How to Host a

Women’s Circle
By Lauren Morgan
www.laurelcrownhealing.com

Page 2… Introduction: Why Hold Women’s Circles?

Page 4… What is a Women’s Circle?

Page 5… Finding the Intention for Your Women’s Circle

Page 6… Things to Consider in Planning Your Women’s Circle

Page 7… Preparing to Host

Page 8 … Preparing & Creating Your Space

Page 9… Building an Altar

Page 10… Sending an Email to Your Attendees

Page 11… Format for Circle

Page 13… Changing Facilitators

Page 14… A Blessing

© Lauren Morgan 2018

www.laurelcrownhealing.com

Unlimited distribution with proper acknowledgment is highly encouraged.

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♥ The WHY of Women’s Circles…
It's not an exaggeration for me to say that I believe that women's circles can and
will change the world.

For those of you that have ever been in a women's circle, you know what I'm
talking about.

That magic, that potency, that love, that juiciness, that feeling of…
"so right"
"so powerful"
"so much love"
…it is a force like no other.

There are almost no words to describe it.

It's elusive, and palpable, and breath taking.
It's rare that it doesn't bring me to tears.

And the greatest magic of all, is that one woman cannot bring this juice, this
feeling, this grace, on her own.

It takes a group, it takes the wisdom, energy, love and willingness of group of
women present.

When a group of women gather together, in an intentional and sacred way, to

honor themselves, each other, and all of life- Grace inevitably arrives and sweeps
a healing salve through the hearts of each woman present.

Each woman then leaves, juiced up, ready to go and return to her
home/family/community/workplace with that Grace in tow.

And voila… the world changes.

Groups of women have gathered together in these ways all across the world and
for as long as we have known.

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The feminine principle (Yin) inherently wants to connect.
To understand.
To empathize.
To have compassion for.
To be in rapport with.
To move towards compassion.
To build relationship.

And so, when groups of women come together, there arises the opportunity for
each one present to not only see… but to feel/experience/embody "I'm not alone."

In whatever ways that realization needs to occur.

That realization may be from...

∞ a new mother in a Mom’s Group who realizes "I'm not the only one struggling
with this change… maybe i'm not a terrible mother after all…"

∞ a career woman in a Women in Business Group who realizes "I'm not the only
one challenged by being a strong woman in my workplace, maybe I'm not a crazy
b*&ch after all like everyone makes me feel…"

∞ a young woman in a Goddess Circle who realizes "I'm not the only one for
whom the concept of "being feminine" feels foreign. Maybe there isn’t something
inherently wrong with me…”

∞ a woman in a Women’s Book Group who realizes "I'm not the only one who
feels like this book group is my lifeline to sanity! Maybe I’m not so alone after
all…”

... or whatever else may be there/may arise!

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♥ The WHAT of Women’s Circles…
Women's circles can be dedicated to as diverse an amount of topics/intentions as
there are women.

You can put any parameters you would like on the women's circle.

I like to keep it open by saying "all who identify as women are welcome to
attend."

So you can keep it completely open to all who identify as women, or if you feel
called to put more parameters around the circle then you can do so!

You can form a women's circle specific to women who are at a particular stage of
life, such as...

• New mothers
• New wives/partners
• Empty nesters
• Crones
• Business/boss ladies

Or you can form around any other intention you would like! Some examples
include...

• Cultivatingrelationship with the Feminine Spirit / Yin Nature

• Exploring various cross-cultural goddesses
• Exploring menstrual mysteries
• Reading a particular book or exploring a particular topic

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Your Turn!
For you to think about and fill in…

Who is welcome to attend my women's circle?

Examples…
∞ All who identify as women
∞ New Mothers
∞ Women over 40
∞ Grandmothers
…anything else!

What is the intention of my women's circle?

Examples
∞ Cultivate relationship with the feminine spirit/Yin nature
∞ Study the Yoga Sutras
∞ Cultivate relationship to dreamtime
∞ Learn about the Moon
∞ Learn about different Goddesses
… anything else!

Add to those intentions, these intentions...

∞ Feel seen and heard by other women
∞ Strengthen connection of sisterhood in their lives

Put those three phrases together…

"This women's circle is for
who want to
and want to feel seen and heard by other women and strengthen the
connection of sisterhood in their lives."

