Gnosticism and Gnostic principles emerge in the first century AD, though they're believed to have deeper roots. Many different shades of...

Edward Kelley (1555 - 1597) often wears a cap, because he has no ears. Cropping of the ears is a common punishment in Tudor England when...

John Dee (1527 - 1609), an influential figure in Elizabethan England, is a scholar in the cryptic and occult lore of his time. Recognized...

During the late sixteenth century, the Roman Inquisition is influential in shaping perspectives on different forms of divination and...

Hermes Trismegistus is in deep contemplation, wandering over rugged and lonely terrain. By the secret guidelines of the Temple, he...

The anima mundi, world soul or soul of the world is an analogy used to explain the interconnectedness of all things. This idea suggests a...

The Dragon is a powerful symbol in alchemy. Dragon is one of many names for the prima materia or Philosopher's Stone in the West. In...

The Rebis symbolizes harmonious fusion of seemingly opposite forces, embodying unity of spirit and matter. The divine hermaphrodite is...

In alchemy the Red King and White Queen are vibrant with meaning. Their union or sacred wedding, hieros gamos, reflects alchemical...

The numinous or numinosity is a powerful inner emotion of terror or dread and fantastic awe, as in the presence of divinity. The...

Agathodaemon (Agathos Daimon or noble spirit) is a household snake god and patron protector of sparkling Alexandria in ancient Egypt. He...

The anima and animus have dual aspects. They can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause...

The shadow is a complex and intriguing concept deep in the realms of the human psyche. It is a chthonic representation of the personal...

Various archetypes recur in human psychology and play significant roles in shaping the behaviors and perceptions of a person. These...

Nüwa or Nügua is a mother goddess, culture heroine and member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. A primordial snake deity, she...

Asclepius (Aesculapius) is a Greek hero and Divine Physician, god of medicine in ancient Greek myth. Son of Apollo, he learns healing...

Velnias is initially the god of death and the underworld in the Baltic cosmology. He's a malevolent trickster of Latvian and Lithuanian...

Viadrus is the name of the Roman god of the Oder (Odra) River, and of the river itself. The god gazes north toward the Baltic Sea,...

The Corycian Cave system is a Neolithic ritual site and sanctuary on Mount Parnassus used from c. 4000 BCE. To ancient Greeks it's home...

Pfaffenkellnerin means "parson's waitress". She's the housekeeper of a parish priest before the Protestant Reformation. Screaming and...