{"id":32324,"date":"2025-11-04T07:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=32324"},"modified":"2025-11-04T09:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:15:14","slug":"art-academia-for-october-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2025\/11\/04\/art-academia-for-october-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Art & Academia for October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
Here are a few of the art and academia pieces I was captivated by this past October. I tried to keep themes spooky and or witchy for Samhain\/ Halloween!<\/p>\n
Science<\/h1>\n
Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2025:\u00a0Hermione\u2019s Enchanted Handbag<\/em><\/h4>\n
Some of you may have heard the Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry, announced on October 8th<\/sup>, 2025, work was likened to\u00a0Hermione\u2019s enchanted handbag<\/em>. The reality might not be\u00a0quite<\/em>\u00a0as fantastical as the enchanted bag from the\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0series, but it\u2019s still pretty freaking cool.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Nobel Prize went to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for their pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).<\/p>\n
MOFs are crystalline networks built by linking metal atoms with organic molecules. What makes them interesting is the empty spaces between those links. The space takes the form of pores, tunnels, and cavities, or we can think of it like molecular hallways and rooms. Even though MOF crystals might look like a fine powder grain to the human eye, inside are thousands of repeating microscopic chambers. Which is why they\u2019re compared to Hermione\u2019s enchanted handbag that contains endless room for tents, clothes, and books.<\/p>\n
The comparison to Hermione\u2019s magic handbag is more than just a metaphor: the internal space is enormous compared to the material\u2019s size. I will admit that I don\u2019t understand this next part no matter how many ways it\u2019s broken down, but a single gram of MOF material, which is about the size of a paperclip, can have internal surface area greater than a football field, or even two or three! Apparently, that is meant literally! 1 gram = ~ 6,000 m2<\/sup>\u00a0of internal surface area. This space is for soaking up huge quantities of gas or water vapor, larger than what would be expected compared to the size of the MOF.<\/p>\n
Why is this important, you may ask? These molecules are being engineered for some of the most critical environmental challenges of our time. The capturing of CO2<\/sub>\u00a0or other greenhouse gases from the air to slow climate change. Harvesting water from dry desert air to collect drinking water. Filtering toxins like the environmentally harmful forever chemicals (PFAS) and heavy metals. Storing hydrogen for clean energy technologies. The uses depend on the inner labyrinth of the MOF that can hold or release different molecules selectively.<\/p>\n
This work represents one of the most promising areas of modern chemistry for addressing pollution, water scarcity, and the climate crisis. If we don\u2019t prioritize such innovations and solutions to the damage we\u2019ve caused, we may soon lose the opportunity to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Poetry<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Of course, since it was October, I listened to readings of Edgar Allen Poe. If you don\u2019t want to do the reading yourself, I recommend finding a YouTube video or audiobooks of someone reading poetry. Even if you prefer reading it yourself, I still recommend listening. When I put on a video of curated poems, that inspires me to go look up the piece or author. This morning while making breakfast, I listened to The Raven<\/em> by Edgar Allen Poe for the first time. I\u2019ve read it before, but listening to it outside of my head was magical.<\/p>\n
I think it would be fun to dissect a spooky poem by one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickenson. She was described as a recluse and death obsessed writer. She lived most of her life in near-seclusion in Amherst, Massachusetts, exploring themes of mortality, eternity, and the unseen in her poetry. I would gamble that she would have loved modern day Halloween\/ Samhain! She was totally a spooky girl!<\/p>\n
She was also a profound thinker, her poetry not only about the macabre, but thoughts about life and existentialism. Considering October and Samhain is about the veil between the worlds being thin, ghostly interactions, and death, I thought Dickenson\u2019s poem Because I Could not Stop for Death <\/em>would be a fun and relevant one to analyze.<\/p>\n
