A CIRCLE of STONES: A WOMEN'S GROUP RITUAL
Some years ago after being inspired by Marianne Williamson's "A WOMAN'S WORTH" I decided to start women's circle to just express the goddess within myself and hear it from others. It started as small groups of 8 or 9 women meeting in homes. For a few months it graduated to Unity Church and then it sort of faded out. However, all the participants agreed it was a time of immense satisfaction and joy being part of the women's circle. We women give all too little time to our inner care, and yet we spend our lives nurturing others. The Circle of Stones was a very healing and creative time. I hope that you may find here some ideas for your own circle.
A. THE CIRCLE OF STONES RITUALS:
Materials & Requirements: A quiet, sacred place for people to sit on the floor comfortably with cushions or mats. Turn off telephones, cell phones, pagers etc.. Have children be out of hearing and botheration range. Provide a "talking stick" which can be just a tree branch, twig, or something more elegant. Some people bring digereedoos, rain sticks, some decorate elaborately with jewelry and beads, feathers and talismans. Plan for two hours.
GOALS:
- to join each other in celebrating our lives as women in an age where this is not fully celebrated or respected;
- to heal the soul of woman in ourselves and so heal the earth Mother, the soul of the planet;
- to empower ourselves and harmonize with the great Mother who is the root of our being.
- 1. Everyone sits in a circle close enough to be able to touch the person next to her. A candle or light it placed into the center of the circle with the talking stick.
- 2. The goals of the group are announced to all members by the convener at every meeting. The convener shall be selected for each meeting by vote or volunteer.
- 3. Each member has brought a stone - something symbolizing the earth --and one by one around the circle she places her stone into the circle in front of the light and says, "I join my sisters in harmony with this circle."
- 4. When each person has committed herself to the circle, the convener reads for 5 minutes from the text chosen for the meeting which establishes a theme for the evening. Please listen quietly through the reading in order to allow the words to penetrate.
- 5. When the reader has read from the book, the first person choosing to speak takes the talking stick and has 3 minutes to talk about how this passage has affected her, to give examples of how it is relevant in her life, or to discuss the spiritual significance of the passage. The speaker should keep referring to the text so that she stays on focus with the reading.
- 6. After 3 minutes, if the speaker has not stopped speaking, the person to her LEFT nudges her or touches her on the knee gently and the speaker must end her sentence then and put the stick back into the center. No one (except the convener) should interrupt the speaker except to respond affirmatively "HO" when she agrees with the speaker. Please do not give judgements about what is said, and honor the intimacy of the group by not speaking outside the circle about what is shared
- 7. Each person has 3 minutes or less to speak. No one is obliged to speak. When no one picks up the stick after 1 minute pause, the convener will then read the next 5 minute passage from the book and the whole procedure continues.
- 8. At the end of the time, the convener will take the stick from the center. She will briefly thank everyone for her presence and remove her stone from the center by saying: "I leave my sisters in harmony." then each circle member in turn will do this. The circle ends by joining of hands for 2 minutes. PAU
B. COLLAGE:
Other ideas instead of the Talking Circle can be to have a collage session. Everyone brings colorful magazines from home, scissors, and glue. The host can provide a large sheet of drawing paper to each participant.
1. The leader of the group leads a meditation upon a theme. After the meditation, soothing music is put on and everyone commences to reproduce something they experienced in the meditation. There should be no talking as this is a form of meditation.
2. The participants scan through magazines cutting out images, colors, backgrounds and words to create a collage of their inner experience.
3.The pictures are then glued onto the sheet and formed into a meaningful picture.
4. Ribbons, crayons, fabric, decorative items like buttons or trim can be added along with fabric paint for more effects. The project is limited only by ones' imagination.
I find this method to be very cathartic, healing and deeply soul satisfying. I highly recommend it for any time that a woman might feel blocked creatively or in need of healing time to herself.
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