India is generally associated with two remarkable features: the vast Himalayan mountain range, which hosts some of the highest peaks in the world, and for being the birthplace of religions. Hinduism...
The Cintamani Stone, or Chintamani, long sought by treasure hunters, has captured the imagination of man through the ages as tales of this wish-fulfilling jewel have spread around the world. The...
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva, in its most general sense, refers to a person who is on his/her way to becoming a buddha. More specifically, bodhisattvas are savior-like beings who forsake their own...
The elixir of immortality (known also as the elixir of life) is a mythical substance believed to grant those who consume it eternal life. Various civilizations throughout human history have their own...
Japanese mythology is collectively chronicled in the Kojiki , the oldest historical record written in Japan in 712 AD, and in the Nihon Shoki written in 720. As was common practice before the age of...
Fuxi (伏羲) and Nuwa (女娲) are a pair of important deities found in Chinese mythology. They are credited with the creation of humanity. In addition, Fuxi is believed to have introduced several...
The Witch of Endor is also known as the biblical Medium of Endor. According to legend, she was a medium who apparently summoned the Prophet Samuel's spirit. She is known from the Old Testament but...
In the city of Ur, where the first settlements in the marshes of southern Mesopotamia were built with reeds without any type of nails or woods, Ningal was born to Ninhursag and Enki. Her name means...
The Tengu were not only protectors of the mountains and the Buddhist faith, they were also known to be mischievous tricksters who, much like their Kitsune cousins, were capable of using magic such as...
Deep within the shifting sands of the Gobi Desert lies the elusive Olgoi-Khorkhoi, the Mongolian Death Worm – or so legend has it. The Mongolian Death Worm is a bright red worm, a mysterious cryptid...
In the belief system of the Sumerians, Enki (known also as Ea by the Akkadians and Babylonians) was regarded to be one of the most important deities. Originally Enki was worshipped as a god of fresh...
Kitsune (狐狸精), the Japanese fox-spirit , is also known as the Kumiho (구미호) in Korea and the Huli Jing (狐狸精) in China. They are basically the same creature but with a few differences based on region...
Tiamat is an ambiguous deity who played an important role in the creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia . She was their personification of the primordial sea, from which the first generation of gods...
The dragon is a Chinese symbol of excellence and the Chinese consider themselves to be “The Descendants of the Dragon.” In the distant past, in China, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor, while...
There have been hundreds of health food trends over the years – from green tea to coconut oil it can be overwhelming to know which of them really do have amazing health benefits . One health food...
This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded as one of mankind’s greatest literary and historical works. Many authors have studied the text in an effort to explain the nature of Gilgamesh’s tyranny and his...
According to ancient folklore, some supernatural beings can only manifest when it is cold. Others use the cold to their advantage in order to achieve a certain result. When spirits appear, they...
Utu was a solar deity and god of justice in the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon, and also served as a judge in the Underworld. Whilst Utu was the god’s name in Sumerian, he was known in Akkadian as...
Ubasute is an ancient practice from Japanese folklore in which a sick or elderly relative is dumped in a remote place to die. Although ubasute is attested in a number of Japanese legends , it is...
Moloch, or Molech, is well known in the Bible for being the god to whom child sacrifices appear to have been made in a shrine outside the city of Jerusalem. Although Moloch is well known in the Bible...
The ancestors of the Indo-European peoples looked up into the sky and saw a father, a cosmic patriarch with authority over the realm of daylight. Many Indo-European pantheons contain gods associated...
Myths, legends, and religions tell of gods and goddesses exemplifying all that is good and right in the world. And there are just as many who represent our deepest archetypal sexual desires, taboos,...
According to Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987), the famed U.S. American Professor of Literature who wrote extensively about comparative mythology and religion: “Myths express characters and stories that...