Oni are Japanese demons — but the English word "demon" mistranslates what they actually represent. Oni live at the boundary between guardian and pu...
Key Takeaway
The ankh is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for "life" (Egyptian: ankh) — a looped cross held by gods in tomb art to represent the...
Some signs work the edges of a room. Leo takes the middle. The fifth sign of the zodiac — July 23 to August 22 — is a fixed fire sign ruled by t...
Aries kicks off the zodiac calendar. It's the first sign — March 21 to April 19 — a cardinal fire sign ruled by Mars and symbolized by the ram. ...
Key Takeaway
Pisces is the 12th and final sign of the zodiac, covering birthdays from February 19 to March 20. Its symbol is two fish swimming...
Scorpio is the eighth sign of the zodiac, running from October 23 to November 21. It's a fixed water sign ruled by Mars and Pluto, symbolized by...
Taurus runs from April 20 to May 20. It's the second sign of the Western zodiac — a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus and symbolized by the bull. Peo...
Key Takeaway
Norse mythology contains five named wolves — not just Fenrir. Geri and Freki sit at Odin's table. Fenrir is bound until Ragnarök...
Key Takeaway
The name Baphomet is a centuries-old European garbling of "Mahomet" (Muhammad); a 1307 inquisition, under torture, recast that o...
Key Takeaway
Mjolnir is Thor's short-handled hammer — the Norse god's main weapon against the Jotnar, the giants of chaos. Vikings wore small ham...
The hamsa hand meaning is the same in every place it shows up — Marrakech, Jerusalem, Mumbai, Athens, the back of a friend's phone case — and that'...
The Jolly Roger most people picture — pure black flag, dead-center skull, two crossed bones — was never the mark of a single pirate. Several Golden...
