DEATH OF THE ENDLESS: Pop Culture Paganism Masterpost for Sandman’s Death
Originally written about within the DC Vertigo comic book universe by Neil Gaiman starting in 1989 in Sandman, volume 2, issue 8, she is Death herself in everything that entails: specifically, an anthropomorphic personification of the concept and force of death. Her personality is in stark contrast to most personifications of death: she’s very loving, friendly, matter-of-fact, laid back, and smiles a lot.
In the comics, Death is the second eldest in a family of entities called the Endless, who represent forces in the universe and oversee each of these domains. Her older sibling is Destiny, and her younger siblings are Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium (formerly Delight).
where in canon works can she be found?
After her introductory issue mentioned above, she appears (sometimes briefly, sometimes more extensively) in every subsequent Sandman volume. Her Wikipedia page has a more detailed breakdown of her appearances.
[Dream’s] sister Death is much, much nicer than he is, because she’s actually interested in people. She has to get down individually and meet every single person … she has to be the one who turns to you and says, ‘You know, you really should have looked both ways before crossing that street,’ and she’s nice. (Neil Gaiman; source)
On bad days I talk to Death constantly… She says things no one else seems to come up with, like let’s have a hot dog and then it’s like nothing’s impossible… She was the kind of girl all the girls wanted to be, I believe, because of her acceptance of ‘what is.’ She keeps reminding me there is change in the ‘what is’ but change cannot be made till you accept the ‘what is’… Over the last few hours I’ve allowed myself to feel defeated, and just like she said if you allow yourself to feel the way you really feel, maybe you won’t be afraid of that feeling anymore. (Tori Amos, from her 1994 introduction to Death: The High Cost of Living)
When the first living thing existed, I was there waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I’ll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave. (Death, in Sandman: The Dream Country)
ideas for paganism, spirit work, and/or magical practice
Friendly reminder that the information in this post is based on my experiences with her over the last year or so, and should be considered UPG. I draw from the source material quite a bit, but I’m not a Sandman expert by any means either. If anyone reading has any experience working with the Endless and/or Death, please feel free to add your own thoughts or link me to your own posts, I’d love to hear from you.
my current concept of her as an entity:
Death is one facet of a powerful force that has existed long before her source material was created, long before the existence of her author or even comic books. This makes her very different than several of the other fictional characters I work with in my PCP, who usually originated from their source material in a thoughtform kind of sense. (With the exception of my work with Cole/Compassion from Dragon Age, who, like Death, is one specific incarnation of a pre-existing force.) I don’t conceive of her as a god, but in fact more powerful in some ways than gods. As Neil Gaiman says in this interview, “In the Sandman universe, gods lose power when people stop worshipping them and forget about them. But the Endless don’t want to be worshipped. They don’t care, they just — they’re doing a job.” I tend to agree with this, and do not worship her so much as interact with her as a spiritual companion and honor her as a powerful force.
Importantly, especially for other PoC like myself, she doesn’t replace or override culturally-relevant forms and conceptions of death, which I do also have and honor in my culture. For me, she’s simply an additional entity I work with and an additional way of conceiving of death.
how to start working with her:
Reach out to her (mentally, verbally, however you’d like), and she’ll be there. She’s capable of being omnipresent, so she can give you her attention no matter what else she’s up to elsewhere. Don’t worry about being worthy or not, she loves every living thing, including all our messiness, failings, and insecurities.
No offerings needed, though if you feel uncomfortable without offering something, she’ll be pleased with pretty much whatever you have to give. She likes things like apples, hot dogs and other inexpensive street vendor food, floppy hats, and makeup. With food, she likes it if you share the meal with her by eating it while keeping her company, and doesn’t require any uneaten portions set aside. She likes listening to music, especially upbeat songs about her. But most of all, she enjoys your company, and loves casually hanging out.
great things to work with her on:
+ unconditional acceptance
+ shadow work - As she says herself, she’s famous for keeping secrets, and she’ll hold your hand as you dig through the most uncomfortable and hidden parts of yourself.
+ deathwork of any kind - Obviously. But remember that this can relate to mundane work, too. For example, she helped me gain confidence when I worked in hospice, and helped me help patients enjoy their last days as much as possible.
+ channeling/embodiment or glamours - Your mileage may vary, but in my experience Death (and a few of the other Endless), by their very nature as personifications of concepts, can be embodied or channeled very smoothly and easily. Because I don’t lose my sense of self when doing this, this could possibly be better described as a glamour: placed upon oneself for a specific purpose, imbuing you with her energy, aspects of her personality, and some small sense of her power. I’ve used this in the past to prepare myself for a rough night shift with dying patients, helping me in some way become her psychopomp, with confidence, skill, a smile, and non-judgmental acceptance. To me, it feels the same as being in her presence, just closer, with less of a boundary between us. I can enter this state with basic intent, assisted by a physical action like putting on her eye makeup (even if I wash it off immediately after), or even just trying to physically mimic her body language.
