“I so enjoyed the writing circle with the group “from away’s” connections and participation.
It was a joy and a gift! Thank you for doing this. My writing heart is home in your circles.” – Stephanie, Ontario, Canada
2025 Women’s Writing Circle on Zoom
Writing Life:
nourish yourself, honour your voice, write your stories
with Mary Ann Moore
We’ll begin the Writing Life women’s circle on Wednesday, January 15 (to February 5) soon after the Full Moon and we’ll be together for the New Moon on January 29. That’s Lunar Imbolc on the Celtic calendar and the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Snake. 2025 is the year of the Wood Snake which “offers the unique opportunity to quickly shed skins of the past, creatively express what is in the shadows, and move forward covering much ground,” my We’Moon calendar says.
Imbolc is on February 2 and marks the beginning of the spring quarter of the year. We do already see signs of spring here on Vancouver Island. Elsewhere, there is much going on below the surface during February. The spring quarter of Imbolc brings the gifts of insight and inspiration and is a time of beginnings.
In the Writing Life circle, we create an oasis, each of us with a candle lit as if around a communal fire. A talking piece is at hand so we can take a turn at being seen and heard.
The theme is “A Place of Attention” which applies to the writing circle as a refuge, a place of self-compassion, where we can honour longings, and create a sense of belonging. While the circle is a refuge, the prose and poetry we write are as well. I’m also liking the word “refugia” where small places of life endure. The writing we do helps to integrate what we know with a fresh way of looking at things. Our inspiration will be from poetry, short pieces of prose and always, one another.
We’ll bring who we are to the circle to be with “what is” as we listen, receive, and witness in a place of attention. Our gifts will be the circle, friendship and community, imagination, and inheritance. It isn’t necessary to have previous writing experience to embrace the fullness of your stories from life.
“No matter how far I stray from my practice, there is always an invitation to begin again. Not just each day, but each moment offers us the chance to lay a new foundation.”
Christine Valters Paintner from The Soul of a Pilgrim.
On Zoom wherever you are
Jan. 15 – Feb. 5, 2025
Four Wednesday mornings – 10:30 am to 1 pm Pacific time. Fee: $250.
Intent
- To provide a safe place for people to tell their stories.
- To find the still centre of ourselves and of the circle.
- To write what has heart and meaning for us.
- To realize our role as leaders in a circle of leaders.
- To remember the divine feminine and
embrace our female and male teachers. - To become a community of peers
slowing down to a natural rhythm
You [women of the circle from away] make it very easy to share my writing. The way we hold one another up, the level of encouragement, is very touching. It’s an honour to be part of this circle experience. – Tabitha, Ontario, Canada
. . . what a gift you have given us all with this writing circle. I imagine those who attended your live version wish it could continue, but please let them know that I for one look forward to these gifts in my inbox. – Josephine, Alberta, Canada
Benefits
- An exploration of your relationship to silence and stillness,
- A variety of writing prompts to get you started,
- Guidelines for your own journaling practice and various other forms,
- References for reading and inspiration,
- Support from a circle of women who are also writing,
- Witnesses to your creative journey,
- A creative boost and a reminder that your creativity
makes a healthy impact on your life and on the world.
“Writing was the healing place where I could collect the bits and pieces, where I could put them together again. It was the sanctuary, the safe place.” – bell hooks
The prompt to write regularly and your understanding of the mystery of nature, poetry and the English language makes your courses valuable to me! – Outi, Finland
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