Wisdom Circle – Conversation with a Friend and Colleague: Marieluise Oberem

“For we think back through our mothers, if we are women.”
(Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own)

We each have a unique and compelling path into a field such as matriarchy.  It’s not a path (at least up until recently) beckoning us from the neon-lit messaging of mainstream media, academia, or politics. It’s certainly not the promise of fame, professional stature, or public adoration that guides us into this realm of study and practice.

What, then, calls us here?

A longing?  An inconsolable wound?  A desire to find a shadow of ourselves in the annals of history?  Bitterness and exasperation with the world as we know it?

A friend and colleague in the field of Modern Matriarchal Studies, Marieluise Oberem, is visiting Crete, from Berlin, and will join us as a guest in our Wisdom Circle this month.

She writes that:

I was diving deep
into the inner life
of my psyche

wondering –
what have I missed?

Are there any mysteries
of the Feminine
I did not know about?

For years –
I pondered this question
groping in the dark.

After a while I emerged again
from what felt like the underworld

It had been an arduous journey
transforming me completely

offering me unexpected gifts
I may now humbly share.

I came to realize:

The mother is the circle.
The circle is the mother.

“For we think back through our mothers, if we are women.”
(A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf, 1929)

Marieluise experienced the blossoming of women’s culture in the Bay Area of San Francisco, which was a result of the Second Wave Feminism and Women’s Spirituality Movements. This became a lasting influence on her life, inspiring her ongoing interest in women’s history, mythology and goddess spirituality. A figurine given to her in California called her to visit Crete in 2015 for the first time. In awe of the beauty and grace of ancient Minoan culture of Bronze Age Crete, she has since returned many times. She is currently engaged in a reflective writing process about her spiritual journey that has taken her from California to Crete.

Marieluise holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has practiced as a dance movement psychotherapist internationally for 40 years.  She was in her twenties when she first read one of Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s books.  After her mother passed away in 2013, Marieluise turned to Goettner-Abendroth’s work again, studying her writings more seriously with an ever-increasing respect for her deep scholarship and devotion to the topic of Matriarchy.  Marieluise recently began introducing matriarchal theory to colleagues in her field.

Marieluise will share with us about her journey into Women’s Spirituality and the field of matriarchy, and how she integrates this knowledge and experience into her life and her life’s work.  We will engage in friendly dialogue that explores:

Why are so many women around the world invested in studying and reviving matriarchal social systems?

How did Second Wave Feminism and the Women’s Spirituality Movement guide us toward matriarchy?

How may dance be a relevant modality in individual and community healing, and in reshaping culture?

How can we find one another and inspire one another on the path toward a more balanced, peace-loving future?

This circle is an invitation to embrace and honor a sister who has walked a long and arduous path (as so many of us have) and to ask,

How did we get here?
Why here, why now?
Why matriarchy?
How do we honor and support one another on this journey?

Please join us for what promises to be a warm and friendly circle of sisters celebrating one another, cherishing friendship, and attuning ourselves to the real meaning of matriarchy.

Logistics:
Date:  Saturday, September 12, 2026
Time:  6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Place:  Armenoi
Cost:  Free/Donations Only
Food:  Please bring a light and healthy dish to share.
Please RSVP to councilformatriarchalarts@gmail.com

Welcome to the Women’s Wisdom Circle!