Essential oils for safe, sacred, and empowering women's circles
I’ve been leading women’s circles for over a decade, in some form or another - and there’s a beautiful healing that happens in the sacredness and connection of being in circle with sisters. Essential oils are the perfect way to create a nourishing and empowering environment for gathering, too - super-charging the soft, nurturing atmosphere, and even helping us navigate the natural fears that come up in attending.
One thing I’ve noticed - which isn’t often considered or talked about - is just how vital it is to use oils in a safe and conscious way in circle, for the highest good of all women. So, today, I’m going to share some ways that we can work with essential oils in circles and use them for relaxation and to dispel fear - but very safely!
The importance of safety in women’s circles
Women’s circles offer us a remembrance of an ancient way of being - our ancestors gathered in circle, creating a ‘village’ - and they have become spaces for deep emotional work, healing and connection, which is exactly the medicine our world needs right now. Sharing our stories is vital and healing - because, as I always say, people are remedies. There’s alchemy that occurs when a woman shares her story, and it resonates with a part of ourselves, holding a mirror.
That said, in today’s disconnected world, it can also feel really edgy to attend circle - bringing up a lot of fear and feelings of unsafety in sharing ourselves with others. Essential oils are the perfect way to help cultivate a space that feels calming, nourishing and combats the anxiety of joining a circle of women. With aromatherapy, we can create a relaxing, and soothing environment that helps women feel calm as soon as they enter the space.
And, when bringing lots of different women together in one space and using essential oils, there is also a lot to consider around physical safety, as well as emotional safety. We need to use safe practices in these spaces - especially in a world where certain oils may not be suitable for all participants, because of things like contraindications, pregnancy and allergies. Likewise, we have been taught in society that it’s okay to apply oils directly to the skin; I’ve attended circle where they’ve passed oils around and encouraged that, or even invited ingesting them - and this just isn’t safe.
Understanding essential oils: what you need to know before using them
We think of essential oils as natural, assuming immediately that they aren’t potent, but that’s a myth. Essential oils are a powerful medicinal tool - they have natural ‘chemical’ properties and need to be treated with respect and proper knowledge.
They can create chemical change within us to help us relax, energise, ground into our bodies, unlock emotions, and alter our physical health. And this is why we need to use them with care.
Commonly, essential oils are used in women’s circles through diffusion, topical use (diluted in a carrier oil) and inhalation - and we can offer that still, just safely, consciously and intentionally. I’ve worked with all 3 methods, safely.
Special considerations
What we need to contemplate before using essential oils blindly in circles, is the needs of the group:
- Are there pregnant women joining?
- Are there any women with sensitivities or allergies?
- Are there any vulnerable women joining with health conditions like asthma, high blood pressure or skin conditions?
If the answer to this is ‘Yes’, then we really need to adapt the oils we will offer in circle, to accommodate these women’s needs (in a world where we’ve learned our needs are shameful).
- For pregnancy: we should avoid many of the uterine or floral oils like Jasmine, Geranium, Lavender, Rose and Clary Sage - as well as stimulating oils like Rosemary.
- For sensitivities: avoid nut-based carrier oils (e.g. use Grapeseed instead of Almond oil), and check with participants for any sensitivities, keeping the dilution low (1 drop of essential oil in 5ml carrier).
- For health conditions: check for any conditions beforehand.
We can choose to either establish any particular needs by collecting data before the circle on the three questions above (which could open up a wider choice of oils for us to use if no one has any contra-indications) - or we could choose to use oils that aren’t going to challenge these groups of women.
Essential oils should never be ingested (see our article on this here).
Essential oils for women’s circles: choosing with intention
Fear and anxiety can be common experiences for women attending, so we generally want to create a circle that creates a nurturing feel and dispels any anxieties. Essential oils can help women feel more at ease and more grounded.
If there are no pregnancies, sensitivities or health challenges, then here’s what I’d choose as my Top 5 feminine ‘women’s balance’ oils for creating a beautiful, grounding, nurturing women’s healing space:
- Rose: a feminine, heart-opening oil that promotes love and nurture, this oil is a gorgeous floral that just embraces us in a warm hug when we enter the room.
