Why Women’s Circles Matter: How Circle Led Me Back to Ritual, My Body, and Myself
A women’s circle ritual altar featuring candlelight, flowers, and Lisa Lister’s oracle cards - a sacred embodiment practice supporting feminine healing, ritual, and reconnection to the body and the healed sisterhood.
In my last blog article, I shared why ritual is essential for women. In this piece, I want to go deeper into the power of women’s circles as a transformative, ancient practice that helped me heal years of body shame, purity culture conditioning, and disconnection. Women’s circles are more than gatherings; they are a profound form of feminine embodiment, community, and somatic healing. And for me, they became the doorway back to ritual, back to my body, and ultimately back to myself.
How Ritual Shaped My Early Relationship With the Feminine
My story with ritual begins when I was very little. As I shared in my previous post, I was born into a family deeply immersed in Rudolf Steiner philosophy to the extent that my mum didn’t vacuum for the first two years of my life, because it was considered “artificial noise.” (And mind you, she’s a clean freak, so that was commitment.)
By the time my sister arrived, she relaxed a little, but the devotion, the earnestness, the fundamentalism of that way of life carried on.
My childhood was filled with handmade toys, crystals and rocks, woollen felt animals, and the most exquisite seasonal altars my mum would lovingly create.
Spring brought tiny felted lambs and cut flowers from the garden.
Winter brought deep blues and little candlelit scenes.
December meant Mary and Joseph travelling slowly across the house day by day, like a Steiner version of Elf on the Shelf, until they finally reached the nativity.
Even though it wasn’t explicitly Christian, there were Christian threads woven in. But woven through all of it was something utterly magical: Cyclical living. Connection to nature. Reverence for Mother Earth.
The understanding that there are seasons of abundance and seasons of rest, externally and internally.
It was harmonious. Grounding. A genuinely nourishing way for a little girl to grow up.
And within that world, being a girl felt sacred. Bodies were celebrated. Nudity was natural. Creativity was encouraged. Mythical, powerful women filled my stories. I grew up knowing that women were important matriarchs, creators, holders of magic and wisdom.
And I was excited to become one.
Purity Culture, Shame, and the Moment Everything Changed
As I neared age eleven, I was eagerly awaiting my first period. I had breast buds and pubic hair from eight; my mum was open, celebratory, and supportive. I would run to the toilet to check if my period had arrived yet. I wanted so badly to become a woman.
And then, almost overnight, everything changed.
My parents found God. The fundamentalist Christian God.
And suddenly:
my body became dangerous
my breasts were “temptation”
my sexuality was sinful and dirty
and I needed to be covered, careful, ashamed
the most valuable thing about me was my virginity
God was watching my every move (masturbating became a very stressful experience)
I went from being encouraged to love my body…to being taught that my body could make men “stumble,” and therefore I was responsible for their sin.
I went from excitement about becoming a woman…to purity culture, fear, shame, and the belief that sex before marriage would make me “used goods” that no good man would ever want.
And so I began retreating into my head. It became safer there. More controllable. More acceptable. And I started to hate being born a girl.
How Shame Pushes Women Out of Their Bodies
The shame, the fear, the pressure to behave and perform morally combined with the discomfort of my size pushed me out of my body completely.
I couldn’t dance.
I hated being seen.
Photos were agonising.
My body became nothing more than the vehicle that carried my head around.
If I dressed nicely, it wasn’t for pleasure, it was strategy, so people would take me seriously. It was for power not seducation.
And it stayed that way for twenty years.
How Women’s Circles Helped Me Heal Trauma and Reconnect to My Body
It wasn’t until 2023, after three years of deep self-work, therapy and heartbreak following my separation and divorce, that things began to shift.
I had been searching outside myself for answers.
Reading endless books.
Trying to become someone.
Trying to fix myself.
Endlessly trying to work out my new identity - I even purchased a book called “How to Be Authentic” whilst on my honeymoon in Paris. I was desperate.
And then… almost by accident… I found women’s circles.
And something ancient in me remembered.
Sisterhood.
Belonging.
Slowness.
Being witnessed, not fixed.
Being held, not judged.
Being seen, not analysed.
Circle softened me.
Circle met me.
Circle let my body trust me again.
What Women’s Circles Taught Me
Circle taught me:
I am worthy simply because I exist
My body is not sinful
Stillness is where my soul speaks
Women don’t need fixing, only witnessing
Embodiment is medicine purity culture feared
Circle didn’t demand I “be better.”
Circle invited me home.
Why Women’s Circles Are Healing for Purity Culture & Body Shame
Sitting with myself in my first Women’s Circle was a little bit excruciating. My body didn’t trust me and honestly, she had good reason not to.
I had made so many choices while disconnected and often, while drunk. I had abandoned her, ignored her, pushed her past her limits, and silenced her again and again.
I realised that so much of my work wasn’t about my body betraying me…but about the ways I had betrayed her.
Circle gave me the spaciousness to feel that truth, and then to begin repairing the relationship slowly, gently and respectfully.
Purity culture disconnects women from themselves.
Circle reconnects them.
Shame tells a woman she is broken.
Circle reminds her she is whole.
Disembodiment says, “Don’t feel.”
Circle says, “Feel. Everything.”
Shame isolates.
Circle gathers.
