I first read Anita Diamant’s book, The Red Tent, back in 2007. A few years later, in 2012, at a women’s gathering, hundreds of us watched Things We Don’t Talk About: Women’s Stories from the Red Tent, which documented the growing movement.

There was clearly a great need to share, discuss, and honor our internal cycles in a safe and supportive environment. Since then, the movement has expanded all over the world.

A teacher of mine, ALisa Starkweather, often called the mother of the Red Tent Temple movement, lays out some guiding principles such as: Red Tents are a place for women of all ages and stages; they are focused on our journeys as women; they encourage non-directed time, they are ideally held near the new moon, and they act as an archetypal womb space.

At Earthaven, we’ve been so lucky to have Kaitlin Ilya Wolf guiding our Red Tent gatherings for more than a decade. Having a consistent resource for scheduling, decorating, facilitating, and encouraging women to get together once a month has been beyond supportive; it’s been transformative. And it naturally builds community among women.