Julian Vayne - MEMENTO MORI A Collection of Magickal and Mythological Perspectives On Death, Dying, Mortality and Beyond

MEMENTO MORI

A Collection of Magickal
and Mythological Perspectives
On Death, Dying, Mortality and Beyond

Edited by Kim Huggens

With contributions from

Peg Aloi, Chad Barber, Emily Carding, SophiaFisher,
Kyle Fite, Tina Georgitsis, Kim Huggens, Michael Howard, Ivy Kerrigan, HumbertoMaggi, Dave Moore, Mogg Morgan,
Tylluan Penry, Karen F. Pierce, Caroline Tully
and Julian Vayne

Published by Avalonia

BMAvalonia

London

WC1N3XX

England,UK

www.avaloniabooks.co.uk

MementoMori

Copyright 2012 Kim Huggens

Individualcontributors retain the copyright to their work.

All rightsreserved.

Printedition ISBN 978-1-905297-14-6

First Edition, September 2012

Design by Satori

Cover Art Polyptych of Earthly vanitiesand Heavenly redemption

(c. 1485) by Hans Memling

British Library Cataloguing in PublicationData.

A catalogue record for this book isavailable from the British

Library.

All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, recording, or byany information storage and retrieval system, or used in another book, withoutwritten permission from the authors.

TABLEOF CONTENTS

;

NASCENTES MORIMUR:

TO BE BORN IS TO DIE

Peg Aloi

Peg Aloi is a media studies scholar whosemain research and publication areas include representations of the occult andpaganism in cinema and television. Her book The Celluloid Bough: Cinema inthe Wake of the Occult Revival (co-written with Hannah Johnston) isforthcoming from I.B. Tauris. She served as the Media Coordinator for TheWitches' Voice website from 1997-2009, and maintains her own blog focusedon pagan media, The Witching Hour.

Chad Barber

Chad Barber is a folk magician, card readerand espiritista. Born and raised in Southern Africa, he hails from afamily line addled with mediums, dreamers and madmen. Chad is a Lucky Mojocertified practitioner (1479G) and in addition to working as a root-doctor heserves his local community as a spiritist medium at mesa blanca gatherings. Asa Santeria initiate and practitioner of espiritismo - a form of Afro-Caribbean spiritism- he is especially interested in the important role that the Creole traditionsare playing in an emerging new synthesis of western spirituality and magic. Hecurrently lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands with his spouse where he reads cards,writes and conjures irrepressibly. www.balthazarconjure.com

Emily Carding

Emily Carding lives in Cornwall with heramazing husband, ethereal daughter, the glorious Albus Dumbledog, (who hascreated his own oracle deck, due out from Schiffer Books towards the end of2012!) and the newest addition to the family, the three cats known as theSupurrrnal Triad; Kether Kitty, Chokmah Cat and Binah Puss.

Here she has created various offerings,such as The Transparent Tarot, the Transparent Oracle, and TheTarot of the Sidhe for Schiffer Books. She has also contributed bookcovers, articles and artwork for several works from Avalonia Books. To datethese titles include Towards the Wiccan Circle, Both Sides of Heaven,From a Drop of Water, Hekate Her Sacred Fires, and Vs..Avalonia also recently published Gods of the Vikings which featurescover art and numerous illustrations by Emily. She is a regular columnist for Mermaidsand Mythology magazine and is currently putting the finishing touches to FaeryCraft, a new faery lifestyle and magical practice book due out fromLlewellyn in Autumn 2012.

Sophia Fisher

Sophia Fisher is a devotee of Papa Baron.After completing her law degree she pursued a diverse range of spiritualinterests, but found her true home in the religion of Vodou. She is now aninitiated spiritual worker with multiple websites, workshop and ceremonyfacilitator and second-time mum. This is her third contribution to the Avaloniaanthologies. www.sirenabotanica.com

Kyle Fite

Kyle Fite is a social worker and artistresiding in Wisconsin with his family and four-legged friends. He is a memberof the Typhonian Order, Sovereign Grand Master of the OTOA-LCN and Founder ofthe Boullan Academy of Spiritual Service. His view of the Magical Universe isone which recognizes the Sacredness of Life, endeavouring to approach theMysteries of Death as a critical and necessary element of the Cosmic Life inwhich all beings participate.

Tina Georgitsis

Tina has had a deep love and appreciationfor the occult all her life and is deeply respectful of theAncient Greek and Ancient Egyptian spiritual paths that shepractices. She is a Priestess Hierophant within the FOI (running theLyceum of Heka), Hereditary Folk/Hermetic Witch and an initiated Priestess ofWicca. She is a qualified reiki, seichim and sekhem master and atarot councillor within the ATA. She has studied various modalities withinnatural/alternative medicine and operates a spiritually based businesswhich includes readings, healings, magical items and workshops in variousmetaphysical and occult subjects whilst also working in the educationsector.

Michael Howard

Michael Howard is a writer, researcher andeditor. He is the author of over thirty books and numerous articles and since1976 has been the editor of the witchcraft magazine The Cauldronwww.the-cauldron.org.uk. His latest book is The Children of Cain; A Study ofModern Traditional Witches, published by Three Hands Press USA andavailable in the UK from Midian Books.

Kim Huggens

Kim is a freelance researcher, author,editor, proof-reader and public speaker in the fields of occultism, Paganism,mythology and Tarot. She has written papers for several journals andanthologies on her postgraduate research, specializing in ancient Graeco-Romanmalefic-erotic magic, necromancy, slander spells and voodoo dolls.Previous work has appeared in Both Sides of Heaven, Horns of Power,Priestesses, Pythonesses and Sibyls, The Mithras Reader vol. 2, and theConjure Codex (2011.) She is also editor and contributor for two anthologies,From a Drop of Water (2009) and Vs. (2010). Kim has been studyingand reading Tarot since the age of 9, and is the co-author of Sol Invictus:the God Tarot (Schiffer Books, 2007) and the forthcoming Pistis Sophia:the Goddess Tarot with Nic Phillips. She is also the author of Tarot101: Mastering the Art of Reading the Cards (Llewellyn, 2010.)

Kim enjoys travelling around the UK givinglectures and workshops at events such as the Mercian Gathering, TarosophyConference, Pagan Federation (Mid-West and Wales) Conference, Occult Conference(Glastonbury), etc. She is also an initiate of Ordo Templi Orientis (TamionEncampment) and initiated as Hounsi Lave Tet in Sosyete Gade Nou Leve, aHaitian, Dominican and Sanse Vodou house.

In her spare time Kim works as a PDSAveterinary receptionist, makes jewellery and Vodou bottles, and does tabletoproleplaying. She has a passion for zombies, cats, pirates, antlers,electroswing, mermaids, sparkly things and cake. Mmmm, cake.

Ivy Kerrigan

Ivy Kerrigan has been practicing witchcraftand other magical traditions for over 10 years. Her main avenues of practiceinclude shamanism, dream work and working with the Greek chthonic spirits. Shealso practices Haitian Vodou, is an initiate of the Hearth of the Sangreal (ofthe Clan Coranieid) and has a close relationship with several of the spirits ofthe