Note: The experiences offered by The Goddess Space vary depending on the theme of the event. This write up is based on the women's sharing circle.
Thought witchcraft was all burned out? Guess again. Women’s rites are alive, thriving and thoroughly photogenic at Anoushka Florence’s Goddess Space – a sort of spiritual retreat for women. I’m here for one of her ‘women’s sharing circles’. Inside, tealights glimmer around a bowl of flowers, cosmic projections flicker across the ceiling and the floor is strewn with vintage cushions.
The crowd is a young, diverse and elegant bunch, who have mostly found Anoushka through her Instagram account. She begins the ritual by burning herbs. We sit cross-legged in a circle and say our name, star sign and reason for attending. It’s like AA for the ‘moonchild’ set. We sip from cups of cacao, basically hot chocolate, only much more powerful. Anoushka takes us through a guided meditation – a journey to find our ‘inner’ wise woman. Under my arse cheek, my phone starts to vibrate, and my inner wise woman rolls her eyes.
After the meditation, the sharing begins guided by a ‘talking crystal’ that’s passed around the circle. Every woman is on the precipice of something – a move, a job, a break-up – or has just made the leap. There are tears. Instagram is of course known for its artifice, but what it’s brought together here is earnest and sincere. I walk out with a sense of connection – the kind you only get when you switch your phone off.