+ assistance with overcoming fear of death, or fear of letting go/change - She’s a very accessible, non-frightening facet of death that can help remind people of how death is as natural as living, necessary for life, and not inherently something to be feared. Similarly, for those of us (cough cough myself included cough) who have struggled with attachment and letting go, she’s great for this too.
+ just hanging out when lonely, bored, or in need of a companion - She’s more than happy to hang around your area if you ask for her, even if for no particular purpose.
+ supporting healthy living and self-care - Ironic? Maybe. But nah, because she cares about living things, and genuinely wants us to be happy. Though she doesn’t condemn unhealthy behavior (or anything), she does cheerfully encourage. Canonically, in the 1993 single-issue comic “Death Talks About Life,” she speaks directly to readers about safer sex and condom use. For me, she encourages me to keep my living space tidy when possible. She specifically requests I keep it free of biological hazards: rotten food or moldy dishes, dirty cat litter, dead bugs, etc. Basically, cleanliness that’s very important for physical health.
not so great things/topics to avoid:
- having a special, exclusive relationship, or feeling uniquely chosen by an entity - She’s capable of being omnipresent, is highly accessible for communication, and loves literally every living thing. If you want to be a part of an entity’s very exclusive group and want to be only one of a few that a particular entity cares about? She may not be the best spiritual companion for you. She’s the ultimate Hufflepuff, and accepts anyone and everyone.
- using her powers to intervene on your behalf - It’s not her thing. Yes, she’s powerful and capable of a lot, but she doesn’t like to interfere like this. She will help support you emotionally, and will even give friendly advice, but tangible acts are a no-go. According to canon, she’s made exceptions to this and bargains with mortals approximately twice in thousands of years. If your main draw to working with an entity is what they can materially (versus emotionally) do for you, there are many others you can work with instead. By extension this applies to help with spellwork. She’ll be your cheerleader (which is helpful in its own right), but she won’t directly help you achieve tangible results like getting a job, finding a partner, etc.
- protection - This is, quite simply, is not her job. She loves you, but she’s not going to keep you from harm. She’ll be there for you, she’ll even give you big sisterly advice if she thinks you’re doing something risky, but she won’t stop anything from happening. Turn to other protection methods or the many other characters, entities, and gods who offer protection.
- joining you in condemning shitty people - If someone does something terrible to you or is terrible in general, she’ll acknowledge your feelings, maybe even agree they shouldn’t have done something, but she’s not an entity I expect to share my judgment of these kinds of people. She accepts everyone for who they are, even serial killers and worse. Do I agree and feel the same way? Um, no. But it’s just a part of who and what she is. I approach different entities and peers about this kind of thing instead, and don’t bother trying to involve her. It’s pointless. Death is, well, death. She doesn’t pick and choose who to embrace.
Nobody’s creepy from the inside, Hazel. Some of them are sad, and some of them are hurt, and some of them think they’re the only real thing in the whole world. But they’re not creepy. (Death, in Sandman: The Wake)
- moral ultimatums or pushes - Similar to the above. She definitely has opinions, she’s a total sweetheart, and she may give you some advice or encouragement, but at the end of the day, “amorality” is not so irrelevant of a word. She’s not someone who holds you truly accountable for anything you’ve done. It’s just not her job.
others entities she works well with:
I’ve yet to find any characters, entities, spirits, etc, I work with that don’t like her or don’t want me to work with her. She’s very easy to get along with. More specifically, she does have a soft spot for her little sis Delirium.
notable non-canon pop culture appearances:
Though I don’t watch the show, I discovered that in Supernatural season 11, episode 10, the character Billie the Reaper (played by Lisa Berry) is actually seen reading one of the comic issues centering Death, and it seems some fans have speculated that Billie may be a form of Death, rather than simply a not-so-grim reaper.
I haven’t been able to view the full episodes she’s in yet. However, based on what I’ve seen so far of her character’s dynamic with mortals, especially the dying or dead, as well as her personality, mannerisms, and even similarities in her appearance, I view this character as a possible form of Death of the Endless.
conclusion / for more information
Check out some of the canon material if you’re interested, though I caution that Sandman and Gaiman’s writing in general has a lot of problems with racism, transmisogyny, and essentially every other oppression you could possibly conceive of, in addition to some depictions of extreme violence/gore, horror, derealization, sexual violence, and other possible triggers, depending on the volume and story arc. It’s definitely one case where I enjoy specific aspects of the canon works, and adore and work with a select few characters, but cannot outright or uncritically recommend it.
If anyone has any thoughts, or questions about Death or my pop culture paganism practice, please feel free to contact me. I may form a small FAQ post about her if I get a lot of questions. I’m also planning on posting my playlist for her at some point soon. Thank you for reading!
(Finally, tagging a few of the blogs that indicated interest: @popculturepagan, @notyourexrotic, @dcpaganism, and I know there were several more too, thank you for your encouragement!)
