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Sylvia Rose
Oct 15, 20234 min read
Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor
The Elixir of Life sparks fascination and wanderlust. A fountain of youth or elixir of immortality, it's desperately sought by the first...
93 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 14, 20235 min read
Ouroboros Glyph: Snake Eating its Tail
A mythical serpent or dragon, ouroboros appears in literature and illustration from ancient Greece. Tales of ouroboros spread east, and...
58 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 13, 20236 min read
Seven Metals of Antiquity - Metallurgy
The Metals of Antiquity are the seven metals identified and used by humans in Europe and the Middle East in prehistoric times. They are...
110 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 13, 20236 min read
House Spirits of Germanic Mythology
House spirits such as Kobolds , domestic elves , gnomes and the earth hen are popular figures in Germanic myth and folklore. They have...
59 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 11, 20234 min read
Belsnickel - German Yule Ghoul
Belsnickel comes from the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. Part of the spirit of the season, Belsnickel is male but often dresses...
18 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 9, 20234 min read
Pagan Christmas Yule Fests: Frau Holle
The Festival of Frau Holle decks the halls from her Feast Day 25 Dec to the 5-6th of January. An ancient German goddess, Frau Holle...
77 views
Sylvia Rose
Oct 6, 20237 min read
Little Elder Tree Mother: A Fairy Tale
The Little Elder Tree Mother is an 1845 Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It's also known as The Elderbush. The Elder Tree...
21 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 28, 20237 min read
Hags in Germanic Myth & Folklore
Hags in folklore are old women associated with magic. They can be witches, demons, queens, crones or nature spirits, kindly or hateful....
54 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 25, 20235 min read
Fairy Rings, Magic and Mushrooms
Fairy rings are circles or semi-circles of wild mushrooms. They can appear overnight like magic and are part of the mystical world of...
51 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 19, 20234 min read
Caraway Spice - Herbology & Folklore
Caraway (Carum carvi) is a cooking and medicinal herb with a pungent anise taste, known for its strong spicy fruits, called seeds. It's...
67 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 11, 20236 min read
Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files
Notorious alchemist Dippel appears in German history and science in the 17th century. Achieving moderate success with Dippel's Animal...
96 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 10, 20234 min read
German Myth & Folklore: Moss People
Moss people inhabit deep forests, trees, ancient rocks and rills. Nature spirits of German mythology, they can appear in various forms...
59 views
Sylvia Rose
Sep 8, 20235 min read
Elves & the Shoemaker - A Fairy Tale
A poor shoemaker named Karl and his wife Frieda live above their shoe shop, near a small village. Hardship comes upon them. The shoemaker...
27 views
Sylvia Rose
Jun 28, 20238 min read
Animal Spirits - Frog, Cat, Bull
Ancient people of Europe including the Germanic tribes were close to nature in all its forms. In shamanic tradition, animal spirits can...
62 views
Sylvia Rose
Jun 17, 20233 min read
Maiden & The Lindwyrm: A Fairy Tale
The Maiden and the Lindwyrm is a 19th century fairy tale from Denmark. The Lindwyrm appears throughout Germanic mythology. Lindwyrm is...
45 views
Sylvia Rose
Jun 16, 20234 min read
Animal Spirits - Puma, Butterfly, Dog
Within the shamanic bestiary countless animal spirits and totems arise. An ancestor of the Puma once roamed the fertile valleys and...
44 views
Sylvia Rose
Jun 11, 20238 min read
Nature Spirits of German Mythology
Pagan nature deities are the core of German myth and folklore . To ancient Germans, spirits reside in all natural things, not only trees,...
148 views
Sylvia Rose
Jun 8, 20237 min read
Animal Spirits - Bear, Stag & Eagle
Pagan peoples follow a tradition of nature reverence still active in parts of Europe. Spirits live in trees, water, sunlight, wind....
76 views
Sylvia Rose
May 7, 20234 min read
Frau Holle - A German Fairy Tale
A mother, her daughter Hilda and stepdaughter Elsa live in a house in the woods. Elsa does all the work as the other two are lazy, but...
39 views
Sylvia Rose
May 3, 20234 min read
Wiedergänger - the German Undead
Wiedergänger are Undead who cannot rest. They're hideous vampires who curse their families from beyond the grave; ravaging werewolves,...
86 views
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