Voila! You have the sacred intention for your women’s circle.

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♥ Things to Consider…

How many women in a circle?

8 is a great number, so is 13. Then again, so is 3 and so is 20. I would leave this to
you (the facilitator) and your comfort, as well as the limits of the space you are
holding the circle in, and your intuition about what would best serve the
intentions for your circle.

Small groups create more intimacy and space for deep sharing. It can also feel
more vulnerable for some women.

Large groups have a powerful group energy (more people=more energy) but can
lead to feelings of anonymity… which can be good or bad, depending on the
woman.

Trust your guts on what feels right, you can always change in the future.

# of Women in my circle:

Is your women’s circle invite only, or to be open to all?

This will depend on a few things such as your intention, your community and your
comfort as facilitator.

Clearly if you know enough women that might be interested then go ahead and
invite them, maybe there’s enough to fill the circle.

If you are open to all, then you can share your circle by creating an event on social
media, by creating flyers to hang in your community, by telling other women you
know about what you’re doing.

My circle is open or invite only?

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Is women’s circle drop-in (where the group changes each
meeting) or the same group that stays together over time?
There are benefits to both ways of doing it.

Benefit of same group over time = a deep sense of safety and connectedness
builds week by week, and in that safety and connection there is an ever deeper
potential for deep sharing, deep transformation, etc.

Benefits of changing it each week = women are busy, and we can’t always commit
to attending something every week, every month, etc. Keeping it open means
that more women might be able to come each meeting. It also means that you
can “spread the love farther” and that more women can be touched by the time,

and perhaps even then take it to their own communities. It’s up to you, your
community and your intentions

My circle is drop-in or same group over time?

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♥ Preparing for the Circle
1. Creating the Space
Sensuality and beauty are both attributes of the feminine/yin nature, so make
sure you make the space where the women’s circle is held be beautiful! No your
house doesn’t have to be perfect or pristinely cleaned, but make it look and feel
like a special space … this will make the women who come more able to tap into
the specialness inside of them!

Thoughts on creating the space…

- Have candles lit around the room
- Have fresh flowers around the room
- Drape some beautiful fabrics or linens around the room
- Have beautiful soft music playing as women arrive

2. Preparing the Space

In whatever ways are in alignment with your walk, your tradition, your beliefs,
mark the space as sacred. Favorite ways to do so are to…
- Smudge with white sage, sweetgrass or other herbs before women
arrive
- Burn candles in the room ahead of time to purify and illuminate
- Have an aromatherapy burner or diffuser releasing beautiful
essential oils into the air
- Say a prayer, in whatever tradition you follow, asking to bless,
consecrate, purify and illuminate the space for the women who are
coming

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3. Crafting an Altar
“Altar” is a fancy name for a place that has been declared as sacred that grounds
and holds the intentions of a gathering.

It also serves as a “focal point” at the center of a circle, which everyone can focus
on and ground into. There is no right or wrong way to make an altar, truly! Follow
your heart, your inner guidance, and your particular tradition and beliefs as to
what feels best. Making it look pretty never hurts either! Here are a few ideas on
crafting an altar for a women’s circle…

- Have a special “altar cloth” (piece of fabric, fur linen, scarf) that
holds all altar items
- Have a candle burning at the center of the altar to represent
illumination, connection to divinity, etc
- Have other symbols or images that represent the intentions of the
evening or group such as…
1. A chalice/bowl/cauldron to represent the feminine
2. Fresh flowers to represent new life
3. Statues of goddesses or other deities that you will be working
with
4. Stones, crystals, herbs that have special meaning for you or for
the intention
5. Oracle cards or tarot cards that have special archetypal
significance for the intentions
6. Pictures of ancestors, grandmothers, or other special female
people whose energy you’d like to include
- A lovely thing is to ask each woman attending to bring one (or many!)
items to add to the altar. This creates the feeling of group cohesion,
inclusion and shared energy. Make sure to remind everyone to grab
their items off the altar before they leave for the night!

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4. Sitting in a Circle
Circles are feminine, they represent flow, flowing with, inclusion, equality, and
the cyclic ever-changing nature of life. Sitting in a circle creates an inclusive juicy
energy that is unlike sitting in straight lines, rows, etc.

