Circle at Well Bath
Women's Fire Circle
A circle held for women, around the fire
The room is warm when you arrive. You take your seat in the circle. Nothing is asked of you. What is spoken is held. The Women's Fire Circle runs monthly at Well Bath. Donna and Sue co-hold the container. It is a place for women to speak or to sit in silence. Both are honoured. Nothing is required.
Like its counterpart on the men's side, the evening is deliberately unstructured. There is no theme, no exercise. The circle is what the women in it make of it that month. Sue brings over twenty years of naturopathic-nutrition and holistic-health practice into the room, alongside training in Eco Therapy, facilitation and counselling — a background in holding safe space for personal exploration.
The sharing round runs without interruption, without advice, without fixing. Each woman speaks or passes as she chooses; the room simply holds what is said. The evenings sell out most months.
Duration
2 hours
Price
See the booking page for current pricing.
What people bring
Presentations commonly worked with
The Women's Fire Circle is a container more than a treatment. What women arrive with is often less a specific issue and more a wish for a room where the whole of them is welcome.
- A stretch of feeling unheard or unmet
- Grief, loss, or a transition that has not landed anywhere yet
- The isolation that motherhood, caring or a demanding career can bring
- Wanting a room of women where the sharing is not performed
- A working life spent holding others where you would like to be held
- Curiosity about circle work without wanting a therapy setting
- Preparing for or moving through menopause and its many registers
The circle is not therapy or crisis support. Donna and Sue hold the container carefully but they are not clinicians on the night. If you are in acute crisis, contact your GP or the Samaritans (116 123) as the first door; the circle can be part of the longer road.
What a session is like
From arrival to the last breath in the room
The evening runs two hours on a Thursday once a month. This is the shape of it.
- 01
Arrival
Come through the front door, take tea or water from the foyer, settle in the studio. The fire is set. Donna and Sue greet each woman as she arrives.
- 02
Opening the circle
A short welcome, an outline of how the evening runs, agreements on confidentiality. Everyone begins in the same place.
- 03
Grounding
A few minutes to arrive properly — a breath practice, a settling piece, sometimes a short reading. The room stops being a collection of individuals and starts being a circle.
- 04
The sharing round
Each woman speaks or passes as she chooses. No interruption, no advice, no fixing. The room holds what is said. This is often the piece where the evening does its work.
- 05
Held silence
A stretch of silence together after the sharing. Time for what has been said to settle in the room.
- 06
Close
A closing round, sometimes a song, sometimes a shared word. The circle is closed formally so what was carried inside it stays inside it. Tea and quiet conversation for anyone who wants to stay.
Weighing it up
Women's Fire Circle versus Men's Fire Circle
The two circles hold the same shape for different rooms. What changes is the composition of the room and the hosts.
| Women's Fire Circle | Men's Fire Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the room | Women only. All ages, all backgrounds. | Men only. All ages, all backgrounds. |
| Hosts | Donna and Sue co-hold. | Joe holds with Robby as fire keeper. |
| Shape | Sharing round, silence, close. | Sharing round, silence, close — the same container. |
| Add-ons | Tea and water in the foyer. | Optional ceremonial cacao as an add-on. |
| Best if you | Want a room of women. | Want a room of men. |
Some couples come to their respective circles the same night. The evenings sit side by side.
What the evidence says
Research and clinical literature
Group sharing circles and peer-support gatherings have a substantial evidence base in mental-health outcomes, though few studies are on this specific format.
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Peer-support groups are associated with clinically meaningful reductions in loneliness and improvements in perceived social support across adult populations.
The Lancet Public Health · Cruwys et al. · 2018
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Women's group interventions consistently improve subjective wellbeing and reduce symptoms of anxiety and low mood, with effects sustained at three to six month follow-up.
Journal of Community Psychology · reviews · 2019
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Confidential shared-experience gatherings for women in life transitions — particularly around motherhood, menopause and bereavement — reduce isolation and improve help-seeking behaviour.
British Journal of General Practice · reviews · 2020
Questions people ask
Before you book
Do I have to speak? +
Is this confidential? +
Who is holding the circle tonight? +
How often is it held? +
Can men come? +
What do I bring? +
I have never been to a circle. Is this the right first door? +
Other work by the same hands
Also with these practitioners
If you are arriving from
Women's Fire Circle tends to be met by people carrying
Book
Book Women's Fire Circle
Booking runs on Acuity, direct link below. If you are not sure whether women's fire circle is the right fit, reach out and we will help you find the right first door into the sanctuary.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call Joe on 07986 380327 · Joe will get back to you within 24 hours.
Silo of the sanctuary