Are Women's Circles Really For Everyone? Turns out, I don't think so...

I've been enchanted since the beginning. But after years of holding sacred space, I've learnt they're not for everyone — and here's why...

The moment I walked into my first women's circle, something in me exhaled. Like I'd been holding my breath for years and finally, finally found somewhere I didn't have to.

I was hooked from the very beginning (shout out @nell.witch). So enchanted, so completely convinced that every woman needed one of these in her life, that it became almost a mission for me — to hold the door open and invite others in. That conviction led me here, to years of gathering women together, first in candlelit rooms, then in wild outdoor spaces, always in circle, always in reverence.

But somewhere along the way, something shifted. Not in my love for the circle itself — that has only deepened — but in my understanding of it. Because the truth is, women's circles are not for everyone. And I think it's time we talked about that honestly.

What a Women's Circle Actually Is

At its heart, a women's circle is a sacred container. A space held intentionally, where every woman present offers the same gifts to the group: love, respect, presence, and the radical commitment to showing up without judgement. We speak. We listen. We witness. We move back and forth between sharing and receiving, in a rhythm that feels ancient and instinctive.

There is something profoundly simple about it — and something profoundly rare. In a world that rewards performance, productivity, and the polished version of ourselves, the circle says: come as you are. Bring your mess, your grief, your wild joy, your quiet questions. It will all be held.

A circle is the right space for you if you are seeking sisterhood and genuine connection, a place to feel truly seen and heard, honest flowing conversation, peace and unhurried togetherness, community built on mutual respect, and permission to explore the parts of yourself you rarely show.

The Part Nobody Usually Talks About

Here's the honest bit. And I say this with all the love in the world, because I've seen it play out enough times to know it's important.

A women's circle is not the right space for you if you are not yet ready to share it. What I mean by that is this: a circle is not a stage. It is not a place to take up all the oxygen, to process loudly and at length in ways that leave no room for the women beside you.

Emotional honesty and emotional dumping are two very different things — and a safe container is not the same as a boundaryless one.

When we gather, every voice matters equally. The woman who speaks quietly. The woman who hasn't shared yet. The woman who came because she simply needed to receive for once. A circle holds all of them, and that only works when everyone in it honours that.

It is also not the right fit if you cannot respect boundaries — your own or anyone else's. The circle is built on that foundation. Without it, the container breaks.

If you're not yet in a place where you can hold space for others while also being held — and we all have seasons like that — that's okay. That's what therapy is for. That's what your one-to-one support systems are for. The circle will be here when the time is right.

We are not here to be the most wounded or the most healed. We are here to simply be — together.

The Magic of the Imperfect Goddess

In my Goddess Circles specifically, we go one step further. Each month we meet a new goddess — and together we explore not only her power and her gifts, but her shadow. The messy, complicated, deeply human edges of her story.

Sound familiar? It should. Because that's us. Every single one of us.

We compare ourselves to these ethereal, ancient beings not to feel lesser, but to feel more. To say: if even a goddess has a shadow side, then mine is not a flaw. It is part of the whole.

This is not therapy — and I'll say it again, because it matters. The circle is not a place to unpack deep trauma or receive clinical support. What it is is an extraordinary opportunity to feel seen and heard in a way that so many of us go through life never truly experiencing. To be in a room where your voice doesn't have to fight to be heard. Where your imperfection is not something to apologise for.

It is one of the most quietly powerful things I know. And I have seen it change women — not because I did anything, but because the circle itself did.

So — Is It For You?

Come to circle if you are ready to give as well as receive, if you can hold space for others even while being held yourself, if you respect that every voice in the room matters equally, if you want connection that is rooted in something real, and if you are open to exploring your own depth and your own shadow.

The circle may not be the right fit right now if you are currently in crisis and need therapeutic support, if boundaries feel difficult in group settings, if you find it hard to share the space when you are struggling, or if what you're really looking for is somewhere that centres your journey alone.

None of this is a judgement. Every single one of those things I've listed — I have been her. Seasons of our lives call for different kinds of nourishment. The circle is one kind. It is a rare and beautiful kind. And when the time is right, the door is always open.

I run Goddess Circles here in Tonbridge, Kent, and they are small, intimate, and intentionally held. If something in you is quietly asking whether this is your time — I'd trust that whisper.

Find out more at Naomi Charlotte | Bloom and Becoming | Tonbridge | Women's Circles & Retreats in Kent

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