If your space allows, I absolutely recommend having everyone sit in a circle,

around the center altar. If you have enough pillows, cushions and chairs for
everyone then you can prearrange the circle before folks arrive. Or, you can ask
all the women to bring their own pillow/cushion/chair to the evening.

Some women will prefer to sit on the floor, and some will prefer to sit in their
chair. As always, whatever is most comfortable for them is what they should do.

5. Email to the group ahead of time

In an email to all who are attending the circle, let them know…

- What time circle starts and what time they can arrive
- Any special instructions on parking/finding the location
- What they should bring for the altar
- If they can / cannot bring food items with them
- If tea and water or other snacks will be provided
- If they need to bring something to sit on
- If there is a dress code, such as “dress your best Goddess self!”
- What the intention is for the week

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 Format for Circle
1) Welcome everyone. Introduce yourself, introduce concept of women’s
circles, introduce intention of tonight’s circle

2) Share the ground rules

• Everything that is shared is confidential
• Don’t halt or interrupt a woman’s process
• Compassionate listening as rule

3) Go around the circle and have each woman to share their name and Why
they are here tonight?

4) Share a grounding prayer/song/meditation, ideas include…

• Say a short prayer according to your tradition
• Sing a song that everyone knows or can easily learn
• Do a guided meditation to ground and connect to Mother Earth
• Share 10 breaths in silence while holding hands
• Whatever else feels right!

5) Share the Intention for this Night

6) Do a Process that invokes and cultivates the intention. Ideas include….

• Talking about and meditating with a particular Goddess figure
• Writing down intention of releasing for the new moon
• Doing a creative process to illustrate the dreams of the full moon
• Craft a medicine item with natural materials that embodies a process
you are in
• Lie down and take a drum journey to your higher selves for a message of
wisdom
• Meditate to transcendant music asking for heart healing
• … BE CREATIVE!!! Your ideas are perfect, trust them and try them out!

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7) Come back together and share a Talking Stick Ceremony
• Rules of Talking Stick Ceremony (name aloud):
1. Speak from the heart
2. Listen from the heart
3. Be concise
4. Be Spontaneous
5. Only the one with talking stick may speak. This can be hard for
women sometimes, especially when the woman sharing is
feeling strong emotions, but it’s good practice! For us to listen
and be present without needing to change or fix it.
(resource: animus institute.com)

8) As time allows, do 1 or 2 rounds of Talking Stick, where each woman has

the opportunity to speak from her heart, sharing about the experience of
the night, or anything else on her heart that she needs to share and have
be witnessed.

9) Share closing remarks

10) Share when the group will meet again and what the intention is, who
the facilitator will be

11) Pray/sing/drum/dance the circle to a close

12) If possible, allow time for mingling, over snacks or beverages or a bar
of chocolate. The energy of mingling helps to break up and close out the
women’s circle and fosters the feeling of beautiful community.

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 Changing Facilitators
A lovely element of women’s circles is that it operates under the belief that each
woman is her own best teacher, healer, leader, mentor.

A way to really honor this and to “share the leadership load” is to rotate who
facilitates, either every meeting or every so often or whenever anyone else feels
ready to step in.

The facilitator’s job is to set the space, do the opening and closing
prayers/meditations, and overall guide the process.

Some women have more experience facilitating than others, just like with all
things! This does not make her better or more capable, it just means she has
more experience.

It’s always nice to extend the offer to other women to see if they would like to
facilitate next time. And if no one is comfortable facilitating, maybe someone is
comfortable to start leading meditations, or organizing the art projects, or
whatever else is in alignment with their gifts.

Always be opening and searching for opportunities to “share the load” and “pass
the baton.”

Always be witnessing each woman in her radiant self, her great wisdom, her full
power, and encouraging her true voice.

Always intend for, and name aloud, that women’s circles are non-hierarchical and
that we honor each woman as the authority of her own life, body and voice.

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 A Blessing on Your Women’s Circles
May we all remember…
That we are in this together and that we are not alone
And that what happens to one of us, happens to all of us
For we all belong in the Web of Life

May we all have access to the spaces, places and beings

whom remind us…
That we are beautiful
That we are needed
That we are enough
And that we belong.

May every word we speak and action we take be a blessing

for All of Life.

Blessed Be.

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