Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Routinely sneaked out to consume cold crisp beer
Despite his reputation as a disciplined, isolated thinker, Thomas Merton sometimes slipped away to listen to jazz and drink cold beer with friends.
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Virgo placements mentally organize every cluttered room
In astrology, Virgo placements are often portrayed as mentally sorting a messy room at a glance—and quietly deciding what should be tossed.
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Dense matter making everyone stubbornly boring
In astrology, earth signs are associated with grounded, practical traits: paying bills, choosing sensible shoes, and digging in their heels during arguments.
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Watching spiders build webs predicts the weather
Arachnomancy reads the speed and shape of spiders’ webs as signs of coming weather, including rain.
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Vatican medical board requires four secular doctors
Before a healing can be considered a miracle, a Vatican medical board of four secular doctors examines the case and tries to rule out a medical explanation.
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Submerging names in honey makes people sweeter
In a folk-magic practice, a person’s name is written on paper and submerged in honey to sweeten their attitude toward the practitioner.
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Sagittarius signs relocate to avoid tiny conflicts
A mildly awkward exchange at the grocery store can be enough to send them packing across the country rather than deal with it.
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Layman Pang sank his entire family fortune in a river
He believed wealth distracted from enlightenment, so he loaded his family’s riches onto a boat and sank them in a river rather than keep them.
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Lurianic Kabbalists believed they could magically repair the broken universe just by praying intensely
They believed creation shattered the cosmos, and that prayer and mindful observance of everyday tasks could help repair it.
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Tetractys was worshipped as a god
The Pythagoreans saw the ten-dot triangle as a blueprint for cosmic harmony and swore sacred oaths by it.
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Tetragrammaton remains entirely unpronounceable by design
The four-letter Hebrew name is written with consonants alone, so its vowels—and thus its exact pronunciation—aren’t specified.
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Certain houses bring unexpected joy
In astrology, a planet is said to rejoice in certain houses, where its placement is considered especially comfortable or favorable.
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Followers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn spent months learning how to correctly vibrate vowels
They believed “Words of Power” needed precise vocal-cord vibrations to resonate with astral planes, so members practiced sounding out vowels in…
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Ancient Romans were absolutely terrified of Mars going retrograde because they thought the war god was retreating
Because of Earth’s orbit, Mars sometimes appears to move backward in the sky; Romans took the illusion as a sign that the war god was retreating.
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Aquarius embodies late stage elder humanitarianism
In astrology, Aquarius is cast as detached from personal emotional drama but devoted to humanity—sometimes at the expense of family ties.
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Mothman allegedly loves hanging around old bridges
Reports from Point Pleasant placed the red-eyed figure near a suspension bridge or abandoned factories, giving the legend an oddly industrial setting.
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Greek philosopher Pythagoras theorized that planets emitted musical hums known as the harmony of the spheres
He imagined each planet’s motion producing a silent tone determined by mathematical proportions—a cosmic harmony people couldn’t hear.
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Archangel Gabriel serves strictly as the ultimate messenger
He was tasked with delivering urgent, life-changing news to people who weren’t expecting it.
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Living completely buried underground deprives oxygen
Packed dirt can block access to air, making breathing impossible and turning burial alive into a danger of asphyxiation.
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Zen koans demand you to murder your spiritual idols
The “kill the Buddha” line isn’t literal: it urges practitioners to let go of fixed ideas and not mistake an external image or idol for truth.
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Thomas Aquinas possessed famously illegible handwriting
His handwriting was so difficult to read that the Church hired specialists to decipher his manuscripts.
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Strawberries belong completely to Venus
In this symbolism, strawberries’ sweetness and beauty make them emblems of Venusian pleasure—but their short shelf life gives the indulgence a brief window.
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Ecstatic elongation physically stretches the human spine
Witnesses claimed some people grew several inches during ecstatic trances, but these reports don’t show that rapture physically lengthens the spine.
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Asteya ensures nobody steals anything
Asteya, the principle of non-stealing, also means not taking another person’s credit or joy—not just avoiding theft.
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