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Articles

Exploring Ancient Relics and Writing Thrillers. J.F. Penn On The Ancient Heroes Podcast

June 5, 2024 By J.F. Penn

In May 2024, I was interviewed for the Ancient Heroes Podcast. You can listen below or on Spotify, Apple, or your favourite podcast app.

In this episode of Ancient Heroes, host Patrick Garvey welcomes award-winning author JF Penn. Known for her thrillers, dark fantasy, crime, horror, and travel memoir, Penn introduces her upcoming novel, Spear of Destiny.

The discussion covers Penn’s background in theology, influences from authors like Clive Cussler and Dan Brown, and her journey from a corporate job to becoming a full-time writer. Penn delves into the research and travel that fuel her novels, sharing insights on the historical and modern elements she incorporates into her stories.

They also discuss the role of Kickstarter in publishing, allowing for special editions and closer reader interaction. The episode is an insightful exploration of combining history, mythology, and thriller writing.

  • How Jo got into writing thrillers and some of her inspirations
  • The inspiration behind Spear of Destiny
  • Book research and travel for writing
  • The importance of series in a writing career
  • Incorporating modern archaeology
[Read more…] about Exploring Ancient Relics and Writing Thrillers. J.F. Penn On The Ancient Heroes Podcast

Filed Under: Articles, Book Research Tagged With: interview

30 Action Adventure Archaeological Thriller Series You Can Binge Read Right Now

June 3, 2024 By J.F. Penn

Do you love books by Clive Cussler, James Rollins or Dan Brown? Are you a fan of movies like Indiana Jones, National Treasure or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider? 

If yes, you’re an action-adventure and archaeological thriller fan, and in this article, I share some fantastic series you can binge read right now for your next pulse-pounding escape.

These books combine the excitement of a modern-day treasure hunt with the allure of ancient mystery and historical intrigue. They feature daring characters who face off against formidable adversaries while uncovering secrets buried for centuries. 

Whether its deciphering ancient codes, exploring forgotten ruins, or thwarting global conspiracies, the stakes are always high, and the action is relentless. 

In this list, you’ll find a variety of series that cater to all tastes within the genre. Each promises to deliver non-stop excitement, characters you want to spend more time with, intriguing historical elements, and plots that will keep you guessing until the very end. You can read them as stand-alone adventures, or binge the whole series.

[Read more…] about 30 Action Adventure Archaeological Thriller Series You Can Binge Read Right Now

Filed Under: Articles, Books I Recommend Tagged With: recommended

What Is Kickstarter And Why Am I Launching My Latest Thriller Spear of Destiny There?

May 31, 2024 By J.F. Penn

In this video, I explain what Kickstarter is and why I'm publishing Spear of Destiny there first.

Hello everyone. I'm thriller author J.F. Penn, and today I'm talking about what is Kickstarter and why am I launching my latest thriller Spear of Destiny on the platform?

Well, if you've never heard of Kickstarter or never used it before, it's a crowdfunding platform where you can support creators to bring their projects to life.

It's a different way of shopping for interesting and unusual books and products. Like a pre-order for special editions.

You can support creators you already love, or find books from new creators you might never have heard of before.

[Read more…] about What Is Kickstarter And Why Am I Launching My Latest Thriller Spear of Destiny There?

Filed Under: Articles

A Walk Around The Historical And Occult Sites Of Oxford, England

June 7, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Oxford holds a special place in my heart. I read Theology at Mansfield College 1994 – 1997, so I spent formative years cycling around the streets, spending my student loan on books from Blackwells, rowing on the river, and studying in the Radcliffe Camera library.

oxfordI first dreamed of Oxford after reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure back in my teens, and the experience of living in the city of dreaming spires has certainly shaped my life … and my fiction!

Oxford is a key location in the ARKANE series. Home to Morgan Sierra, it provides a point of stability in her hectic life of international travel and defeating the bad guys! With its own ARKANE field office, Oxford also sees the start of Morgan’s life as an agent in Stone of Fire. You could say it's the intellectual balance for her supernatural adventures.

So Oxford has links with the occult through ARKANE, but what other weird tales lurk in the city of dreaming spires? Let’s take a walk around some of the historical and occult aspects of Oxford.

Oxford as the capital of England?

mansfield college oxford
Mansfield College, University of Oxford, where I read Theology 1994 – 1997

Oxford was briefly the capital of England during the English Civil War. The town supported the Parliamentarians, but the University supported the monarchy. King Charles I moved his court here in 1642 and he stayed at Christ Church College until 1646.

