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Of Gods and Globes III: Trigger Warnings and The Abyss
Ed. Lancelot Schaubert: So this Of Gods and Globes series isn't astrology, or isn't supposed to be, so what the heck are we doing here — enough for a third volume?
Dr. Anthony Cirilla: As with most complicated concepts in history, we have to start with, "What do we mean by astrology?" The etymology of it is difficult to distinguish from astronomy: the study of the stars. And the development of studying the stars, like many branches of science, were tangled up with what we might call magic today. Isidore of Seville introduced the distinction between astronomy and astrology in the seventh century, though their separation wouldn't be completed until the scientific revolution.
But as C.S. Lewis wrote about in the Discarded Image, the relationship between astronomy and astrology was deeply influential on the poetic vision of the universe. In other words, studying how the stars worked was involved in studying the meaning of human life. So if Chaucer tells you that the planet Venus was shining brightly, that meant something more profound than mere symbolic ornamentation. It signalled a connection between the man as microcosm and the macrocosm of creation.
Lancelot: In a way, it's about the influence of the non-physical mind has over matter? Or of larger bodies on smaller bodies and vice versa?
Anthony: Yes, and I think this series of volumes is working in an area of literary symbolism that extends the work C.S. Lewis was attempting in the Space Trilogy, to restore the power of the Discarded Image. Not that we should return to medieval science, but to a medieval recognition that not only does the mind influence matter, but that matter is infused with mind. We talk about Enlightenment, for example, but that mental state has behind it the physical effect light has not only on the eyes but on the mind.
Who hasn't felt better after taking a walk in the sun? That is partly due to things science can explain, but also because the sun rising as metaphor for a soul coming out of darkness into non-physical light (whether emotional, spiritual, or what have you) is in some sense the metaphor, the correct metaphor if I may say so, because it grasps at a real symbolic potential for the mind that the sun actually possesses. We use light to discuss the mind's brightening because light actually does brighten the psyche, and so partakes actually in the process it represents symbolically. The celestial bodies are not the only part of our physical environment that have this potential, but again, that they are perceptually above us matters for their symbolic reality for our condition. They lift up our eyes, and so they lift up our minds, too.
Lancelot: Do you think the tidal realities of the planets have actual influence on our planet, though the pseudoscience of modern astrology gets this wrong?
Anthony: I suspect you are more qualified to answer this question than I am, but given that we know that the moon holds sway over the ocean tides, and the almost universal testimony of the effect of a full moon on people, it seems plausible that there are planetary effects that are more mysterious than we have discovered. It’s possible that a bias towards our seeming superstitious or appearing to descend to horoscope folly has caused the scientific community to leave such questions less explored than they should be.
After all, our words "influence" and "lunacy," not to mention the names of the days of our week, remind us that this belief has a strange staying power. Science has a very different view of energy than when astrology was rejected, so maybe it is possible to study our relationship to the cosmos in a way that avoids the pseudoscience but answers our lingering questions, like the impact of the moon on hospitals. What I don't know about such things could and does fill many books. But even Disney continues to invite us to wish upon a star. What there is to it scientifically I don't know, but anthropologically there's something profound at work in any case. Maybe we need a branch of psychology devoted to the symphony of the spheres? Do you have thoughts you'd like to add on that subject?
Lancelot: Well if black holes warp time, as illustrated in films like Interstellar, and if our planet is delicately balanced between the orbits of multiple comets, the planets, and the sun, then it seems to me that it might have an effect on a place like Turnagin Arm -- whose tidal realities combine a strong east wind with the moon's influence upon a perfectly shaped series of mudflats: the water matches the resonant frequency of that mudflat inlet, drawing still more water out, ending with forty foot tides. If that's what mountains and moons and winds can do, what of Saturn? What of Jupiter? It's said that Titan could host life from tidal realities alone.
Yes. I think it's woefully unexplored because of the social pressure associated with astrology. The theories of Milankovitch cycles point to apsidal precession as...
Dr. Anthony Cirilla: As with most complicated concepts in history, we have to start with, "What do we mean by astrology?" The etymology of it is difficult to distinguish from astronomy: the study of the stars. And the development of studying the stars, like many branches of science, were tangled up with what we might call magic today. Isidore of Seville introduced the distinction between astronomy and astrology in the seventh century, though their separation wouldn't be completed until the scientific revolution.
