Epicycles

The Moon is Like a Boyand the Sun is Like a Girl 

The Moon is Like a Boyand the Sun is Like a Girl 

Maia ZelkhaMay 1, 20234 min read

And God created the two great luminaries… the great light… and the small light. —Genesis 1:16  Originally, the sun and moon were created of equal size, but the moon protested, and so God made it smaller. —Midrash Rabbah But He…

The Lazy Girl and the Butter-Yellow Pot, by Nartana Premachandra

The Lazy Girl and the Butter-Yellow Pot, by Nartana Premachandra

Nartana PremachandraApr 26, 202312 min read

Everything is finished before it has happened, everything is finished before it has happened…. The young girl in red sang to herself. Carrying a butter-yellow pot, she shielded her eyes from the blossoming sun and looked out into the graceful…

Out of the Box: How Raven gave light to the world, by Leslie Hebert

Out of the Box: How Raven gave light to the world, by Leslie Hebert

Leslie HebertOct 30, 20223 min read

Before I gave birth to the child, I lived alone with my father in a cold world of eternal night.  Outside the door of our longhouse a thick blackness covered the earth. It was so dark that when I took…

Healing Water Goddesses, by Betsy Cornwell

Healing Water Goddesses, by Betsy Cornwell

Betsy CornwellJan 31, 20215 min read

Water is crucial to all life on Earth, and from the earliest records of human history we have venerated its healing and regenerative powers. It is no surprise that many healing water deities are goddesses: the life-giving, wellness-nurturing properties of…

Suvannavanna Hamsa Jataka: The Golden Swan, by Margo McLoughlin

Suvannavanna Hamsa Jataka: The Golden Swan, by Margo McLoughlin

Margo McLoughlinMay 1, 202024 min read

Prologue Long, long ago, in the far distant past, the Bodhisatta was born as a swan.1 He grew up to become the leader of a great flock of swans. They were known as the Dhatarattha clan. Their feathers were the…

The First Tears, an Eskimo folktale, Retold by Anne Twitty

The First Tears, an Eskimo folktale, Retold by Anne Twitty

Anne TwittyMay 10, 20182 min read

Photo by Steve Halama One day First Man went out seal hunting along the seashore. He saw many seals. He chose a seal, and carefully crept…

Kuzunoha

Kuzunoha

Parabola EditorsFeb 26, 20171 min read

Kuzunoha the Fox Woman. Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) Kuzunoha is a popular figure in Japanese folklore. In this print, Kuzunoha’s true form (a fox) is visible in…

The Unasked Question, Retold by Paul Jordan-Smith

The Unasked Question, Retold by Paul Jordan-Smith

Parabola EditorsJun 9, 20175 min read

From The Boy’s King Arthur, 1922. N.C. Wyeth Anonymous | Medieval European “AND WOE TO HIM who failed to ask the question burning in his heart.…

The Awakened Eye, by Frederick Franck

The Awakened Eye, by Frederick Franck

Frederick FranckApr 2, 20183 min read

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926): An Orchard in Spring, 1886 I was five years old. My mother and a friend I was expected to address as “Aunt”…