Legends & Folklore

A symbol of love and beauty, the rose quartz is an opaque to translucent quartz with a light pink to rosy-red color. It has been used for thousands of years for ornamental and religious purposes.

Dancing around a maypole comes from an ancient Druid tradition. It welcomes spring in a festive, lively dance that weaves together colorful ribbons, much as nature weaves the land with colorful...

It is not possible to give an exact date or person who discovered the Herpes Virus. First of all, there are several types. The Epstein-Barr virus was first documented in 1964, but not found to be...

The Northwest Passage was a semi-mythical sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that early modern age explorers hoped to discover somewhere across or around northern Canada. Seamen...

Using Magic to obtain Financial Security involves an action known as "Ritual Magic" Ritual Magic is used to obtain many different results. Financial Security is only one of those...

The story of the Black Dahlia is one of Hollywood's most famous unsolved mysteries. The gruesome murder of an aspiring actress in Los Angeles has sparked much speculation and rumor about both the...

In today's world it can be hard to tell who's a zombie and who isn't. With today's fads going crazy you can still come to a conclusion for yourself.

Healing with crystal is a New Age practice associated with balancing the chakras. Crystal healing is based on theories about energy, which emits from different colors of crystals. Anyone can...

Hourglasses originated in Italy and were widely used as household instruments and on sailing vessels. They could be cheaply made for use at home, or wildly expensive -- decorated with precious...

Matts are a rare species of creature that can occasionally be found hiding in dark corners, under couches, or locked in bedrooms surrounded by computer monitors. While catching a rare Matt is...

When a game player or competitor is at first deceptive about their skills in order to later use the element of surprise to give an advantage to their play, their opponent might accuse them of...

The USS Constitution is a U.S. Navy ship launched in 1797 that remains on active duty today. It's a three-masted wooden frigate designed to carry 44 guns, but often carried more. Its most famous...

Throughout the ages, various magical and healing properties have been associated with all sorts of crystals and rocks, both precious and semi-precious. Most often, the simple wearing of a gemstone...

Of course, the issue of slavery was the primary cause of the American Civil War, but it was not the only cause. Different economic and social situations, and a nation expanding its territory,...

The pentacle, or five pointed star, was a sacred symbol in north west Europe. Used as a teaching device it depicts the five elements that make up the Universe. As a sacred symbol it was believed...

Astragalus, also called huang qi, is a traditional Chinese herb used for thousands of years to treat physical, mental and emotional stress. With healing properties and action on various serious...

Try as we might to avoid it, at some point, you are going to have an encounter with a werewolf or some other type of were-creature. It can’t be helped. That’s just the way things are. If you...

The Summer Solstice, June 21st, was known in Wales as "Alban Hefin" Alban is an old Welsh word meaning Quarter. Hefin means something like Summerish or Summery. (The Welsh name for the...

Tarot card readings, also known as divination by tarot, are a popular mystical method for answering questions. People may seek a reading for help in making a decision or understanding a quandary...

New Orleans is a mystical city known for its strong jazz roots, Mardi Gras celebration, French culture, vampires and, of course, voodoo. Often confused with Haitian and Dominican voodoo, New...

To read a horoscope, you need to understand the nuances of astrological interpretation. An intuitive mind also helps to understand the relationships that are the essence of an astrological chart....

Cacique (an old Latin American title roughly equivalent to "chief") Lempira is a Honduran warrior hero. His name means "Lord of the Mountains" or "Lord of the Sierra." Lempira was born late in the...

The use of coats of arms became popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, as a means of identifying individuals and families. Heraldry developed to keep records of the genealogies of families...

Look at a billiken and the dictionary description--a short, gnome-like Buddha with a Kewpie doll grin--fits perfectly. It is this combination of likable features that produces the mass appeal of...

The Myths and Legends of every culture tell us that we are not alone. From time to time another people enter our world. Entering at special times and in special places, from the In-Between. Gods...