But as C.S. Lewis wrote about in the Discarded Image, the relationship between astronomy and astrology was deeply influential on the poetic vision of the universe. In other words, studying how the stars worked was involved in studying the meaning of human life. So if Chaucer tells you that the planet Venus was shining brightly, that meant something more profound than mere symbolic ornamentation. It signalled a connection between the man as microcosm and the macrocosm of creation.
Lancelot: In a way, it's about the influence of the non-physical mind has over matter? Or of larger bodies on smaller bodies and vice versa?
Anthony: Yes, and I think this series of volumes is working in an area of literary symbolism that extends the work C.S. Lewis was attempting in the Space Trilogy, to restore the power of the Discarded Image. Not that we should return to medieval science, but to a medieval recognition that not only does the mind influence matter, but that matter is infused with mind. We talk about Enlightenment, for example, but that mental state has behind it the physical effect light has not only on the eyes but on the mind.
Who hasn't felt better after taking a walk in the sun? That is partly due to things science can explain, but also because the sun rising as metaphor for a soul coming out of darkness into non-physical light (whether emotional, spiritual, or what have you) is in some sense the metaphor, the correct metaphor if I may say so, because it grasps at a real symbolic potential for the mind that the sun actually possesses. We use light to discuss the mind's brightening because light actually does brighten the psyche, and so partakes actually in the process it represents symbolically. The celestial bodies are not the only part of our physical environment that have this potential, but again, that they are perceptually above us matters for their symbolic reality for our condition. They lift up our eyes, and so they lift up our minds, too.
Lancelot: Do you think the tidal realities of the planets have actual influence on our planet, though the pseudoscience of modern astrology gets this wrong?
Anthony: I suspect you are more qualified to answer this question than I am, but given that we know that the moon holds sway over the ocean tides, and the almost universal testimony of the effect of a full moon on people, it seems plausible that there are planetary effects that are more mysterious than we have discovered. It’s possible that a bias towards our seeming superstitious or appearing to descend to horoscope folly has caused the scientific community to leave such questions less explored than they should be.
After all, our words "influence" and "lunacy," not to mention the names of the days of our week, remind us that this belief has a strange staying power. Science has a very different view of energy than when astrology was rejected, so maybe it is possible to study our relationship to the cosmos in a way that avoids the pseudoscience but answers our lingering questions, like the impact of the moon on hospitals. What I don't know about such things could and does fill many books. But even Disney continues to invite us to wish upon a star. What there is to it scientifically I don't know, but anthropologically there's something profound at work in any case. Maybe we need a branch of psychology devoted to the symphony of the spheres? Do you have thoughts you'd like to add on that subject?
Lancelot: Well if black holes warp time, as illustrated in films like Interstellar, and if our planet is delicately balanced between the orbits of multiple comets, the planets, and the sun, then it seems to me that it might have an effect on a place like Turnagin Arm -- whose tidal realities combine a strong east wind with the moon's influence upon a perfectly shaped series of mudflats: the water matches the resonant frequency of that mudflat inlet, drawing still more water out, ending with forty foot tides. If that's what mountains and moons and winds can do, what of Saturn? What of Jupiter? It's said that Titan could host life from tidal realities alone.
Yes. I think it's woefully unexplored because of the social pressure associated with astrology. The theories of Milankovitch cycles point to apsidal precession as...
- GenresFantasy
520 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2024
About the author
Lancelot Schaubert
44 books405 followers"Schaubert recounts a mischievous man's eight decades in Illinois's Little Egypt region in his picaresque debut BELL HAMMERS. Remmy's life of constant schemes and pranks and a lifelong feud with classmate Jim Johnstone and the local oil drilling company proves consequential. This is a hoot."
- Publisher's Weekly
He's also the author of the children's picture book horror Harry Rides the Danger, the editor for Of Gods and Globes III (+ vol. 1 + vol 2), Tap and Die, and The Greenwood Poet.
His work Cold Brewed reinvented the photonovel for the digital age and caught the attention of the Missouri Tourism Board who commissioned him to write and direct a second photonovel, The Joplin Undercurrent, in partnership with award-winning photographer, Mark Neuenschwander.
Two excerpts of Lancelot Schaubert's (lanceschaubert.org) debut novel BELL HAMMERS sold to The New Haven Review ( Yale's Institute Library ) and The Misty Review, while a third excerpt was selected as a finalist for the last Glimmer Train Fiction Open in history. He has also sold poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to TOR (MacMillan), The Anglican Theological Review, McSweeney's, Poker Pro's World Series Edition, The Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and many similar markets.
Spark + Echo chose him for their 2019 artist in residency, commissioning him to write four short stories.