Local legends claim the tragic king still haunts the college, both with and without his head. Civil War ghosts also appear elsewhere in Oxford. A bedroom at Merton College was so haunted that no one could spend an entire night there. The library at the college is reportedly haunted by a former Royalist colonel, shot after surrendering to Parliamentarian forces in 1645.

There’s even a legend that Hitler intended to use Oxford as his capital if he invaded England so deliberately avoided bombing it. There’s no evidence to support the theory, but it certainly fits in with the occult leanings of the city. (Morgan comes up against the occult side of Nazi history in Gates of Hell.)

Divine power supported the founding of Oxford University

An interesting legend surrounds the founding of the university. A princess named Frideswide wanted to dedicate herself to the Church, but the king of Mercia wanted to marry her, so Frideswide fled to Oxford to escape him.

When the king entered the city in hot pursuit, a divine power struck him blind. His sight only returned when he begged forgiveness and released Frideswide from her betrothal. The king left empty-handed and Frideswide founded a nunnery. According to the legend, the first colleges were built for monastic scholars.

Despite the legend, women were only admitted in 1878. The university awarded degrees to women in 1920. The last all-male college opened to women in 1974.

oxford natural history
Interior of the Museum of Natural History, Oxford. Is the ARKANE base really underneath?

What would the old male founders of the colleges make of Morgan Sierra's Krav Maga skills?

Learning and knowledge

Oxford is most famous as a seat of learning. Evidence suggests the university has operated since 1096 AD and only the University of Bologna has been in operation for longer.

My Theology degree included some of the oldest subjects studied including the New Testament in ancient Greek, Israel before the Exile and Patristics, the study of the early church fathers. These papers shaped a number of my ARKANE books, and I spent much of my study time in the Radcliffe Camera, part of the Bodleian Library.

It is second only to British Library in terms of its holdings and the Bodleian stocks over 11 million items across several sites. It even extends into underground stacks, which I visited once, and became the inspiration for the underground ARKANE headquarters. A tunnel connects the Weston Library, the Old Bodleian and the Radcliffe Camera.

The famous Ashmolean Museum first opened to the public in 1683, the first museum in the world to be accessible to the public. It's one of the best things to see in Oxford, and it hosts an enviable collection of art and archaeology from around the world. Its Egyptian collection is one of the largest outside Cairo. Visitors can even write to the Ashmolean a week in advance to request access to the original drawings of Raphael and Michelangelo.

Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library, Oxford

The Ashmolean is a perfect hiding place for one of the Seals of Revelation needed to resurrect the Great Serpent at the End of Days.

Elsewhere in Oxford, the Pitt Rivers Museum holds an amazing collection of archaeological and ethnographic objects from around the world. Founded in 1884, the museum has over half a million items. In my books, it’s also the public face of the Oxford branch of the ARKANE Institute, which nestles below the museum.

Most museums arrange their objects by geography or culture, but the Pitt Rivers Museum creates displays using types of object. That way, visitors can see how a range of cultures across a range of time periods have approached textiles, weapons, and even musical instruments.

Who knows what fascinating relics might lie among their Japanese Noh masks and Tahitian mourner's costumes?

Underground Oxford

Stone of FireIn Stone of Fire, Jake alludes to the sprawling underground network below Oxford.

As well as the tunnels beneath the Bodleian Library, there's also a Norman crypt beneath St. Peter-in-the-East, now the college library of St. Edmund (Teddy) Hall. According to rumours, the crypt hides the entrance to a tunnel network that was used until the 1960s.

There are also legends about an underground passage that led into the crypt. King Henry II apparently used the tunnel when he visited Oxford. He passed through the tunnel to avoid his Queen while seeing his mistress. Sadly, no evidence has been found … yet.

Another series of underground tunnels connected the homes in the Oxford Jewish quarter. They lurk behind a medieval doorway below Oxford Town Hall.

Wells and gardens

blackwells
Blackwells bookshop with student bikes outside, Oxford. Booklovers get lost in there …

Wells and spas provide handy clues to the pagan roots of old English towns, including Oxford. The wells mark the sites of springs, often worshipped by earlier inhabitants for their magical properties. The town of Bath, where I live now, is a famous example.