Emily Dickenson<\/p>\n
Because I Could not Stop for Death -1863<\/em><\/p>\n
Because I could not stop for Death \u2013<\/em> He kindly stopped for me \u2013 The Carriage held but just Ourselves \u2013 And Immortality.<\/em><\/p>\n
We slowly drove \u2013 He knew no haste<\/em> And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
We passed the School, where Children strove<\/em> At Recess \u2013 in the Ring \u2013 We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain \u2013 We passed the Setting Sun \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
Or rather \u2013 He passed Us \u2013<\/em> The Dews drew quivering and chill \u2013 For only Gossamer, my Gown \u2013 My Tippet \u2013 only Tulle \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
We paused before a House that seemed<\/em> A Swelling of the Ground \u2013 The Roof was scarcely visible \u2013 The Cornice \u2013 in the Ground \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
Since then \u2013 \u2019tis Centuries \u2013 and yet<\/em> Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses\u2019 Heads Were toward Eternity \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
Stanza 1<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I could not stop for Death<\/em>\u201d, the poem implies that many of us are too busy living life to acknowledge our mortality. \u201cHe kindly stopped for me<\/em>\u201d, here Death is personified as a courteous gentleman who arrives in a carriage, inviting the speaker for a ride. The tone is calm, polite, and maybe even dreamy rather fear.<\/p>\n
Stanza 2<\/p>\n
\u201cWe slowly drove \u2013 He knew no haste\u201d, <\/em>implies that death is in no rush, taking its time or maybe existing outside of time as us humans know it.<\/em><\/p>\n
The speaker then says, \u201c\u2026put away My labor and my leisure too,\u201d. To me, the speaker means they dropped all things in their life, their work and their pleasures, because they are no longer important in this moment. All Earthly concerns. <\/em><\/p>\n
Stanza 3<\/p>\n
Stanza 3 incorporates experiences and details of daily human life they pass, \u201cWe passed the School. Where the Children strove\u2026We passed the Fields of Grazing Grain- We passed the Setting Sun-\u201d Passing all these places symbolizes the speaker leaving these things behind, moving forward. The children symbolize innocence, youth, growth, and thoughts far from mortality. The grain could be sustenance, production, labor, life\u2019s harvest, and passing it is leaving that aspect of life behind. The sun setting could be life setting, old age creeping in as one approaches death. (Wow, the chills)<\/em><\/p>\n
Stanza 4<\/p>\n
\u201cOr rather- He passed Us-\u201d The speaker pauses and shifts perspective. Who is the \u201cHe\u201d? This could be the setting sun. This could mean the awareness of the speaker and Death ceased to move within the living world, but the living world moves past them. This moment the speaker realizes they are no longer among the living.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dews drew quivering and chill-\u201d Dew of night starts to form in the cold and damp dark (that was my analysis but sounds like a line of poetry itself lol!). The separation from warmth, vitality, and life.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor only Gossamer, my Gown- My Tippet- only Tulle-\u201d. First, some definitions: Gossamer<\/em> refers to a fine, spider-made silk thread consisting of cobwebs and a very light, thin, and gauze-like fabric. Tippet<\/em> being a woman\u2019s long scarf or shawl as a ceremonial garment. And tulle<\/em> is a soft, fine silk or cotton material like net for making veils and dresses. This stanza sounds like the speaker is describing ceremonial burial attire. This also sounds like classic spooky, translucent, ghostly dress you\u2019d expect to see a ghost wearing.<\/p>\n
Stanza 5<\/p>\n
\u201cWe paused before a House that seemed A swelling of the Ground-\u201d To me this sounds like a grave because of the swelling ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Roof was scarcely visible- The Cornice- in the Ground-\u201d This reenforces the house is a grave, since it\u2019s within the ground.<\/p>\n
Maybe this poem has a dual interpretation of the speaker traveling as a spirit in their own funeral procession, accompanying their body to its new home. Dickenson is known for multi-meanings. This poem could be metaphoric, or it could be a literal spirit following their body to the grave. Though, I wouldn\u2019t assume spirits go into the grave with their body, so, maybe the poem isn\u2019t even speaking of a spirit but a distant awareness of the body after death. Do we linger somewhere in there?<\/p>\n
