I come from a long line of women who made it a point to get in circle with other women. Grandmothers and great grandmothers and great-great grandmothers, all seeking connection and community with their sisters.
At my own sister’s funeral, my mother’s women showed up for her. Women that she hadn’t circled with for years came. They came. They hugged her. They stood behind her as she buried her daughter, my sister. They witnessed and wept. They encircled her with love and light and honored her tears.
It was beautiful.
I cannot help but wonder how my sister’s life might have been different, if she’d had a circle of women holding space for her. Sitting with her. Cooking with her. Dancing with her. Loving her.
I have been lucky in my life to have women around me. Strong, compassionate women, that stand firm in their own power. Women that are curious about their own inner life and unafraid to continue growing. I call them my dearest friends. I call them my teachers. And so it is in my sweet sister’s memory that I create this circle. With intention. With love. With guidance from the women that came before me. And with the desire to help more women find the belonging they deserve so that they may step into their own power. And not be lost.
I have often feared the waters of my own spirit. But now I see — now I feel that I am not a shallow pool — I never was. None of us truly are. I am the ocean and I cannot make myself more shallow, no matter how many mountains I carry to the edge. No matter how many cliffs I shear off into the waves of my being. The waters are still deep. And so it is with all beings. And so it is with life.
What I want to say here is that I am being called and answering the call. I am creating and holding space for all beings to come into themselves. And I am starting in the way of the many women that came before me — in circle.
And…
with the Moon.
Ah, the moon. She is keeping me connected. She is pulling me, as she pulls the ocean. She is guiding me, as she has guided humans on the darkest nights. She is calling to me, as she whispers gently to the sprouting seeds to break through the surface of the earth. She is reminding me of the perfect cycles of everything that is.
And so, Moon Circle is what I offer. Moon Circle is what I can do right now to create a healing community. A sacred space for women to sit with each other, to sit with themselves, to explore their own depths as I have done. And also to dance and to laugh and to make medicine and food together.
What is my vision? I offer this to begin — nourishment. Homecooked food to nourish the body. And then — fire. The thing that has drawn humans into circle for millennia. And then — witness. A sacred honoring of the lived experience of each soul, without judgement. A safe space to confront hard things. To give words to things we are afraid to speak. We will meet our fears in the loving arms of our sisters. Because healing requires courage. Community creates courage. Women are community builders.
We will sit around our fire. We will sip drinks we’ve made from the plants that are growing around us. We will dance with our bare feet in the grass. And we will nourish ourselves with delicious food. We will witness for each other. And when asked we offer wisdom to each other. We will laugh until we cry and we will cry until we laugh. We’ll sing and howl and scream and beat the ground if we need to. We will still our bodies and listen to the spirits swirl around us. We will listen. And we will hold the sacred silence. We will breathe.
And in doing so, in letting ourselves open under the light of the moon and stars, we will reawaken the power that we’ve allowed to grow sleepy. We will manifest a place wherein we heal and become healers. Because the way I see it, the world needs a new kind of healing. I believe it is the Divine Feminine that will lead the coming restoration into rightness with Source.
Let the Moon Circle be a beginning…
“…She is not a lone wolf, raising her voice in the wilderness. She is not a strident preacher, warning of doom. She is only as powerful as her community. Alone she is nothing and she knows it. The very concept of an individual messiah makes no sense to her. When she hears the cries of the world, she reaches out and grasps the hands of her sisters, gathers up her children and asks the blessings of her elders, kisses her lover and turns the kettle to simmer and rides straight into the arms of the Mystery, where she will wait until it is clear what needs to be done. Then, together with her companions, she will do it.”
-Mirabai Starr from the book Wild Mercy
(If you are in the Austin, Texas area and are interested in joining my Moon Circle, let’s connect. Message me.)
Charly Slipp 