Celandine (Chelidonium majus) is a popular medicinal plant in the ancient world, also appearing in gold-making recipes of alchemists. Use...

The Kunstkammer or Art Chamber of Rudolf II is a delight. A patron of arts, science, literature and occult the Holy Roman Emperor...

Women often find inspiration in alchemy. In the light of the Renaissance several female alchemists emerge. Women alchemists of the...

Plague, war, famine and pervading doom lurk beneath the genius and enlightenment of the western Renaissance. The Rosicrucian movement...

Caterina Sforza (1463-1509) is a remarkable figure of the Italian Renaissance, leading a colorful and controversial life. Alchemy is...

Plato's Theory of Forms points to abstract, ideal forms or concepts more real than the world one perceives. Alchemy deconstructs the...

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...

The Stymphalian birds are vicious flesh-eating birds in Greek mythology. They're believed to originate from the swamps of Stymphalia in...

White pigments used in ancient art, spirituality and beauty include bone, limestone variations like chalk and other natural sources....

Limonite is an iron earth mineraloid among the first colors of the Stone Age palette. Grinding limonite produces yellow ochre. Other...

Youngest of four sons, Hattusilis (Hattusili) doesn't expect to take the throne. In fact he's not expected to live. Weak and sickly as a...

The Hurrians establish the Kingdom of Urkesh c. 4000 BCE, with the creator God Kumarbi as patron deity. Their greatest power arises...

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

Puduḫepa ( Puduḫepa, Pudu-Kheb ) is one of the greatest women of the ancient world. In the 13th century BCE she rules beside her...

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

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...

From the southern Germanic lands, past the Swiss border come tales of der Türst, the dreadful huntsman who rides like a demon through...

Inspired by Persian Mithra, Romans recreate ancient cult rituals and religious mysteries in the worship of Mithras, based on the older...

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 (...