Stanza 6<\/p>\n
Stanza 6 shifts from a present time to an existence beyond time as humans know it. \u201cSince then- \u2018tis Centuries- and yet, Feels shorter than the Day\u201d Hundreds of years pass, but at the same time, it feels like it could have been just a day. Time has collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first surmised the Horses\u2019 Heads, Were toward Eternity-\u201d Here the speaker brings back the carriage, noting the horses\u2019 heads were in the direction of eternity. Surmised means to suppose something is true without having evidence, so the speaker knew what the carriage was from the start, and still got in. This shows the lack of emotion and contemplation in death. Only acceptance. Death is a neutral and inevitable act of nature.<\/p>\n
The carriage may not have been the transport to the afterlife but IS<\/em> the afterlife. An infinite passage. This poem doesn\u2019t have closure, it leads on.<\/p>\n
I wanted to find some of the earliest representations of Samhain\/ All Hallow\u2019s Eve\/ Halloween, but unfortunately there aren\u2019t many paintings depicting the holiday before the 1900s. However, during my search, I came across something fun and aligned with my style.<\/p>\n
In the Victorian era, when Halloween became more popularized and commercialized, people began sending postcards of the imagery we now associate with classical Halloween- such as witches, black cats, pumpkins, and other spooks.<\/p>\n
The earliest Halloween postcards appeared in the 1880s-1890s, during the golden age of chromolithography, or multicolor printing. They represent the first mass-produced folk-art of Halloween, marking the transition of Samhain\u2019s fires to modern Halloween aesthetics. They were primarily produced in Germany and the U.S., since Germany had the most advanced color presses and exported them worldwide.<\/p>\n
By the early 1900s, Halloween postcards had become a cultural phenomenon, millions were mailed between friends and sweethearts. This is when Halloween shifted from rural superstition to a romantic, whimsical, and spooky celebration. The postcards became popular because they were colorful, cheap, and offered a safe, playful way to explore taboo or mysterious themes like death and witchcraft.<\/p>\n
There are hundreds online, searchable in archives, Pintrest, or eBay. Simply search \u201cVintage Halloween Postcards\u201d. I found a few in archives and eBay listings. I included a few with the messages on the back to show that they’re legit:<\/p>\n
Here are a few of the art and academia pieces I was captivated by this past October. I tried to keep themes spooky and or witchy for Samhain\/ Halloween! Science Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2025:\u00a0Hermione\u2019s Enchanted Handbag Some of you may have heard the Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry, announced on October 8th, 2025, work was likened to\u00a0Hermione\u2019s enchanted handbag. The reality might not be\u00a0quite\u00a0as fantastical as the enchanted bag from the\u00a0Harry Potter\u00a0series, but it\u2019s still pretty freaking cool. This year\u2019s Nobel Prize went to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for their pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are crystalline networks built by linking metal atoms with organic molecules. What makes them interesting is the empty spaces between those links. The space takes the form of pores, tunnels, and cavities, or we can think of it like molecular hallways and rooms. Even though MOF crystals might look like a fine powder grain to the human eye, inside are thousands of repeating microscopic chambers. Which is why they\u2019re compared to Hermione\u2019s enchanted handbag that contains endless room for tents, clothes, and books. The comparison to Hermione\u2019s magic handbag is more than just a metaphor: the internal space is enormous compared to the material\u2019s size. I will admit that I don\u2019t understand this next part no matter how many ways it\u2019s broken down, but a single gram of MOF material, which is about the size of a paperclip, can have internal surface area greater than a football field, or even two or three! Apparently, that is meant literally! 