Extracted from a personal reading by Cynthia Brown regarding creating Women’s Circles, July 23, 2000:

Your Pure Intention has brought you to this place– What you are doing is of these Higher Levels of Human Interaction that has to do with Human Energy and all of the things that come into play in the Human Spiritual Realm, and interact and criss-cross and connect, to connect and effect all parts of Human Beings’ experience–It is not that you are connecting only in one realm-You are connecting in a multitude of realms with these Beings–so that though you may call it of these “Circles”– this is only the container of which this can take place. The action that does take place is many, many repercussions which would be as if you drop a stone into the water and you see the ripples that go outward from this–This is more of what your Circles are– This is how the energy does move once the Circle is formed.

Let ’s say that you are the rock–and when the rock does hit the water–and the water is let’s say, the Consciousness of Humanity–Once this rock does hit this Consciousness of Humanity–this initial Circle that you are intending to form does have all the repercussions of outside Circles–For these Circles that you are forming are effecting the first ring– This first ring, which is the women that you are bringing together–The outside rings are all the children, and all the spouses and boyfriends and mothers and fathers–and friends– and friends of friends–and all that have association with each woman that is in the Circle. –So these repercussions are the ripplings that do go outward–and then they in turn do cause their own ripplings–and it is an infinite mass of inter-connection that has a very high level of what they call of in this life “Karma”-However, it is not that of Karma that is effecting you personally–It is that it is effecting you solely in your contribution of what you are trying to do–What I am saying is that if your intention is that of Pure Intention, then this that you are trying to accomplish is always going to be on that Pure Intention Level.–

You must keep your intention very clear and very pure. You are throwing the rock in to cause the ripples–Your responsibility in that is to be absolutely true to your Self– Absolutely true to your purpose, absolutely true to your “self love purpose” in that, you are being true to your Pure Intent. Pure Intent IS what is going to make this WHOLE thing happen.

Cynthia Brown, Copyright 2000
Reprinted from Spheres, Women’s Circles Publication, Vol.1, No. 1

article by Sig-Britt Cox

San Francisco, California–I started a Women’s Circle, or “Healers Group”, after reading an article by Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, entitled ” Women’s Circles: Witnessing Each other. “I was so inspired after reading it, that at one in the morning, I went through my Rolodex and picked ten likely candidates for a group. Bolen suggests to “trust your intuition” and make sure to invite fairly easy-going women. And also, to invite only “juicy women’s-women, who know how to laugh and are not prickly or over-sensitive.” She recommends six to eight women, as a perfect number for a group. I was so excited, the next day I called everyone on the phone and got their email address to form an efficient way of communicating, a listserve. The response was enthusiastic.

We held our first meeting on a Tuesday night, and surprisingly, almost everyone was able to attend. My boyfriend went out for a movie for the night. I lit candles and prepared the space. There was a certain, unexplainable energy in the room. A soft feeling, a warmth and open space. Once we were all together, it was a time to relax, talk about yourself and goals for a moment, and to get to know some very exceptional women.

Everyone in our circle is fairly self-sufficient, successful and somewhat artistic. It’s not easy to get this type of busy women together in one place, at one time. Our second meeting wasn’t as well attended. It was the day after the Memorial Weekend and most people couldn’t make it. We plan on having another meeting soon. I know many of us got a lot out of the experience, even if it was just a chance to bond with other women and getting to see your friends–

One of the women in the group is going to have a baby any day now. She is one of the women who hasn’t been able to attend our gathering yet. I know when she does make it, there will be another special, unforgettable light in the room that is worth nurturing-This beginning experience of being in a Women’s Circle, has already given me the sense that, as we heal ourselves, come together in Sacred Circles and realize our power– we will begin to heal the world and be creating a safer place for our children.

My interest in feminine energy and spirituality has extended into my educational background. I’m currently engaged in a graduate program at a school in San Francisco, called The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Some of the most interesting classes that I have taken have been in the Women’s Spirituality Program. My first class at CIIS was Eco-feminism, which basically taught how women can be effective ecology advocates and voices for change. One of the most compelling books we read was, “Shakti Woman-Feeling our Fire Healing Our World”, by Vicki Noble.

This book explains women’s history and the important role women have played throughout time as priestesses and healers. Noble asks us to; step into our power, recognize the Eco-crisis that is taking place on the planet and start working together to heal ourselves and the world. She writes; “Shakti Women” are human females who are feeling the call of the “Dark Goddess”- the deep, serious, will-to-live arousing within the body of the planet…. pushing through us for healing and the realignment with Nature that needs to happen at this time.” She expresses that as women, we are choosing to heal ourselves from “the world illness of patriarchy”. As women, we need to discover our roots in ancient shamanism and recognize our sacredness in order to step up and be effective healers at this time. She mentions “Starhawk”, the well-known Wiccan leader or “witch” who has taught us to “re-claim and re-secularize our earth-based healing power.”

We read other books by scholars like Charlene Spretnek and Vandana Shiva, who are extremely effective political organizers. The last class I took was, “Women Across the Millennia.” which traced ancient history before the Greeks, when it appears there existed egalitarian cultures, wherein women and men worked together collectively before the advent of weapons and the Iron Age which brought about the warring clans, which spread through Old Europe. It appears that pre-history was a relatively peaceful time (by the historical evidence that villages did not have fortresses around them) and women were held in high esteem. Women worked in the fields while men hunted and are credited with developing agriculture. Because women could give birth and bleed once a month, they most likely gathered together in circles, coaching each other through this demanding time, and a council of sages or wise women emerged. There is archeological evidence of goddess figurines and the worshipping of the “Great Goddess.” A spirituality where the great mother and the great earth are worshipped. Because life was seen as coming from women and from the Earth, both were held in high regard. This is all chronicled in a book Called, “When God was a Woman”.

Patriarchy is most likely a fairly recent development in the scheme of things and the history of humankind. So why are we here now with tremendous violence toward women and a situation wherein in many cultures throughout the world women are treated as second-class citizens?– It has to do with ancient roots in Judeo-Christian society and the fact that women were basically written out of history. A dominating vengeful male God replaced a life-giving nurturing Goddess and with the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, women were set up as the culprits for the fall of mankind. Millions of women were burned at the stake during the middle ages and the torturing continues in places like India where thousands of women are burned alive each year for not coming up with enough dowry money. Whether we want to admit it or not, patriarchy dominates the planet and is not only hurting women but the Earth itself. Women and the planet have been repressed and dominated long enough. It’s time we step up to the seats of power and exert our true authority, which is our birth right.

Women are the caretakers, the healers, the intuits. We need to recognize our amazing powers and not be intimidated by the forces that want to squelch us. Starting or belonging to a Women’s Circle, and supporting each other in recognizing our power, is a step in the right direction for healing and creating a healthy, just and sustainable world for all of us.

– Sig-Britt Cox is a post-modern eco-goddess and Earth Activist in San Francisco, California. To contact her, email: sigbritt@aol.com

Reprinted from Spheres, Women’s Circles Publication, Vol.1 No. 2