Weaving our Way: Beyond Patriarchy – a Womancraft Compendium

Introduction

Lucy H. Pearce

From childhood through to my mid-thirties I was a utopian dreamer. I truly believed that we could co-create a bright new world, that we could transform and heal. And then the last few years happened. Breakdown on a personal level, at the same time as historic breakdown on a global level. I remember one day I was curled up on the path outside my home in one of the worst autistic meltdowns of my life. Every step I tried to walk to get inside, my nervous system would collapse in another wave. I felt something inside me break. The hope that I had been holding onto for years that things would get better in our personal circumstances had gone. It seemed so naïve. On a global scale the complete disruption of normality has led to a subsequent loss of hope for liberals and progressives, left-leaners, alternatives and New Agers. There is a sense of things being totally out of our control on a global scale: Brexit, Trump, Johnson, the pandemic, waves of cancellations and the culture wars, the total lack of action on the climate crisis, the wars in Ukraine and Palestine… A sense which has led many of us to retreat entirely from trying to make a difference, feeling powerless in the face of so much hostility and conflict.

Feeling powerless is psychologically dangerous for humans.

It is a dynamic that patriarchy has exploited again and again throughout history. Keeping people apart through shame and fear is a tool of oppression and control which ensures the continuity of the status quo.

Women’s voices are still being left out of important global conversations. Last week it was revealed that on the COP29 committee spearheading the next round of climate talks there was not a single woman. Out of 28 people. (Read HERE) To face the biggest crisis our species has ever had. Not one. And whilst we’re at it, there has still never been a female US president, or leader of most major religions. Women’s voices – ideas, insights, needs – are still missing on every level.

But the status quo is breaking down. As my friend Tracy says, “these are the death throes of the patriarchy, love, this is what it looks like.”

Alone we might feel powerless, hopeless…but together…

We have seen what happens when women stand together and speak out – think the Suffragettes, #MeToo, Pussy March, Black Lives Matter, the women in Mexico, India and Canada who have stood together and said enough to the disappearance, murder and rape of women and girls in their communities. Something powerful is unleashed when women raise their voices together, awareness comes to what has seemed intractable, the status quo begins to shift…

I want to put our brains, hearts, lived experience, ideas, dreams, insights together to create a document of hope and power that will carry us through psychologically, energetically and spiritually. Which will reassure and support us. And provide us with practical tools and ideas. I would like to partner with you to co-create a vision of what comes next. Of how we might travel these tumultuous times with hope in our hearts. How we can cultivate the seeds of the new, growing them up strong under our stewardship. I want to hear your dreams or visions of what might come next. I want to hear about working models for creating a culture that honours, respects and supports the female and feminine alongside all others. I want us to learn how we build strong communities that can hold us all.

About the Book

We are bringing together the whole of the Womancraft community – authors and readers – to collaborate in creating a diverse and inclusive compendium of contemporary women’s wisdom, one which will carry us forward through these strange and uncertain times. One that our community can turn to as a handbook, words to inspire, that we can share with our sisters, daughters, granddaughters, with our women’s circles and friends.

Each time we open submissions we are sad to have to say no to so many talented women. This is a way that we can publish more creative and powerful women’s voices, alongside our existing authors.

The book will open with an Introduction by Lucy H. Pearce, founder of Womancraft Publishing.

Title

Weaving Our Way: Beyond Patriarchy – A Womancraft Compendium

Themes

• What needs healing/transforming…and how we can: practically, energetically, linguistically, psychologically, systemically, politically.
• How we can each divest ourselves from patriarchy.
• What you long for, what do we need: visions and dreams for what comes next, how do we cultivate this in ourselves and others…and how might we get there collectively?
• Community and belonging beyond patriarchy: what does it look like – examples of folks who are doing this now.
• Evolving our relationship with nature and our embodied selves.
• Beyond the binary of patriarchal thought and language.
• Evolving beyond war, fear, shame and the -isms as tools of control and oppression.
• Practices, Tools, Prayers, Blessings, Rituals, Ceremonies.

Gathering Call

To find out more about the book and how you can contribute join Lucy on Zoom on February 1st at 7pm (UK time). This will also be a lovely gathering to celebrate Imbolc and Brigid’s Day. Missed the call? Watch the replay:

Submission Guidelines

• We welcome submissions on the themes above from women of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. We want the greatest breadth and depth of voices included in this book, so please do share this invitation with any friends it would be resonant with.
• Submissions should be between 50-1000 words.
• We welcome: prose, poems, essays, blessings, visions, dreams, living examples and visual art of all sorts.
• Limited to 3 pieces of writing or art – or a combination – so pick carefully!
• Please note when submitting art that this is a black and white book.
• We will prioritize original work. If the work you submit has been previously published/submitted elsewhere, please note this beneath the piece.
• Email submissions to info@womancraftpublishing.com with the subject line COMPENDIUM.

Before you Submit

• Ensure you have edited your work carefully, have read it through several times. No changes can be made by the author once it is submitted.
• Submissions will be edited by Womancraft for spelling, grammar, punctuation, clarity and length. Any major changes will be requested by email.
• Ensure your NAME and the TITLE of the piece are on the Word Doc. Save each piece as a separate document. Name each file with YOUR NAME and the TITLE of the piece.
• Attach a bio as a separate Word document. No more than 50 words, to include your name, where you live, what you do for work/love, a max of 1 website and 1 social media link.
• In the body of the email please include your mailing address. (If you move before November, please let us know).

Deadlines

• Submissions open: February 1, 2024
• Submissions close: April 15, 2024
• Successful contributors will be contacted by July 31.
• The book will be published autumn 2024 and available exclusively from the Womancraft Publishing webshop.

Financials

• All contributors will receive a copy of the book.
• All contributors will be able to purchase unlimited other copies of the book at a 30% discount, plus shipping.
• 10% of profits will go to women’s charities. (Please let us know if there are charities you would like us to consider.)

Copyright

• Each author retains the copyright to their work. Womancraft Publishing own the intellectual property of the title, cover and compendium as a collection. As per usual publishing standards, we will acknowledge if and where any contributions were previously published. As the copyright owner of your contribution you may choose to republish it in any form, however we request that you acknowledge its previous publication in the Compendium as follows: “Previously published in Weaving Our Way Beyond Patriarchy, Womancraft Publishing 2024.”

We are looking forward to reading your work and compiling this potent community project.