The huldufólk (hidden folk) of Iceland are human-sized fairies whose communities are hidden in the hills. Sometimes they are depicted with cow tails. It is said that if the huldufólk marry a human, their cow tails fall off, and they become human themselves.
🎨 Brett Manning
The cockatrice is a monster of English legend similar to a basilisk. It is born when a rooster lays an egg which is then incubated by a serpent; it resembles a rooster with a snake tail. The cockatrice kills with its gaze and touch, though the weasel is immune.
🎨 Marcus Gheeraerts
Many old buildings in Europe, even churches, have carved on their walls a face made of leaves or vomiting vegetation, called a "Green Man." There's a lot of debate about how this design began or what its purpose was, but many assume it was originally a pagan god.
In alchemy, the green lion devouring the sun represents how aqua regia (a potent acid) can dissolve and purify base matter - first step of the alchemical Great Work. It also symbolizes how purifying one's shining ego is needed for spiritual enlightenment.
In the Goetia, Astaroth is a duke of Hell who encourages slothfulness and laziness. His breath stinks, and he loves to claim that he didn't really fall from Heaven; it was all a misunderstanding. Astaroth knows much about the past and future, and the liberal arts.
🎨 Louis le Breton
For centuries, university students dabbled in sorcery to rebel against their parents. Thus, many demons in the Goetia specialize in finding treasure and/or teaching academic disciplines such as science or literature. Quick money and acing tests appeal to students.
🎨 Louis le Breton
In British legend, when Merlin saw a comet that resembled a dragon in the sky, he knew it meant his king, Ambrosius, had died, and Ambrosius' brother Uther was now king. In honor of this comet, Merlin dubbed the new king Uther Pendragon (Uther "Dragon's Head").
Though the Norse term "Jotun" often gets translated as "giant," the Jotnar could be many different sizes, and many of them (Loki, Skadi, etc.) were no taller than the Aesir. They often seemed less like giants and more like simply a competing faction of gods.
In Welsh folklore, pigs originally came from the Otherworld, a gift from the fairy king Arawn. The Welsh point to all the many different kinds of marvelous food one can turn pigs into - bacon, sausages, pork chops, etc. - as proof that pigs are magical creatures.
🎨 T. Horsley #WyrdWednesday#31DaysofHaunting#Superstitiology#mythology#folklore#Celtic#Wales
The city of Troy was considered the epitome of culture and sophistication, so many European cultures (Italians, Welsh, etc.) claimed their ancestors had been Trojans. Medieval Christian Scandinavians even claimed their pagan gods had actually been Trojan sorcerers.
🎨 Giovanni Tiepolo #WyrdWednesday
White (and, to a lesser extent, gold) is the colour of the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Thus, Welsh fairies are generally pale and wear white clothes inlaid with gold, while various fairy animals (especially hounds and stags) and magical items are white.
🎨 Roger Garland #TempleThursday
In some Welsh legends, the little fairies eat poisonous mushrooms and a "fairy butter" found in the crevices of limestone rocks. Fey illusions make the food's appearance and taste more appetizing. More charmingly, fairy gloves are made from foxglove flowers. #WyrdWednesday
In many legends, a person is a werewolf by choice, turning into a wolf by donning a magic wolfskin. In some versions, the werewolf also leaves behind their human clothes when they transform. If these clothes are then destroyed, the werewolf can never regain human form. #FairyTaleTuesday
King Arthur owned the hound Cavall in Welsh myth. His name is similar to a Latin word for "horse," indicating great size, strength, and speed. While hunting the giant boar Trwyth, Cavall left a permanent footprint on a stone cairn, which is impossible to remove. #FairyTaleTuesday
The Styx is one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld, but many legends say it starts above ground. Herodotus placed the Styx's mouth near the Greek village of Feneos but other people place it on Mount Aroania in Achaea, Greece. Aroania even has a Styx Waterfall.
🎨 Artemis Katsadoura #WyrdWednesday
Cadborosaurus is a sea serpent with a horse-like head reported around many parts of Vancouver Island, Canada - most famously Cadboro Bay in Victoria. People have claimed that various carcasses washed ashore are a dead cadborosaurus, but they generally turn out to be whales or sharks. #MythologyMonday
To protect someone from magic, an English wise woman or cunning man would create a witch bottle, which contained the person's urine, hair, or nail clippings along with special objects. Spells would get sucked into the bottle rather than target their victim. #FolkloreSunday
A hand of glory is a supposed artifact of European sorcery, often used to assist in robberies. It's the dried and pickled hand of a hanged criminal that holds a candle made from that criminal's fat. The candlelight temporarily paralyzes everyone save the person wielding the hand. #FolkloreSunday
Medieval bestiaries say mother pelicans sometimes accidentally kill their chicks in anger. Then the horrified pelican weeps over the corpses for three days, after which she slices her own side, spills her blood on the chicks, and in dying returns them to life. #WyrdWednesday
In Latvian legends, rainbows are alive. They drink from rivers and lakes, and then release rain from their bodies. If you approach a water source during a rainbow, the rainbow might accidentally swallow you, and later your bones will fall down with the rain.
🎨 Christopher Martin #LegendaryWednesday
Roman seers divined Jupiter's will by studying birds. Some birds gave auspices via their singing (such as ravens, crows, owls, and chickens) while others gave them via their flying (eagles and vultures). Chickens also gave auspices via their eating habits. #MythologyMonday
As the term "mancy" originally referred to divination, originally "necromancy" was less about raising zombies and more about using the dead to predict the future, such as by throwing bones, studying entrails, or summoning a prophetic ghost for questioning.
🎨 Ebenezer Sibley #MythologyMonday
In Welsh folklore, the border between worlds is often vague. Arthurian knights don't realize they've ridden into the Otherworld until they encounter progressively stranger things, such as one-legged giants or sheep that change colour when leaping across a river. #FairyTaleTuesday
In Welsh legend, the Awen is the divine force that possesses poets and bards to inspire their art, and possesses seers to give them visions of the future. However, if someone who lacks the proper will is possessed, the Awen can drive them insane.
🎨 John Hall #MythologyMonday
As white is the Welsh colour of the Otherworld, white stags have mystical significance in Welsh folklore, frequently heralding some big event. A white stag often appears at a Christmas or Easter feast in King Arthur stories to lead a knight on a grand adventure. #FolkoreSunday#BookChatWeekly