Seeking The Light & Truth Within: Magic & Medicine in Women's Circles
It was when studying with the One Spirit Interfaith Foundation that I first sat in circle. I felt safe and held by the people around me and felt lovingly cradled by the Divine Mother and Infinite Creator. It was a huge release to finally speak my truth. I felt really seen & heard - deeply witnessed in that moment of sharing. It was emotional and magic – the presence of Grace brought an incredible amount of healing. When listening to others deeply sharing, there was a resonance, sometimes I was triggered, and with this there was an awareness that more inner work needed to be done. We are all mirrors, teachers, healers, and everyone in the circle is equal and often the person opposite holds the greatest medicine.
So, after two years training to be an Interfaith Minister, it was important for me to find a circle each month, within which to rest, share, reflect and be held. I was lucky to meet Louise Press at her yurt in Bath two years ago when I attended a reiki share. Louise has a wonderful nurturing manner. She has devoted the past 10 years to supporting women and girls, a champion of the goddess and intent on bringing balance back to the world. She is both wise and gentle and her earth- based ceremonies and rituals really resonate. Her land near Bath in Somerset is simply magical – it is healing land full of nature spirits, faes and the Guardian apple tree by the yurt and ancient oak tree in the valley, hold visitors safely. So, I naturally turned to Louise about co-creating a film all about women’s circles.
“One woman awake ... wakes another, who wakes another, who together wake a whole community.”
Louise facilitates supportive circles for women who take much needed time out of their busy lives to pause, meditate, rest and speak their truth. This nurturing community allows women to deeply share - having connected to their hearts, wombs & Mother Earth - which often resonates with every other woman around the circle. Within the witnessing the magic and medicine happens. It is very earth based, chiming in with the seasons - the turning of the wheel - and menstrual cycles "moon-time" and Louise creates a safe space where women can get in touch with nature and themselves. Many women feel the reassurance of being held when they are super busy looking after everyone else, the pouring of the tea and offering of treats symbolises this need to be cradled like a child and Louise's gentle manner allows for authenticity to flow, a release of emotions which may suddenly bubble up to be witnessed and let go & a self-awareness to flourish.
I filmed and edited this video and would like to thank all the women who feature.
There is another YouTube video on this channel about Louise's circles for girls, Blossom & Flo, which you can view here.
For more information: www.onewomanawake.com
“Helen is full of love; her presence is like a big hug! She has been attending our Women’s Circles for a year now and is a valuable & wise member of our community. Her approach to spirituality is wide open which creates a safely held space to be authentic and allows for self enquiry in the process. Helen asked if she could put together a short film about the work here at One Woman Awake and I was thrilled at the thought. However as I felt more deeply into it I was unsure how we could portray the sacred nature of our Circles on film and still keep our space safe and confidential. Helen helped me navigate these obstacles and we used a montage of photos and live footage to put together a beautiful, tender and honest documentary of our Women’s Circles.Thank you Helen for your encouragement and support during the film making process. I’m so grateful for the time you took going through piles of photos, editing and weaving them together to create story. I was so happy with the outcome.”
I am not paid to produce these videos. If you have found value in this series and would like to support its continuation and reach a wider audience, you can contribute by buying me a coffee. Your generosity helps in creating more content and sharing it with as many viewers as possible. Thank you for your support.
