Afterlife - Blog Posts
You are working the gate in the afterlife and for the first time ever, something the humans built has shown up to be processed. You’re not sure what to do, this… entity shouldn’t have a soul, but here it is in front of you, freshly dead and awaiting the next life.
I love the idea of Death being like an old friend or a kind guide or a humble guardian to the souls he looks after.
a comic about someone who gets a visit from the reaper a bit sooner than expected, but has someone whos been waiting for them
Hey, do you like my art? Help support me and buy me a coffee! ko-fi.com/zipper ❤️
"They were the most beautiful thing I ever saw, dancing with the moon, just like the stars."
AFTERLIFE - RISE OF THE CLANS
The General Spirit World
All animals when they die become a spirit in the afterlife. Their species, beliefs, and choices in life, will determine their outcome and afterlife residence. Next to the living in the waking world, spirits and ghosts also traverse the land, in a different realm of existence. The Spirit world is all-encompassing, thought to exist in the same reality. Some afterlives are located within the stars, others are in dark regions that only malevolent, malignant beings seeking to harm will find themselves...
StarClan
The Clans of the Lake believe that when a warrior dies after living their life as authentically as possible following the Warrior Code, their spirit will live on forever with StarClan. Their territory can be found watching the Clans from above, in the starry night that covers the lake, known as Silverpelt. All good Clan cats will find themselves as part of StarClan, regardless of their prior Clan in life. Here, the season is always Greenleaf, and it is a mixture of the lushest, most vibrant nature. Streams and ponds are filled with crystal clear water, crisp and clean in taste, stock full of fish and other prey. The grass underpaw is soft, plush, and always seems to shine golden when the light hits it just right...
The Place of No Stars
Warriors who repeatedly, intentionally, break the warrior code and bring harm to others, will find themselves in The Place of No Stars, also colloquially known as the Dark Forest, after dying. It is a large, dim, wretched place of existence, with only a ghostly pale gray light in the far, far distance serving as the only source of light. The Dark Forest is said to be once ruled and led by its first ever resident, ■■■■■■■...
Stjar'Keld
Fjell'Byr felines find themselves in Stjar'Keld after death. They reside in the skies above the mountains, so that they may watch over their living counterparts. Stjar'Keld's territory is a bit more of a mystery to Fjell'Byr, as living spirits do not visit the territory like a Clan warrior might visit StarClan's territory in their dreams. As a result, their realm is thought to be a bit more ethereal in interpretation, with emphasis on the bright midday sky. Only the residents of Stjar'Keld truly know what their territory looks like...
THE EMPTY
The Empty is a vast expanse of open, blank rolling fields and open sky in between the realms of the afterlife. The time of day is always dusk, just after sunset, with the stars in the vast distance that define the other realms of the afterlife, such as StarClan, twinkling overhead. There is no prey, water, nor shelter, but none of that is needed: hunger, thirst, and fatigue are not experienced by the spirits that wander the Empty. Wandering aimlessly somehow always leads to nowhere, no matter how far a spirit walks...
Ghosts
Ghosts are active spirits that haunt the living both in the waking world, and in a cat's dreams. They are selected by ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ to become a ghost, and it is completely indiscernable as to why, or when. It does not seem to be based on morality or prior choices in life: only Ether himself knows why he chooses the spirits he does to return to the living once more as a ghost. By rejoining the land of the living, ghosts will lose memories of their previous life. The memories, and the amount, vary, but there is no ghost that can recollect their entire past...
AFTERLIFE - RISE OF THE CLANS
The General Spirit World
All animals when they die become a spirit in the afterlife. Their species, beliefs, and choices in life, will determine their outcome and afterlife residence. Next to the living in the waking world, spirits and ghosts also traverse the land, in a different realm of existence. The Spirit world is all-encompassing, thought to exist in the same reality. Some afterlives are located within the stars, others are in dark regions that only malevolent, malignant beings seeking to harm will find themselves...
StarClan
The Clans of the Lake believe that when a warrior dies after living their life as authentically as possible following the Warrior Code, their spirit will live on forever with StarClan. Their territory can be found watching the Clans from above, in the starry night that covers the lake, known as Silverpelt. All good Clan cats will find themselves as part of StarClan, regardless of their prior Clan in life. Here, the season is always Greenleaf, and it is a mixture of the lushest, most vibrant nature. Streams and ponds are filled with crystal clear water, crisp and clean in taste, stock full of fish and other prey. The grass underpaw is soft, plush, and always seems to shine golden when the light hits it just right...