1 gram = ~ 6,000 m2\u00a0of internal surface area. This space is for soaking up huge quantities of gas or water vapor, larger than what would be expected compared to the size of the MOF. Why is this important, you may ask? These molecules are being engineered for some of the most critical environmental challenges of our time. The capturing of CO2\u00a0or other greenhouse gases from the air to slow climate change. Harvesting water from dry desert air to collect drinking water. Filtering toxins like the environmentally harmful forever chemicals (PFAS) and heavy metals. Storing hydrogen for clean energy technologies. The uses depend on the inner labyrinth of the MOF that can hold or release different molecules selectively. This work represents one of the most promising areas of modern chemistry for addressing pollution, water scarcity, and the climate crisis. If we don\u2019t prioritize such innovations and solutions to the damage we\u2019ve caused, we may soon lose the opportunity to do so. Poetry Of course, since it was October, I listened to readings of Edgar Allen Poe. If you don\u2019t want to do the reading yourself, I recommend finding a YouTube video or audiobooks of someone reading poetry. Even if you prefer reading it yourself, I still recommend listening. When I put on a video of curated poems, that inspires me to go look up the piece or author. This morning while making breakfast, I listened to The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe for the first time. I\u2019ve read it before, but listening to it outside of my head was magical. I think it would be fun to dissect a spooky poem by one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickenson. She was described as a recluse and death obsessed writer. She lived most of her life in near-seclusion in Amherst, Massachusetts, exploring themes of mortality, eternity, and the unseen in her poetry. I would gamble that she would have loved modern day Halloween\/ Samhain! She was totally a spooky girl! She was also a profound thinker, her poetry not only about the macabre, but thoughts about life and existentialism. Considering October and Samhain is about the veil between the worlds being thin, ghostly interactions, and death, I thought Dickenson\u2019s poem Because I Could not Stop for Death would be a fun and relevant one to analyze. Emily Dickenson Because I Could not Stop for Death -1863 Because I could not stop for Death \u2013He kindly stopped for me \u2013The Carriage held but just Ourselves \u2013And Immortality. We slowly drove \u2013 He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility \u2013 We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess \u2013 in the Ring \u2013We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain \u2013We passed the Setting Sun \u2013 Or rather \u2013 He passed Us \u2013The Dews drew quivering and chill \u2013For only Gossamer, my Gown \u2013My Tippet \u2013 only Tulle \u2013 We paused before a House that seemedA Swelling of the Ground \u2013The Roof was scarcely visible \u2013The Cornice \u2013 in the Ground \u2013 Since then \u2013 \u2019tis Centuries \u2013 and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses\u2019 HeadsWere toward Eternity \u2013 Stanza 1 \u201cBecause I could not stop for Death\u201d, the poem implies that many of us are too busy living life to acknowledge our mortality. \u201cHe kindly stopped for me\u201d, here Death is personified as a courteous gentleman who arrives in a carriage, inviting the speaker for a ride. The tone is calm, polite, and maybe even dreamy rather fear. Stanza 2 \u201cWe slowly drove \u2013 He knew no haste\u201d, implies that death is in no rush, taking its time or maybe existing outside of time as us humans know it. The speaker then says, \u201c\u2026put away My labor and my leisure too,\u201d. To me, the speaker means they dropped all things in their life, their work and their pleasures, because they are no longer important in this moment. All Earthly concerns. Stanza 3 Stanza 3 incorporates experiences and details of daily human life they pass, \u201cWe passed the School. Where the Children strove\u2026We passed the Fields of Grazing Grain- We passed the Setting Sun-\u201d Passing all these places symbolizes the speaker leaving these things behind, moving forward. The children symbolize innocence, youth, growth, and thoughts far from mortality. The grain could be sustenance, production, labor, life\u2019s harvest, and passing it is leaving that aspect of life behind. The sun setting could be life setting, old age creeping in as one approaches death. (Wow, the chills) Stanza 4 \u201cOr rather- He passed Us-\u201d The speaker pauses and shifts perspective. Who is the \u201cHe\u201d? This could be the setting sun. This could mean the awareness of the speaker and Death ceased to move within the living world, but the living world moves past them. This moment the speaker realizes they are no longer among the living. \u201cThe Dews