Certain things are held to be vital to healthy human functioning. A varied diet, exercise, exposure to sunlight, and plenty of sleep are usually among them. Yet sleep remains the most mysterious of the four. Our ability to do it is hampered by a range of factors. We have a vague notion that our body […]
Folklore
Plague Folklore: Strange Doctors, Cures, and the Black Death
For historians, the most devastating epidemic of all time is that of the Black Death. It reached Europe in October 1347, having affected Syria, Persia, China, India, and Egypt throughout the 1340s (History.com 2020). The epidemic went on to kill more than 20 million people. Its destruction gave rise to much plague folklore that persisted […]
Oracle Cards vs Tarot Cards: What’s the Difference?
Divination has become a popular pastime in recent years. Runes, cards, and dowsing are all options you might see over on Instagram. Brigit Esselmont at Biddy Tarot even brought out a handbag-sized tarot deck for readings on the go. If you visit your local metaphysical shop or bookstore for tarot cards, you might see oracle […]
Elf-Shot: Old English Medicine and Magical Remedies
When examining the history of medicine, there can be a tendency to focus on the classical theories of doctors like Hippocrates and Galen. Galen, we should remember, thought that the body made blood in the liver and it disappeared into tissues as it moved around the body. But is this the kind of medicine favoured […]
Need healing? You Need Aesculapius, Roman God of Medicine
It’s easy to sometimes take modern medicine for granted. We don’t have to visit an oracle or priest to diagnose an illness. Popping to a pharmacy is less messy than sacrificing a chicken to read its innards. In the UK, we currently have the NHS. Yet the ancient Greeks and Romans had Aesculapius. But who […]
The Boy Who Lost His Shadow: Shadow People, Doubles, and Peter Pan
Shadows occupy a somewhat privileged position in regards to the human. Long before we saw our reflections in water (and, later, glass), we saw our shadows cast across the ground. They show the existence of a thing, “for what casts a shadow must be real” (Gombrich 1995: 17). Only an object with mass can obstruct […]