The Place of No Stars
Warriors who repeatedly, intentionally, break the warrior code and bring harm to others, will find themselves in The Place of No Stars, also colloquially known as the Dark Forest, after dying. It is a large, dim, wretched place of existence, with only a ghostly pale gray light in the far, far distance serving as the only source of light. The Dark Forest is said to be once ruled and led by its first ever resident, ■■■■■■■...
Stjar'Keld
Fjell'Byr felines find themselves in Stjar'Keld after death. They reside in the skies above the mountains, so that they may watch over their living counterparts. Stjar'Keld's territory is a bit more of a mystery to Fjell'Byr, as living spirits do not visit the territory like a Clan warrior might visit StarClan's territory in their dreams. As a result, their realm is thought to be a bit more ethereal in interpretation, with emphasis on the bright midday sky. Only the residents of Stjar'Keld truly know what their territory looks like...
THE EMPTY
The Empty is a vast expanse of open, blank rolling fields and open sky in between the realms of the afterlife. The time of day is always dusk, just after sunset, with the stars in the vast distance that define the other realms of the afterlife, such as StarClan, twinkling overhead. There is no prey, water, nor shelter, but none of that is needed: hunger, thirst, and fatigue are not experienced by the spirits that wander the Empty. Wandering aimlessly somehow always leads to nowhere, no matter how far a spirit walks...
Ghosts
Ghosts are active spirits that haunt the living both in the waking world, and in a cat's dreams. They are selected by ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ to become a ghost, and it is completely indiscernable as to why, or when. It does not seem to be based on morality or prior choices in life: only Ether himself knows why he chooses the spirits he does to return to the living once more as a ghost. By rejoining the land of the living, ghosts will lose memories of their previous life. The memories, and the amount, vary, but there is no ghost that can recollect their entire past...
Afterlife void au where every life is sent to a void of uh, basically the same overworld, but with differences
Poor moth boy, being held by a vampire
More stuff below
life after death
Of course, there's life after death
For those in the living world
For those left behind
For the rest of us
there is much to Fear of the Unlight and the Darkness.
Alright so um, I'm not a Christian. But I found this questions actually beautiful(since you spoke really openly. believe me not many people are able to ask questions like this) and wanted to answer some of them according to my belief, Islam. (and if you are not interested feel free to pass xo) Since the main reason I'm a muslim is our afterlife belief.
Let's start with 'what is heaven, actually'
It's an empty place. Like, an actual empty place that has no mass or volume. Both heaven and hell is. We, the people will be the ones filling it.
I know it sounds a little unreal but bear with me, I'm going to try to explain it with my broken english.
Our actions will be the ones filling the place. As an example, our common belief is everytime you remember and say God's name there will be a brick from pure gold on your house in there. Of course it's a metephor for the endless wealth you can get in Heaven. I personally wouldn't like my house pure gold. But imagine what can you get as an alternative of a brick from pure gold. And by brick by brick, you'll be the one who built your own eternal space.
I personally find this more beautiful than the common 'perfect garden' belief. People come in so many different shapes. We all have different desires, goals, likes in life and we will have them in afterlife as well. So the thought of I will be the one who create my own space is wonderful for me tbh.
"Is it unchanging?" No, it changes with every little want you have. You got bored from cyberpunk aesthetic and want a dark academia place like Hogwarts? You will probably get it. Though of course, if your actions in actual world is not enough for that, you will probably get an alternative of it. There's so many different kind of beliefs about it. And as a rather ignorant Muslim who haven't read so many things yet, my personal thought is you'll get what you deserve, and you will be satisfied with it.
"What about angels?" I personally haven't seen so many things about the angels place in Heaven. I just know that they will be there to serve us, sorry :(
"Will we get to see the big holy G??" Well, first of all our God's name is Allah. And no, not everyone will get to see Allah(I refuse using masculine pronouns to refer to a God since we believe it has no common thing with us humans, including gender. Bear with me)
We have holy figures as well. They are Allah, prophets(from Adam to Muhammad(sas)), and some of the angels. Not everyone will get to see them, you have to earn it. Some will have the opportunity to just get a glimpse, some will even get to talk etc. I don't know so many things about this topic either. Just wanted to say not everyone will be get to.
"How in the world so many people will be able to live in a same place?" So um, I know it will be hard to explain but Heaven won't be a place like a country or even a planet. It won't have boundaries, it wont have a government, hell it won't even have rules according to some. So population wont be a problem.
