Spreading the Seeds — November 2022
Here’s what’s happening at Pollinate Magazine
The end of the year is almost here, and that’s what we’re talking about at Pollinate this month: endings.
POLLINATE MONTHLY SPECIAL SERIES — November 2022
Each month, we host a series of stories focusing on a central, topical theme. We present this theme to our writers and challenge them to consider this topic as it applies to their lives. Last month, we focused on the theme of Forgiveness. This month, we’re going to explore the theme of Death.
There are many iterations of death beyond the literal. There is the death of divorce and breakups. The death of a friendship. The deaths we all go through as we change and grow. There’s even the “petit mort” (little death) of orgasm.
There are so many stories to tell when it comes to this theme. What are you grieving? What’s coming to an end — and bringing in a new beginning? How are you navigating the losses of life? (And yes, you can absolutely talk about sex, too.)
We’d love to hear your thoughts. We’re looking for essays, articles, op-eds, poetry… Get creative! If you need some inspiration, check out our Spirituality section.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, November 14th. Please use the tag “DEATH 2022.”
Everyone’s articles for this month’s theme will be published on Monday, November 21st. (See the note below to learn more about how our series publication process works.)
If you aren’t already writing for Pollinate but want to submit for consideration visit here and then contact Yael Wolfe at welcome[at]yaelwolfe[dot]com to ask to be added as a writer.
If you just want to read this series, join us by following along on Medium and Instagram.
A note about the monthly series:
Typically, we will publish all the articles on the third or fourth Monday of each month. This way, we can capture readers as they are engaging, giving them a chance to continue exploring the theme with other articles in the series. In other words, they can “binge” the material.
We find this attracts and retains readers more than a daily release of each article, and it allows us to publish as many articles as we can, whereas a daily release would limit that.
Each writer will be featured individually on Pollinate’s Instagram account, so every article gets its own “day in the spotlight.”
Our Month in Review
OCTOBER SPECIAL SERIES: FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness. We talk about it endlessly. It’s the cornerstone of many religious traditions. And it’s certainly had its day in the self-help movement.
But it turns out that it’s not so easy to define, nor does it look the same for every person. This month, read about four women’s explorations which include a plant medicine journey that led to a relinquishment of a feeling of victimization, and a woman’s process in which forgiveness perhaps is what makes us able to laugh about something that had once hurt so much. We also have writers diving into the ways forgiveness intersects with systems of oppression, including white supremacy and the patriarchy.
You can read everything here.
Looking Forward
UPCOMING DECEMBER SPECIAL SERIES: PROSPERITY
December is a time when many people celebrate major holidays that involve the sharing of gifts and food. It is a time to remember and celebrate the prosperity in our lives — and sometimes, a season in which we must confront the places in which we aren’t feeling prosperous.
How do you access feelings of prosperity when you aren’t feeling very prosperous? How do you celebrate your prosperity? How do you spread the wealth and celebrate the prosperity of others? Do you have a spiritual practice around prosperity?
The deadline is Monday, December 12th. (To be published the following Monday. Use the tag PROSPERITY 2022.)
Pollinate Magazine Special Series: The Year Ahead
DECEMBER 2022 — Prosperity
Publishing Outside the Series
Pollinate always welcomes submissions that don’t fit into the monthly series, but that focus on one of our regular topics: Spirituality, Relationships, Sexuality, Culture, or Nature. Please be sure to use the appropriate topic as a tag.
Pollinate Scribes’ Hive
Just a quick reminder about our Facebook group, Pollinate Scribes’ Hive. If you haven’t joined this private group yet, send a request. If you haven’t posted recently, let us know what you’re working on, what’s teasing your brain, what life looks like for you. We’re interested.
More About Pollinate Ritual
Pollinate Ritual helps humans create and maintain soul-centered communities. There are infinite ways to achieve this and we are exploring many of them at Pollinate Ritual with intentionality, ritual, and heart. We host a variety of events in localized communities throughout the year, ranging from hikes and forest adventures to soulful retreats, such as the upcoming Pollinate Women’s Weekend. Whatever we do, we try to bring forth the true nature of community.
Pollinate Magazine is one of the ways we have created community, by bringing together writers as they share their thoughts, visions, and experiences on the page. The ritualistic nature of writing makes this a natural extension of the Pollinate experience — every writer, after all, goes through a similar process that leads them from inspiration to the finished product. Our monthly series allows us to create a community space around shared themes, harnessing the power of the ritual of writing.
Thank you so much for reading, thank you for writing, and thank you for being a part of this beautiful, soulful community. Each one of our voices contributes to this space and we are so grateful for each and every one of you.
With love,
Kathryn & Yael
Pollinate Editorial Staff
© Pollinate Magazine 2022
