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.

Bear Folklore, Through Myths, Legends and Folktales

Cover of Bear Child, showing a bear and a little girl to a backdrop of stars - Geoff Mead, Sanne Dufft

Whenever a bear shows up in a folktale, we know something wonderful, and maybe a bit scary, is about to happen

Anansi the Spider: Trickster or Teacher?

Anansi the spider. By Verona Spence-Adofo

The folklore stories of Anansi the Spider originate from the Asante people of Ghana and has orally been passed down over generations. The character is also known throughout West Africa and is popular in the Caribbean due to these ancient fables being carried to the region by enslaved Africans via the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Courting the Wild Twin

I first caught the perfume of my wild twin by walking with muddy boots through wet grasses to my scrubby woodland den as a six-year-old. As the trees swirled I caught a scent and started to cry without understanding. I wove a pheasant feather in my hair. I hear it now in the owl court who hoot across the frost grass and moon-touched lawns of my cottage. There’s more than book smarts in that chill delirium. These are not domestic tones, not corralled sounds, but loose as Dartmoor ponies on the hill. They give me ecstasy. Not safety, not contentment, certainly not ease, not peace, but ecstasy. It’s almost painful. Makes me restless.

The Witch Files — The Midwife Myth: Curses, Infanticide, and Devilish Spells?

Master of the Life of the Virgin - The Birth of Mary https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15497939

In the great wealth of witch-related lore, the image of the persecuted local midwife is one of the most enduringly popular.

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