Defending the World Tree:
A Journal of Animist Awakening
Volume 2, Summer Solstice 2026: “Trees of Ceremony”
Call for Submissions
We are seeking offerings that explore the sacred, the ecological, and the mysterious connections between humans and the more-than-human world. Send us your words, images, and visions that speak to the depths of place, spirit, and transformation.
Most human cultures across the world have ceremonies centered around some tree of power. Many have one or a few in particular that act as their axis mundi, their “tree of life” or “world tree” for how deeply central they are to a people’s material and spiritual sustenance. But nearly all trees in all bioregions are laden with meaning, some ethnobotanical use transmuted into cultural wisdom through song, folklore, and even teachings. Sacred trees shape us not only in their place-making presence but also in their absence when they are killed, as too many peoples throughout centuries of imperial and colonial force have been forced to grieve their loss.
We invite you to consider the following:
Who are the trees your community is in relationship with?
What makes these trees sacred to you?
What ceremonies have humans held with these trees over generations? What cultures are actively being awakened or reimagined through these engagements?
How has your tree come under threat or attack from the forces of colonial extraction? Are they part of endangered forests? Have they been isolated from their web of relations by urban sprawl? Strained under climate change?
Who are the more-than-human Spirits living with(in) these trees? Are these entities known through folklore? Spiritual tradition? Song? Resistance action?
Those of us within Severed Branches tend practices learned through the grief of separation from the soils of our ancestors. We hold group ceremonies around the Pacific Northwest, adorning our tree kin with material offerings and prayerful exhalations. We circle roots in ceremonial reverence and chant our songs of devotion to a wounded earth. As a suggestion, and if it feels appropriate to share, you might consider documenting your own practices with your trees through poetry, incantation, and even
photo documentation.
We wish to network our ceremonies and the sacred trees around which they center. We encourage descriptions of existing practices, but also want our journal to be a way into ceremony: consider this a prompt to deepen your relationship with a tree that is
special to you.
May the work we do in sharing the depth of our practices inspire others to build their own connections with the ones whose branches uphold the sky.
What We’re Looking For
Essays & Reflections: 1,000–4,000 words. Personal stories, contemplations, ecological insights, or mythic reimaginings.
Poetry: Up to 5 poems per submission, no more than 10 pages total. Any form, from brief incantations to longer works.
Art & Photography: Up to 5 pieces. High-resolution JPG or PNG files (300 dpi preferred). Black & white preferred.
Submission Guidelines
Please send your work as an attachment (.docx, .pdf, or image files).
Include a short bio (50–100 words) and, if you’d like, a note about your relationship to the land or community you call home.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome.
Timeline
Deadline: May 1st, 2026
Acceptance
Contributors will be notified by May 15th.
Accepted works will appear in Volume #2 of Severed Branches Press’ Defending the World Tree: A Journal For Animist Awakening
You will be mailed a physical copy of Defending the World Tree
If your submission does not get accepted, we will hold on file for potential placement in future journals with your permission.