"What will we do, just chill?" I mean if you want?? There's no such a thing as 'we will do this in Heaven' either. Just, whatever you desire(if you have earned it).
"Could you get kicked out?" There will be no such a thing as 'wrong thing to do' in afterlife. Like, just no. I don't know if we wont be able to think about bad things or the bad things wont get consider as 'bad' things anymore. But well, I heard that Heaven will be a place that has no pain or death in it.
"Could you even interact with anything on earth?" I dont have the exact answer to that but just wanted to say that our common belief is the things we like on earth is just a mere shadow of the ones on Heaven.
"Can you be aware of anything going on Earth?" The simple answer is No. More complicated one is there wont be anyone in Heaven or Hell till the last Human on Earth die. So there won't be anything going on Earth.
Amyway uh, as I said I'm an ignorant person in most topics so my answers maybe wrong or unnecessarily detailed. I just want to add that, we don't have so many strict answers to our questions about afterlife. We just have our own thoughts and believes along with sentences from Holly Books or quotes from prophets. Don't let them fool you thinking there are only two options, Garden of Endless Wealth and Joy and Fire™. Life in here is already complicated, we can't think afterlife won't be.
The concept of heaven makes me have so many questions:
First of all, what is it actually? I've heard many speak of a garden, Christians often say "the kingdom of God", which makes it sound like a human state.
Is it unchanging? Or is it bound to the progression of mankind and our changing views of what a good forever would look like? Does God remodel it with us in mind? Or do we have to take whatever he builds for us?
Angels man, are they like robots or npcs? Or are they like government employees?
God himself, does he do anything particular? Could you just go into his throne room and have a chat with him? Have dinner with him? Play chess with him? Or is he some absent ruler you hear about but never see?
What would the big G even look like? Alot of art represents him like a bearded old man. I've heard on several times that he says he's pure love, so could he manifest as the person you loved the most in life? Does he just have an incomprehensible form? Like a blinding ball of light with a disembodied voice?
Also, the mortal souls themselves, alot of humans have died already, so assuming if atleast half of us go to heaven, that would make for several billion citizens of heaven.
Human nature means there would be thousands of spoken languages and several versions of each language (due to time) spoken in heaven simultaneously.
What do the souls do once here? Do they chill, do what they find pleasurable for eternity? Like, could you find Beethoven chilling while composing his 100th symphony?
Also on souls, would people with disabilities be "cured" of them, since this is a place with no pain or discomfort right? Would you have no more depression or other mental illnesses? If you lost a limb in life would you get it back?
Could you get kicked out? Or is your stay only determined by your actions in mortal life?
Since morality has also changed a lot would there be friction between new souls and old souls?
Can you even interact with anything made on earth? Like, can you have ice cream or read a shakesperian play?
Could you be aware of anything going on on Earth? Or once you arrive, are you cut off forever?
So many questions man, Christians feel free to comment, if you don't feel like this is heresy of course.
Dead Yellowjackets update!
Nat and Lottie found Laura Lee in their afterlife wilderness realm! No sign of anyone else yet.
Nat ended up not giving a shit that Lottie re-named the Pit that she found when she died, “Pitseleh” (the name Nat gave him) to “LL Bean” in honor of Laura Lee and also because the puppy is adorable. A few weeks later, they found Laura Lee in a small but nice shelter miles out while exploring. They found a few more cabins and houses but no more people. So now the 3 of them stay wherever they want and do whatever they want. Anything they need eventually shows up. They are still figuring out how the realm works, but they are happy and thriving.
(I already made the whole piece and posted it when I first got on Tumblr. I just added in Laura Lee this morning.)
"When I die I wanna go to heaven""when I die I want everything to stop""idk what I want when I die"
Well I want to nurse every animal dead of human negligance, cruelty or ignorance back to health and lead them to a nice place for them. Thats it. Thats what I want. I wanna spend eternity shaping new fins for sharks and healing burns on souls who died in a fire, and play with abandonned cats and dogs who died alone in the streets.
Thats it, thats what I want.
