Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Medieval mystics genuinely believed rock crystals were pieces of regular ice that froze so hard they petrified
Pliny the Elder and other ancient and medieval naturalists thought quartz was water frozen so long it could no longer melt. The Greek word behind “crystal”…
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Surrealist artists adopted the spiritualist technique of automatic writing just to tap into their subconscious
In the 1920s, André Breton and other Surrealists adapted mediums' trance-like, unedited writing—not to contact spirits, but to bypass conscious control and…
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Julius Caesar supposedly judged the character of his men by closely inspecting the wrinkles on their palms
Palmistry, or chiromancy, was taken seriously in the ancient world; legend says Caesar read his officers’ palms to judge whether they were trustworthy or…
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Jain monks pull out their own hair by hand
The painful ritual is meant to show detachment from vanity and bodily pain.
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Lukardis of Oberweimar smashed her own head
She deliberately struck her head against walls to imitate suffering, treating bodily pain as part of her religious devotion.
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Followers collected dry skin flakes of mystics
Some followers treated ascetics’ fallen scabs or pieces of necrotic flesh as relics, collecting them as keepsakes.
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Flagellant groups were banned by papal decree
The church outlawed wandering flagellant bands because their bloody public spectacles undermined local priests.
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Stigmatics supposedly cry tears of blood
Some accounts describe stigmatics shedding bloody tears during religious ecstasy.
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Gemma Galgani manifested literal whip marks
Accounts of Gemma Galgani say she developed bloody scourge-like marks without being struck. Believers attributed them to her empathy with historical…
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Holy Rollers rolled frantically on the floor
The label was originally derogatory but became a badge of honor for worshippers who threw themselves down and rolled in religious ecstasy.
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Drogo stayed in a cramped cell permanently
After an affliction disfigured him, Drogo shut himself in a tiny room attached to a church and survived for decades on scraps passed through a hole.
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Magdalena de Pazzi ran around screaming loudly
During ecstatic episodes, Magdalena de Pazzi ran through convent halls shouting about divine love, startling the other nuns.
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Mystics viewed physical pain as spiritual currency
Some ascetics believed their suffering could be offered to heaven to atone for humanity’s sins, treating pain as a kind of spiritual payment.
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Michelina of Pesaro begged happily in rags
Though born wealthy, Michelina of Pesaro dressed in rags and cheerfully begged former high-society friends for alms, embracing the humiliation as a source of…
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Anchorite cells had tiny viewing windows
Anchorites could still watch church services and receive food through a small opening called a “squint.”
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Lydwine of Schiedam shed actual bone fragments
After an ice-skating accident left her bedridden, she reportedly shed bone fragments and bled constantly. Followers collected the fragments, seeing her…
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Pillar-sitters were tied down to prevent falls
Ascetics who slept atop narrow pillars strapped themselves to the posts to keep from falling.
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Mystics occasionally sweat literal blood
The rare condition is called hematidrosis. Historically, people interpreted the blood as evidence of intense prayer, rather than as a medical condition.
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Urdhava Bahus permanently hold an arm upright
Their vow can cause the raised limb to wither and lock in place, leaving the ascetic unable to lower it.
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Catherine of Genoa consumed scabs for humility
Catherine of Genoa reportedly ate scabs from the sick to overcome her revulsion and demonstrate self-effacement.
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Philip Neri claimed his heart broke his ribs
Neri said divine love made his heart grow so large that it pushed his ribs outward. Admirers recorded the claim.
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Margaret Mary drank from a mystical side wound
Margaret Mary said a vision invited her to place her mouth to a divine wound in the figure’s side—a startlingly physical image of devotion.
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Bilocation allowed mystics to duplicate themselves
Some mystics were believed to appear physically in two places at once, a phenomenon called bilocation.
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Mary of Agreda physically appeared in distant lands
The cloistered Spanish nun reportedly claimed she traveled to distant lands to teach without ever leaving her convent.
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