Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of Artemisia , mugwort is also called...

Yarrow is an herb of magic and medicine. A flowering plant native to the northern hemisphere yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is commonly...

Black is among the first pigments in the palette of early humans. By Paleolithic times, black defines lines, shadows and meaning. Black...

Broad beans ( Vicia faba ), faba or fava beans are cultivated as a crop from pre-Neolithic times to present day. Among the earliest...

Woad ( Isatis tinctoria ) is a plant yielding a blue pigment used in dyes, paint and medicine. A member of the mustard family, it's also...

Ephedra is a genus of shrub growing in hot arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world. As a natural health medicine plant and...

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) is one of the seven ancient foods of the southern Mediterranean. Figs are also part of the group....

Aruru is a goddess of vegetation with a nasty yen for violence. Her major cult centers are Sumerian sites Adab (Bismaya), Kesh and...

An innocuous shrub of desert regions, green ushtun ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus ) is used by ancients for soap and medicine. In Mesopotamia...

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

Kur is the vast and timeless Underworld of ancient Mesopotamia. Here is the abode of demons and vengeful spirits, creatures of the...

Nanshe is an active goddess in old Mesopotamia. Deity of sea water, fresh water, marshes and the animals of these environments, she also...

Cinnamon birds appear in folklore of Eurasia shortly after Arab merchants begin trading with ancient lands to the north. Cinnamon enjoys...

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

Dumuzi and Geshtinanna are brother and sister deities in Mesopotamia. Dumuzi, a god of shepherds and fertility, is consort of Inanna ....

Her name means 'the great' in Sumerian. Gula is a Mesopotamian goddess whose worship grows popular in the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient...

Nigella sativa or kalonji is a blackseed plant with healing properties. Use in cooking and folk medicine is documented by the 2nd...

In ancient Egypt, every year starts anew with the Arrival of Hapi, or the Flooding of the Nile. It's a joyful occasion marked by...

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

Nefertum (Nefertem) is a creature of eternal beauty. At the time of Creation he rises from the waters as a blue lotus flower, which is...