A powerfully poignant tale of one of the most turbulent moments in Scotland's history: the North Berwick Witch Trials. IT'S THE 4TH OF DECEMBER 1591. On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh's High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor - Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe. As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace - and the tantalising prospect of escape. Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king's violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day. 'This series has already produced two works of note and distinction. It raises the question - if a country cannot re-tell its history, will it be stuck forever in aspic and condemned to be nothing more than a shortbread tin illustration? Hex and Rizzio are showing the way towards a reckoning, and about time too' - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday

This classic, historical book is a detailed study of the effect of the movement of the planets on human character. Extensively illustrated with explanatory diagrams, forming a complete how-to-guide that is still practical and useful today. A must have for any astrology enthusiast. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Primitive art is inseparable from primitive consciousness and can be correctly understood only with the correct socio-cultural context. This book examines the ancient art of Siberia as part of the integral whole of ancient society.

A type of folklore, myth is central to all cultures. Myths convey serious truths learned over generations and provide practical advice for living within a society. And while many myths go back to antiquity, they are also an important part of popular culture. Because they are so fundamental to civilization, myths are studied in a range of disciplines and at all levels. This reference is a comprehensive but convenient introduction to the role of myth in world cultures. Written by a leading authority, this handbook is of use to high school students, undergraduates, and general readers. It defines and classifies types of myth and provides numerous examples, many of which illustrate the significance of myth to contemporary society. In addition, it surveys the history of the study of myth and overviews critical approaches. It examines the relation of myths to larger contexts, such as politics, religion, and popular culture. The volume closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary.

This comprehensive collection of folk hero tales builds on the success of the first edition by providing readers with expanded contextual information on story characters from the Americas to Zanzibar. Despite the tremendous differences between cultures and ethnicities across the world, all of them have folk heroes and heroines-real and imagined-that have been represented in tales, legends, songs, and verse. These stories persist through time and space, over generations, even through migrations to new countries and languages. This encyclopedia is a one-stop source for broad coverage of the world's folk hero tales. Geared toward high school and early college readers, the book opens with an overview of folk heroes and heroines that provides invaluable context and then presents a chronology. The book is divided into two main sections: the first provides entries on the major types and themes; the second addresses specific folk tale characters organized by continent with folk hero entries organized alphabetically. Each entry provides cross references as well as a list of further readings. Continent sections include a bibliography for additional research. The book concludes with an alphabetical list of heroes and an index of hero types. Supplies entries on folk tale characters worldwide that identify related heroes and heroines and provide additional contextual information Features a geographical organization that enables readers to research a specific region's folk characters Provides an alphabetical index as well as an index of heroic character types to facilitate cross-cultural and historical comparisons Includes sidebars with passages from the folk tales, popular culture, and other items of interest

The first study to look at the intersection of the discourse of the Anthropocene within the two highly influential storytelling modes of fantasy and myth, this book shows the need for stories that articulate visions of a biocentric, ecological civilization. Fantasy and myth have long been humanity's most advanced technologies for collective dreaming. Today they are helping us adopt a biocentric lens, re-kin us with other forms of life, and assist us in the transition to an ecological civilization. Deliberately moving away from dystopian narratives toward anticipatory imaginations of sustainable futures, this volume blends chapters by top scholars in the fields of fantasy, myth, and Young Adult literature with personal reflections by award-winning authors and illustrators of books for young audiences, including Shaun Tan, Jane Yolen, Katherine Applegate and Joseph Bruchac. Chapters cover the works of major fantasy authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Terry Prachett, J. K. Rowling, China Mieville, Barbara Henderson, Jeanette Winterson, John Crowley, Richard Powers, George R. R. Martin and Kim Stanley Robinson. They range through narratives set in the UK, USA, Nigeria, Ghana, Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia. Across the chapters, fantasy and myth are framed as spaces where visions of sustainable futures can be designed with most detail and nuance. Rather than merely criticizing the ecocidal status quo, the book asks how mythic narratives and fantastic stories can mobilize resistance around ideas necessary for the emergence of an ecological civilization.

This anthology of essays, Northern Myths, Modern Identities, explores the various ways in which ancient mythologies have been cultivated in the cultural construction of ethnic, national and supra-national identities from 1800 to the present. How were Old Norse, Finno-Ugric and Frisian myths employed as rhetorical devices in national narratives? And how did (and do) these new interpretations convey a sense of 'northernness'? This volume approaches these issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective, and brings together case studies from Scandinavia, the Baltic region, Friesland, Britain, the United States and even Japan. Thus, it provides a unique insight into the reception history and uses of northern myths in the present, and their role in the creation of modern identities. Contributors are: Tim van Gerven, Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, Simon Halink, Sumarlidi R. Isleifsson, Otto S. Knottnerus, Joep Leerssen, Daisy Neijmann, Han Nijdam, Robert A. Saunders, Katja Schulz, Tom Shippey, Carline Tromp, and Kendra Willson.

Why does Mulla Nasruddin spoon yoghurt into the river? What is the reason he rides his donkey backwards? Why does he paint a picture that is blank? And is he crazy to move into the house of the man who's just burgled him? Find out all about the amazing antics of Nasruddin in these twenty-one hilarious stories and riddles, famous throughout the Middle East for their jokes, riddles and wisdom.

A miracle happened that now reveals many secrets of the earth, the universe. Many great mysteries, never before known, will be told in this incredible story, a true phenomenal series of spectacular events. All of mankind is on a well-planned scientific journey. It is a known fact that the sun is traveling or darting through space at a constant speed of 700,000 miles per hour. The earth is being pulled along with the other planets in an exact positioned filing order. The sun is the engine, which controls these planet formations. Their destination will surprise you. This story is so powerful the weak may not be able to follow through to its conclusion. You will come to know and understand this force. There are many forces in the universe and they are sometimes referred to as laws. Such awesome and controlling powers as time, gravity, perpetual energy, and nature are some of the great controlling forces that surround man. Logic and reason should impress the senses that their existence is far more reaching and purposeful than the mere fact of their existence. The knowledge gained through the miracle will indeed show a spectacular reason, that all things have purpose.