St Margaret's Well lies in Binsey, 1.5 miles north-west of Oxford. Dedicated to Frideswide, its legend claims her prayers brought forth a healing spring when the king of Mercia was struck blind. The well became a site of pilgrimage during medieval times. Cured cripples would leave their crutches to adorn the nearby church when they left.

Pilgrims visited for its power in curing eye complaints and infertility and Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, was even rumoured to pay the well a visit. Legend has it that Lewis Carroll based the treacle well in Alice in Wonderland on St Margaret's Well. It’s one of the more peaceful things to see in Oxford and some still believe in the curative properties of the water.

Oxford also boasts the oldest Botanic Garden in the world. Founded as a physic garden in 1621, the Botanic Garden was always intended as a learning resource. Nowadays the Garden works within plant conservation, as well as conducting research at Oxford University.

Oxford and strange fiction

Oxford is important to my ARKANE books, but it also has (more famous!) literary links, particularly with fantasy fiction. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) taught at Christ Church College. He was friends with the Dean and immortalised his daughter in fiction as Alice in Wonderland.

Writer Kenneth Grahame attended St Edward's School in Oxford. He's buried in the city’s Holywell Cemetery. Perhaps his time in Oxford inspired the otherworldly atmosphere of The Wind in the Willows.

JRR Tolkien
JRR Tolkien photo from the Eagle and Child, Oxford

The Great Hall at Christ Church inspired the dining hall of Hogwarts, while the staircase leading to the hall appears in the Harry Potter films. The locations around the college are some of the more popular things to see in Oxford.

Given that Oxford has the highest number of published writers per square mile, maybe there's something in the air that seeps into fiction.

Charles Williams must have thought so. He was part of the Inklings, a group of Oxford writers that also included J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Williams wrote poetry about the Arthurian legends and supernatural novels about the spiritual realm breaking into daily reality.

He was also a member of The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, a secret Rosicrucian fraternity. Arthur Edward Waite founded the group in 1915 and blended spiritual esotericism and Christianity. Unlike the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the FRC rejected magic. A lot of its members were Freemasons and they sought knowledge more than power.

oxford door
Door to an Oxford college

The occult in Oxford

Charles Williams couldn’t have picked a better city if he wanted to explore the occult. There's something about the city that inspires the spirit. The word ‘occult’ means ‘knowledge of the hidden,’ so what better place than this seat of learning for occult traditions?

Students have dabbled in the occult across the centuries. Adam Squier, a Master of Balliol College in the 16th century, was almost expelled after he sold demons to help his clients win at gambling. The famous Tudor magician, John Dee, thought highly of another student, Thomas Heth.

In recent years, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn inspired the founding of the Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society (OGDOS). It's a magical order that teaches a more modern form of magic than the older Golden Dawn system.

The OGDOS are working to re-establish a resource centre in Oxford. They want to provide a space for ritual gatherings. Its founder, Mogg Morgan, is the CEO of the Mandrake of Oxford publishing press, specialising in occult titles. Elsewhere in the city, the Inner Bookshop on Magdalen Road carries occult books.

Sheldonian Theatre
Sheldonian Theatre

Part of the northern end of All Souls College was re-designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, 18th-century architect and Freemason. A series of architectural conspiracy theories surround his London churches and his work often includes obelisks, pyramids and other elements hinting at pagan influences at odds with ecclesiastical buildings.

While they can’t be attributed to Hawksmoor, many of the college buildings are also home to a host of gargoyles. Some are just faces and others are whole people. The comedy grotesques are some of the more unusual things to see in Oxford.

blackfriars
The door to Blackfriars, where I used to have Theology tutorials, and where Ben Costanza from the ARKANE series lives and teaches

Elsewhere in the city stands Sir Christopher Wren’s first major commission – the magnificent Sheldonian Theatre. Like his apprentice Hawksmoor, Wren was a Freemason. He used the traditions of the Kabbalah and sacred geometry from the Old Testament in his work. Perhaps the journey of Wren and Hawksmoor into the occult began in Oxford.

Morgan Sierra investigates the Freemasons' Grand Lodge of England in the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant in Ark of Blood.

You can plot your own plan of esoteric things to see in Oxford

Try following in Morgan’s footsteps and start with the museums. Explore some of the nooks and crannies of the colleges for a small fee. Seek out ancient springs or keep your eyes open for hidden entrances to secret tunnels.

Keep an open mind while you wander. Who knows where those winding alleyways may take you?

Begin your journey into Oxford’s ARKANE side with Stone of Fire, or binge the whole series in ebook, print or audiobook.