Latitudes are the north-south markers that cover the globe. They represent angular distance away from the equator and are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. Lines of latitude are often...

For more than 6,500 years lapis lazuli, a rich blue semiprecious gemstone, marbled with sparkling golden pyrite, has been mined and transformed into jewelry, sculptures and even medicine. The...

With the ever-abundant information bombarding us about global warming, the term "carbon footprint" has become commonplace. It's been part of our lexicon since 1999. Do you know what it means or...

Are you someone who wants to stand out and be recognized, to be remembered in History, to have something besides your Birth date, Date of Death and some obscure passage on your tombstone?

Thousands of years ago, a civilization flourished in Greece whose accomplishments remain with us today. They first came up with the idea of democracy, designed tools that helped make life better...

The Bowie Knife gets its name from Colonel James Bowie, one of the men who defended the Alamo in 1836. Somewhat of an adventurer, he created this unique style of knife that remains popular to the...

Poseidon was one of twelve major gods in the pantheon of Ancient Greece. He served as ruler of the seas, commanding both the ocean waves and the various creatures which swam beneath them. The...

Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea, and also of earthquakes and horses. Mythology depicts him as being a temperamental god, who often plagued those who angered him with storms and shipwrecks....

You may have heard of the quality and size of Ceylon sapphires. Queen Marie of Romania's Ceylon Sapphire weighs 478.68 carats and is one of the largest in the world. The sapphire was presented to...

The use of magnets for healing has been recorded as far back as 3000 B.C., according to the Magnetic Therapy Council. Documents have been produced that show Cleopatra slept with a magnetic...

Puma knives is a German company founded in 1769 by Johann Wilhelm Lauterjung. They produced hunting knives, swords, razors, shears and other metal products with the then-current technology of...

Businessman P.T. Barnum got into the circus business at age 61 with P.T Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome. His only serious competition came from James Bailey's...

"Sapphire" comes from the Latin "saphirus" and the Greek "sapheiros", meaning "blue." However, true to their mineral base, corundum, there are also other colors of sapphires, including pink,...

The name, Book of Shadows, is an invention of Gerald Gardner. It was coined by him in the 1950's and the name has stuck. Traditionally it was never called a Book of Shadows or any of the other...

The 12 astrological or horoscope signs are said to denote the traits of individuals born during each of the 12 corresponding time periods in a given year. Not all astrologers agree on the exact...

Native Americans have found that getting a hair cut during different phases of the moon affects the way your hair grows back.

Although Hermes has many tales told about him in various cultures, he is best known for his swift delivery as messenger of the Olympian gods in Greek mythology. Zeus, king of the gods, was father...

It cannot be claimed with any certainty which human was the first to create the oil lantern. Lamps and lanterns were first used by humans ten of thousands of years ago, using diverse substances...

Buffalo Bill Cody is as close as they come to a real-life legend of the Old West. His story reads like a tall tale, the only difference being that much of Buffalo Bill's story is true. His life is...

Throughout the ages, there have been many ways that mankind has marked time. The calendar most used by modern society, however, is the calendar that was established in 1582. Pope Gregory XIII,...

Blackbeard is perhaps the most notorious pirate in history, wreaking havoc through the Caribbean and British Colonies in the beginning of the 18th Century. Like many figures in the Golden Age of...

Have you ever had all the Joy of Life sucked right out of you? Have you ever felt that all the color has gone out of the world? Yesterday everything was bright. The world had colour. Today it all...

There is no more infamous house on Long Island than the one formerly at 112 Ocean Avenue in the town of Amityville. It has a reputation for being haunted, cemented by a bestselling book by Jay...

Lots of American kids say they want to grow up to be a cowboy. The cowboy profession in the Old West--as we know it from the movies--existed for a very short time, but the stories and legends...

Jade is a green gemstone that is said to have a host of different meanings, depending on the mind-set of the person wearing it. Two gemstones are called jade: jadeite and nephrite. China,...