Mother Earth: Envisioning a Matricentric Future

| by Tamsin Alamayah |

Matricentric consciousness is an acknowledgement of the interconnectedness of all life. It refers to the intricate ecosystem and sensual blueprint that we are all linked to and calls us back into our inherent connection with this moist and mossy web. This familial relationship to life honours the Earth, inviting us to hold respect and reverence for what lies beneath our feet in a way that goes beyond ecology or geography. The globe we inhabit retrieves her title of the all-encompassing “She” rather than “it”, our bodies return to feeling rather than spectating, and we come home to the Truth that our ancestors knew in their bones; that this Earth is our Mother.

Despite this being an inner knowing that exists within all of our collective ancestry, this way of thinking is perceived as somewhat radical and revolutionary in the year 2025. Within western society, we exist within a culture so disconnected from the Earth that any beliefs that honour the Earth’s innate sentience are perceived as “woo-woo”, let alone revering her as our collective Mother. Now, you’ve guessed it, I’m very much here to challenge this way of thinking. However, before we start getting hot and heavy about the problematic nature of this colonised mindset, this isn’t the focus of this piece of writing.

To me, this way of thinking is over, we can see it all around us, slowly but surely… crumbling.

So, instead of getting caught up in the whirlwind, I’m suggesting we do something a little bit more fun; to let go and play. Just for now in this moment, whilst you’re here with me, I’m asking that you allow your inner child to be free. As we did long ago in the playground, let’s dive deep into the imaginary realm, let’s play house. Let your innocent self get excited and make sure we applaud them as their heart revels in feelings of joy, awe and wonder. Allow your consciousness some space to breathe beyond the physical, journey into the expanse and admire the unknown.

Would you like to join me through the mystical portal of the matricentric world, explore the landscape together, take in the sights, and taste the possibilities of the future? Of course you do… 

• Child: A Practice

  As your feet softly land in this dreamstate, it doesn’t take you long to recognise you are in a very different world. You see that we have finally accepted the Earth’s invitation to journey with her natural rhythms, and you can sense the restoration of balance within your core. As you take your first breaths, you feel your heart explode with a feeling that once felt so distant. A feeling that you pined for every night, but couldn’t quite grasp. You soak this up into your bones, savouring each drop as it quenches every inch of thirst. Until you realise, it was there all along; right within reach. All that was needed was for us to simply come into presence with what she already provides each and every one of us so abundantly and unconditionally. The ever flowing, ever spiralling outpouring of Love that lives cosily within her Life-Death-ReBirth cycle we see all around us.

  As you start to explore this world, you notice that every person is provided for and that there really is enough to go around. Communities are existing harmoniously within a system of reciprocity, the leaders speak and act differently, and nobody is forgotten. People’s loads feel lighter as they allow the seasonal cycle to guide them to pause and reflect in stillness more. Creativity is celebrated without a price and rest needs no permission slip. Peace is a reality, no longer a prayer.

  Stay with me, dear child. I can feel your critical “adult” mind seeping in as we explore. Remember, you said you would play. Can you allow yourself to believe that we can simply let go and allow ourselves to become children again? Can we allow ourselves to imagine, just for a second, that finally putting the responsibility back into the hands of Mother Earth, and falling back into her seasonal, cyclical rhythms could form this mystical utopia into our actual reality? 

  Breathe here for just a moment. Exhale into this space. Let yourself be, as we sink in a little deeper.

(re)Birth

By honouring the earth as our Mother, the womb takes its rightful seat on the throne. Mother Earth is constantly birthing new life all around us and without this birthing power held within the womb, no human, plant or animal would exist. Within this matricentric dream world, we value birth as our vital energy source (of food, water, shelter and of human life itself) and we show gratitude for the bounty its power provides. We understand the saying of “heal birth to heal earth” on a whole new level as we recognise that this birthing power is where all that we need in order to live comes from.

The Motherly plea we hear within the earthquakes, droughts, floods and the cries of human mothers and parents, is no longer ignored or seen as a burden to try to control with more interference. We instead view this fierce mother’s “no”, as a guiding voice telling us that someone, somewhere, is messing with Her birthing power, and getting something very wrong.

It doesn’t take a skilled investigator to figure out where we are going wrong in our current reality; from the climate crisis, pollution, war, the list goes on in the ways we are causing harm to the earth.

So, in a matricentric culture, when faced with this cry for change, we choose to turn towards and listen to her, allowing her to steer the boat back into calm waters, for we know when she speaks, she speaks for her children and in that she speaks for all. Systems are built with the focus on nurturing this birthing power, rather than endless intervention and extraction for financial gain. This, of course, influences midwifery services but also goes beyond our human birth world and includes farming, food production, water or forestry management, as well as all forms of engineering, architecture, craftsmanship, artistry and anything else that holds a potential to create new life.

