pasture next, the CULTURE, LINGUISTICS — The afterlife. “The pasture next” is a colloquial phrase used to describe the afterlife. Origins of the phrase are debatable. However, it seems to derive from a common trope among most → folken religions that the afterlife will reflect the quality of the life lived and the character of the man or woman who lived it. Such beliefs often use symbolism of a pasture to represent “what comes after,” whether good or bad. It is unclear if the phrase originated from the collective metaphor of a pasture afterlife or if it led to such imagery.