Announcements, free resources, and more

December 2025

Dear ones,

I am writing to you as we head into the dark night of the Winter Solstice. How are you doing out there?

True to form, I find myself in a flurry of activity to set in place my commitments for the new year before the Solstice, so that I can truly sit with the quietness of the winter. I try to shift to candles instead of incandescent bulbs, inviting natural lighting and fires into the evening so that my body and mind can adjust and remember what season I am now in.

With all of that said, I am happy to share a few more bits of exciting news. First of all, for those who are on the Central Coast this coming Friday, I will be speaking to a circle of creative professionals and magic makers. It would be great to have you! There is a livestream online also being offered. You can register for both below. Secondly, I am happy to share that the Lineage Recovery Course with Hilary Giovale is open for registration ahead of our first session in January. We already have quite a few folks signed up, so please join us soon and save your seat. I also am happy to share that we have created a free Book Club Kit for anyone who is wishing to use my book to build upon their circle of matriarchs. Feel free to download it and check it out!

I am also making preparations for my time for the rest of 2026. Please consider sharing your feedback on what might be helpful for me to offer in the year to come (including a new offering in Latvia!). Or if you have ideas for folks I should meet, gatherings I could attend, or other wonderings, I welcome your share. I also took a go back in time to reflect on the highlights of 2025. What a full year it has been! I will be sharing more in my end of year letter later this month.

Thank you to all of you for your support and engagement. I am honored to be in community with each of you.

With love and respect,

Maija

Announcements & New Resources

THIS FRIDAY: 12/19 @ 8:30am PST

Live "Innovation" talk at Wave Street Studios in Monterey

I'm very excited to be speaking as part of the CreativeMornings series! I hope you see you there in person, and there is a livestream available if that's not possible.

Register for Free Ticket

Article in the Monterey Country Weekly on "How to be a Good Guest"

I'm honored to have our local newspaper share a post I wrote in November during Native American Heritage Month.

Read article

Want to Start Your Own Book Club Circle?

Download this free guide. A shout out to our friend, Nicole, in Portland for committing to hosting a club this year, and to the amazing women of Oasis in NorCal for diving into the book this coming year!

Download Book Club Kit

Offerings for 2026?

This year has been incredible and we're excited for 2026. Whether or not you participated in any offerings this year, please help us shape the offerings for 2026.

Fill out questionnaire

SPOTS AVAILABLE:

Lineage Recovery Course

Explore and recover practices from your European lineages. Led by Maija West & Hilary Giovale. Click below to join the info session on Jan 15 at 10am PST.

Sign up for course

NEW Free Resource:

Assimilation Stories: A Bridge for Matriarchs

Simple practices for reconnecting with your roots and strengthening your matriarchal leadership.

Read free blog

NEW Free Resource:

Bridge Building and the Threads of Solidarity

How inner healing and compassionate connection help matriarchs build bridges across relationships and communities.

Read free blog

Modern Matriarch Highlight:

Louise Dunlap

This month, we are honoring Louise Dunlap. I have had the great privilege of meeting Louise Dunlap through the group we are in, Decolonial Dames—a circle of European-descendent women committed to reconnecting and decolonizing through activism and creative expression. Louise is a deeply respected teacher, writer, and Buddhist activist, whose decades of work center on nature, truth-telling, and racial and environmental reckoning. She is the author of Inherited Silence: Listening to the Land, Healing the Colonizer Mind, a powerful reflection on family, land, colonization, and how descendants of settlers can honestly engage with history and healing. Her life’s work includes teaching writing and communication for social change, facilitating community dialogue, and supporting mindful engagement with the land and one another. 

Photo credit: https://louisedunlap.net/

Learn more

Important Dates

November 1, 2025 - Solidarity Scarves for Sisterhood mail outs begin

December 11, 2025 - Latvian Cultural Practices Course begins (monthly)

December 19, 2025 - CreativeMornings "Innovation" Talk and Livestream

January 15, 2026 - Informational Session for Lineage Recovery Course with Hilary Giovale

January 29, 2026 - Lineage Recovery Course begins (every couple weeks)

August 27-30, 2026 ~ Annual Matriarch retreat on the Central Coast, California

How to Start Your Matriarch Makeover ~

1. Free Resources

Every month we are adding new resources related to Community, Modern Matriarchs, Leadership, and more. Begin your journey by clicking below:

Browse all free resources

2. The Matriarch Member Circle

Our circle is growing! We now have 80+ members in our Matriarch Member Circle. It is becoming a powerful and inclusive place to connect and share resources. Its also the place where new offerings are shared, before public announcements. There are no membership dues or fees for this circle.

Join the Member Circle

3. The Book - 30 Day Invitation

These 20-minute journaling exercises were inspired by my own self-leadership journey. Many of the free resources (Step #1 above) are based on the exercises in this carefully crafted book.

Learn more

Copyright © 2025 Matriarch Makeover, All rights reserved.

www.maijawest.com

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