What Women Experience Inside Circle
Women often describe:
nervous system softening
relief from pressure and performance
reconnection to their bodies
clarity around their desires
the healing of being witnessed
belonging that feels ancient
a return to softness, intuition, and Eros
This is the magic of circle.
The magic of remembrance.
Creating The Wonderfully Wilde Women’s Circle
This is why I'm creating The Wonderfully Wilde Women’s Circle, an online embodiment circle that women can join from anywhere in the world.
A space where:
you can arrive exactly as you are
you don’t have to perform, please, rescue or fix anyone
you are not expected to comfort others or give advice
your voice is welcome but not required
your truth belongs
your body is honoured
your wisdom is trusted
you are held
Circle is one of the few places in a woman’s life where she is not responsible for anyone else’s emotional experience.
And that alone is healing for people like me (recovering People Pleaser, Codependent)
Circles offer something rare in our culture:
Spaciousness
to hear yourself
to return to yourself
to honour yourself
to be with what is alive in you
Most of us don’t have the spaciousness in our daily lives to even ask what we need… let alone listen for the answer.
Circle gives us that spaciousness.
Women often describe experiencing:
a softening of the nervous system
relief from the pressure to perform
reconnection to the body after years of disconnection
clarity around what their soul is asking for
the healing of being witnessed, not “helped”
a sense of belonging that feels ancient and cellular
a return to softness, creativity, intuition, and Eros
This is the magic of gathering.
The magic of remembrance.
The magic of circle.
But I want to share something with you that goes even deeper — something that lives beneath the surface of why I hold this work and why it feels like destiny.
The Wonderfully Wilde Women’s Circle: A Global Sisterhood Begins
Our circle will begin online as a soft, gentle gathering place inside The Wonderfully Wilde Women’s Circle where women from across the world can come together monthly.
But my long-term vision is so much larger…
I dream of us meeting in person one day:
in Bali
in Vietnam
in Morocco
in the south of France
in wild, beautiful places
I imagine women who have sat together online for months, perhaps even years, coming together physically and recognising one another instantly in that deep way women do.
I imagine retreats where women are held in ritual, in sisterhood, in ceremony and in softness.
Because when I went through my dark night of the soul, my separation, my divorce, the grief that broke my life open at 28, all I wanted was to be held.
To lie down somewhere safe and feel the arms of the Mother around me.
And that is what this circle is for.
A place to be held by the collective mother, the archetypal mother, the one who softens your edges, quiets the fear, and invites you back into your own heart and body.
A place where you can put down the mask.
Be witnessed.
Be heard.
Be understood.
Be met as you are.
This is the medicine women have shared for thousands of years.
And we are remembering it again.
My Lifelong Destiny: I’ve Been Holding Space Since I Was a Child
I’ve been hosting women’s circles for over two years now, and I’ve been a teacher for more than five. But the truth is… holding space is something I’ve done since I was very young.
Steiner education prepared me for it without me even knowing.
As a child, I used to take my friends on initiatory journeys through nature, elaborate, imaginative quests that required courage, teamwork, presence, and trust.
We would:
climb cliff faces
cross creeks with rushing water
crawl through “tunnels of death”
Climb into caves with bones
step through the “magic tree” guarded by imaginary trolls
I didn’t know it then, but I was guiding rites-of-passage.
I was holding emotional and imaginative containers.
I was creating sacred space.
It’s who I’ve always been.
For more than twenty years, I lost touch with that part of myself…but I’m back now, doing what I was born to share.
Holding space is my home frequency.
What Women Say About Sitting in Circle With Me
“Sabina provides a thoughtful and considered approach when it comes to her Circles. It is extremely important to her to cultivate a safe space, and this is reflected through her work. She channels inspiration from her surroundings to make a custom Circle fit for her participant’s needs…attending the Circle is calming, nourishing, insightful and reflective.”
— Nicolette, Psychologist, 32, Melbourne
“Regularly attending Sabina’s women’s circles for the last two years has given me a lot more confidence to engage thoughtfully in my own growth and celebrate my wins. I’ve loved coming together with a trusted group of women every month to share, listen and learn.”
— Emma, Marketing, 33, Melbourne
“I have felt so held in a mindfully crafted and safe container. I know that when I arrive I can surrender and be nourished amongst women. There is so much beauty in what is being offered.”
— Elva, Mental Health, 42, Melbourne
“Sabina’s circles are incredibly thoughtful, considered and created with so much love you can feel it the second you walk through the door. You never need to worry attending one of these circles because of the level of care and incredible space holding. I love every element of these circles and all the rituals weaved together - they are fun, wholesome and really help you tune in to yourself and fill your cup!”
— Hannah, Doula & Birth Educator, 30, Melbourne
For the Woman Ready to Come Home to Her Body, Reclaim Her Eros & Befriend Her Soul
If you feel the pull to reconnect with your body, soften into your femininity, and experience the kind of healing that comes from being deeply witnessed, I invite you to join The Wonderfully Wilde Women’s Circle, a monthly online gathering opening in 2026.
Join the Wait List
If you’d like to explore deeper one-on-one support, you can learn more about Online Sex Coaching for Women here.
And if you want more sensory embodiment practices, rituals, meditations, and stories of feminine reclamation, you can explore the full Sabina Wilde Blog here.
With wilde tenderness,
Sabina Wilde xx
