Sylvia Rose
Obsidian: Ancient Volcanic Black Glass
Obsidian is translucent volcanic glass, an igneous stone created from quickly cooled lava. It fractures with clean sharp edges. For...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 6, 20234 min read
Bronze Age Ancients - Catacomb Culture
With the favored practice of naming cultures after their grave types, here comes the Catacomb culture. The progressive and prolific...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 6, 20233 min read
Ancient Cultures: Yamnaya Steppe People
The Yamnaya or Yamna people occupy the Ponti-Caspian Steppe about 3300 BCE. Before the Yamnaya the known world is inhabited by...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 6, 20235 min read
Before the Vikings - Early Northern Cultures
In the European Bronze Age, the North is a wild place, populated by nomadic tribes, great bears and endless nights. Brilliant fires blaze...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 5, 20235 min read
Unetice Culture - Before the Vikings
Covering a large area in northern Europe in the 3rd millennium BCE, the Únětice (Unetice) culture is already an advanced society by the...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 5, 20232 min read
Anzû - Mesopotamian Monster of Mayhem
The Divine Monster Anzû is a common element through Mesopotamian art, writing and culture. Here he steals the Tablet of Destinies from...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 5, 20234 min read
Mushussu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk
Mushussu (Mušḫuššu) is a Babylonian hybrid animal companion and helper to the god Marduk, from c 626 BCE. Since Marduk vanquished him,...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20232 min read
Tiamat - Queen of Chaos & the Sea
Tiamat reigns over the sea. Her consort is Abzû, god of groundwater. Together they create the younger Gods. In later times she is...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20234 min read
12 Days of Zagmuk: Chaos & the King
The Feast of Zagmuk begins in December and lasts for twelve days. The name Zagmuk comes from the Sumerian term for 'beginning of the...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20237 min read
Lead: Death Metal of Metallurgy
Lead is a highly toxic metal with a silvery sheen when polished and a grey surface when oxidized. A metal of antiquity, lead is in use by...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20232 min read
Bull of Heaven - Inanna vs Gilgamesh
Powerful Goddess Inanna plays a catalytic role in the Early Bronze Age Epic of Gilgamesh by sending the Bull of Heaven or Heavenly Bull...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20238 min read
Inanna: Goddess Queen of Heaven
Inanna is the goddess of love, sexuality and war in ancient Mesopotamia. She's equated with Ishtar and Hurrian Shaushka. A divine...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 3, 20235 min read
Lavender (Lavandula) Magic of Nature
Lavender is one of the most delightful flora of botanical alchemy and natural health. The fragrance is clear sweet floral with deep earth...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 3, 20235 min read
Care & Feeding of Ancient Gods - Enlil
An ancient Mesopotamian God, Enlil (Sumerian: Nunamnir) is a powerful deity associated with wind, air, earth and storms. He's the major...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 3, 20233 min read
What is a Ziggurat?
Ziggurats are temple icons of ancient Mesopotamian architecture, usually constructed of baked clay brick. The ziggurat may be built over...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 2, 20234 min read
Ancient Mesopotamian Cities - Uruk
The stone walls of Uruk mark a bustling hub in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area of modern day Iraq. Uruk is the first definitive urban...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 2, 20234 min read
Pazuzu - Demon God of Mesopotamia
A demonic deity of protection and destruction, Pazuzu appears in the Iron Age in Mesopotamia, although his worship may go back further....
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 1, 20233 min read
Curse of the Evil Eye & Apotropaic Magic
The concept of the evil eye exists since the beginning of humanity on earth. The curse is cast with a malevolent look or glare. The evil...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 1, 20233 min read
Lamashtu, Baby-Eating Demon of Mesopotamia
An ancient Sumerian demon, Lamashtu first appears in the Bronze Age, 2900 - 2350 BCE. A malevolent entity and evil spirit, she's a hybrid...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 1, 20235 min read
Blacksmiths: Iron, Metal, Gods & Myth
Blacksmiths appear c. 1500 BCE. Metallurgy and metal workers date back to c. 7000 BCE, working metals such as native copper and gold. The...
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