Kim Huggens

Call for Papers: Memento Mori (anthology)

13 Jun 2011 3 Comments

by kimhuggens in Life, the Universe and Everything

I’m still looking for authors who would be interested in contributing to the forthcoming anthology from Avalonia Books, “Memento Mori: Magickal and mythological perspectives on death, dying, the Underworld, Afterlife, ghosts, ancestors and mortality.” Intended for publication Winter 2011, this is an exciting project that already has some fantastic authors on board. Yet it is also dealing with an important subject that we all, at some point, such face. So, have a read of the following details and see what you think. Are you an author with something to say on the matter? Are you a researcher with a specialised interest in a particular aspect of the topic? Or are you somebody who has had experience of working with the dying, or experienced death first-hand yourself and would like to share your experiences? Contact me if you’re interested.

Memento Mori: Magickal and mythological perspectives on death, dying, the Underworld, Afterlife, ghosts, ancestors and mortality.

 “Remember you must die.”

“Life, like a child, laughs, shaking its rattle of death as it runs.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore

“Emperor, your sword won’t help you out

Sceptre and crown are worthless here

I’ve taken you by the hand

For you must come to my dance”

 ~ Death, in Totentanz (Danse Macabre), 1460

 The nature and process of death has been for millennia one of the central concerns of most religious traditions, philosophical schools, and mythological tales. The condition of the soul or spirit after death, and the possibility of an afterlife, is a subject that has crossed everybody’s minds, and the fact that one day each of us will go the way of our ancestors is a heavy truth. But here is glorious death, the great equaliser! In death we recreate the passing of every other being on this planet, back to the dawn of time. In death we are reunited with our ancestors. In the face of death we live our lives all the more spectacularly – sometimes to attempt to escape the inevitable, and sometimes to embrace it without fear.

Magickal, occult and pagan traditions have a lot to say on the subject of mortality. The Underworld and all its associated beings and myths – such as Persephone’s descent into Hades, Kwan Yin’s redemption of hell, Inanna’s death in the Heaven Below, and Orpheus’ journey to Hades to bring back his beloved Eurydice – has gained a rich oral and written tradition in modern day occultism. Deities associated with death, either because they are death or because they look after the dead, are still worshipped and served by magickal practitioners – Baron Samedi, Hekate, Erishkegal, Kali, Shiva… Festivals centred on the theme of death are celebrated yearly: Hungry Ghost festival, Samhain, El Dia De Los Muertos, and more.

A number of modern pagans also seek ways of celebrating and mourning their loved ones that are fitting with their beliefs. They choose woodland burials, funerary rites from ancient times, and ancestor reverence. They also create theologies that celebrate death and life, remove fear in the face of death, and treat the dead with respect and dignity. Further, the initiation rites found in most pagan mystery religions, both ancient and modern, re-enact or are inspired by some mythology of descent into the Underworld, approaching death in a metaphorical and ritualistic fashion.

This anthology seeks to explore the vast array of subjects associated with death – both physical death and metaphorical death – and how modern magickal practitioners approach it.

Ideas for submissions include (but are not limited to!):

Baron Samedi, Manman Brigitte, Psychopomps, descent, destruction of the ego, Danse Macabre, Death in the Tarot, petit mort, memento mori, Santa Muerte, Day of the Dead, Animal/human sacrifice, burial rites, funeral services, Hades, Inanna and Erishkegal, ritual death, Odin’s sacrifice, ancestor worship, Samhain, Hungry Ghosts, Wandering Ghosts, Katrina figures, hauntings, the aferlife, the soul’s survival after death, coping with loss and mourning, Orpheus and Eurydice, other mythological descents into the Underworld.

Submissions should not be more than 10,000 words in length. Articles less than 1,000 words will not be considered for publication.

 Deadline for submissions is September 15^th, 2011. All submissions should be sent to Kim Huggens.