The 2026 matriarchy reading list
Deepening our understanding of matriarchal intelligence
Books have been how I make sense of the world. It’s how I have intimate discussions with other’s thoughts. Brainstorming sessions in my mind that leave me in awe of the connections made.
In the last few years, a big part of what I focused on researching and learning about obsessively is working understanding of our psyche. But for all my inner work, Earthborn is where I explore how to apply it right earth-side.
And for that, I am getting a bit more practical.
One thing that became clear to me is that if one person has an idea or works out a problem, soon many more will have the same one. Have you ever noticed how you have a storyline idea and don’t do anything about it only for a book to be released with remarkable similarities? That’s the morphogenic field at work.
In many ways, it’s still in its infancy in terms of our understanding. The way I perceive it is that it is a collective organizing field where, amongst other things, our collective thoughts live.
When I talk about “seeding something” or “amplifying” it is in direct relationship to
Because I believe that those who came before me seeded our collective ideas, thoughts, practices, or systems of organizing, I am approaching this work with reverence towards their efforts.
To move a society forward, we don’t need to start from scratch. That would be a waste of time when so many that came before us dedicated their lives to plant and water seeds that we can now pick up on and continue to nurture.
The same way, we must now build on their work and continue to lay the path forward for that better world we can see in our hearts but not quite experience in its fullness yet.
Considering many of our collective ancestors of time passed sacrificed greatly, and there are those living today who continue to sound alarm bells have inherently had to embrace more difficult lives we can imagine, it is a natural starting place to enter this work by first understanding the landscape what had already been done.
In this way, we honour how far we could get thanks to those who came before us. We honour them even more by standing at their side and picking up the next brick that needs to be layed.
An emerging idea I can’t get rid of, is that we don’t need some else to start another “movement”. Too many already exist where one person bravely forges ahead and inevitably burns out. What we need next in our next phase of evolution is to explore how we can work together to mobilize resources towards existing movements to render them more effective. At its core, this is the question at the heart of Earthborn.
Righ now I’m reading Emergent Strategies by adrienne maree brown to get any insights that might be helpful in mobilizing what I have in mind for Earthborn.
But in terms of better being able to create the experiences and shifts for this community in 2026, this is my curated reading list of books to learn more about matriarchy and leading from the lens of relationship.
The Descent of the Goddess: a Way of Initiation for Women by Sylvia Brington Perera
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock
The Great Mother by Erich Newmann
The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler
Matriarchal Societies by Heide Goettner-Abendroth
The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Barbara Mor
The Living Goddess by Marija Gimbutas
The Goddess and Gods of Old Europe by Marija Gimbutas
There are so many more I can add to this list. As it is, I wish with all my heart I could put these books under my pillow and overnight have them download all their wisdom into my heart and brain as I sleep.
What’s on your list that should be added to this collection? Let’s see if we can curate a formidable list on matriarchal intelligence in the comments.
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Next issue is Spring/Summer 2026.
xo,
I finished reading The Great Cosmic Mother a few weeks ago. It was life-changing, like a multiple-hundred-page-long exhale of truth. 💖
What a great synchronicity to see that book on your list--and so many others I've also tasted over the years! May the true collective of interdependence be born.