Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Thomas Aquinas required a customized semi-circular desk
Later in life, Aquinas became so large that ordinary monastic desks didn't fit him; carpenters cut a semicircle from his desk so he could reach his parchment.
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Identical twins have different prints
Even identical twins have distinct fingerprints, so Gemini's twin symbolism won't help one pin a crime on the other.
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Astrologers scrambled to invent a personality for Pluto immediately after its 1930 discovery
Soon after Pluto's 1930 discovery, astrologers associated it with death, rebirth, and transformation—despite taking centuries to assign meanings to the other…
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Emerging from the solar glare for a dramatic debut
In astrology, a celestial body emerging from the Sun's glare is treated as a dramatic return and public debut, demanding attention.
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Jupiter retrograde forces internal spiritual growth
In astrology, the Moon's void-of-course period is considered a poor time to tackle important tasks; the claim extends even to dropped plates and typo-filled…
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Void of Course Moon causes dropped plates everywhere
In esoteric belief, an etheric double is an invisible energetic blueprint that interpenetrates the body and is said to keep cells aligned. It is even said to…
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Writing wishes on a bay leaf for instant fame
Dwight York convinced followers he was an extraterrestrial master and built giant pyramids and sphinxes in rural Georgia before federal authorities dismantled…
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Egyptian theme parks masqueraded as sovereign cults
Bestselling self-help books promote the law of attraction, a mystical belief that simply thinking positive thoughts will magically manipulate the universe…
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Aluminum cones amplifying phantom voices
The helpful fairy godmother is a softened version of the ancient Roman Fates, feared beings said to control human life by cutting its thread.
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Websites from the nineties still dominate
In esoteric practice, lemons are treated as energetic cleansers: their scent is said to dissolve stagnation and refresh an aura.
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Lemons fiercely scrub immediate esoteric spaces
At least 18 European churches claimed to own the relic, drawing visitors and sometimes threatening rivals with excommunication.
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Spring equinox is a fake reset button
Astrologers named the asteroid for a badly behaved centaur and associate it with toxic cycles and boundary-crossing.
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Asteroid Nessus highlights themes of crossing lines
Grand cross is a rare and highly intense planetary configuration formed when four planets in a birth chart simultaneously form four squares and two…
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Rumi was a boring scholar until a vagabond arrived
Shams of Tabriz, a wandering mystic, became Rumi’s close companion; one account says he threw Rumi’s books into a fountain. Their friendship helped turn the…
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Void of course moons are basically celestial buffering zones where astrologers advise against making any life decisions
It occurs after the moon makes its final major angle to another planet before entering a new zodiac sign. Astrologers advise avoiding major decisions during…
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Ujjayi breath sounds like the ocean
Slightly constricting the back of your throat as you breathe creates the soft, ocean-like rushing sound. The technique is also said to generate internal heat…
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Early Christian mystics assigned the number 888 to Jesus to counter the dreaded 666 associated with the antichrist
Using Greek gematria, which assigns numerical values to letters, mystics calculated that “Jesus” adds up to 888—a counterpoint to the ominous 666.
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Solar returns signify the exact annual moment the sun returns to your natal birth position to bless your birthday
It happens when the sun reaches the exact degree it occupied at your birth—a precise moment astrologers treat as the start of your personal year.
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Cusp signs are mathematically impossible because the sun physically cannot occupy two separate constellations at once
At the transition, the sun is in one zodiac sign at a time; “cusp” describes a birthday near the change, not a moment when the sun occupies two signs.
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Automatic drawing was adopted by early surrealists who essentially stole the idea from crazy mediums
Spiritualists had been making trance-state drawings for decades, believing spirits controlled their hands, before surrealists adopted automatic drawing.
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Renaissance magicians literally buried animal hearts full of pins to reverse a witchs curse
The ritual was meant to counter a witch’s curse: in the 1600s, someone might stab a pig’s heart with pins and push it down a chimney.
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Chinese astrology is based entirely on the twelve-year orbital cycle of Jupiter rather than the monthly solar cycle
Its 12-year animal cycle roughly tracks Jupiter’s 11.86-year orbit around the sun, assigning one animal to each year.
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Imagining a glowing bubble blocks out negative energy
Practitioners visualize an indestructible, glowing bubble around themselves and imagine it keeping negative energy out.
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Biting horrible frost mirrors the Capricorn soul
The metaphor compares frost that kills delicate greenery with Capricorn’s supposedly stern realism, which can shut down carefree ideas.
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