As more and more women are adopting a spiritual life path, women’s circles are replacing drug and alcohol-induced wild nights out at the club.

While these kinds of parties certainly have their time and place, many women are searching for different and deeper ways to connect with other women.

If you’ve been feeling this too, and want to create a space for your girls, you don’t need any special yoga or teacher’s certificate to do so. All you need is an open mind, an open heart, and just a little bit of creativity.

Here are 10 easy steps to help you bring the girls together. Each circle or gathering can be re-invented by using different music and tasks from the list below.

1. Find a co-creator. Although you certainly can make a women’s circle on your own, having a teammate allows different ideas, different perspectives, and someone to bounce creative ideas off of.

2. Choose a special date or theme. The full moon is an obvious one and a natural place to start. Many women are already looking for ways to connect with others on the full moon, a time when the feminine energy of Earth is at its fullest. Other days to explore are new the moon, solstice, and equinox, International Woman’s Day, and International Yoga Day.

3. Designate a start and finish time and stick to it. Two hours is good to start. Many women have children and other obligations, and no one should feel like they are leaving in the middle of something if they have to go tend to their families. Women can stay around after to socialize, but close the circle at the time you’ve outlined.

4. Keep it clean. While it might be tempting to serve wine or a glass of bubbly, these are mood-altering substances that can mask true feelings and detour women from being their true and authentic selves. Herbal tea or a raw cacao elixir might be a better option for clear intention setting.

5. Set the space. A large area where everyone can sit in a circle on the ground is ideal. This can be outdoors if weather permits, a large room in your house with furniture moved aside, or at a community hall. Invite women to bring a cushion if there aren’t enough to go around. Sheer fabrics over lamps and calming yoga music can create a lovely ambiance.

6. Build an altar. Invite women to bring something special to them for the altar such as jewelry, crystals, yoni eggs, flowers, or deity statues. Building an altar together creates community and a space to meet others through sharing art expression.

Have the base altar prepared before everyone arrives with satin fabric colored to suit your theme, along with candles, incense, sage for smudging, and a few flowers. You may also spread divination cards out for everyone to choose—they can read their message and talk about how it relates to their current life during their introduction.

7. Create a theme exercise for the evening. If it’s a full moon, that’s a time for letting go. Invite the women to write on a piece of paper anything they want to let go of. When they’re finished, they can read it aloud, which gives it power and brings it to life. Then, find a way to destroy the paper as symbolism of the letting go process. If it’s safe to make a small fire, that would be ideal, however, ripping the paper up can also work well.

Google can be a great ally. Research how others celebrate the full moon, new moon, and solstice to get ideas. Get creative and have fun.

8. The sacred circle. After everyone sits in a circle, you may choose to pass a sage stick around so each woman can smudge the woman next to her. Thank them for coming. Explain the intention for the evening and any exercises you’ve prepared. Allow everyone in the circle to speak one by one. They can say their names and answer two short questions about themselves so everyone gets to know each other.

Some ideas for opening questions:

>> What called you to the circle tonight?
>> What do you do for a living?
>> Where are you from?
>> What are you working toward?
>> Who inspires you?
>> What do you love most about being a woman?

You can also have a fluffy ball or stuffed animal to pass to another woman across the circle after speaking until everyone has had a turn. Bringing a bit of play into the opening can be a great ice-breaker.

After opening introductions, invite everyone to move in silence as they build an altar together and delicately arrange their sacred items. Removing the spoken word during this process allows connection at a deeper level, as the women must be very present with each other in order to communicate through eyes and hand signals.

The altar building can follow the same theme as the chosen exercise for that evening.

9. Final sharing circle. This is possibly the most important part of the evening, so allow 15 to 30 minutes for it. After completing the exercises, invite each woman to share her experience of the evening. Many women have very deep experiences at women’s circles and this is the space to truly express what’s in her heart. Tears may flow, and there may be laughter, hugs, and connection. Embrace all of it.

10. Closing the circle. After every woman has had a chance to speak, ask everyone to hold hands and look around into the eyes of everyone who joined with a nod of recognition and gratitude. If chanting “Om” resonates with you, you may do that three times to close the circle.

That’s it! You can infuse every circle you host with different themes, exercises, and questions to keep the experience unique each time.

Most importantly, keep it light and have fun. This is as much a journey for you as it is the other women who attend.

 

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Author: Nolita Ananda 

Image: Ryan Moreno/Unsplash 

Editor: Catherine Monkman