'Landscape with Fall of Icarus," by Carlo Saraceni, is oil on copper (National Museum of Capodimonte, Napoli, Italy).

Ancient wisdom for a high-tech age - The American Mag I have always been intrigued by how the ancients created their gods and goddesses to interact with humans and the natural world. The clever way they transformed their relationships and adventures…

Ancient wisdom for a high-tech age

To distinguish gods from humanity, people endowed them with superhuman capabilities, including power over nature and the mortal world, magical abilities, and immortality, staging them alongside interesting human characters.

buff.ly/oUkSF5S

'Landscape with Fall of Icarus," by Carlo Saraceni, is oil on copper (National Museum of Capodimonte, Napoli, Italy).

Ancient wisdom for a high-tech age - The American Mag I have always been intrigued by how the ancients created their gods and goddesses to interact with humans and the natural world. The clever way they transformed their relationships and adventures…

Ancient wisdom for a high-tech age

To distinguish gods from humanity, people endowed them with superhuman capabilities, including power over nature and the mortal world, magical abilities, and immortality, staging them alongside interesting human characters.

buff.ly/oUkSF5S

#FolkloreSunday - Search / X buff.ly/tijdvC4

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"Granny Magic Chocolates," by Nifty Buckles

Millie Butterbloom mends hearts in quiet Brindle with her granny’s enchanted truffles.
When a flashy rival appears, quiet mountain magic wins the day!
Website: www.niftybucklesfolklore.fun
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The Glastonbury Thorn The history and legend of the Glastonbury Thorn

The Glastonbury Thorn

The evolution of Christmas The origins and history of the modern Christmas

The evolution of Christmas

Breton Fairy Tales: The Secret of the Resurrection of La Rose The story presented here is a retelling of a Breton folktale called The Magic Rose from Legends and Romance of Brittany by Lewis Spence (1) and tells the rather sombre tale of the transition throug…

Breton Fairy Tales: The Secret of the Resurrection of La Rose

Azorean Folktales: The Gift of Fruitful Words A folktale from the Azores about unrequited love.

Azorean Folktales: The Gift of Fruitful Words

Image - Vortigern meet Rowena by William Hamilton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Hengist invited Vortigern to a lavish feast. As wine flowed, Rowena curtseying to Vortigern, offered a cup of wine saying, “Lauerd king wacht heil!” he replied “Drinc heil!.” This is how toasting began in Britain
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Beowulf: The Slaying of Grendel and the Water Witch J. R. Skelton [Public domain] Beowulf was originally written in Anglo-Saxon times as a poem in Old English by an anonymous writer.  It tells the story of its heroic protagonist, Beowulf, who e…

Beowulf: The Slaying of Grendel and the Water Witch

Breton Folktales: The Grateful Dead and the Man of Honour Breton folktales often have magical and supernatural elements interwoven with death and tragedy in the story line which creates a dark, sombre but compelling story. Death is ever present in the wor…

#FolkloreSunday Many chilling tales tell of the evil dead but there are some that tell of the grateful dead. These are the dead who return from the afterlife to help a living person who helped them after had they died. Can the living help the dead, the dead help the living? Read on -

Petrification Myths: The Witch Dancer of Lengmoos How an arrogant young man offended God and was punished for his offense by being turned to stone.

Petrification Myths: The Witch Dancer of Lengmoos

The Murderous Plot of Albina and her Sisters and the Origin of Albion This is the medieval legend of how the island of Britain was once known as Albion after an exiled queen and how a race of giants was born.

The Murderous Plot of Albina and her Sisters and the Origin of Albion

Breton Folktales: The Grateful Dead and the Man of Honour Breton folktales often have magical and supernatural elements interwoven with death and tragedy in the story line which creates a dark, sombre but compelling story. Death is ever present in the wor…

#FolkloreSunday Many chilling tales tell of the evil dead but there are some that tell of the grateful dead. These are the dead who return from the afterlife to help a living person who helped them after had they died. Can the living help the dead, the dead help the living? Read on -

Bengal Folktales: The Origin of Rubies Bengal Folktales Bengal is a region of the Indian subcontinent giving its name to the Bay of Bengal and the following story is a retelling of a folktale from that region.  The story retold here is …

Bengal Folktales: The Origin of Rubies

Queen Mebd: Wolf-Queen – Goddess of Sovereignty In Irish mythology Queen Mebd is a colorful character – an archetypal warrior-queen, indeed, a wolf-queen, who was so beautiful men were robbed of two thirds of their valor.

Queen Mebd: Wolf-Queen – Goddess of Sovereignty

Founding Myths: Princess Scota, Goídel Glas and their Links to the Gaelic People In the mythology and pseudo-history of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, Princess Scota and her husband Goídel Glas and their followers were the progenitors of the Gaelic people.

Founding Myths: Princess Scota, Goídel Glas and their Links to the Gaelic People

Cat Tales: Puss in Boots and the Marquis of Carabas Some people believe cats to be superior beings who carefully train their humans to provide for their needs. This is about one such cat.

Cat Tales: Puss in Boots and the Marquis of Carabas

The Grateful Dead: The Three Pennies, John Barleycorn and the Fate of the Rye Stories of The Grateful Dead which tell of the gratitude of a dead  person to someone alive who has helped them to a proper burial are found in many parts of the world.  Under the Aarne–Thompson–Ut…

'To suffer the fate of the rye, in autumn you will be scattered, sown, lay under earth through dark winter days. In spring you will burst through the earth, grow, ripen in sunshine and rain. When ready you will be harvested.' buff.ly/7Y6SLRE

Medieval Lore: The Curious Myth of the Origin Barnacle Geese Barnacle geese are a migratory species of water bird that have a very weird myth of origin attached to them that was once widely believed. During the medieval period there was a belief that barnacl…

Medieval Lore: The Curious Myth of the Origin Barnacle Geese

Beowulf’s Last Battle: The Great Flame Dragon Beowulf is an anonymously written long poem originally written in Old English, the language commonly spoken in England in Anglo-Saxon times. It is named after its protagonist, Beowulf, a warrior fr…

Beowulf’s Last Battle: The Great Flame Dragon

Japanese Folktales: The Legend of the Haunted Furisodé Museum of Fine Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons FURISODÉ In his book of Japanese ghost stories, folk tales, and legends, “In Ghostly Japan,” Lafcadio Hearn tell…

Japanese Folktales: The Legend of the Haunted Furisodé

Ghostlore: The White Lady of Blenkinsopp Castle Legend White Lady Ghost – AI image – zteve t evans Ghostlore In ghostlore, the supernatural phenomenon known as the “White Lady” is a type of unquiet female spirit, or ghost, usual…

Ghostlore: The White Lady of Blenkinsopp Castle Legend

Bats in Myth, Legend and Folklore from Around the World Bats feature in many myths, legends and folklore from diverse cultures around the world, and are often associated with darkness, death and the supernatural. Presented here are different viewpoints …

Bats in Myth, Legend and Folklore from Around the World