The colour purple has many associations through history. It is the colour of royalty, of creativity and spirituality. It’s rarity in nature makes it otherworldly, and this has meant it is considered sacred, a province of those who see beyond the ordinary. The earliest examples of purple in art are prehistoric. Rock paintings have been…
In times past, forests represented something magical and dangerous, because it was unknown. A person might go into the forest, but they would stay on known trackways, go to known places. Not content with mundane dangers of the forest (getting lost, starving to death, attacked by robbers, killed by wild animals), human beings would extrapolate…
All over the world and through history, there have been myths and legends associated with beings who live in the ocean, rivers, or lakes. These magical people are depicted with varying levels of power, and also vary as to whether they are friendly or otherwise. They can hypnotise, tell the future, sink ships, and so…
In reading and watching a great many fantasy-based stories, something that often comes up is the usefulness of silver as a protection and a weapon against dark forces and evil creatures. I started to wonder why: why silver? What made that so magical in the eyes of ancient peoples? I decided to see what the…
Ghost stories since the dawn of time seem to be filled with fear, scares, the haunting of malevolent spirits out to harm the living (or at least terrify them.) But why is there such a widespread tradition of ghosts as a fearful, bad thing? What if ghosts were friendly? Not all cultures see the dead…
One of the things I enjoy about Christmas is the decorations. I love Christmas trees, and enjoy putting up and decorating mine every year. So, I've put together a few interesting facts about popular Christmas decorations, and where they started. The Wreath In northern and eastern Europe, in the deep winter, evergreen branches were brought…
Late for work? Caught in the rain? Stub your toe? ‘The gods of fate are against me’! we cry. Or we would, if we lived in ancient times. Does every living creature have a fate that rules them, or are we in control of our own destiny? Many cultures in the past believed in fate,…
The phoenix is a mythological creature, well known in ancient legends and modern stories. It’s a fascinating idea – the phoenix is immortal, it burns to death then rises again from its own ashes. It is traditionally equated with the sun, dying and rising as the sun rises and sets, and has been used as…
From the beginning of humanity, people have seen the sacred in the world around them. In ancient times they explained the world by imbuing their surroundings with magic and spirits. Most cultures saw bodies of water, whether oceans, rivers, lakes, or springs, as being magical otherworldly places. So, here I have put together a few…
Beautiful white horses with an equally white horn in the middle of their foreheads. Creatures out of myth and legend. Benevolent, wise, pure. This is the modern idea of the unicorn, strengthened by many a fantasy film and novel. But what is the origin of the unicorn? Seals from the Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1300 BC)…
Eclectic Assemblage 