Today is the first Sunday of September, which since a few years has been dubbed 'International Goddess Day' by some pagans. I like this idea - the pagan religion is one of a few world wide religions in which female deities get as much if not more attention as their male counterparts (if there are … Continue reading Dutch goddesses on International Goddess Day

As I walked through the countryside of my childhood, I saw more and more plants that I never noticed before. One of them was comfrey, a beautiful and elegant plant that is so abundant that it becomes almost unremarkable. When I got to know the land better, I learned more about one of its spirits: … Continue reading Comfrey – a dark, healing lady

This essay is added to the list of deities. The title of this page is refering to a deity - a goddess most likely - of whom almost nothing is known, though the little that we know is quite fascinating. First of all it must be said that Tanfana's name, like many other names of … Continue reading Tanfana

Owls come in many shapes and sizes. They are ambivalent birds in folklore, associated with positive as well as negative aspects. They are birds of the night, the moon, darkness, wisdom and witchcraft. In modern folklore the owl is considered a wise bird. This goes hand in hand with classical mythology, where the owl is … Continue reading The Ominous Owl

Corvids are among the most popular and feared birds in folklore. They have many stories and myths that are well known: as a trickster in Native American culture or a battle bird in Celtic and Norse culture. You won't read much about that - as I'm sticking close to my home. This folklore is slightly … Continue reading Corvids – mainly crows and ravens

The dog is one of my favorite animals - the fact that we have an adorable black lab at home does help this opinion, of course. It's perhaps not strange that dogs can be found aplenty in folklore, since it has been with us for such a long time. Here's some information about dogs in … Continue reading The dog as demon and companion

I love swallows - when I see (and hear!) them flying around, it's a sure sign that summer has arrived. Here's some folklore about these lively birds - you can also find it in the evergrowing online encyclopedia. 'One swallow does not a summer make' - as they say in the Netherlands. Still, in Northwest … Continue reading Lore of the Swallow