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CREATING WOMEN'S CIRCLES-Shared Stories-EARTH MEDICINE CIRCLE Ask for the Circle and the Circle Will Come… by Marion Mayer, R.N., M.S
My neighbor proposed we start our own circle. Her initiative and vision combined with my readiness to create circle came together at the perfect time. She had already gathered enough women who wanted to join, and if I would agree to facilitate... Presto! A dream come true! She suggested we meet on the eight major Pagan holidays. At the time I wasn't even sure what each of them was; The two Equinoxes, the two Solstices and the four cross quarter days. The intention of our circle was to honor our relationship to the earth, to utilize the power of these special days, to create a "sacred sisterhood," by sharing our wisdom and our stories, to bring forth healing and to empower our individual paths. Each circle would vary in what we did depending on the time of year and its significance. The Spring Equinox marked our first circle a year ago...what an auspicious time for a new beginning! It took several months for a core group to emerge. We wanted women who would commit to a years cycle. We chose to keep the group size small, to allow trust to build and create intimacy. We wanted to stay open to how the group could grow in the future, however, for the first year we chose to keep it small, to feel how it needed to evolve. There is quite a bit of ritual in our circle. When we are indoors, we sit around a seasonal "Medicine Wheel," in Native American tradition. I now have a beautiful outdoor fire-pit, so many of our circles are held outdoors. We open by calling upon the "4 Directions," and asking the spirits that guide us to be with us. We follow with silence for a few minutes, to help release our day and center. We then pass two tarots decks around the circle and pick one card from each deck; the "Motherpeace" deck, and the "Osho Zen Tarot" deck. Using a rose quartz crystal as a "Talking Piece," we use the cards as a jumping point for the opening questions; What is true for you right now? How are you, really? We then speak about what the season means to us personally, either in the past or now. The following rounds address different topics. In the spring, what is it we want to plant, to begin to grow? We will plant a seed while speaking to this. In the fall; What do we want to harvest? In the winter; How are we looking within? How are we holding the light within during the dark months? We often light a candle as we speak to these things. My favorite was writing a fear we wanted to banish from our lives on a piece of paper, and then tossing it into the fire. Each cycle brings different things to speak about. To close our circle, we speak to the well being of the earth. We honor it in some way, and pray for it. We visualize us and the planet as whole, and in balance, connecting our circle to all the others on the planet. And for all beings who need healing to receive it. We hold that vision together for several moments. After closing the sacred circle, we eat! There are times when we come together in our circle tired, stressed, and overworked. Yet, when we leave we feel renewed, connected and peaceful. It is amazing. There's something that happens when sacred space is created...the veil is thinner and magic is palpable and everybody absorbs it. Our souls are nourished. To sit in a circle with incredible women, to listen with and speak from the heart and to be fully present for one another brings about change and healing. It affords us a different way to relate to each other. One member says that circle provides her what she imagines going to church does for others. Another speaks of how important the ritual we do is to bringing prayer into a more tangible form. We all notice how powerful it is to speak our dreams and desires and hopes in front of each other. To have witness is to empower. We practice "holding" each other's visions and intentions, as the person speaks, in order to potentiate them. In Southern California, where the seasons are not as noticeable as they are in other areas, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to tune into the subtle shifts in nature as the wheel turns. I have found that there is energy to be harnessed that would otherwise go unnoticed were we not to tune in and align ourselves with it. I look forward to deepening my appreciation of this over the years .It has been such an education to learn more and more what past earth based cultures celebrated at these times...it is as if we are recovering an important part of the fabric of our ancestors. Last spring, while coming down a mountain in Taos, New Mexico, I had a vision. I had been contemplating the world crisis, and was wondering what there was I could possibly do to help that would make any difference. It came strong and clear. It was a vision of our little circle alight in California, connected to hundreds, thousands of circles all over the continent, all over the planet, lit up like an AT&T commercial, showing their network covering the world aglow. I got the message that this is the most important work that I and many of us, could do for peace and wellness on this planet. To return home months later, and learn about Spheres Circles, and Dr. Jean Bolen's "Millionth Circle" notion, affirms that vision. (See: www.themillionthcircle.com) In our Spring Equinox circle this year, we will light a candle for peace. We will light this candle off the candle I lit at the Spheres, "Circle-of-Rings" Women's Gathering, on March 3rd, where many of us lit a candle from the Life Foundation's "World Peace Flame." (See: www.theworldpeaceflame.com) In doing so, we ritualize our connection to all other circles joined with that flame. Here's to peace, and the Millionth Circle! ~ Marion Mayer, R.N., M.S., has a Mind/Body Stress Reduction healing practice at her home in the Palisades. She integrates over 20 years of study in alternative therapies into her practice. The a primary focus is to connect women with their intuition and their wisdom. She is affiliated with St. Vincent's Center for Health and Healing, and recently taught an on-going Stress Reduction class there. She facilitates ceremonial circles for women in major life transitions, and has taught classes in Intuition Development. She resides in Pacific Palisades, CA., with her husband Chris, and daughters Sierra and Maya. Copyright© 2003 Re-printed from Spheres Women's Circles Publication Spring Issue 2003 Visit the new Spheres Women's Circles website: http://www.sphereswomenscircles.com
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For the past several years, I have facilitated "Blessing Ways," gatherings of women in circle that celebrated friend's babies being born, marriages, 40th and 50th birthdays. It is something I really love doing. My neighbor, a dear friend and wise woman, had been listening to me speak about the powerful effect these circles had on my friends and myself, and was intrigued. She had been through several intense years of loss of all kinds, including family deaths, divorce, and more. Despite all the processing she had done, she still felt incomplete. I offered to do a circle for her. I had never done one of this nature, however, it seemed appropriate at the time. With her closest women friends, we held a circle in a sacred way around a "Medicine Wheel," where we all shared stories of loss and grief in our lives. It was a profound evening. Afterwards my friend and I, ooohed and aaahhhed about how good it felt to share that intimately in safety, to laugh, heal, and connect. We wanted more of that! We talked about how important it was for women to gather more often in circle, to celebrate, honor, share and process life together. The healing, power and wisdom that was generated was good not only for us, but also for everyone around us.