Big Rich Old Man’s Status
In a small town named Poovar, there once lived a man called John Franklin. He was absolutely humble. He was a hard working man. He lived with his wife and two sons. He loved to work, and made enough money to feed himself and his family and he always went on vacations with them. He was really gentle to all his fellows and helped if somebody asked him to. His boss Mr. Kanata was also very happy with him and his work, as he completed all his work and did some more and was very quiet. He was a person who minded his own business. Slowly, John got promotions and now he was a really busy man. He got more load of work and he started working overtime. He went early, when everyone was asleep and came late when everyone was already sleeping calmly in their cozy beds. During this time his children going to school and young, he changed. John changed from a person very calm and who loved his family to a person who loved the loud harsh sounds of machines and who loved to work overtime to make some extra money. He got so busy that he forgot that even has a family. He worked tirelessly, thinking to make a good amount of money that he can save for his two sons. He got old and soon at his death bed he made his will giving his property equally to his wife and sons. The day came of his funeral and he was to be buried in a peaceful graveyard. There were few people, his wife and sons, his few fellow friends and the priest of course. Their he laid peacefully thinking that all he did was for his sons. John after he died remembered his wife and children the most and decided to go back to them. He went to his house and saw that his wife was now happily married to one of his friends who was a widower himself and both of his sons were using his money carelessly and did not speak good of their father. One of his sons said, “Happy he died! He at least left us with some money, because all his life he was too busy for us. No wonder mother married again.” he said half happily and half sadly. John’s spirit heard this and he was thrown in his past life flashbacks all he could recall was memories where he was working after some time he came across one frame where he was sitting with his wife and sons and was happy. He was young and was playing ludo with his family, intentionally losing to his sons. He thought what he had become. A man who feared to lose and was angry if he did lose. He was now guilty and thought that how he has wasted his life making money for his children and his wife but never cared for them. Never spent enough time with them. John’s spirit was too sad, it went back to it’s grave and just hoped that in another life, he should learn his priorities first.
The Concept of Death and Beyond (Part 1)
Hello! Please know that this piece contains thoughts about Death (obviously) and what I thought late at night would be a good conspiracy on the concept of After-Death! Please enjoy!
Death is a term that is used to define the end of our mortal lives, along with any living thing. That's it, your gone and you go to heaven or hell being judged and stay there for all eternity. Thinking about that a little deeper, would there be a different perspective to that loosely used term and that unknowable place afterwards. Earth is an environmental enclosure, a circular, living prison in which no human cant escape for too long with the bodies that we all possess. In a funny way of saying its so far as we know, its the Milky Way's zoo being the only known place able to preserve life and if aliens do exist outside our reach we'd be like the Bronx Zoo or every other zoo in Planet Earth. Its a way of perspective.
Death, when creatively thinking, is the end of our bound to this planet, like freeing an animal from a zoo back to the wild. To be free into the cosmos, to be weightless, calm, at peace with yourself. But in a possible world in which we could say that this was the case, what would happen if you weren't at peace? What if you were not a good person, being not judged by the angelic entities up above but instead from that voice within yourself that you hear in your mind at times of denial, stress and self hatred or even daily decision making during your time on Earth.
What if that is what judged you was yourself deep down not letting you forget and neglect those hateful things you've done until you truly, deeply forgive yourself for what you've done. What truly judges you is yourself and you cannot lie to yourself no matter how long you're willing to take because deep down you would know what you are. That's your ticket into the threshold of your new existence.
(I do not want to off-put anyone when saying anything about the earth being a "Zoo" or "Prison" or Heaven and Hell being not really that great. I'm a Catholic and live on this planet too as you know it's just my creative thinking and I personally thought it would benefit getting my point crossed in this little first part I thought of putting out there that's been on my mind for the past 2 days. But, with that out the way hope you have a wonderful day, stay safe, be creative and never let anyone crush those amazing thoughts in your head!)
(Also if you do like this piece be sure to let me know like or whatever the case and ill put out a part 2 of this. Love ya!)
I ain’t no digital thug
But on the real
Some of ya need some digital hugs
I resonate with you truly I do
I just wish you knew how to resonate too.
We don’t have to agree
We don’t have to think the same
It’s doesn’t mean I hate
It doesn’t mean I’m lame
I just wish for things that are higher then this drama
Higher then the pain
The lives lost
Deteriorating mind frames
All at what cost?
Wake up
Return from the slumber
Stop sitting around
“I wonder, I wonder”
Can life truly be this hard?
It’s so simple
To me honestly
God said love others
Let’s start there
We’ll see
Let’s be fair
Put yourselves in someone else’s shoes
Quit playing victim
And live the life God dealt you
Live it to the fullest
Live it like a full house
Live it like an ace of spades
Stop playing fearful meek mouse
Fight for what’s right
And hop off the band wagons
Jesus coming soon ya better quit laggin.
