Before talking about astrology itself, we must talk about the Eastern philosophy of the 5 elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth), which were associated with the 5 astrological planets: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. The energy of these elements in combination is balanced into positive energy (Yan) and negative energy (Yin). In...
In 2018, a folded lead amulet measuring just 27 mm high x 22 mm wide, and just 6 mm thick, was found in Bispegata, in what in the Middle Ages was one of the main streets of Oslo, Norway. of the folds. Amulets made of lead folded in on themselves are common in the Nordic world, in the same way...
Among all the possible astrological and geomantic interpretations and connections of cartomancy, one of them is the one that links the cards to the elements, in this case, cartomancy being a most widespread divination method in the Western world, of the five elements earth, water, fire, wind and ether or spirit. In this regard we will find some...
As could be seen in the introduction of Nordic Magic (I): Galdr, Seiðr is a type of magic related to the female environment, with less social consideration given its shamanic characteristics, that is, practices of loss of consciousness and ecstasy. The purposes between the galdr and the seiðr are different in that the galdr seeks a voluntary and...
Two types of magic were practiced in the Norse world: the honorable galdr magic, and lastly, the "less honorable" seiðr magic. A third type would be rune magic, but since rune magic can be a general purpose tool, future articles will focus on distinguishing between the two main ones. Galdr derives from the verb gala, to sing or chant, to...
Although magical-religious practices exist in practically all cultures, the truth is that some are always better known than others. Many, like the magic of Indonesia, recover their contact with the modern world through cinema or, as in this case, medical studies that expose practices that tried to go unnoticed. Susuk is one of them. Susuk is the...
As already seen in the previous article (part I), regarding the shape of the hand, we found the popularity of a system that differentiated the shapes of the palm and the fingers in order to make a first general reading, without classifying the hand, as a single entity, but multiple. We turn now to the analysis of reading the shape of the fingers....
Despite being in a ringed archaeological complex of more than two kilometers, Stonehenge is one of the best-known megalithic complexes in the world. Located in the county of Wiltshire, for a long time, especially due to medieval legends, it was associated with the Celtic cult and it was believed that this town had built it; Regardless of whether...
King Alfonso X of Castile (1221 - 1284) was a successful man in politics and state affairs, although that does not mean that he was equally admired by everyone. However, his humanistic facet led him to surround himself with scholars of the three great religions, getting translation and compilation jobs that would have been unthinkable without their...
The witch's ladder, also known as the feather rope, knotted cord, is a magical fetish (tool) that has had different methods and objectives over time. Spells with knots have been frequent in the history of witchcraft, and can be divided into knots to preserve, attract and protect, such as love ties, petitions, against illnesses... and knots to...
Depending on the situation in which each person finds themselves, they will have one perception or another about magic. And this perception, subjected to a series of social mechanisms, will end up being reflected in a conception of magic different from that of the rest of the world. The conception of a Catholic priest will not be the same as...
Divination through dregs and forms of different substances poured out could already be seen in the Greek world with wax and in molybdomancy, through lead, both of which were combined with the use of water to cool and form interpretable figures. But undoubtedly the best known method, and yet not as widely used as one might expect, is reading the...
