Creating Magic at the 2022 ‘Calling the Circle Sacred Feminine Women’s Gathering’ event in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

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#womenconnecting, #womensceremony, #womenscircles #sacredfeminine #divinefeminine #womensempowerment #feministgathering #goddesswisdom #inspirational #retreatsinmexico #retreatsinsanmiguel #

The inaugural women’s gathering for Calling the Circle in November 2022 was a creative endeavor as much as a sharing and building something new with a great group of women. As an artist, educator, and spiritual seeker, I’ve dedicated my art to celebrate the sacred feminine and highlight women’s issues, so it was a logical next step for me.

Now more than ever, there’s a hunger for circle gatherings as a way for women to connect and share. This gathering in San Miguel was one of many circles and Goddess conferences across the globe as a way to re-gain primal wisdom. Women have always gathered in circle – whether for ceremony or more practical matters. Around the hearth or the kitchen table, they shared as they prepared a meal. They told their stories and offered healing and guidance to each other over sewing circles and quilting bees. We continue to seek a spiritual connection and a way of connecting with like-minded women in our modern lives.

And what a great response we had to our inaugural Gathering! With almost 50 women from the U.S. and Mexico, we clearly touched a yearning to celebrate the Divine Feminine in her many guises. We created a Sacred Vessel filled with ritual, collaborative art projects, a diverse line up of speakers, sound healing, meditations, journaling, and sharing in smaller sister circles.

Inspiration Connection Empowerment

Everyone felt nurtured as soon as they entered our gorgeous private space with towering mesquite trees and lovely plazas. Beginning with blessings and purification, each person was then crowned with a flower garland befitting a goddess. Moving through the sacred landscape, they were offered warm chai from the cauldron and invited to add a personal item to the altar. While each day was filled with magical moments and creative interactions, there was plenty of time to meet and share personal stories over beautifully catered lunches and afternoon social hours.

Conversations continued throughout the day inspired by our speakers – all sharing women’s wisdom from the heart. While I talked about my pilgrimages to ancient matriarchal sites and goddess archetypes, archeologist Rossana Quiroz from Cañada de la Virgen pyramid discussed Mesoamerican goddesses and their relationship to creation myths. Jyothi Panicker, a South Indian raised in Zambia discussed the early matrilineal traditions in her village as well as Indian goddesses and how she weaves them into her spiritual practice as a yoga teacher. Amber Chand, also born in India, used her storytelling and deeply spiritual practice as artist and life coach to enliven the Sacred Feminine. Dr. Ratka Mira Popovic, initiated Priestess and doctor of Chinese Medicine, talked about how to embody our Divine Feminine by connecting with our ancestral lineage through ritual and meditation.

Art installations around our sacred space added a fun, hands-on creative element to the event. For instance, the Butterfly Tapestry, a metaphor for transformation, was an opportunity to contribute with image and word (and a great photo opportunity!) Artist Lena Bartula invited everyone to weave in their prayers and small objects into her Ritual Chair – to dream a more inclusive world. My copper vessels representing the 4 elements, were also participatory with an invitation to plant a seed, light a candle, etc. On the 2^nd day, we created our vision board/soul collages which are always meaningful and powerful. This was followed by our full moon ritual with Crone Mother, Alicia Mayo – also a lunar eclipse!

For some, the sound healing with Argentinean Keila Tonello was one of the highlights. The vibrations through her voice and singing bowls were a gift to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. For others, it was the smaller sister circles composed of 8 to 10 women that were so very special. These break-out circles provided a safe haven of compassionate sharing and listening. And we know as women – being heard is so important! We also had broader discussions facilitated by some of our advisory council. Journaling was a tool used throughout the three days as a way to process and go deeper within ourselves. I think we all left with lasting gifts of new friendships, new spiritual tools, and inspiration and commitment to make life changes. And to top it off, a portion of the proceeds were donated to Mujeres en Cambio, a San Miguel non-profit that supports women’s education.

I was grateful to have such an outstanding advisory council – Lena Bartula, Karen Kinney, Susan Page, Dr. Ratka Mira Popovic, Bobbi Van, and Dorothy Wallstein – artists, activists, writers, doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs. We all shared the vision of an inspirational gathering of spirituality and female empowerment that would nourish and transform.