In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Satanic minister and expert in ritual Shiva Honey to discuss her new book The Devil’s Death: Your Satanic Companion for Grief and Dying. We discuss the utility of ritual, our cultural aversion to discussing death and dying, the dangers of the medical field, protecting your bodily autonomy in death, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: The Devil’s Death | Shiva Honey”
In this episode of Sacred Tension, Minister of Satan Shiva Honey returns to discuss death and dying within a Satanic context. We discuss grief in the age of Covid, forgiveness, the deaths of abusers, the role of psychedelics in ritual, and much more. Support Shiva Honey’s project on death and dying here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-devil-s-death#/
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Rituals For Death and Dying with Shiva Honey”
Around this time last year, I buried my cousin. Ian was a vegan, atheist, and environmentalist so dedicated to the cause of caring for the earth that his principles extended even to his death. After a physicist gave a science lesson on what would happen to Ian’s body, and how he would nourish the tree that would be planted over him, we took shovels and buried what was left of Ian. He was wrapped in purple linen, and the cancer had reduced his frame to a frail shadow of his former fit, powerful, athletic self.
The ceremony was void of any spirit, symbol, or God. I was disquieted by the that, and yet I was moved. I was moved by Ian’s commitment to science, and his care for the earth. I was tempted to call the funeral hopeless, but realized that wasn’t right. The funeral was full of love, conviction, and hope, and didn’t need to say anything about an afterlife. That wasn’t the point of Ian’s life – Ian was about the here and now, the earth, the injustices that plagued the planet now. He didn’t believe in the afterlife, and that lack of belief thrust him headfirst into the present. Plus, it wasn’t my funeral. Who was I to cast judgement on Ian’s wishes? That would be tasteless.
Continue reading “Does an Afterlife Make This Life Meaningful?”
Stephen Bradford Long 