On the night of a new moon, a circle of women from the Los Angeles area gathered in a dimly lighted Mar Vista condo swathed in scarlet fabric for a Red Tent gathering. One attendee cradled another middle-aged woman in her arms, as others, ranging from their 20s to 60s, studied tarot cards. A new arrival went to shake the hand of Kate Goldstein, an essential oils professional. “We probably shouldn’t shake hands,” Goldstein said. “I just rubbed someone’s feet.”
This type of activity is not unusual for the Red Tent, which meets at the start of every lunar cycle as a designated space for women to rest, share stories and care for one another. The name comes from author Anita Diamant’s bestselling novel “The Red Tent” and refers to the biblical Jacob’s tribe and its women, who must, according to ancient law, take refuge during menstruation and births. At this Los Angeles event, Google Voice is used to summon music, and red flowers line the room. The attendees are here to connect with their bodies and one another.
“For anyone who has never been here, the Red Tent is a sacred space set aside for us to remember,” the evening’s host, Greta Hassel, told nearly a dozen women outfitted in shades of scarlet. “Remember the temple of the body, and that it is blood that creates life.”
Hassel is a marriage and family counselor who describes her life’s path as going from Southern belle to seminary scholar to sex educator — and she’s been leading these circles for the last several years.
Red Tent gatherings don’t take place just in Hassle’s living room. They are part of a grassroots community that has spread all over the United States and several parts of the world. Many credit ALisa Starkweather — founder of the Princess Path and co-founder of the international women’s initiation, Women in Power — with its beginnings.
Read the full article on the LA Times website here