- Clary Sage: known for emotional clarity and hormonal balance, this oil is one that encourages euphoria, calmness and sedates the nerves.
- Ylang Ylang: a beautiful floral, this oil softens emotional barriers, and facilitates emotional release.
- Geranium: hormonally balancing, and harmonising for our emotions, this oil is heart-opening and uplifting of the spirits.
- Frankincense: grounding and deepening spiritual connection and meditation, this is a complementary oil to help all women land in the space.
Alternatively, if there are pregnancies, sensitivities, or allergies, or health conditions, here are some ‘safer’ oils to consider using (I’d recommend diffusion only if pregnant, aside from the first two):
- Mandarin: a gentle, uplifting citrus, this oil reduces anxiety, bringing joy and calmness.
- Rosewood: soft and grounding, this oil helps calm the mind and emotions, offering a gentle, floral sweetness.
- Bergamot: a beautifully calming oil, Bergamot relaxes us emotionally and lifts our mood, soothing anxiety.
- Chamomile: with soothing, calming properties, this oil eases stress and fear, bringing stability, peace and harmony.
- Sweet Orange: a light, refreshing oil, Sweet Orange is joyful and brings lightness to the room, soothing the mind.
3 ways to integrate essential oils into circle
It can be nice to integrate oils to support various parts of the circle - in creating an intentional opening of circle, supporting during meditation or for intentional cleansing and releasing.
Diffusion: to open circle
The easiest, most effective and safest way to integrate essential oils into circle is through diffusion. Diffusing oils into the environment is a beautiful way for women to feel the energy of relaxation as soon as they walk through the door, into the beautiful setting. It’s like being transported into another world; to walk into a space and feel the nourishment of oils encase you like a safety blanket.
Diffusion Blend Tip: using any mix of your favourite 3 oils from above, mix up to 7 drops total in water in an electrical diffuser, or candle burner for 30 minutes before you open your space.
Massage: during meditation
To superpower, you could also dilute some oils in a rollerball blend to pass around and roll onto women’s pulse points, or just above their top lip, for an additional immersion. This is good to use just as you are about to lead any meditation or journey for them.
Rollerball Blend Tip: mix 2 drops of any ‘safe’ oils (e.g. 1 drop Mandarin, 1 drop Rosewood) into 10ml Grapeseed oil in a rollerball, and pass it around the circle for women to apply it to the space just above their top lip, or wrists, temples and neck during circle.
Personal Inhalation: for cleansing and releasing – or at any point during circle
If there are women who are feeling particularly in need of a specific ‘feminine’ oil, but there are pregnant women in the circle, you could make some additional inhalators with the floral blends for use in those without contra-indications - or even for specific intention-setting, such as using Lemon essential oil for cleansing.
Personal Inhalator Blend Tip: add 3 drops of your choice of any floral ‘woman’s balance’ oils onto a cotton pad and roll it up inside an aromatherapy inhaler. You could pre-blend these and offer them to those who have no sensitivities, pregnancy, or health conditions, or you could also leave the oils out and encourage them to use their wisdom to create their own.
My favourite women’s circle rituals:
One of my personal favourite women’s circle essential oil rituals is:
Diffusion to open: Mix 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Sweet Orange and 1 drop Ylang Ylang in water in an electrical diffuser or candle burner - this creates a welcoming atmosphere.
Massage blend for embodiment: Mix 2 drops of Mandarin into 10ml of Grapeseed oil and apply to pulse points, neck and just above your top lip, before a meditative journey
Inhalator to anchor: Add 1 drop Geranium and 2 drops of Lemon onto a cotton pad and roll it up inside an aromatherapy inhalator. Sniff during the end of circle as you come to form your intentions as a way of anchoring into your vision.
Remember to get creative - you can use essential oils very intuitively as long as you’re researching the safety of each oil. Overall, essential oils are powerful when used consciously in women’s circles, to cultivate a beautiful, nourishing environment for the women joining. They can really supercharge the energy of the circle, ease anxieties and support emotional healing when used mindfully.
Embrace the wisdom of nature’s medicine as a sacred tool to connect with your own inner wisdom - true magic in circle is created from being authentically you, and these fear-busting essential oils can support you to show up fully, too!
Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist
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