors was strong and has continued to be a guiding light. For traditionally it was in the dark of the moon, or new moon, that women historically came together.
I created the first new moon women’s circle in New York many years
ago, and it blossomed into one of the greatest experiences and continual
supports of my life. It was very hard to leave that group that met every
month for years when I relocated to California in 2005. I felt like I
had an inkling of what life in a tribe was like, what sisterhood is, and
the strength of the bonds that form between women with a shared purpose.
After physically leaving this group of unforgettable women, I yearned
to continue a spiritual connection and to create a continuum of our circle.
So I began another circle here in Southern California, and realized my desire was one of weaving these threads together. At the same time, I vowed to support women all over the world to revisit or find the gift of being in a circle. To pause once a month and honor: our feminine wisdom, our ancestors, our children and ourselves.
“...the night of the new moon....a time of inner reflection when cleansing the old and preparing the new is a powerful instinct for women”
Naomi Call
My
Guidance In Creating Your Own Women’s Circle
I invite you to join us wherever you live! Currently there
are a number of groups that meet on both coasts and a number of women
who join in individually.
If there is not an active group where you live, I can provide
you with resources and guidance to create your own. These resources include:
• List of all of the new moons of the year and inspiring astrological or historical information that feels relevant.
• Monthly conference calls with other women who are guiding groups. These are a delightful experience of sharing and co-creating themes for our next meeting that will nurture all of the women. We also share our different resources and experiences with each other.
• A specific theme for each meeting with corresponding ideas and exercises that you personalize in any way you wish. Often inspiring quotes are read by each of the group leaders in our individual groups, harmonizing tones and energies across the country.
• Support from me through calls or emails to help with ideas for your group. Or, to simply be a clearing for you before you welcome women into your home for a circle.
Any way that I can nourish and support you to have the confidence and connection to create a circle I will strive to provide. I am deeply honored to source another opportunity for women to evolve and to enliven their joy and spirit!
Being a group guide is a rewarding experience that teaches us about ourselves, about listening and about being a woman. Joining a women’s circle can be a soul-enriching, life-supporting and spirit-growing experience you will cherish every month and throughout your days.
One woman's experience....
Last August I received an email from a woman I’d met at a poetry reading, named Naomi...her idea was to use women’s energy and strength to help each member join in an exploration of “our mutual journey of womanhood”. The commitment would be for one year—thirteen meetings scheduled on the night of the new moon.
The email was pretty directive in possible ways to prepare to get the most out of the group, beginning with the first meeting. She made clear that the group would be a working group, with homework assignments and the expectation that each member would work between sessions to carve out time for herself to follow up the group theme.
Only
a short time prior to receiving this email I would more than likely have
deleted it, thinking dismissive thoughts about New Age nonsense. I did
not delete it however and found myself giving serious thought to whether
it was something I wanted to do. A stumbling block was that it would mean
driving for an hour to attend and many of the meetings would fall on work
nights. Despite this I leaned towards accepting the invitation. I was
very aware of the impending departure of my youngest daughter for college
in less than a month. Along with the many emotions this stirred up in
me was the feeling of being abruptly old. A household with no children
in it held the shadowy possibility of a house that would become static,
nothing growing in it, a slowing down, a turning in on itself. This group
would be led by an interesting woman in her forties, whose outlook on
life was much different from my own. I tried to get my friend Alyce to
come with me but she had just ended a long-term women’s spirituality
group and was not ready to sign on to any other group. My 23 year old
daughter Leah overheard me saying Alyce wasn’t going to come with
me and I really didn’t know if I could face the drive alone, especially
in the winter months. Leah said” I’ll go with you ,mom”.
Naomi thought it would be wonderful to have mother/daughter energy in
the group.
Leah and I are the youngest and oldest members of the group.
The New Moon group emphasizes doing and acting, in contrast to so many other groups where talking has almost seemed like an end in itself. I have seen women take steps with the group’s support. The year is coming to an end and the group has to decide if it will continue for another round of new moons. Unlike last year I’d have no hesitation in wanting to continue the enrichment that the group has provided in my life.
N.Walsh - MA
