Folklore Thursday is a brilliant trend on Twitter which showcases some of the most interesting tidbits from international folklore and mythology. Scrolling through this hashtag is a great way to improve your general knowledge and also a useful way to start exploring the beliefs of ancient cultures. Check out 10 of this week’s most fascinating #FolkloreThursday tweets.
?Beware sitting beneath a Hawthorn on the #SummerSolstice when the borders with the Otherworld are thin. The tree is beloved of the Fae, and you run the risk of being enchanted or carried away by them! #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/HnDUZIyDWt
— P J Richards (@P_J_Richards) June 21, 2018
A fairy gave Fox foxgloves to put on his toes so he could rob the chicken house silently. In Norse myth, foxes wore them round their necks; their ringing cast a protective spell against hunters. The spots are made when fairies touch the flowers. #FolkloreThursday #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/196zX0PJ6p
— Ide Crawford (@mytangledgarden) June 21, 2018
#SummerSolstice2018 occurs at 11.07 am on 21st June. In Latin ‘Solstitium’ means ‘sun-stopping’, as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky & appears to stand still, giving us #TheLongestDay of the year. #Stonehenge aligns with the #SummerSolstice #sunrise. #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/y4P6cEK0O5
— Maude Frome (@frome_maude) June 20, 2018
In alchemy the image of the green lion eating the sun has a double meaning.
Physical: when ‘vitriol’ eats through matter leaving behind only gold.
Spiritual:”to struggle again with the shadow, as with some older night” W.B. Yeats #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/M3YEh6qkbB— Richard Jerrett (@r_jerrett_uk) June 21, 2018
According to Aztec myth the sun and the moon were once equally bright but,not keen on being outshone, the sun threw a rabbit into the moon’s face darkening it forever. Many other cultures also recognise the Moon Rabbit. It’s hard to miss once you know it’s there #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/GWL3RDtQfv
— Adam Pidgeon (@CineLore) June 21, 2018
☀️Legend says that at dawn on the #SummerSolstice you will see a tall figure wearing pale robes standing upon West Kennet Longbarrow, with a huge, white, red-eared hound at his side. As the sun rises, they turn, walk to the entrance & disappear into the tomb.#FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/D5vUtWs77g
— P J Richards (@P_J_Richards) June 21, 2018
Raven is the culture hero of the Inuit, Aleut and Yupik peoples. He is a benevolent transformer figure who helps shape the world. Raven is also a trickster and many Arctic stories have to do with his frivolous behavior getting him into trouble. #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/jXUmBcTSyL
— Jocelynbeard (@Jocelynbeard) June 28, 2018
Boudicca, Queen of The Iceni Tribe, who rode into battle on a chariot with her daughters by her side, her heroics impressing the Roman Army but, at times, rattling Emperor Nero’s nerves with her bravery and ferociousness #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/kxjESo0bhd
— Morag (@witchfind666) June 28, 2018
#FolkloreThursday Archetypal wicked stepmother Queen Elfrida. King Edgar murdered her husband, his friend, to wed her. On Edgar’s early death his son Edward succeeded.Legend says she was a witch who poisoned Edward at Corfe Castle, so making her son Ethelred King & herself Regent pic.twitter.com/cLCyPeHK2N
— Pedlarsandpetticoats (@pedlarsandpetti) June 28, 2018
#FolkloreThursday Did you know there was a Banshee Queen in some Irish folktales? Clíodhna has brightly coloured birds and is sometimes said to have been the goddess of love. She dies from drowning in the mortal world after she leaves her faerie realm to be with her mortal lover. pic.twitter.com/1j5dJEFHTv
— Siân Esther Powell (@SianEsther) June 28, 2018
Featured Image Via Twitter