📚 The Comfort of Fictional Religions: Octavia Butler's Earthseed

Shape God, Shape Change.

We do not worship God. 
We perceive and attend God. 
We learn from God. 
With forethought and work, 
We shape God. 
n the end, we yield to God. 
We adapt and endure, 
For we are Earthseed 
And God is Change. 

EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING

Butler, Octavia E.. Earthseed: The Complete Series (p. 26). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. 

Some time around 2020 or 2021, Octavia Butler began to be mentioned by a number of people I followed online. Given the timeframe, I think that it was likely due to the uptick in attention given to racial justice following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that erupted across the globe.

Butler’s body of work was already prophetic, and had been (re)introduced to a broader audience within the context of adrienne marie brown’s book series that began with Emergent Strategy; brown’s work is highly influenced by Butler’s vision.

For me, it was one of those planted seeds that I didn’t get around to for a while, then all of a sudden Butler seemed inescapable: a graphic novel adaptation of Kindred was made available by my library, and then her work just kept getting mentioned. Eventually, I started listening to Parable of the Sower while mowing the lawn.

Reader, I wasn’t ready.