writing in the matriarchy
an 8-week online course combining meditation and writing
DESIGNED to heal the past and channel a new future
Scroll for more info on the course, your instructor, available scholarships, FAQs, and lessons.
Each class session will combine guided meditation with writing prompts that will help you to generate new work, clarify your existing projects, and access the specific healing insights that only writing can provide. Weekly lessons will be accompanied by optional prompts and curated readings by matriarchal writers. Class sessions will be recorded, and the content will be yours to keep. The class can be taken live or asynchronously. Thursday evenings for 8 weeks, beginning October 1.
Live classes will take place on Thursdays.
7 p.m. EST; 6 p.m. CST; 4 p.m. Pacific
October 1- November 19, 2026
We are living at the violent end of patriarchy, and it is more important than ever to find matriarchal ways of creating, channeling insight, finding community, and writing our stories. This course will combine guided meditation, freewriting, readings, and workshops designed to clear out old programming and help you to claim your singular genius in writing. Our supportive community will help to validate your intuition and honor your heart. And Rachel Webster’s visionary instruction and guided meditations will help you to clear your energy and open yourself to new inspiration. This process works for both beginning and experienced writers.
The class will meet on Thursdays for 80 minutes, with an optional breakout room after each session for additional sharing. All class sessions will be recorded, so you can attend with the group or move at your own pace. A discussion board will allow you to give and receive encouragement, and the course will include two optional workshops to help you develop a work-in-progress.
Weekly lessons will be accompanied by optional assignments and curated readings by matriarchal writers including Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and Annie Ernaux.
We will be talking about the embodied experience of being a woman — in our own lives and in history— and holding great tenderness and respect for everyone’s personal story and cultural context. We welcome participants of all ethnicities, identities, and generations, including women, queer women, trans folks, anyone uncomfortable being in a single gender, and men who are grieving the patriarchy’s violences and eager to learn matriarchal ways of writing and creating.
Collectively, we are living at the end of one story and the beginning of another. The story that is ending is that of patriarchy— the idea that “man” stands in for human; that humans are separate from nature and their worth is ranked by caste; that divinity exists outside of us in a male guise; that the hero is an individual; and that war is our central narrative. We are seeing the horrific results of this outdated story. But a new story is being co-created by us. This is a story that remembers our belonging and our connection to each other, to the earth, to our ancestors, to our plant and animal relatives, to our past and future selves, and to the divinity seeded in all things. This is a story in which everyone’s voice is valued as part of the greater unfolding conversation about what it means to be human on this planet.
In this class, we will enter our voices into this evolving story by remembering women’s ways of knowing and cultivating deeply intuitive ways of writing. Expect to heal something of the past, connect to wellsprings of ancestral strength, and carry an insight of the present into the future. Expect to do writing that surprises you but feels familiar because it is wholly your own.
I’m Your Instructor,
Rachel Jamison Webster
I have published five books, including Mary is a River, a finalist for the National Poetry Series written in the voice of Mary Magdalene, and Benjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family. This book of ancestral nonfiction was chosen as a Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker, and an Editor’s Pick by The New York Times. I am currently finishing a book about my female ancestors and the creative processes specific to women. I have taught creative writing at Northwestern University for 20 years and have developed writing workshops through groups including Ancestral Medicine, the Urban League, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Gallery 37. I have also meditated for more than 20+ years, with a special focus on clairvoyance, clairaudience, divination, and ancestral healing. These practices of writing and meditation combine in my teaching. I love to share my methods for fulfilling our creative potential.
“In these trying times I try to compensate for the lack of tenderness and care that I observe in the world, but then I see Rachel J. Webster, who sows seeds of hope and futurism, and I feel excited. Her presence, teachings, and words continue to inspire me. It’s rare to find an artist who is truly genius at both imparting knowledge and enacting revolution on the page. Rachel is a prime example of such a creative leader. I would not be the writer or person I am today without her mentorship.”
“ If you are a woman writer on the fence as to whether to enroll in Rachel Jamison Webster’s course, let me be the nudge that lands you gently in one of the most inspiring and supportive writing workshops you will ever take. My work with Rachel was both productive and profound, opening channels to new insights into the women in my family, including myself, and allowing me to complete a multi-year project which centers 14 generations of my foremothers.
Whatever your creative project, Rachel’s combination of meditation, writing prompts, example texts, and encouragement will help you find what you need.”
