How to harness the power of sister circles for healing

On the Secret Witch Show today our guest is Gemma Brady. Gemma is the founder of Sister Stories, which is on a mission to make going to Women's Circles as common as yoga class. She has dedicated her life to creating spaces for people to tell important stories. Beginning her career as an award winning filmmaker, she believes in the healing power of storytelling and created Sister Stories as a means of offering women an opportunity to come together and experience the transformative power of being seen and heard.

In this episode Gemma and Nicole explore the transformative power of sister circles and how our personal stories facilitate healing - for both ourselves and others. Exploring the understandable fears associated with stepping into spaces of sisterhood - like vulnerability, and the fear of persecution - and the importance of fostering unconditional love, honouring our triggers and having the courage to share our voices, we illuminate the vital need for sisterhood in the permission-giving reclamation of our authentic expression - and how that’s the medicine for the world (including the mainstream!).

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• Sister circles are a potent space of healing and permission-giving, providing a space for self-discovery, expression and gentle activism - which can help change the world through compassion, connection and community

• Both in leading and participating in sister circles, being authentically ourselves, and acknowledging our vulnerabilities, is crucial for creating deep healing

• We can often feel the fear of joining a circle of sisterhood - and if we feel we can’t share anything else, simply naming our fears can be so healing in and of itself 

• Listening is also a vital, courageous act - it allows people to hold space for each other’s complex stories and can activate deep self-illumination - people are remedies, and circle allows others to mirror where we need love

• As facilitators, we aren’t there to ‘get it right’ or be ‘more advanced’ - our role is as a gentle steward, creating and holding space for the group - if you’re just starting out, keep it simple and be authentic, rather than thinking you have to ‘do more’ - the medicine is in you expressing your unique authentic self (aka ‘being’ your remedy).

Resources and things that we spoke about:

• Gemma’s Links:

• Website: https://www.sisterstories.co

• World Class Accredited Circle Facilitator Programme: https://www.sisterstories.co/doors-open-sister-stories-facilitation-online-training-2025

• Social:

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sisterstoriesuk

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SisterStoriesLDN

• Our Links:

• Register interest in our Secret Witch’s Apothecary Membership: www.nicolebarton.co.uk/membership

• Join us this 24th April 2025: Taster event - Heal Yourself, Become the Healer - enrolling now - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heal-yourself-become-the-healer-a-sacred-initiation-to-your-witchy-gifts-tickets-1290199043069

• Social:

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nicoleamandabarton 

• Facebook Group - Secret Witch Sisterhood: www.facebook.com/groups/secretwitch 

• Instagram - @iamnicolebarton

• Instagram - @archetypalapothecary

• You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/@secretwitchsociety

• Tiktok - @archetypalapothecary

Thank you for listening, we’d love to know what comes alive for you in this week’s episode, so please let us know.

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Thank you,
Nicole and Team Secret Witch xox