I say this with so much love
Not because I’m perfect
Not because I judge
I just want you to make it home
So we can party up above.
-Illustratum Paradoxon
heaven’s deserted. Hell is at its peak, now I wish it wasn’t Wish that I could sneak out
-s’s.
I was bored so have a fusion
i’ll love you (past) the day that i die
so what if there was an Undertale afterlife until the human resets?? i saw this idea on Pinterest awhile ago in a white limbo and everything and scurried away with it
i completely forgot that sans coughs up blood or whatever when he dies for the first two scenes so uh. just know that his silhouette at the end is NOT slobbering and is in fact bleeding in no longer excruciating pain.
anyways i thought that the two popular verses in “birds of a feather” fit papyrus and sans so well because they almost perfectly encapsulate their personalities and perspectives on life. papyrus is completely unwavering in his loyalty and love for the people around him, especially his brother. he occasionally doesn’t think things all the way through before doing or saying things - something like “i love you till the day that i die” even though they are both already dead. he feels emotions intensely, and though the phrase is usually used as an exaggeration, he really does love his brother to death. “‘till the light leaves my eyes” - he is not only dramatic in this line, but also emotionally intelligent. he is often feelings over logistics, so i believe that he would know just how deep the impact of his death will be on others. sans has very composed mannerisms and an almost nihilistic view of sorts. he’s kinda got that go with the flow vibe. “i said i’d never think i wasn’t better alone.” - secrets galore; this man probably does most of his objectives alone with the amount of secrets he keeps from everyone, even his own brother. the actual meaning of the line shows my interpretation of his hesitance and dislike for his little self-imposed loneliness. “can’t change the weather, might not be forever” - he knows that things can’t stay so blissful for eternity. he’s (almost) okay with that. “but if it’s forever, it’s even better” - i feel he would like it to last, though.
basically my perspective is that they love each other very very much and no one can convince me otherwise
also uhhh i cannot for the life of me draw sans consistently, so i apologize if he’s a little funky in some frames 😓
Dinosaurs S2 E18 The Last Temptation of Ethyl
Earl burys his Mother in Law Ethyl, after mistackenly assuming that she had died after accidently choking potato chip.
The middle finger from the right hand of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) is a secular relic in the collection of the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy.The finger was removed from his body after his death and is encased in a gilded glass egg.
Bowynn Gods: Dawnnat
Daunnat (Dawn-nat) “The next world.” Daunnat is the Bowynn version of heaven. However, it is neither a realm in the sky nor below. It is said to be a world that is much parallel to our own, only reachable by the dead and gods. The realm of Duannat is well describe from the travels of the gods Kord and Brenda, who had to travel there to return the god Brand:
After the soul and spirit leave the body with the help of the god Heron, it is traveled to a body of water. There sits a grand celestial ship which flows down the divine waters of Muet. This ship is guided from the dock to the beach of Daunnat. From there Heron departs and the god Dadjall takes over, starting to guide the soul-spirit through Duannat. The view is that of walking through the most enchanted land ever; Forested, plains, gardens, streams and waterfalls. Above the land of Daunnat is blessed with its own light, ruled by the god Saulnat.
Eventually Dadjall guides the soul-spirit to 7 natural gates. Each gate is guarded by a god or goddess. The first is the Gate of Courage and Strength, ruled by the goddess Mura. The second gate is the gate of Kindness, ruled by the god Naddas. The third is the Gate of Love, ruled by Orstal. The forth is the Gate of Balance, ruled by Odjett. The fifth is the Gate of Faith, ruled by Quatt. The sixth is the Gate of charity, ruled by Rhymar and the last gate is the Gate of Peace, ruled by Pedjet.
Past the gates, Dadjall leads the soul-spirit to Tsellet. The goddess separates the soul from the body, as once in Daunnat and past the gates, no harm can come to the spirit. The spirit now goes to be reborn in our world. The Soul is cleansed and purified and brought to the king and queen of Duannat, Chumash and Kalma, and to the Reader of Deeds, Ano Atanno If the soul is free of sin, it is then lead to the get valley where all souls dwells. A great valley that’s land is ever lush, fertile, abundant and beautiful. The water ways in Daunnat are fed by the great river Muet, and these waters are used to bath the soul to help release all guilt and earthly labors away. All of the nature in Daunnat, from field to flower, is rule over by the queen of Daunnat, Kalma herself.
If the soul is plague with sin beyond reason, then it is reunited with a spirit and he or she is reborn to earth to “get it right.” However, few are truly reborn, unless their crimes in their prior life are so great.
