Her name means 'the great' in Sumerian. Gula is a Mesopotamian goddess whose worship grows popular in the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient...

Nigella sativa or kalonji is a blackseed plant with healing properties. Use in cooking and folk medicine is documented by the 2nd...

The flooding of the Nile comes at the rise of the Dog Star Sirius . Festivals abound and people create agriculture calendars around it....

Nephrite jade is the foremost commodity to travel along the Pacific Coasts of the East. The seaway route is the original Jade Road named...

With spiritual meaning as well as dusky allure, powdered black kohl (kajal, kajol, or tiro) is one of the oldest widespread types of...

Myrrh ( Commiphora sp) has a history older than humankind. Deeply connected to death, healing and the divine, myrrh is a smoky, strongly...

Usually known collectively, the Kotharat (Kôṯarātu) are seven patron goddesses of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing mothers and infants....

In the Mesopotamian mythologies some gods, goddesses, sukkals , sacred animals or heroes appear as duos, dyads or doubles. Some are born...

Sekhmet is Goddess of War and medicine. Sites of worship include Memphis, Egypt, with husband Ptah and son Nefertum in a divine...

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

An ancient Sumerian demon goddess, Lamashtu first appears c. 2900 - 2350 BCE. She attacks infants and pregnant, childbearing or nursing...

The squared circle, snake, dragon or wyrm biting its tail, and the alchemical lion appear as predominant signs in alchemy and literature....

Phosphorus is the first element not known since ancient times. This glowing substance is discovered by German alchemist Hennig Brand in...

The Philosopher's Stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum ) conjures elements of primal lore and eternal powers. In history and legend, the...

Abundant in native form, sulfur (sulphur) is a mysterious and essential component of natural life. All living things contain sulfur. It...

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...