Scholarships
We offer THESE scholarships in honor of our female ancestors
THE ARAMINTA AWARD
In honor of Araminta Ross, better known as Harriet Tubman. This scholarship is for a writer of color who is lighting the path for others.
THE PHOEBE AWARD
The Phoebe Award is in honor of Rachel’s maternal grandmother, Phoebe Jamison, who raised two sons with serious special needs. This scholarship will be given to a woman who is serving as a caregiver for a child with special needs or a disabled partner, while seeking more time for her creative life.
THE ERSKINE AWARD
The Erskine Award is in honor of Rachel’s Aunt Cynthia Erskine, who wrote throughout her life without being published. This will be given to a lesbian writer over the age of 40 who has a story to tell.
THE Martha AWARD
In honor of the most matriarchal person Rachel has ever known: her grandmother, Martha Webster, who went by Bart, and was constantly creating—sewing, knitting, gardening, cooking—while working and writing in her own journal. This award is for a multi-genre artist who creates while working full-time.
To apply for one of these scholarships, please write to Rachel at rachel@meditativecreativewriting.com, including:
A few sentences about why you qualify for the award, and what you hope to get from the class.
A 1-4 page writing sample.
We are happy to celebrate the life of our foremothers by supporting women who are writing today.
We aLSO OFFER DISCOUNTS FOR RECENT GRADUATES & those experiencing financial vulnerability. Email us for info.
Course FAQ
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This course will meet you where you are and will work for either advanced or beginning writers. Our meditations and freewrites are designed for any level, and my hope is that they will connect you to the stories, essays, and poems that only you can write. The establishment of a meditative writing practice will invite more intuition, awareness, and guidance into your work, regardless of experience-level or genre. If you are an advanced writer working on a specific project, you could use these exercises to deepen your characters, or access more authenticity in your voice. If you are a beginner, you could use this course to commit to your process and build self-trust as a writer. Regardless, you will generate new work that will move you and surprise you.
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Life is busy! I understand. All classes are held live on Zoom, once a week, but they will also be recorded, so you can watch the recordings on your own time. Course content will remain available to you so you can return to readings and writing prompts long after the course closes.
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The course will include two optional workshops, in weeks 4 and 7, after the main class. We will use most of our time together to meditate and freewrite, generating new work. Optional breakout rooms after every other class will allow participants to read their work aloud. The course will include an online discussion board where participants can post works-in-progress for sharing, conversation and support.
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All women are welcome in this class, including queer women, trans people, and anyone who feels the constriction of being in a single gender. This particular curriculum is focused on the embodied and socialized experiences of being a woman, and it will speak to some of the present and historical challenges of being a woman writer. Participants will be examining experiences from their own lives, in the lives of their female ancestors, and in feminine archetypes. We will be able to deepen our work together through this focus, even as we know that being a woman is an endlessly varied experience. Participants will have the full range of expression in their creative writing and will be supported in writing their truths.
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If you feel the class is not a fit for you, you can get a full refund if you withdraw by October 12. To get a sense of my approach, feel free to watch one of the free classes available on this site.
Writing In the Matriarchy
Heal the past and channel a new future in this 8-week online course
combining meditation and creative writing.
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Being a Vessel
In this first lesson, we will set up a meditative practice and ritual container that will invite new writing to arrive. We will consciously shift from patriarchal ways of thinking abut writing to make space for woman-centered ways of knowing and creating. And we will do an opening meditation that allows us to attune to earth energy and cosmic energy, as a way of clearing out old blockages and inviting in the new. (Artwork “Vessel” by course participant Holly Cohn).
In this first lesson, we will set up a meditative practice and ritual container that will invite new writing to arrive. We will consciously shift from patriarchal ways of thinking abut writing to make space for woman-centered ways of knowing and creating. And we will do an opening meditation that allows us to attune to earth energy and cosmic energy, as a way of clearing out old blockages and inviting in the new. (Artwork “Vessel” by course participant Holly Cohn).
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Revisiting Personal Memory
This week, we will talk about the energetic anatomy of female creativity. We will do another meditation designed to clear our energy and tap into grounded awareness. We will acknowledge our own lives as our central sources of meaning and wisdom, and then we will visit an earlier version of ourselves with compassion. We will experience the healing and artistic liberation that happens when we write a personal story with radical honesty.
This week, we will talk about the energetic anatomy of female creativity. We will do another meditation designed to clear our energy and tap into grounded awareness. We will acknowledge our own lives as our central sources of meaning and wisdom, and then we will visit an earlier version of ourselves with compassion. We will experience the healing and artistic liberation that happens when we write a personal story with radical honesty.
