• LEGEND or FOR REALSIES: Pope Joan

    Most legends have roots in fact. Was there a King Arthur? Yes. Was he the vaunted king of old with round tables and wizards and Holy Grails? No. Was there a Robin Hood? Yes. Was he really an altruistic vigilante fighting for the little guy? Probably not, and his name was most likely not “Robin of the Hood”. Jesus Christ…. Well that is a topic for another day. For now, let me weave you a tale. Sometime in 1099, an educated young daughter of a landowner falls in love with the third son of a nobleman. She is shamed for her near-spinster status (at the ripe old age of sixteen)…

  • Heimdallr

    A mighty god in Norse Mythology he keeps watch for the onset of Ragnarok, all the while drinking fine mead in his home Himimnbjorg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven. He possesses the great horn Gjallarhorn, the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. These nine mothers were suppose to be sisters.Many scholars have debated what being “born of nine mothers” implies and have sought to connect the notion to other European folk motifs He has the ability of foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, is described as “the whitest of the gods” (no known explanation for him being the whitest). Heimdallr…

  • Pegasus

    Pegasus was the beautiful white winged stallion of Greek Myths. The most well know tale of his birth is that he sprang to life from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa after she was killed by Perseus. Zeus, king of the gods, instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat the monster Chimera. Zeus eventually transforms him into the constellation Pegasus and places him up in…

  • Tir na nOg – Oisin and Niamh

    Irish Folklore tells the story of Oisin, son of Finn, of the Fianna, who fall in love with the fairy Princess Niamh from the mystical island of Tir na nOg, the Land of Perpetual Youth. For many centuries the fabled island has been sought, which legend says lays off the coast of Ireland. In the twelfth century Giraldus Cambrensis told the story how one day a strange island appeared off the west coast of Ireland, but when the people made out for in in a boat, it vanished as they drew near. Later, as it reappeared, another group attempted to reach it again, and when they were within range, fired…

  • Scáthach “the Shadow”

    Scáthach (pronounced: scou’-ha, or skah ‘ – thakh) (Scottish Gaelic: Sgàthach an Eilean Sgitheanach), or Sgathaich, is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn (Koo-hull-un or “coo-CHOOL-in) in the arts of combat. She is called “the Shadow” and “Warrior Maid” and is the rival and sister of Aífe or Aoife (ee-fa or AY-fah), both daughters of Árd-Greimne of Lethra. Texts describe her homeland as Scotland; she resided in an impregnable castle known as Dún Scáith, or “Dun Sgathaich” (Fortress of Shadows), on an island (thought to be the Isle…