ARKANE 9

Filed Under: Articles, Unusual Places Tagged With: occult, oxford

12 Of The World’s Weirdest Museums That You Really Should Visit

May 14, 2017 By J.F. Penn

If you think of museums, you might think of the majesty of the British Museum or the industrial heritage of the Railway Museum.

But you’d miss out on the darker, more unusual, or just plain bizarre side of life. Choosing to visit the weirdest museums instead can be a truly enlightening experience.

I’ve collected together 12 of the strangest museums around the world that are all worth a visit. You’ll encounter mummies, vampires, torturers, and maybe even Bigfoot.

Choose carefully, and visit with an open mind. Who knows what new ideas or fascinations will emerge for you?

1. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, England

oxfordpittrivers
Inside the Oxford Museum of Natural History, the Pitts Rivers is at the back … and ARKANE is underneath!

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a place close to my heart as the public front of the ARKANE Institute in my thrillers. The collection is also perhaps one of the weirdest museums in the UK. General Pitt Rivers founded the museum in 1884, and there are now over half a million objects.

It's notable for its typological displays. Most museums display their objects based on cultures or geography. Not the Pitt Rivers. Here, curators group objects according to type. It makes the similarities between people and cultures, often across vast time periods or extensive physical distance, all the more obvious. So it’s important to anthropology and an interesting viewing experience for visitors. There are some particularly gruesome shrunken heads, as well as giant wooden birds of paradise, their spiraling feathers like huge tongues, and the agonized face of a Christian martyr statue, neck twisted towards his God, desperate for release, next to a case of ceremonial knives for stripping the flesh from sacrificial animals.

It's super weird. What better home for ARKANE?!

2. La Specola, Florence, Italy

This quiet, unassuming gallery lies within the Museum of Natural History in Florence. The rest of the museum houses taxidermy and other exhibits relating to its subject. But La Specola is the part you need to see. It's home to the largest collection of anatomical wax figures, including over 1400 models.

Most of them date to the 18th century and students still pop in to study their realistic forms. The famous Anatomical Venus is a must-see, a full-size version of the tiny memento mori that is the key to solving a murder in my London Psychic thriller, Desecration.

As La Specola is on the south side of the River Arno, it’s also a lot more peaceful than other attractions like the Uffizi or Duomo. So if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Florence, and see something unusual, then this is a brilliant destination.

3. Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures, Paris, France

Graves in Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris
Graves in Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris

It’s no surprise you’d find this museum just 2.4km from the awe-inspiring Pere Lachaise cemetery. Jacques Sirgent, a scholar of the macabre, founded the museum as a place to collect his research into vampirism and esoterism.

This strange museum shares the strange, cryptic history of Paris. It also contains vampire killing kits, antique books, toys and collectables relating to Hammer Films and Dracula, and other pop culture items. Adding to the air of mystery, you need to reserve your place on their guided tours.

Some of the weirdest museums often double as libraries, and the Museum of Vampires is no different. You can buy an annual membership for €60, which entitles you to unlimited access to the books and magazines held by the museum.

4. International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, USA

Stephen King country is the ideal location for this strange museum. Covering Big Foot, the Jersey Devil and other folkloric creatures, the museum holds a range of memorabilia, souvenirs, toys, and research materials on all things cryptozoology.

The museum has moved location several times, with its premises growing to accommodate its ever-expanding collection.

The website describes it as the world’s only cryptozoology museum, and it’s also noted as a formal collection. It’s open every day except Tuesdays, so if you want to see the Feejee Mermaid, or learn more about the coelacanth, then it’s worth a visit.

5. Funeral Museum, Vienna, Austria

Funeral museum, ViennaThis macabre attraction is one of the weirdest museums in Vienna. Funerals were historically a major event in this European capital, and tourists still line up to visit the Imperial crypt. The Funeral Museum capitalises on the trend towards all things funerary, displaying hearses, mourning attire, and items designed to help those who found themselves buried alive.

One of the stand-out exhibits is a re-usable coffin, designed by Emperor Josef II in 1784. The bottom of the coffin is a trap door, allowing the corpse to drop into the grave without burying the coffin itself. It's the ultimate in recycling, yet the Viennese were unimpressed.

You can also find out more about the Viennese Cult of the Dead at this strange museum.

