Spiritus Mundi: Writings Borne from the Occult
Edited by Elizabeth Kim
Illustrated by Kaitlynn Copithorne
978-1-912634-46-0 * £14.99 * $18.99(US) * $24.99(Can) * Release date 6th October 2022
Spiritus Mundi: Writings Borne From the Occult is a compendium of writings generated via occult means; whether the ideas were airborne, unconscious, or carried over from some other layer of reality is yours to decide. Spiritus Mundi started as an online literary magazine, a vertical of Cunning Folk Magazine, and as a series of occult workshops. Every so often writers were given unusual occult prompts, where they’d need to go away and scry into the water, consult tarot cards, or search for synchronicities. The resulting works, from emerging and established writers, felt authentic and non-contrived. Allegories slipped out naturally, without force, because they existed in this murky realm of the unconscious, or whatever moniker we wish to use for it.
This book is edited by Cunning Folk editor Elizabeth Kim, who also wrote introductory essays to each chapter, providing a brief overview of the different occult prompts given to the contributors, to contextualise the occult-derived short stories, poems, and essays within. But given the time constrictions and theme, these introductory essays were in a way also channelled and written via an automatic process.
The title comes from WB Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming”. The poet conceived of the Spiritus Mundi as the source of poetic inspiration. The book is beautifully illustrated by Cunning Folk art director Kaitlynn Copithorne and features original occult-derived writings from the following authors:
Jen Campbell, Nikita Gill, CAConrad, Leon Craig, Ella Duffy, Yasmina Floyer, Emma Glass, Pam Grossman, Camilla Grudova, Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Naomi Ishiguro, Callum James, Wanjikũ Wa Ngũgĩ, Leone Ross, Alice Slater, Rebecca Tamás, Sharlene Teo, Stephanie Victoire.
“The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out / When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi / Troubles my sight …“
—WB Yeats, “The Second Coming”
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