He remains a committed husband to the grooviest girl on earth and is a public advocate for more free range trees. You know, Ents. To that end he guerilla planted over 400 acorns in New York City.
- Publisher's Weekly
He's also the author of the children's picture book horror Harry Rides the Danger, the editor for Of Gods and Globes III (+ vol. 1 + vol 2), Tap and Die, and The Greenwood Poet.
His work Cold Brewed reinvented the photonovel for the digital age and caught the attention of the Missouri Tourism Board who commissioned him to write and direct a second photonovel, The Joplin Undercurrent, in partnership with award-winning photographer, Mark Neuenschwander.
Two excerpts of Lancelot Schaubert's (lanceschaubert.org) debut novel BELL HAMMERS sold to The New Haven Review ( Yale's Institute Library ) and The Misty Review, while a third excerpt was selected as a finalist for the last Glimmer Train Fiction Open in history. He has also sold poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to TOR (MacMillan), The Anglican Theological Review, McSweeney's, Poker Pro's World Series Edition, The Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and many similar markets.
Spark + Echo chose him for their 2019 artist in residency, commissioning him to write four short stories.
He remains a committed husband to the grooviest girl on earth and is a public advocate for more free range trees. You know, Ents. To that end he guerilla planted over 400 acorns in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 12, 2024
I ended up reading the third entry of the 'Of Gods and Globes' anthology when Andrew Najberg mentioned he had a story in it. It turned out that, on top of his amazing story, there are a lot of good stories contained in this tome! “Trigger Warnings and The Abyss” was a rather bizarre subtitle, but, that said, even the theme of the anthology (astrological influences, taken in a wide sense) is a bit strange as a theme for science fiction stories, There's an introduction where some details are given and some things are explained about the choice of theme, but otherwise it really doesn't matter all that much whether you go for the literal or a metaphorical interpretation. I myself enjoyed the stories either way. The length varies; the point of each story varies widely; the quality also varies; but overall, a couple of stories excepted, I was consistently entertained and intrigued by most of the tales. In particular, I'd recommend “We Have No Spare Parts” by Andrew Najberg, a very smart story, “The Mistress of the Labyrinth” by Donna J. W. Munro, very mysterious and inventive, “Mazzaroth Falls” by F. C. Shultz, a space operatic, religion-themed story with a large-scale perspective, and “Charon” by Chuck Boeheim, combining horror and science fiction in a terrific and memorable way!
March 31, 2024
This anthology had a good mix of scifi themed stories from a variety of authors. It was hard to rate the book overall, as the authors’ submissions varied so widely. My understanding was that each entry had to entail a planetary and deity reference, but some of them were not so clear/lacking on the “globe” aspect.
Overall, this was an ok anthology, perfect if you like to read science fiction, mythology and retellings, & thrilling short stories. I think the submission criteria could be more strict or detailed, as again, the entries really varied in how they incorporated Gods & Globes.
Thank you to NetGalley, the editor and authors, and IBPA.
Overall, this was an ok anthology, perfect if you like to read science fiction, mythology and retellings, & thrilling short stories. I think the submission criteria could be more strict or detailed, as again, the entries really varied in how they incorporated Gods & Globes.
Thank you to NetGalley, the editor and authors, and IBPA.
January 20, 2024
'We Have No Spare Parts' by Andrew Najberg
Part of the Of Gods and Globes 3 Anthology, edited by Lancelot Schaubert and Emily Munro releases April 30th 2024. This is an anthology of short cosmic influenced sci-fi and fantasy stories that explore the meaning of life. Three-Time Contributor Dr. Anthony Cirilla: "studying how the stars worked was involved in studying the meaning of human life."
Andrew Najberg @andrewnajberg thanks so much for suggesting I review this, I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. Between this and Gollitok I think I just became your biggest fan. The story has definite Borg undertones that I cannot get enough of. I NEED this to be a full length novel. The writing is sci-fi heavy but also intensely creative and understandable. I was instantly wrapped up in the delicious tension and anxiety that Sasha was experiencing. I need a hardback full novel with Doctor Lorenze, in all her glorious horror, on the cover immediately thank you (snap snap). This was an utterly fantastic short. Not only am I now going to have to read all of these but I'll be buying the first two.
"they’re expecting humans, and I don’t know what we are anymore.”
"Doctor Lorenze regards me as I enter. Of course, Lorenze is no longer what I would traditionally call human either as her primary material interface is a mobile array on a tether within which her optic nerves are embedded...Doctor Lorenze’s brain is still intact and operational, suspended in electrolytic fluid in a circuit vault within the medbay’s central processing assembly."