drew quivering and chill-\u201d Dew of night starts to form in the cold and damp dark (that was my analysis but sounds like a line of poetry itself lol!). The separation from warmth, vitality, and life. \u201cFor only Gossamer, my Gown- My Tippet- only Tulle-\u201d. First, some definitions: Gossamer refers to a fine, spider-made silk thread consisting of cobwebs and a very light, thin, and gauze-like fabric. Tippet being a woman\u2019s long scarf or shawl as a ceremonial garment. And tulle is a soft, fine silk or cotton material like net for making veils and dresses. This stanza sounds like the speaker is describing ceremonial burial attire. This also sounds like classic spooky, translucent, ghostly dress you\u2019d expect to see a ghost wearing. Stanza 5 \u201cWe paused before a House that seemed A swelling of the Ground-\u201d To me this sounds like a grave because of the swelling ground. \u201cThe Roof was scarcely visible- The Cornice- in the Ground-\u201d This reenforces the house is a grave, since it\u2019s within the ground. Maybe this poem has a dual interpretation of the speaker traveling as a spirit in their own funeral procession, accompanying their body to its new home. Dickenson is known for multi-meanings. This poem could be metaphoric, or it could be a literal spirit following their body to the grave. Though, I wouldn\u2019t assume spirits go into the grave with their body, so, maybe the poem isn\u2019t even speaking of a spirit but a distant awareness of the body after death. Do we linger somewhere in there? Stanza 6 Stanza 6 shifts from a present time to an existence beyond time as humans know it. \u201cSince then- \u2018tis Centuries- and yet, Feels shorter than the Day\u201d Hundreds of years pass, but at the same time, it feels like it could have been just a day. Time has collapsed. \u201cI first surmised the Horses\u2019 Heads, Were toward Eternity-\u201d Here the speaker brings back the carriage, noting the horses\u2019 heads were in the direction of eternity. Surmised means to suppose something is true without having evidence, so the speaker knew what the carriage was from the start, and still got in. This shows the lack of emotion and contemplation in death. Only acceptance. Death is a neutral and inevitable act of nature. The carriage may not have been the transport to the afterlife but IS the afterlife. An infinite passage. This poem doesn\u2019t have closure, it leads on. Art Vintage Halloween Postcards I wanted to find some of the earliest representations of Samhain\/ All Hallow\u2019s Eve\/ Halloween, but unfortunately there aren\u2019t many paintings depicting the holiday before the 1900s. However, during my search, I came across something fun and aligned with my style. In the Victorian era, when Halloween became more popularized and commercialized, people began sending postcards of the imagery we now associate with classical Halloween- such as witches, black cats, pumpkins, and other spooks. The earliest Halloween postcards appeared in the 1880s-1890s, during the golden age of chromolithography, or multicolor printing. They represent the first mass-produced folk-art of Halloween, marking the transition of Samhain\u2019s fires to modern Halloween aesthetics. They were primarily produced in Germany and the U.S., since Germany had the most advanced color presses and exported them worldwide. By the early 1900s, Halloween postcards had become a cultural phenomenon, millions were mailed between friends and sweethearts. This is when Halloween shifted from rural superstition to a romantic, whimsical, and spooky celebration. The postcards became popular because they were colorful, cheap, and offered a safe, playful way to explore taboo or mysterious themes like death and witchcraft. There are hundreds online, searchable in archives, Pintrest, or eBay. Simply search \u201cVintage Halloween Postcards\u201d. I found a few in archives and eBay listings. I included a few with the messages on the back to show that they’re legit: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":32031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10004,10009,1],"tags":[15361,10632,12448,15417,10227,12438,12366,10339],"class_list":["post-32324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-columns","category-this-months-holiday","category-uncategorized","tag-academia","tag-art","tag-halloween","tag-october","tag-poetry","tag-samhain","tag-science","tag-tradition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32324"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32406,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32324\/revisions\/32406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"