According to Hopi Prophecy, “When the women gather the world will heal.” This embodies the concept of the need for divine feminine energy in communal leadership, after centuries of patriarchal control. In order to shift global perspectives and interactions from a masculine competition based system to an egalitarian, communal, and nurturing system, we need divine feminine energy in our leadership roles. As always we should clarify that both men and women all embody some combination of masculine and feminine energy traits, and the energies are not exclusive to genders. But under a patriarchal society we tend to value masculine energies/ values and ways of leading more than feminine.

 

 

 

If we truly hope to make a lasting impact on making the world around us better, we must begin by bettering ourselves, and for women this can be facilitated by regularly communing with like minded women to help heal our wounds, build each other up, and collaborate on bettering our communities. One powerful way to do this is by hosting or joining a women’s circle, or as Kellee likes to call them, Goddess Gatherings. Kellee was first introduced to women’s circle through an offshoot of Gather the Women, a global network that facilitates women’s circles.

 

 

 

Women’s circles help to provide a safe space for women to share their true selves, where they can find their voice, reclaim their power, and remember their self-worth. Together you can celebrate your unique diversity, while honoring the universal divine feminine energy to foster self-growth and planetary transformation.

 

 

 

While you can host a women’s gathering in any fashion you like, it’s helpful to follow some basic principles of women’s circle from indigenous cultures. These guidelines were developed around the feminine energies of equality, nurturing, and creating to successful host a gathering of women that will impart lasting impacts on the individuals involved and their communities.

 

 

 

 

Women's Gatherings have been documents through ancient art throughout history.

A History of Women’s Circles

 

From Worshipping the Divine Feminine to the Patriarchy

 

 

 

Before the rise of patriarchy, religion and community was matriarchal. After all women create life and their innate abilities revolved around keeping the tribe alive and nurtured. Evidence of communal circle gatherings dates back to prehistoric times. There is pre-historic art and ritual relics representative of the honoring of the divine feminine and in fact the primary representation of divinity was feminine. Societies were more communal at this time, and communing in circles for ritual, story-telling, dance and singing was commonplace.

 

 

 

Of course with the rise of patriarchy and its impact on religion, these traditions were lost and the emphasis shifted to more linear and hierarchical thinking. This shift transformed the communal egalitarian way of living to a more divisive competitive way of living. Today many indigenous groups still live communally and gather in circles as a part of their culture. These cultures still value the potent healing and enriched communication these gatherings bring.

 

 

 

As the women’s liberation movement grew, and evolved into the feminist movement, around the early 1980s, women’s circles were paramount to their success, as women from Western culture and all around the globe, either consciously or unconsciously remembered the power of meeting in circles. This has fostered a growing movement of women’s circles over the past thirty-plus years.

 

 

There are many ways to gather women in a sacred circle, find what works for your group.

What is a Women’s circle?

 

Why should we gather in circles?

 

This collaborative, versatile way of communing and communicating in a non-hierarchical way fosters equality, respect, and connection. Circles can be used to:

 

Share individual stories around a chosen theme

Celebrate in share ritual

Discuss important topics and share important information

Learn new skills or ideas

Be in ceremony

Honor the cycles of the Earth like the moon phases

Prepare food and meals

Sing and dance in community

Discuss community needs

Work through and resolve conflicts

 

 

The basic structure of the circle gatherings is to honor each individual’s voice. This moves away from the patriarchal / hierarchical system of leaders ruling and making decisions on behalf of a group or community.