Part of the Of Gods and Globes 3 Anthology, edited by Lancelot Schaubert and Emily Munro releases April 30th 2024. This is an anthology of short cosmic influenced sci-fi and fantasy stories that explore the meaning of life. Three-Time Contributor Dr. Anthony Cirilla: "studying how the stars worked was involved in studying the meaning of human life."
Andrew Najberg @andrewnajberg thanks so much for suggesting I review this, I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. Between this and Gollitok I think I just became your biggest fan. The story has definite Borg undertones that I cannot get enough of. I NEED this to be a full length novel. The writing is sci-fi heavy but also intensely creative and understandable. I was instantly wrapped up in the delicious tension and anxiety that Sasha was experiencing. I need a hardback full novel with Doctor Lorenze, in all her glorious horror, on the cover immediately thank you (snap snap). This was an utterly fantastic short. Not only am I now going to have to read all of these but I'll be buying the first two.
"they’re expecting humans, and I don’t know what we are anymore.”
"Doctor Lorenze regards me as I enter. Of course, Lorenze is no longer what I would traditionally call human either as her primary material interface is a mobile array on a tether within which her optic nerves are embedded...Doctor Lorenze’s brain is still intact and operational, suspended in electrolytic fluid in a circuit vault within the medbay’s central processing assembly."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2024
The volume suffers somewhat from the typical problem of all short story anthologies, namely a series of ups and downs. Even more so because this is a collection of several authors, united by a theme. Having said that, some of the short stories are of a sublime level, I refer for instance to Death in Venus, The Mistress of the Labyrinth, We have no spare parts, War on Brihaspati Graha, Alfa Romeo. Others have a beautiful basic idea, but are concluded with a little too much haste, leaving the reader a little disappointed. That said, the idea of organising an anthology around myth, using that part of fantasy closest to science fiction, is truly remarkable.
November 27, 2023
I honestly had to idea what to expect from this book having missed the others, but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by what I ended up reading, I won’t go into detail because I hate when people do that but I will say that the book is worth reading, so much so that I’ll be getting the first two in the series.
May 3, 2024
This wild ride of an anthology is super fun to read. The characters are bold, rich, real, flawed, interesting, funny, and aloof. The topics are so wide ranging that you never really get bored of them. Until next time Happy Reading!
I want to thank Lancelot Schaubert for this ARC via Netgalley.
I want to thank Lancelot Schaubert for this ARC via Netgalley.
April 25, 2024
Short stories anthologies are not normally my preferred reading. Though I have always admired the author’s skill to produce a whole story in just a few words. Having been given the chance to look at this book I found I kept coming back to it. I would read one or two of the stories, then a week or a few weeks later some more. The stories are varied and interesting. Some about gods, others about finding some sort of fulfilment in one’s life. Overall worthwhile reading. Thank you to Lancelot Schaubert and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
March 7, 2024
Do you know what a trigger warning is? It is a statement at the start of a piece of writing, video, etc., alerting the reader or viewer to the fact that it contains potentially distressing material. (from Oxford Languages). The abyss is a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm. So why is this anthology has the “subtitle” “Trigger warnings and the abyss?” There is a dedication in Latin “memento mori, frater, which literally translates to “you must remember to die” or loosely as “rememeber death.” There are many stories that may have a theme of hurt and loss. Yet it also connects with astronomy rather than astrology. It’s not what I thought it would be. It is written so cleverly you may not see how astronomy is part of the story. I did become aware of it. Does the planets affect humans or not? It’s has an excellent collection of short stories when you are reading these stories I hope you will think if they relate to the subtitle or not. . The stories included in this anthology that are very good. I enjoyed reading this anthology. It contains notes that gives the reader information about the individual authors.
May 11, 2023
It's my birthday today + this sucker's live and launching! The anthology of award-winning stories returns. If you want to make sure 100% of the royalties goes to the authors we selected, go here: https://lanceschaubert.org/product/of...
Includes past award winners (including our own anthology), bestsellers + pseudonymous famous folk. Has some of my favorites of the series, you want a copy of this for sure and you DO NOT need to read the others to get this: think Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, MSFF, etc.
Includes past award winners (including our own anthology), bestsellers + pseudonymous famous folk. Has some of my favorites of the series, you want a copy of this for sure and you DO NOT need to read the others to get this: think Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, MSFF, etc.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews