Sylvia Rose
Karaca Dağ Volcano: Mountain of Life
Karaca Dağ (Karacadağ, Karaca Dag) is a primeval shield volcano in today's SE Turkey. Migrating birds disperse countless seeds for...
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Sylvia Rose
May 306 min read
Cinnabar (Mercury Sulfide) Red Death
Cinnabar or mercury sulfide (HgS) is a rock composed of mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S). Historically it's used to make vermillion or scarlet...
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Sylvia Rose
May 294 min read
Emerald Tablet - Sacred Alchemy Text
The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Table or the Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. The Tablet is of...
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Sylvia Rose
May 286 min read
Quest for Immortality - Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shihuang (Qin Shi Huang) is China's first Emperor. He ascends to the throne as King at age 13 in 246 BCE. Twenty five years later he...
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Sylvia Rose
May 245 min read
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Nature & Lore
The Wild Boar is the ancestor of domestic pigs. The Boar represents the warrior spirit and unbridled ferocity. With the Bear and Wolf the...
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Sylvia Rose
May 227 min read
Dnieper (Dnipro) River: Early Humans
Dnieper (Dnipro) River is one of most important waterways of ancient European trade and travel. Since the early Stone Age, from the sedge...
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Sylvia Rose
May 167 min read
Aetsi: Boars, Snakes & Baltic Amber
The Aesti (Aestii, Astui, Aests) appear at a time when European cultures mingle, and trade routes connect north to south. Neither Germans...
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Sylvia Rose
May 166 min read
Vistula Lagoon Baltic Nature & History
The Vistula Lagoon (Zalew Wiślany) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea 90 km (56 mi) long, 10 to 19 km (6 to 15 mi) wide, and up...
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Sylvia Rose
May 145 min read
Neman River - Nature, History, Lore
Neman River is the primary feed into the Curonian Lagoon at the Baltic Sea. It's the main reason the sea lagoon is freshwater. The...
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Sylvia Rose
May 135 min read
Laima - Baltic Fate Goddess
Laima is a Baltic goddess of fate. Often part of a goddess triad, she relates to childbirth, marriage and destiny. She's patron of...
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Sylvia Rose
May 135 min read
Curonian Freshwater Baltic Sea Lagoon
Curonian Lagoon is a freshwater body beside the Baltic Sea at western Lithuania, separated from the sea by the narrow Curonian Spit....
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Sylvia Rose
May 125 min read
Žaltys: Sacred Snake & Serpent Queen
In Baltic mythology, the grass snake žaltys (Natrix natrix) is a sacred animal. It's invited into the home and kept as a pet and house...
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Sylvia Rose
May 115 min read
European Grass Snake: Nature & Lore
Snakes have mystic associations since the beginning of human thought. The European Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) is a small, harmless...
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Sylvia Rose
May 64 min read
Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods
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,...
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Sylvia Rose
May 63 min read
Are Cormorants Stymphalian Birds?
In Greek myth, the Stymphalian birds appear in tales of Heracles and in the Argonautica, the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts. The...
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Sylvia Rose
May 55 min read
Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy
Astragalomancy is divination using astragali or ankle bones (talus) of animals as dice. Bones of sheep and goats are popular in the near...
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Sylvia Rose
May 45 min read
Opium Poppy (Papaver somnifum)
Opium poppy (Papaver somnifum) is the common source of opium and derivatives such as morphine or heroin. All poppies produce the narcotic...
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Sylvia Rose
May 34 min read
Reishi or Lingzhi - Mushroom Magic
Reishi or lingzhi (Ganoderma sichuanense, G. lingzhi) is a shining red fungal fruiting body in shades from orange to deep maroon. The...
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Sylvia Rose
May 35 min read
Oder River: Nature & Early People
The Oder (Odra) River originates in Czechia and flows through several countries before reaching the Baltic Sea. Part of the Amber Roads,...
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Sylvia Rose
May 22 min read
Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion), Crete
The Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion) is a Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual site on the island of Crete in Greece. During the Minoan era it's...
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