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

Hephaestus is a Greek god of fire, volcanoes, metal work, blacksmiths, metallurgy, forges, sculpting, carpenters and artisans. A smith's...

Cleopatra the Alchemist is an intriguing figure in the hazy history of science and magic. She works and writes in the 3rd or 4th...

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

The Elixir of Life has value beyond money. The concept first appears in Mesopotamia of the 2nd millennium BCE. Its discovery is one of...

The Elixir of Life sparks fascination and wanderlust. A fountain of youth or elixir of immortality, it's desperately sought by the first...

A mythical serpent or dragon, ouroboros appears in literature and illustration from ancient Greece. Tales of ouroboros spread east, and...

Copper (Cu) is one of the original seven metals of antiquity and has been used for thousands of years. This metal is found in the ground...

Benefits of mulberry (Morus) include personal health, wood, silk, color for yarn and food. Romantic myth surrounds fruitful mulberry...

Amanita muscaria , fly agaric or fly amanita is the most widely recognized of the psychoactive plants and fungi. The use, folklore and...

If drinking elderberry wine or tea, one might see pixies. Early Germans are animists. Spirits or spirit energies inhabit all living...

Holly, yew and mistletoe, the most cheerful and celebrated of seasonal plants, are also the most poisonous. These three toxic beauties...

Death Cap Mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) are deadly poisons of assassination and accident. Native to Europe, death caps are naturalized...

The Nachzehrer or German vampire is a type of Wiedergänger , a ghoul of the Undead who rises from the grave to terrorize mortals. A...

Caraway (Carum carvi) is a cooking and medicinal herb with a pungent anise taste, known for its strong spicy fruits, called seeds. It's...

Notorious alchemist Dippel appears in German history and science in the 17th century. Achieving moderate success with Dippel's Animal...

Moss people inhabit deep forests, trees, ancient rocks and rills. Nature spirits of German mythology, they can appear in various forms...

In the nineteenth century , Victorians are outdoors more than ever before as health spas flourish, fresh air vacations came into vogue...

Of the many flowers in Germanic folk medicine and herbology, none capture the romantic imagination more than the modest edelweiss (...

Trends in natural health, exercise, pets, fashion, the occult, mourning and taxidermy span the nineteenth century. On the British throne,...