6. Museo de Las Momias (Mummy Museum), Guanajuato, Mexico

In the mid-19th century, the people of the small mining town of Guanajuato interred hundreds of bodies interred in the Santa Paula Pantheon’s crypts in. Authorities later exhumed the bodies if their families couldn't pay the town's mandatory burial tax.

During these exhumations, town officials discovered that the climate of the region had naturally mummified the bodies. The first body was exhumed in 1865, making the mummified French doctor the oldest of the collection. Visitors originally saw the mummies in situ in the catacombs, something of a clandestine experience as viewing the corpses was not permitted.

Around 100 bodies, including those of infants and children, later moved to the Museo de Las Momias, or Mummy Museum. The poignant museum is a touching testament to the body after death.

7. Torture Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

One Day in Budapest Cover LARGE EBOOKEurope may seem like a space of civilisation and progress now, but its dark history is never far below the surface. It sometimes seems ready to erupt again, an idea I explored in One Day in Budapest.

Amsterdam is now seen as a liberal city of life and culture, but their Torture Museum displays over 40 torture devices actually used during interrogations. Witches, political prisoners and criminals all fell foul of these decapitation swords and the infamous inquisition chair.

But the museum’s curators recognise that almost 100 countries still practise modern torture. The museum runs educational events for students and supports the UN Convention Against Torture.

8. Museum of Death, New Orleans, USA

Museum of Death
JF Penn at the Museum of Death in New Orleans, 2017

With a name like that, the Museum of Death has a lot to live up to. Definitely one of the weirdest museums in the capital of the strange, the Museum of Death is not a subtle place.

The Museum of Death originates from a San Diego art gallery after its founders JD Healy and Cathee Shultz decided that people had become too distanced from death.

On display, you'll find body bags, coffins, old mortician equipment, photographs from crime scenes and morgues, images of the Manson Family, and much more. The self-guided tour lasts 45 minutes, although visitors are welcome to stay for as long as they can stand it.

If you have a strong stomach, then the Museum of Death is the place for you. I visited the museum with my co-authors during the writing of American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

9. Žmuidzinavičius Museum, Kaunas, Lithuania

Founded in 1966, the Žmuidzinavičius, or Devil’s Museum, collects and displays carvings of devils from around the globe. When it opened, it contained just 260 sculptures. Visitors left their own devils, and by 2009, the collection held 3000 objects.

The exhibits range from wood to stone and ceramic although some of the items are also masks. They also contain pebbles whose markings resemble the devil.

Some of the simple statues express both folk myths and political ideologies. A famous sculpture shows Hitler and Stalin dancing as devils across human bones. Maybe you have a devil stone you can leave behind if you visit.

10. Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, UK

Edinburgh from the castle
View over Edinburgh from the castle

Edinburgh is a curious city, divided between the gleaming Georgian New Town and the twisting cobbled closes of the Old Town. Between the South Bridge Vaults and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, it’s a mecca for anyone who likes a taste of the macabre or the unusual.

Yet one of the weirdest museums in Britain lies below a government building on the Royal Mile. Mary King’s Close is a monument to the old narrow streets that lie on either side of this historic strip between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. There are rumors that those infected with the plague were walled up here alive.

Take a guided tour below ground and see the tiny rooms and stifling chambers that inhabitants once called home. There’s even a legend of a little girl ghost named Annie, and tourists often leave stuffed toys and dolls for her to play with.

If you’re lucky, she might tug your coat to say hello.

11. Museum of Holy Souls in Purgatory, Rome, Italy

vatican museum romeIn the Catholic faith, souls pass through Purgatory on their way to heaven. You pay for your sins in Purgatory. The soul made its way through Purgatory faster if more of the living said prayers to speed them along. In earlier centuries, people handed out ‘soul cakes’ to the poor at Halloween, in exchange for the poor saying prayers for their relatives.

But this truly strange museum displays objects apparently marked by burning hands belonging to the souls of Purgatory. According to legend, a fire in the original church inspired a French missionary to build the museum. He discovered the scorched image of a face which he assumed was a trapped soul.
You can find the museum at the back of the Sacro Cuore del Suffragio church.

12. Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, UK

Cornwall might be more famous nowadays as Poldark country. But this bizarre museum houses the world's largest collection of items relating to witchcraft and magic. The museum previously existed in Stratford-upon-Avon, and on the Isle of Man, where Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, acted as the witch in residence. The museum moved to Boscastle in 1960.

A prehistoric maze is carved into the rock face three miles from its location, linking the museum with the magic of ancient times.