Each Soul in Duannat has their own home at night where they live with their past-away family members. But the greatest is the home of Chumash and Kalma. This home or hall rivals that of Alaway. Like Daunnat itself it is not a dark place but most pleasing to the eye, with eloquently carved wood and decorated with most respect. The great dining hall is said to be big enough to let 500 souls feast most comfortably.
The story of Daunnat speaks that originally it was just a barren Island across a great chasm, where the spirit's wandered. During the contest Chumash and his brothers Anhur and Tane contested for who was to rule what level of the earth said God would rule over. Chumash's arrow flew the furthest and into a chasm with represented Daunnat at the time. His brothers mocked him so badly till Chumash said he would make Daunnat more beautiful than the kingdom of the earth and sea combined. Chumash rerouted the divine river Muet to fill the chasm, with Kane's him built the ship for spirits to travel on and constructed the palace of Daunnat. He constructed the 7 great Gates and stations his children at each one. With his new wife Kalma, they planted every seed, tree and pod, plowed every field, gouged every valley and built every home for spirits. By decree, Kalma and Chumash dictated the afterworld's day and night and seasons to come into being. By want and desire, Chumash created special Kii to tend to all mortal's spirits, laying out grand banquets each night.
Indeed, Daunnat is the most beautiful kingdom.
Santa Muerte
NO. 1
A skeletal figure dressed in robes or dressed in the virgin’s shroud, Santa Muerte is both the Grim Reap-ress and the Angel of Mercy. She is the personification of death, and her full title, Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte as she is well known as, brings an ambiguous and malleable identity that is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees, as her following, especially in 21st century is being celebrated all over South America, but especially Mexico City to the United States and Canada.
NO. 2
Even though Christian missionaries and leaders condemned the religion, Santa Muerte ‘‘offers hope to a society threatened with hopelessness. In the colorful barrios of Mexican culture, the figure of Death is ubiquitous. With the lure and dangers of narco-culture, the violence among competing youth gangs, the haunting realities of an economy in collapse, and the gravel fight to survive in a Tepito marketplace; Mexicans face the reality of death on a daily basis. Santa Muerte, the image of death, protects them from uncertainties in their everyday lives. When Death is the only guarantee, it seems like Death is the only one to be trusted.’’ The worship of Santa Muerte began in the mid-20th century and was clandestine until the 1990s, were most prayers and other rites have been performed traditionally at home. Now in the 21st century, worship has become a more public thing. Santa Muerte has a male counterpart in the U.S, called the skeletal folk saints San La Muerte of Paraguay and Rey Pascual of Guatemala.
NO. 3
So, what caused the worship of Santa Muerte to become a massive, worldwide following? Drug violence, for one, and loss of faith in Christianity. ‘‘Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s declaration of war on the cartels in 2006 was received with praise by North American politicians, as in their view, it seemed that the Mexican government was finally taking a strong stand against the cartels and that there would be a swift resolution to the social problems associated with drug trafficking. This open war declared on the cartels resulted in an escalation of drug violence and forced several dramatic changes in the safety of Mexico and its already chaotic social scene. Military personnel, paramilitary groups, and the cartels have been fighting for control of the country and have created a state of panic in the border towns and beyond. The panic and violence in the north have begun to gradually make it’s way south and reach areas that were once ‘safe’. According to the BBC from 2006 to 2012, more than 50,000 individuals have died from drug-related violence. Amidst the drug-related instability, the once strong and influential Mexican Catholic Church has been losing credibility, support, and members. The loss of faith in the Catholic Church could be caused by many factors: general pessimism, individuals searching for other forms of faith, and the result of the church’s support for governing political parties.’’
NO. 4
Who is Santa Muerte? Anthropologists and historians J. Katia Perdigon Castaneda and R. Andrew Chestnut agree that the veneration of Santa Muerte is a combination of Catholic imagery and rituals from Meso-American pre-Hispanic gods and rituals. There is a common list of names for the goddess, such as Mi Nina, (My little girl), La Nina Bonita (the Pretty Girl), La Madrina (the Godmother), and Mi Amor (My Love)—adoring names that tighten the relationship between devotee and saint. There are darker allegations like Senora de la Sombras (Lady of the Shadows) or La Negra (the Black Lady). There is also La Hermana Blanca (The White Sister) and Hermana de la Luz (Sister of the Light). She is celebrated on the Day of the Dead, November 1st and 2nd. better known as Dia De los Muertos.