We take on roles in these areas not to dominate, control or meddle with birth, (nor do we do it to make lots of money), but rather we see them as a calling from Mother Earth asking us to help tend to what she’s very much in charge of. In other words, Mother Earth is the cook and she lovingly (but firmly) tells us, as her children, to either lend a hand or get out of her bloody kitchen!

Life

By honouring the birthing power that brings life, you see that we also honour each living soul — each human, animal and plant kin — as a child of Mother Earth. She does not discriminate, exclude or attempt to fit her children into hierarchical boxes based on sex, gender identity, sexuality, race, nationality, religion or how able our bodies are. No matter who you are, where you come from or how you live, Mother Earth provides water, food, shelter and the beauty of nature for all to enjoy. By understanding this, we see how this life sustaining power also exists within the wombs of women and birthing people all around us.

In a matricentric world, this causes communities to turn to women for leadership, as it is understood that when they allow this inner power to guide them, they can then guide the community. This doesn’t mean taking the seats of men within the current  hierarchical system but rather shifting to a circular one, that has sustaining and nurturing all life at the centre. Community is no longer a buzzword, but rather the bedrock of society, with Mother Earth’s ecosystem reminding us that each life needs many others to flourish and feel whole. Time and energy is pumped into building collective care and a world where no one is on the margins.

Living in this way offers up an opportunity for deep relational healing, between different cultures, races and nations, as we can start to see ourselves in one another, allowing division and separation to drift away into the distance. With time, we can look in each other’s eyes, and tend to the guilt, shame, resentment and rage that we feel towards one another.

Accountability and justice systems are rooted in harm prevention rather than upholding white supremacy and patriarchy. Colonisation, extraction of resources and the dropping of bombs are the ultimate antithesis of viewing the Earth as our collective, life sustaining Mother. Instead, focus is placed on the essential and life nourishing parts of society such as health services, social care and education and releasing them from the grips of bureaucracy, privatisation and inequality. Matricentric approaches to governing and managing our life sustaining systems and institutions would, in the most nurturing and loving sense possible, completely flip our worlds upside down. In the end, Mother knows best.

Death

This honouring of life then leads us to honour death, and into acknowledging that this is where some of our deepest work lies. Knowing that all beings, ideas, and ways of living must be shown respect when it comes to their time to decompose into the earth in order for new growth to spring. 

Through honouring death, we honour the lives of those who came before, our ancestors, learning from their wins and their mistakes. They provide us with a sense of belonging, a rooting that reminds us of where we come from. Returning to this holding from those within our lineage allows us to tend to severed ties, heal generational trauma and stitch us back into connection with our Truth. In this remembrance, we feel the hands of our ancestors, pushing us forward on our journeys, cheering us on with every step, letting us know we are not alone.

Within a matricentric world, we do not believe ourselves to be indestructible. We do not meddle with this natural flow, but rather we respect death as a powerful force and a mirror that calls us to cherish our humanity like the most precious of stones. When Mother Earth shows up as death, she reminds us to be aware of the delicateness of life. When we hold respect for death, we do not see life as futile or replaceable, but as sacred. The wells of grief remind us how deep our capacity to love truly is and how crucial community care is for our hearts. You start to see (as you contemplate what very few choose to) just how necessary it is for us to finally turn our heads and look her in the eye.

Death, being the one force of this Earth that not one of us can run from, calls us forward as humble beings. She asks us to prune, compost and to let go of that which is no longer serving our lives, but we still have firmly within our grips, like consumerism, capitalism, patriarchal and colonial ways of living that hold no respect for death, birth or the nurturing of life.

As you look around into this matricentric world we are exploring, you see where these systems have been well and truly put to bed. All death now occurs within the natural flow of the cycle; when it is time to. We see, in this cyclical perspective, that life does not end, but instead returns to the place it came. What cannot be disputed however, is that our blood, flesh and bones will be returned to Mother Earth to decompose, slowly surrendering into her arms and merging into her soil. A soil that will one day support the birth of new life.

A Matricentric Reality

The more you stay here and soak up this enchanting world, the more you start to see that this shift in consciousness can not only bring us into an outstanding level of both beauty and balance, but is absolutely necessary for our survival. You stop thinking of this as an imaginary game, and start to see the importance of this return to our collective ancestral wisdom. You realise that respecting the Earth as our Mother was never about new-age spiritual ideology or even political dogma, but simply about presence with what we can see, feel, hear, taste and smell all around us.

You start to understand what living with the cycle of life-death-rebirth actually means, and the real life solutions it provides for our modern worldly problems. The more you look, the less idealistic it seems and the more it begins to take form, shaping our current reality. So, with that in mind I have one more request for you, child of Mother Earth, and that is for you to continue to wonder, ponder and contemplate the changes that you could make towards building this matricentric world our grounded reality. Mother is waiting.