[Image: "Old Woman With Toad" © Judy Somerville and used with permission]

The Descent

On the Wheel of the Year, October's position is one of preparation for death, but the actual descent to the other side happens in November. So this month Mythic Passages contemplates Death, James Hillman's thoughts on Hades in "The Dream in the Underworld", Hallowtide, Hermes — the Guide of Souls, sages and crones, avatars, and supplication.

Entering the descent into the dark, this shadowland's topography is pockmarked with caves — mythological and literal wombs of time and timelessness. Mythic Imgination Institute invites you to participate in an new venture called "Stories Held in a Cave." These stories will weave through the next issues of Mythic Passages and onward into our new project. Sound intriguing?

To start your journey, we invite you to explore National Geographic Magazine's Sights & Sounds feature "Descent into the Maya Underworld", a video article on Maya cave rituals and the myths, ancient and modern beliefs that sustain them. We'd appreciate your thoughts about what kinds of stories are "held in a cave." Please email us your ideas.

And we thought that you'd like to know!

There's a great cover story on Mythic Imagination Institute and one of our founders, Michael Karlin, in the premier edition of Motto, a magazine devoted to helping people work towards a meaningful life with meaningful work.

Also in this first issue is an interview with Deepak Chopra on "Careers With Soul."

A Great Offer From Motto!

To celebrate the Premiere issue of Motto, our partners have created a 2-for-1 offer:
Buy a subscription and they give you another one for a friend or family member.
Two subscriptions for only $18 if you click on this subscribe link.

"What’s Your Motto?"

Join the dialogue and enter your personal motto at www.whatsyourmotto.com.

• Eve Got it Right:
  Pain, Suffering and Death.
  What Else Could
  You Wish For?
  
  A serene and beautiful angel extends her hands offering the most sacred and precious gift... the three Hebrew letters: ayin, tzadik, and vet. These three letters make up the Hebrew root for the words that God uses to describe the horrible pain and suffering that will be inflicted on humankind as a punishment for Adam's and Eve's eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
  — Michael Karlin [more]
  
  

• "Hades"
  
  Hades was of course the God of depths, the God of invisibles. He is himself invisible, which could imply that the invisible connection is Hades, and that the essential "what" that holds things in their form is the secret of their death. And if, as Heraclitus said, Nature loves to hide, then nature loves Hades.
  — James Hillman, Ph. D. [more]
  
  

• The Shadow of Darkness
  
  If you are willing to look into the darkness for a long time, you will begin to be able to see it cast its shadow. This is the reward of the descent. The edges of the dark begin to glow, and standing before you is night's lover, radiantly entwined with her. He is illuminated and she is rich with mystery.
  — Honora Foah [more]
  
  

• "Choice of Ending"
  Short Story
  
  "The trouble with knowing things was that not everything known was pleasant. There had always been dark places in the pattern. Baglady Mrs. Ruth — avatar of the Crone — acknowledged them, kept an eye on them, and if asked for her help, assisted in removing them."
  — Tanya Huff [more]
  
  

• Fragile Things Seeking Mythical Coherence in Our Smoke and Mirrors World
  
  "To comprehend world mythologies, one needs to study many of them. One can only parse a single tale adequately when it is set into the vibrating web of stories that comprises human culture." William Doty examines the latest collection of stories from Neil Gaiman.
  — William Doty, Ph. D. [more]
  
  
  
• The Center of Our Existence
  
  — Joseph Campbell [more]

Poetry & Music


• "Thirteen Poems on Death"
  [more]
  
  
• "Preludes for Memnon"
  — Conrad Aiken [more]
  
  
• "The White Fog Creeps"
  — Conrad Aiken [more]
  
  
• "Ghost Sonnet II"
  — Kathryn Hinds [more]
  
  
• "Grendel's Mother"
  — Nagase Kiyoko [more]
  
  
• The Death of Mozart
  — Requiem Dies Irea [more]

• "Hermes: Guide of Souls"
  
  "Now, at the end of this mortal life, Hermes greets you with a smile, and links your arm in his. He'll be your companion, guiding your soul to the River Styx, introducing you to Charon, the ferryman at the watery border of the Underworld."
  — Brenda Sutton [more]
  
  

• The Appointment in Samarra
  
  "Master, just now when I was in the market-place, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me." — W. Somerset Maugham [more]
  
  
• Godfather Death
  
  The archetype of Death accepts the role of godparent in this tale of reward and risk from the Brother's Grimm. — Retold by Brenda Sutton [more]
  
  

• November Celebrations
  
  Hallowtide, Martinmas, Guy Fawkes, weather lore, and recipes for Soul Cake and Calabaza En Tacha — [more]
  
  
• The Half-Gold Ferret
  
  A Hindu myth on the darker aspect of generosity. — Retold by Jerry Wennstrom [more]
  
  
• Syzygy
  
  The next addition to our Mythic Glossary — [more]