Rooted Literary Magazine is Now Open for Submissions for our Halloween Digital Anthology: Rite

Rites follow us through every stage of our lives. They appear as ceremonies, festivals, gatherings, or private traditions—moments that connect us to ourselves, to others, and to something larger.

We mark rites of passage when we blow out birthday candles, earn our driver’s license, or endure heartbreak for the first time. Funerary rites help us say goodbye to those we’ve lost. Marital rites bind people together, though they can be broken as swiftly as they are spoken.

But rites are not always comforting. Some are born of blood, secrecy, or sacrifice and are violent in nature as they bind us in ways we do not always choose. History is steeped in rituals of exclusion and control; rites are used to preserve power as much as they are used to celebrate life.

For October, we invite you to explore Rite in all its forms: sacred or secular, celebratory or unsettling, personal or collective. What happens when a rite is denied, disrupted, or transformed? Explore the power that rituals hold over us when the candles burn low and we think no one is watching.