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Acknowledging Multigenerational Memory
This week, we will look at women’s role as carriers and conduits of the generations. We will begin with a meditation, attuning to healing energy. This will help us to work with multigenerational stories without getting stuck in their pain, denials, grandiosity, or confusion. We will do some writing around how our foremothers’ stories echo in our own lives. We will honor women’s reality by writing humble, sensory specifics, which will help to rebalance a gendered pattern of shame/grandiosity.
This week, we will look at women’s role as carriers and conduits of the generations. We will begin with a meditation, attuning to healing energy. This will help us to work with multigenerational stories without getting stuck in their pain, denials, grandiosity, or confusion. We will do some writing around how our foremothers’ stories echo in our own lives. We will honor women’s reality by writing humble, sensory specifics, which will help to rebalance a gendered pattern of shame/grandiosity.
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Putting the Work into Conversation & Optional Workshop
This week, we will begin with a guided meditation, freewrite, and Q&A that takes up threads from our first three weeks. This main class will last for 1 hour. After a 10 minute break, we will have 40 minutes for an optional generative workshop in small groups of 4. You will submit your workshop pages at the end of week 3 in order to participate in workshop. Workshops will be generative, and participants will ask questions and make connections for the sake of nurturing and developing the work.
This week, we will begin with a guided meditation, freewrite, and Q&A that takes up threads from our first three weeks. This main class will last for 1 hour. After a 10 minute break, we will have 40 minutes for an optional generative workshop in small groups of 4. You will submit your workshop pages at the end of week 3 in order to participate in workshop. Workshops will be generative, and participants will ask questions and make connections for the sake of nurturing and developing the work.
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Writing with the Ancestors
This week, the course will be co-taught by Ancestral Medicine Practitioner, Catherine Dunne, who will lead us in a ritual to connect with a healed ancestral guide. Our lineage stories do not just exist in the past, but are available for reshaping and learning in the present. Undertaking ancestral writing with the help of a healed guide helps us to choose and enliven those stories that are most needed now.
This week, the course will be co-taught by Ancestral Medicine Practitioner, Catherine Dunne, who will lead us in a ritual to connect with a healed ancestral guide. Our lineage stories do not just exist in the past, but are available for reshaping and learning in the present. Undertaking ancestral writing with the help of a healed guide helps us to choose and enliven those stories that are most needed now.
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Writing with Guides and Archetypes
We will continue to work with the idea of guidance in this week, connecting again to a healed ancestor or archetype and working with the stories that are coming through for personal, ancestral, and cultural healing. We will talk about boundary setting and will consider the fact that oftentimes the most effective way to clear pain is to write about it honestly for the sake of illumination. We will think about stories as medicine for our times.
We will continue to work with the idea of guidance in this week, connecting again to a healed ancestor or archetype and working with the stories that are coming through for personal, ancestral, and cultural healing. We will talk about boundary setting and will consider the fact that oftentimes the most effective way to clear pain is to write about it honestly for the sake of illumination. We will think about stories as medicine for our times.
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Writing as Evolving: Revision as a Process of Consciousness.
This week, we will begin with a guided meditation, freewrite, and Q&A around the idea of revision. We will discuss revision as a process of contraction and expansion, like a womb giving birth to a new work. The main class will last for 1 hour. After a 10 minute break, we will have 40 minutes for an optional generative workshop in small groups of 4.
This week, we will begin with a guided meditation, freewrite, and Q&A around the idea of revision. We will discuss revision as a process of contraction and expansion, like a womb giving birth to a new work. The main class will last for 1 hour. After a 10 minute break, we will have 40 minutes for an optional generative workshop in small groups of 4.
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Keeping the Gift in Motion
This week, we will think about creative work as a gift received and then given back to the community. After a meditation and writing exercises based in inner listening, participants will have the option to share their work as a group, and to cultivate the community and reception that allows the work to season and deepen. We will shift notions of perfectionism into ideas of flow, and we will welcome our work as part of a widening conversation and lineage.
This week, we will think about creative work as a gift received and then given back to the community. After a meditation and writing exercises based in inner listening, participants will have the option to share their work as a group, and to cultivate the community and reception that allows the work to season and deepen. We will shift notions of perfectionism into ideas of flow, and we will welcome our work as part of a widening conversation and lineage.
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