Legends, myths and folkloric systems across the western world record legendary horned creatures which have become known to us collectively as unicorns. In heraldry, the unicorn is the symbol of my...
The first civilizations didn’t have satellites in the sky, mapping every inch of the world in real time. They only knew the parts of the world they’d seen. Everything beyond that, they had to imagine...
For thousands of years, the sudden appearance of a ring of mushrooms was a sure sign of otherworldly presences. These rings would seemingly appear overnight, or travel from one location to another,...
The tooth fairy is rivalled only by Santa Claus in popularity among American children. She is famous for exchanging a few dollars for baby teeth that have fallen out. Belief in the tooth fairy has...
Global, myth, folklore, and legends provided inspiration for the vast array of vivid creatures and fantastical elements that fill the pages and the silver screen of the enthralling, magical world of...
The ancients knew him well. He was as powerful as a god, as dangerous as a demon. He generously gave life – and he ruthlessly took it away. He appeared to all, from the darkest and most bone-chilling...
In part 1 of this article, the features of the Liverpool Mound group in Fulton County Illinois were described. This second half focuses on the possible meanings of the mounds and their contents and...
A man winds his way through the muck and mire of a 19th-century American port – Nantucket, centre of the world’s whaling industry. He knocks on a door, enters, and begs an exhausted looking man to...
The Pythagoras Cup (Pythagorean Cup) is the name given to a drinking cup attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras of Samos. This cup is also known as the Greedy Cup and the Tantalus...
Thousands of peach pits have been found at a Japanese archaeological site. It seems there is more to the story than simply a fondness for the fruit - sources suggest that the ancient peaches were...
The “Mortal Kombat” franchise is based on a vast mythology. It is not just invented legends but actually sourced from various world mythologies as well. This article will take a look at elements from...
Linked to war, destruction, conquest, and bloodlust, Bellona was a mighty figure in the ancient Roman pantheon of gods. As a personification of war, Bellona became quite a popular figure in the arts...
Jacques Collin de Plancy was a French occultist, demonologist and writer. He published a number of books on occultism and demonology. The most famous of these books is probably his “Dictionnaire...
Heimdall is a god in the Norse pantheon, most well-known for his task to announce the coming of Ragnarok by sounding his horn, which will be heard across all worlds. He is one of the better-known...
A number of ancient settlement sites were recently discovered in the Amazon’s Upper Tapajós Basin. This is no El Dorado – although you’d be forgiven for thinking so. The press coverage demonstrates a...
The legend of Sisyphus begins with a man who, if we are to believe Homer, was one of the wisest and most prudent of mortals. Nonetheless he would fall out of favor with the gods of ancient Greece. He...
World myths present a holographic array of surreal characters and events, but among the most powerful and misunderstood of all mythological concepts, are dragon’s teeth. In Western mythology, when...
Creation myths are like bubbles of time, and when you pop one, stories of how prehistoric cultures interacted with each other, and nature, are found. Celtic mythology, more so than most folkloric...
Swords imbued with magical powers and supernatural qualities are like nails in mythological systems and having originated in ancient legends, they now feature in fantasy fiction. Being inspired by...
In the Bible, crows and their close cousins, ravens, were called “unclean” and with this unshakable spiritual grey cloud these bullied birds have subsequently been associated with the occult,...
Will-o’-the-Wisps, also called “ignis fatuus,” Latin for “foolish fire”, are enchanting balls of greenish-blue floating lights observed over swamps and marshes at night. At a distance, they look...
By ThorNews If you claim that Vikings did not use horned helmets, you are right. If you claim that Vikings used horned helmets, you may also be right. However, horned helmets were probably only used...
Frogs and toads played a wide variety of roles in ancient cultures. Although there are some differences, they generally represented female creation energy. Frogs appear in ancient stories, myths,...
Ancient civilizations who navigated the unforgiving coastlines of the North Atlantic, like the Vikings, feared, worshiped, and mythologized a pantheon of unforgiving sea creatures with origins half...
