Before he dies, a swan sings the most beautiful tunes. For Homer, this was evidence of the joys the realm of the dead holds in store for the dying. “Swan song” is the name given to the artist's last work before his death. This expression has burned itself into our linguistic usage, not least through the legend of the two friends [...]

They race restlessly and nimbly over trunks, over meadows and through tree tops. They collect, they hoard and are constantly on the lookout: squirrels. “Squirrels, whose original name was actually: Those who shade themselves with their tails”, and whose name only became a squirrel through a misunderstanding, are lovable little companions that you can meet everywhere. The Squirrel […]

In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were quite friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures and [...]

In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were very friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures [...]

In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were very friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures and [...]

In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were very friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures and [...]

In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were very friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures [...]

The Necronomicon (Greek: nekros νεκρός - the image of the law of the dead) was written by the half-mad Arab Abdul Alhazred and was actually called عزيف الجن (Al Azif), which is translated as the eerie whisper of a jinn coming from the vastness of the desert can. The cause of this noise is probably the phenomenon of the "singing sand". Author […]

The indigenous Dayak people live in the impenetrable rainforests of Kalimantan. In their own language, this word means nothing more than "man". Their way of life is adapted to their habitat and their ancestors have lived there since the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their traditions may sound astonishingly familiar to us, like dilating the earlobe. With us […]

Der Goldkäfer (original title "The Gold-Bug") is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, in which, as part of a treasure hunt, the deciphering of a secret script is explained in detail using the frequency of the individual letters in English texts. The short story was first published in the Dollar Newspaper on June 21 and 28, 1843. A first translation into German by Alfred Mürenberg [...]

The wolf always played an important role in the life of the Lakota Indians. He was both a threat and a wise totem animal. There was a wolf cult called “Šung'manitu”, to which special priests and medicine men belonged and whose ritual robes included a wolf's fur under which the cult member could hide. The legends of the Lakota Indians also reflect the meaning [...]

Asceticism and meditation are important tools for finding the inner center, as it is practiced in Buddhism. If you cleanse your body of all poisons and external influences and go into meditation, it is possible to climb completely new levels of consciousness. The Buddhist monk strives for the dissolution of the [...] during his path, which lasts his whole life.

Hephaestus, the god of fire, created Pandora at the behest of Zeus as a punishment for humanity for Prometheus' theft of fire. Her name means something like “all-gifts”. Endowed by the gods of the Greek pantheon with all the gifts they could bestow on her, she was absolutely irresistible to men. Epimetheus is [...]

The satyr is a hybrid being and demon of Greek mythology. He has similarities with the god Pan and the god Priapus. Dionysus is considered the father of the satyr. He is not a god in the sense of a radiant, flawless and exalted entity. It is a very worldly, hedonistic figure. But where the father can still [...]

Dullahan can be found in Ireland. There they appear as dead, often armed and headless riders. The appearance of a Dullahan, also known as a Gan Ceann, is a terrible death omen. The Gan Ceann can actually speak, but only the name of the person whose imminent death it announces. Particular caution should be exercised at the end of August / beginning of September and [...]

People have always had an ambivalent relationship with the sea. It has been a source of wealth and prosperity for fishermen and traders, but also an unpredictable enemy and the final resting place for innumerable people. In ancient times people began to kill themselves at sea by building ships that were only designed for this purpose [...]

One day Condla the Red was out with his father when suddenly a woman approached him in a robe more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. She told him that she was from the Otherworld. There would be no death, no sin, no war here. Here everyone can eat continuously without having to look at their own food [...]

The significance of Aries for human history is a history full of sacrifice, of struggle and strength, but also always of originality. Norse mythology puts spring at his feet: the goddess Freya climbs the sky in a ram's chariot in April. From there it sends storms, blowing snow, hail, rain and even sunshine unleashed. [...]

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The "black death" (also known as "the plague") killed a quarter of European humanity. Truly demonic times, which the post-war generation, already battered and disappointed with life, again extended the cold hand of death. If the war hit mainly the men in the population, the black death now reached the remaining women. This, from the [...]

Draugr, or Draugar, are deceased in Old Norse who come back to life after their death - also called revenants. Many stories, such as the legend of Asmund and Aran, tell of how dead flesh is brought back to life and the dead come upon the living with irrepressible hunger. A draugr was created when [...]