Watercress ( Nasturtium officinale ) grows in fresh water. With hollow stems, it floats and is easily gathered from the water's surface....

Incense burns smoky over hot coals. Voices rise in prayers, incantations and songs. Noise, wailing, howling, clapping, stamping, bells,...

Sin (Nanna, Dilimbabbar, Suen), is the ancient Mesopotamian God of the Moon. He fathers several deities including Inanna , Queen of...

Early people of the Arabian peninsula came through the Levant region c. 8000. Hunter gatherer nomads, they vie for territory with wolves,...

Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum ) is the oldest known spice in the world. The fragrant bark comes into popular use by c. 2000 BCE, when Egyptians...

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....

Carnelian (early: cornelean ) is already used in the Stone Age to make beads. Pebbles of the reddish orange gemstone might be polished by...

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

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

Atum (Atem, Tem) comes into being with explosive convergence of the Ogdoad. He breathes the spark of life into the first two godly...

Primal Snake God Apep (Apepi, Aapep, Apopis) is the personification of chaos. He provokes destruction, confusion, darkness,...

Owls are sacred to Athena, Greek goddess of war and wisdom. The Owl is a symbol of Inanna (Ishtar), Queen of Heavens, and Ereshkigal,...

Another Goddess duo in ancient mythology is Wadjet and Nekhbet. A hybrid animal goddess, Wadjet is usually depicted as a cobra snake with...

The Minoan Genius (pl. Genii) spirit appears as a hybrid animal merger of animals which can include lion, snake, hippopotamus, crocodile,...

In the mid Bronze Age the Minoan Greeks come under fire in more ways than one. A series of volcanic eruptions by the Cyclades island of...

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

Spiritual alchemy uses the principles of alchemy to achieve harmony and fulfillment in life. Alchemy incorporates shapes, symbols,...

Obsidian is translucent volcanic glass, an igneous stone created from quickly cooled lava. It fractures with clean sharp edges. For...

A prehistoric species of cattle, Aurochs (Bos primigenius) rules Europe and much of Asia in the ancient world. The last known Aurochs is...