About The Wild Circle…
Meeting in circle offers a space for you to be exactly who you are, with no judgement, no interruptions, no expectations.
You come as you are, and you are met in that place. You can share your stories and experiences, reflections on your life, in whatever way you need to, knowing that you will be met only with openness and compassion.
Women’s circles used to be commonplace. They were how we weaved sisterhood into our lives.
Women have always gathered - around kitchen tables, crackling fires, milking pails and weaving looms; in red tents, grand houses, old barns and ancient woodlands; with children, sisters, mothers, aunts and friends; at seasonal sabbats, births, deaths and marriages.
They gathered to give voice to their lives, to tell their stories, to pass down wisdom, to feel the thread of sisterhood and shared experience.
They gathered in a space where their voices weren’t wrong; or talked over. 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.
They were the original ‘village’ - an intergenerational space where women were bonded by things that run so much deeper than anything that might divide us.
Where we felt the ebb and flow of the seasons, where we shared the challenges of motherhood, marriage, relationships, health, work, family, and more. Where we remembered our intuitive wisdom, and welcomed that of others. Where we sunk quietly into silence and reflection. Where we connected deeply with Mother Earth, and the tonic of wildness that flows through us all.
As the world changed though, so too did the way we gathered. And spaces where we can be our most authentic selves, without judgement, 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.
What happens in a women’s circle?
We gather - physically, or online - at an agreed time, for around 90 minutes, once a week or fortnight.
A circle might involve a welcome check-in, meditation or grounding exercises, a reference or link to the seasons, a chance to share stories or experiences, moments of quiet inner contemplation, music, sharing of words or poetry, inspiration and compassion.
You could think of it as a combination of a yoga class, a coffee morning and a support group - but it is also so much more than that.
The Wild Circle offers space and sanctuary for the soul; a chance to connect deeply with the wildness inside all of us; and the space to be truly seen, and heard. Inspired by the circling of the year, the seasons and beautiful writings by women, each session guides you through the current season, with reflections on how nature’s eternal cycles connect with our own inner landscape, and the sharing of words and inspiration from across literature and poetry.
We will tell stories, share our truth, sit in witness to the stories of other women and feel the invisible thread of sisterhood that connects us all. You do not always have to share at a circle, it is absolutely ok to simply bear witness and sit in compassionate silence with other women.
If joining The Wild Circle sounds like something that will feed your soul and offer the space and sanctuary you need in daily life, then please see here for details of my sessions.
About me…
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.
I run women’s circles and grief groups throughout Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, bringing women together for regular moments of ritual, reflection and connection, with a focus on returning to nature, connecting with inner selves and speaking openly without fear of judgement.
“I believe we all need a space that we can rely on, where we can come as we are, and be met in that place. 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.”
I have been been running women circles and grief spaces since 2022, and trained in circle facilitation and space holding with the UK’s leading circle training - Sister Stories - for whom I now also co-manage training and community engagement.
“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.”
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.
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 two years and more than 70 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.