The divine thunderbolt is one of the most ancient and pervasive religio-folkloric symbols of the human race. The divine thunderbolta sudden, never-missing missile of supernatural firehas been a universal worldwide phenomenon since prehistoric times. Some thunderbolt motifs were indigenous to a given locale; others can be traced to far-distant lands. This volume will examine the development and dispersion of symbols, folklore, and religious aspects of such a divinely generated thunderbolt, focusing on the Near East and Europe. Emphasis will be placed on the thunderbolt-wielding sky gods, their thunder weapons and the graphic symbols for them, and the role of the supernatural thunderbolt in magic, religion, myth, superstition, and folklore.

Many critics hold that Shakespeare's King Lear is primarily a drama of meaningful suffering and redemption within a just universe ruled by providential higher powers. William Elton's King Lear and the Gods challenges the validity of this widespread optimistic view. Testing the prevailing view against the play's acknowledged sources, and analyzing the functions of the double plot, the characters, and the play's implicit ironies, Elton concludes that this standard interpretation constitutes a serious misreading of the tragedy.

Few phenomena inspire more awe than lightning. Streaking across the sky, it daunts us with its power and amazes us with its beauty. In Lightning, Derek M. Elsom explores this natural phenomenon and traces the long history of our study of it. From early civilizations’ assumptions that it was the work of gods, through eighteenth-century scientific analyses (and, yes, Ben Franklin’s kite), Elsom tells about our efforts to understand and explain lightning. He explores the many surprising folklore beliefs about lightning protection and contrasts these with today's scientific approaches. Alongside scientific explorations, he also tracks the path of lightning through our culture, from myths and legends to art and design. In addition, Elsom offers handy tips for avoiding getting struck by lightning. Beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs and artistic renderings, this striking book will appeal equally to weather buffs and folklorists, scientists and artists.

In this provocative book, Marla Segol explores the development of the kabbalistic cosmology underlying Western sex magic. Drawing extensively on Jewish myth and ritual, Segol tells the powerful story of the relationship between the divine and the human body in late antique Jewish esotericism, in medieval kabbalah, and in New Age ritual practice. Kabbalah and Sex Magic traces the evolution of a Hebrew microcosm that models the powerful interaction of human and divine bodies at the heart of both kabbalah and some forms of Western sex magic. Focusing on Jewish esoteric and medical sources from the fifth to the twelfth century from Byzantium, Persia, Iberia, and southern France, Segol argues that in its fully developed medieval form, kabbalah operated by ritualizing a mythos of divine creation by means of sexual reproduction. She situates in cultural and historical context the emergence of Jewish cosmological models for conceptualizing both human and divine bodies and the interactions between them, arguing that all these sources position the body and its senses as the locus of culture and the means of reproducing it. Segol explores the rituals acting on these models, attending especially to their inherent erotic power, and ties these to contemporary Western sex magic, showing that such rituals have a continuing life. Asking questions about its cosmology, myths, and rituals, Segol poses even larger questions about the history of kabbalah, the changing conceptions of the human relation to the divine, and even the nature of religious innovation itself. This groundbreaking book will appeal to students and scholars of Jewish studies, religion, sexuality, and magic.

Mercenary King Chen Qingyang returned to the city to protect his comrade's sister. the goddess. In the bustling city, Chen Qingyang was like a fish in water, carefree and at ease. And to see how the previous generation's soldiers would use their iron fists and wits to build a business empire...

A radical reinterpretation of human history and the evolution of the solar system based on the witness of ancient catastrophe caused by major electrical activity between the planet gods. Includes DVD inside back cover.

The heaven and earth gave birth to all living things. I saw that the heavens and the earth gave birth to all living things, and I could pick any ancient Emperor's treasure; the ancient Emperor's treasure would definitely be given to me and the Emperor's treasure would be given to me; divine weapons were destined to be given to me after the birth of a peerless weapon. If I were to follow brother, I would definitely be promoted to an Imperial Armament in the future. I can't, I remember now, it's the fate of the previous life is not over, in this life we will continue the fate.