The name scarab, derived from the Latin scarabaeus, refers to a beetle, either Scarabaeus sacer or Scarabaeus aegyptiorum. This beetle is prevalent not only in Egypt but also in neighboring Mediterranean countries. The scarab was …
Beltane ‘Fires of Bel’ – The Celtic “May Day” festival at the beginning of Summer
When you think about May Day in modern times, your first thoughts are on the International Workers’ Day holiday. However, long before the labor movement, May Day was an important festival that different cultures in …
Ostara – The Pagan Celebration of the Spring Equinox
Ostara is the pagan name for the Spring Equinox period when both day and night are equal. The spring equinox was celebrated in many ancient cultures as a time for rebirth and a crucial period …
Imbolc – The Festival of Brigid that Marks the Beginning of Spring
The beginning of spring is a special time to celebrate the end of the harsh winter weather and the return of sunshine and warmer days. Ancient cultures worldwide had festivals that marked this period, and …
Comprehensive Guide To Wiccan Origins And Beliefs
When most people hear about Wicca, they think of witches and evil witchcraft practices and think of it as an occult group full of secret rituals. Thanks to the depiction in pop culture and historical …
Most Commonly Practiced Branches of Wicca
Wicca religion traces its origin from ancient witchcraft cults and pagan practices going as far back as before Christianity. It is a neopagan religion present in many countries, especially English-speaking ones. It rose in public …
The Hidden Light of Love: How A.E. Waite Turned Desire into Divine Mystery
Arthur Edward Waite was more than just a poet or historian—he was a seeker. His life moved between the boundaries of the visible and the hidden, the intellectual and the mystical. Known for his work …
Amulets and Talismans-Differences and Similarities
Since the beginning of human civilization, the man was looking for objects with supernormal abilities that would help him as offering protection, bringing luck, wealth, cure of illness and generally achieving goals and realization of …
The Law of Correspondence – As Above, so Below.
“As above, so below; as below, so above.”–The Kybalion. The law of correspondence is the second Hermetic principle. It is one of those maxims that almost everyone has heard. It expresses the idea that there …
The Brethren of Purity—(Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā’) And Occult Sciences
The Brethren of Purity (or Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’) were a mysterious Muslim group from the Middle Ages. The latter produced an outstanding work of encyclopedia literature unique to the Muslim world and outside. About fifty epistles …