The Importance of Sisterhood

I sit here this morning surrounded by burning candles in the half light, sipping my coffee from a new mug, a Samhain gift from a beautiful friend, with a heart full of gratitude and inspiration.

I’ve had a difficult few weeks, three weeks ago today my partner had a heart attack. He is doing well in his recovery, albeit he is bored and frustrated. I on the other hand haven’t been doing quite so well emotionally and mentally. You see, he is my anchor, steady and solid, my safe space. So much fear, insecurity and trauma has risen to the surface. Of course, on a soul level I know that this journey will bring growth and necessary change, but my fragile human ego has suffered greatly. My sense of self came into question, along with old wounds resurfacing. The little girl inside me has been in the driving seat far more than the adult woman. How can I be a coach and inspire and uplift other women when I feel so fragile and afraid? As coaches and therapists don’t we need to be whole all the time? On top of this the house has been a building site, with the main room back to bare brick, Simon is off sick and at home all day and my son is home from work because it’s half term. As a woman who thrives in solitude, I have found myself massively overstimulated, creating further anxiety.

Then there are the women. My friend who dropped everything in a moment to take me to the hospital, where she sat for hours on her day off. My tired friend who has been through so much herself lately, yet still came over to spend time listening. My two friends who are healers who despite their busy days sent healing while we sat at the hospital and all the ones who called or messaged to check in.

Our Mabon Women’s Circle.

Over the past two nights I have hosted two women’s circles and a morning of candle magick with two sisters in between. I met new women and reconnected with others who I have not seen for a while as well as those who regularly attend my offerings. This is why I sit here on this beautiful autumnal morning overflowing with gratitude and inspiration, because these women gave me the opportunity to reconnect to my souls’ purpose, sharing my gifts and knowledge. Two days of warmth, laughter, love, openness and vulnerability; of sharing stories and holding space for each other.

Steph from Daisy Moon providing a beautiful sound bath at the Samhain Women’s Circle. 

A few hundred years ago we would have been burned at the stake for gathering in a group like this. The resonance of those times still echoes in the behaviours of women today. I believe that we all still carry a witch wound and many of us have and do struggle with internalised misogyny. This can be seen in the way we shrink, make ourselves smaller and quieter to be more appealing, the way we constantly apologise for taking up space. The high school mean girls who bitch and judge other girls (tragically this often continues into adulthood as I recently experienced when working briefly in a very toxic female led environment) The oppression of the patriarch has left us with echoes of mistrust and fear. How do we overcome this? By gathering with other like-minded women, opening to our vulnerabilities and hearing the calls from our sisters of me too! If you feel called to hold a circle, don’t wait for the perfect time and conditions, they will never come. Even if the circle only consists of you and your bestie, I urge you to join together and lift each other because this is how we take back our power and create a better world for our daughters and granddaughters.

With love and blessings