Magic weapons and epic tales Perun is the god of thunder and lightning but he is also a warrior and has been endowed with an impressive array of weapons : thunderbolts, bow and arrow, mace, hammer, axe and even golden apples, talismans of ultimate destruction. The thunderbolts remind us of Jupiter, the Roman god and the […]
The Fiery Chariot Of Surya
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Surya, an Indo-European god Surya, the Hindou Sun god is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed to horses. Their journey symbolizes the trajectory of the Sun across the sky from dawn till dusk. We find similar representations in Ancient Greece (The god Helios identified with Apollo), in ancient Iran (Mithra), in North Europa (Viking goddess […]
Nut, the Egyptian sky goddess is often pictured arched over the Earth, her naked blue body covered with stars. But she also protected the deceased in their journey to the underworld. In that task she was connected with the sycamore, one of the many sacred trees in ancient Egypt. We shall first try to understand […]
Diana And Actaeon, A Deer Tale
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If you can’t get the deer in three shots, you shouldn’t be hunting. You are an embarrassment. —— Joe Biden Diana and her deers Roman Moon deity Diana is also the goddess of wilderness. It may seem contradictory that she protects wildlife and at the same time is a skilled huntress. We have noticed something […]
Who let the winds out, who, who? In ancient representations, Fujin, the Japanese wind god is often shown with disheveled hair, bulging eyes and a bag around his neck that contains all the winds. This strikes a chord amongst Greek and Roman scholars. It has been said that Fujin borrowed some of his characteristics from […]
The Inspirational Spiral of the Pachamama
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Spirals are everywhere Inca gods are represented by statues but also by symbols, some of which are quite obvious: Inti, the Sun, is a golden disk with rays. It is perhaps more difficult to understand why Pachamama, the Earth goddess, is figured by a spiral. Spirals were already a common symbol in Prehistoric rock art […]
Fujin is the powerful Shinto god of wind revered in Japan. He is depicted as a demonic, green-skinned man with a snarling face and wild hair, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders. As god of the wind, Fujin has control over storms, typhoons, and tornadoes. His fierce gusts could destroy homes and […]
A parcel of straws Flutes are one of the most ancient musical instruments in the world. They were made with any material at hand: hollow bones of small birds, clay, reeds, bamboo, straw. From early times they were the instruments of shepherds and country folk. But the humble flute was also endowed with magical powers in […]
The Aztec god Xochipilli is associated with four animals, the mischievous monkey, the hocco, the royal Eagle but most of all, the butterfly, which is fitting with his name of Flowerprince (xochi: flower; pilli: prince). We shall see that the butterfly has for the Aztecs like for other cultures many symbolic meanings and we shall […]
Brass Olokun and digital Olokun. The Yoruba sea-god enters the metaverse. Are NFTs a new way of appropriating indigenous cultures or a bridge between traditional and digital art? Appropriation is not appreciation! Homo sum et humani nihil alienum a me puto (I am a human being and therefore nothing human is strange to me) The […]
Yawkyawk and the Water Lilies
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The yawkyawk are guardians of fresh waters. They have the upper part of a young woman and the lower part of a fish. They are worshiped by the Aboriginal people of the Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia where water lilies thrive. Discovering the importance of cross-cultural ecology Darwin was puzzled by the appearance of […]
Spinning A Celestial Tale: The Birth of Otso Mielikki, the Finnish forest goddess, has always shared an enchanting connection with all forest creatures, but none more so than with Otso, the first bear ever created. The intriguing tale of Otso’s birth comes from the 19th-century epic poem, Kalevala. According to the Kalevala, Otso was born […]