Women's power in Wicca: An analysis of the "women's circle"

Abstract

The paper discusses practices and representations involving the sacred feminine through an analysis of the Women's Circles. The Circles are communities where a positive female sociability is developed, informed by the cosmovision of the Wicca religion, but detached from a particular religion, since the participation in the Circle is not restricted to Wiccan women. The research is based on participant observation conducted in rituals of the Isis-Aphrodite Women's Circle in Belém, Brazil. The article aims to describe the meanings ascribed by the Circle's participants to aspects concerning the feminine such as menstruation, care and handicrafts.