Wisdom Circle Agreements: Learning & Growing in Community & Self Determination

The Roots of the Wisdom Circle

The initial mission of the Women’s Wisdom and Scholarship Circle was to create a forum where we would gather to explore the works, perspectives, and lives of contemporary women who have made significant contributions in literature, the sciences, spirituality, and historical context. Because women’s work and experiences have so often been excluded from mainstream dialogues and conventional history lessons, we created this space to discover women’s perspectives, life works, and the often-unwritten wisdom of traditional lineages. Many of the women whose works we’ve explored have been intentionally smeared or excluded from mainstream academic and political spheres. This is a clue for us that there is something important in these works; something disruptive. 

As we’ve grown together as a community, our dialogues increasingly unfold organically and are often sourced from within the rich intelligence of our circle and the diverse worldly experiences through which we have each been shaped. Immanent, real-world interests and concerns surface and are explored at the recommendation and under the leadership of council members. The research on matriarchal social systems has become a central theme for us, as it presents a rich field for remembering and reclaiming the lost threads of our maternal lineages and traditional cultures.

Holding Sacred Space

Inherent in the mission of our Wisdom Circle is that women have unique and powerful ways of seeing, sensing, learning, communicating, and participating in the world—ways that have been persecuted and shamed as superfluous, inefficient, “irrational”, and dangerous. True wisdom, in our view, emerges through us, in multidimensional ways; it is earned through experience, in the context of relationships, and through genuine appreciation for diversity of perspective. 

Furthermore, the research on matriarchal social systems suggests that the backbone of resilient, peace-loving communities depends in large part on the quality of the bonds between women. The wisdom we endeavor to cultivate is grounded in self-awareness, and in sensitivity and respect for others. The Women’s Wisdom Circle is an intentional space—a laboratory of sorts—where we are learning how to hold one another with sensitivity and dignity, and to foster growth and well-being for each individual as well as the community. 

You may notice among our agreements that we haven’t promised “safe space”.  This has become a buzzword in intentional communities.  We feel it’s important to be honest about what we can offer. While we are in an ever-evolving process of co-creating guidelines for productive inquiry and dialogue, we acknowledge that women have been shushed in myriad ways for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Thus, there is oftentimes uncomfortable material lingering beneath the surface that has never been welcome into the open. 

We can’t guarantee that someone’s feelings won’t be hurt by challenging opinions, different manners of communication, or even cultural nuances that we don’t completely understand. Thus, we hold space and tolerance for authenticity, while personal responsibility for one’s behavior in the circle is expected. As and when tensions arise, we lean in to meet them and to seek resolution. In our experience thus far, this is a process of learning on our feet rather than a matter of protocol or expertise. This “laboratory of dignity” presents an ongoing opportunity to practice humility, to develop relational skill through direct experience, and to demonstrate commitment to one another and our shared objectives.

Below you will find the guidelines we’ve written together and that we are working with at this time. This is a living document which is evolving as needed through experience and ongoing review.  Please read the agreements carefully before joining us and let us know how they feel for you. What may need to be added, edited, or changed to accommodate your natural styles of learning and expression? 

The Living Agreements:

(Last Updated December 2025)

We speak in the spirit of sharing from the heart and developing wisdom through diversity of perspective, rather than to prove our points and our intelligence.  

We seek to dismantle conditioning that has led women to experience that we are in competition with one another.  We do this by emphasizing the importance of listening and encouraging one another, rather than being right.

We deeply respect all experiences, knowledge, contributions, and viewpoints, including but not idealizing those derived through formal/advanced education.  

Leaving space for quiet reflection between shares allows an opportunity for each woman’s words to be received fully.  We practice discipline in listening quietly and intently, without the distraction of formulating a response or challenge while someone is speaking.

We recognize that communication is multidimensional and includes body language, eye contact, and subtle perception; all of which require a calm, focused space for honoring each woman’s sharing.  

We recognize each woman’s sharing as a precious gift to the community, often involving courage and vulnerability.

We organize our sharing to honor the elders for their wisdom and experience, as well as to provide younger women space and warm encouragement to develop theirs.

We strive to be self-aware in the communal sharing circle, and to share the responsibility for moderating productive dialogue, making sure that all members have time and space to express their thoughts, and to feel heard and affirmed.  

We appreciate and honor various communication styles; including confident, authoritative, and dynamic, as well as soft, thoughtful, and measured.   

We are not afraid of emotional expression, including emotions typically considered “negative.”  Anger, sadness, grief, frustration, passion, etc., will not be censored and will be held respectfully. 

Emotional release is not discouraged or shamed.  We endeavor to provide a confidential and secure space for emotional energy to be expressed and witnessed with dignity.   

We acknowledge that women have been systematically silenced, dismissed and shamed for millennia, and continue to be silenced, in subtle, overt, and often threatening and violent ways.  We provide space for airing long-buried material that seeks to be witnessed.

The sharing circle—a healing, generative, and vulnerable space—is not a place for offering advice.  

We may seek advice and counsel from one another directly, when it is desired, outside of the circle space.   

We encourage each woman to assert her boundaries in her own way, and we recognize and respect each woman’s boundaries as determined by her.

We maintain confidentiality with regard to sensitive issues shared in the group, as well as in our personal interactions.

Welcome to the Circle!

Respectfully transcribed and summarized by Jennifer on behalf of the Council

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