Snow Queens and Winter Witches from Around the World

Elena Ringo's Illustration of the Snow Queen by H.C. Andersen, CC BY 3.0, http://www.elena-ringo.com, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37744268

Through myth, fairy tale and legend, powerful women are depicted as dark, cruel and calculating, and they are often naturally associated with winter – a season where all warmth withdraws, and the land is covered with snow and ice, and life is no more than a battle of survival against the elements.

British Legends: The Lust of Uther Pendragon, Merlin’s Prophecy and the Making of a King

The legendary Uther Pendragon was the father of Arthur Pendragon who was destined to become the greatest King of the Britons. Arthur would drive out the invading Saxons, bring peace to the country and build an empire in Europe.

The Last Gleam of Sunlight: Mining Folklore on the International Frontier

An adit – the miner's term for a horizontal excavation – can be an eerie, life-threatening place that inspires folklore. This one dates to the 1880s in Virginia City, Nevada. (Photograph by Ronald M. James https://imgur.com/5YrYC80)

alking deep into a mine, when the last gleam of sunlight is eclipsed by the next turn, reveals the overwhelming weight of being underground. When all signs of the outside world are gone, the bulk of the mountain above seems even more menacing as it threatens to crush the wooden supports that keep miners alive. […]

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