Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. A saline soda lake, it's fed by numerous mountain streams. Van lacks a water outlet, making it...

Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of Artemisia , mugwort is also called...

Ib ( jb ) is the ancient Egyptian heart, the center of intelligence and existence in a body. It's also called qaib or qa-ib referring to...

Neolithic farmers in Britain and northern Europe are the first to drink milk. Early humans are lactose intolerant but consume dairy...

Broad beans ( Vicia faba ), faba or fava beans are cultivated as a crop from pre-Neolithic times to present day. Among the earliest...

An innocuous shrub of desert regions, green ushtun ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus ) is used by ancients for soap and medicine. In Mesopotamia...

Watercress ( Nasturtium officinale ) grows in fresh water. With hollow stems, it floats and is easily gathered from the water's surface....

Disaster strikes as the first plague of tularemia or rabbit fever breaks out in the ancient Hittite Empire in the 14th century BCE....

In natural health, magic and alchemy the fragrant herb rosemary ( Salvia rosmarinus ) is associated with memory, immortality and...

Rough horsetail ( Equisetum hyemale ) is the oldest known plant in the world, and also makes beautiful music. Dating back to 150 million...

Worship of bears and bear sacrifice is an ancient practice, going back to early humans. Twenty thousand years ago, in boreal forests and...

The Erntebock (Harvest Goat) is a treacherous spirit. Sometimes he's accompanied by his better half, the Habergeiß or she-goat. In...

Plantain ( Plantago ) is a genus of low-growing plants with tall seed heads and narrow to broad green leaves. Part of history and folk...

In forests of German mythology, don't step on the Irrwurz ! The name of this plant translates as errant, astray or mad root. A state of...

Ancient people of Europe including the Germanic tribes were close to nature in all its forms. In shamanic tradition, animal spirits can...

Within the shamanic bestiary countless animal spirits and totems arise. An ancestor of the Puma once roamed the fertile valleys and...