The museum holds over 3000 objects and 7000 books and stages temporary exhibitions along with public events. While some of the displays may seem unusual, remember that Wicca is a legitimate spiritual path, so be respectful.

Any, or all, of these museums offer unique learning opportunities. They also capture the sides of human life that extend beyond the classical ideas preserved by traditional ideas. They’re also a lot of fun!

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: museum

9 Secret Libraries Around The World And How To Find Them

May 8, 2017 By J.F. Penn

For book lovers around the world, secret libraries hold the promise of mysteries and hidden knowledge. So where can you actually find them?

secret libraries The destruction of the ancient library of Alexandria still prompts a sob from book lovers today. Losing so much knowledge and wisdom certainly pains scholars. But books aren’t just important to academics.

We’ve all curled up in our favourite chair, a mug of hot tea or coffee to hand, happy to while away the hours with adventurers that become friends across the course of a book.

But there’s something magical about the quiet reverence of libraries, the hush broken only by rustling pages, or the scratching of pens. My books feature plenty of hidden archives and secret libraries, holding many riddles among their shelves. And while Martin Klein works to digitise the ARKANE archive in my thrillers, there’s still something special about libraries, especially secret ones.

So here are 9 secret libraries–and how to find them!

1) Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK

bodleian doorThe Bodleian isn’t so much a secret library as a forgotten one. The Bodleian is older than the British Library and dates back to the days of Elizabethan magician John Dee, opening in 1602.

These days, it’s not just one library – it’s a collection of several, covering history, medicine, the law, and music, among other subjects. You can visit and tour some of the public rooms, but mostly, you need to apply for access.

Non-students can apply for a Reader card if you have a research need that the library can meet. Find out how to get access here. Just don’t expect to get in if you only want somewhere quiet to work.

When I was a student at Oxford, I used to work in the Radcliffe Camera, the domed theology library. It features in Stone of Fire, and also more recently in End of Days, as the research library for Father Ben Costanza. The Bodleian is also the starting place for Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy, which I really enjoyed reading.

2) John Hay Library, Rhode Island, USA

vesalius
An illustration from the Vesalius book

Books bound in human skin are rare. But the John Hay Library holds three of them. One is De humani corporis fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body) by Andreas Vesalius, one of the most famous textbooks on anatomy. The book was one of the inspirations for Desecration and also features in American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

The John Hay Library also has two copies of Hans Holbein the Younger's Dance of Death, rebound in human skin in 1898.

If that's not occult enough for your tastes, then they also hold papers by H. P. Lovecraft, papyri from ancient Egyptian, clay tablets from Babylon, and Napoleon's death mask. What other ritualistic books might hide on their shelves?

3) Book and Bed Tokyo, Japan

book bed tokyoIf you've ever dreamed of falling asleep in a fort made of books, then this bookshop-themed hotel might help you fulfil that. Guests book sleeping compartments surrounded by bookshelves boasting 1,700 titles in both English and Japanese.

It's less of a library and more of a book-friendly hostel. But guests can stay up reading as late as they like. Their website explains that the Book and Bed is not designed to provide a good night's sleep – so don’t expect comfy beds and fluffy pillows.

Instead, Book and Bed lets guests browse at their leisure, and doze off in their snug compartment among the bookshelves.

4) Little Free Library, worldwide

penn london library
I read a lot of ebooks, but I still enjoy the stacks of a library!

These secret libraries have more than one branch. Run as a non-profit organisation, Little Free Library works using principles of community and creativity. Volunteers, known as stewards, build their own Little Free Library they host in their own community.

The concept is simple. Readers may take books to read or leave books behind for others. People can donate books by leaving them in their nearest Little Free Library. It's a great way for people to share their favourite books with their local community.

Stewards can get access to free and discounted books through the partners of the main organisation. Their goal is to increase access to books for all readers but mainly those in their local area. In November 2016, there were over 50,000 registered Little Free Library exchanges around the world.

If you want to search for Little Free Libraries near you, visit their map! Or if you love the idea of starting one, click here to find out how.

5) Szabo Ervin Library, Hungary

Szabo Ervin LibraryBudapest is a fascinating city to visit, and it certainly captured my imagination when I wrote One Day in Budapest. But as well as holding the Holy Right Hand, the city is also home to the Szabo Ervin Library, king of the secret libraries.

You won't find it in many guidebooks, which is a shame because it's worth seeing. It was originally a palace built in the 19th century, and the library hides within the modern library surrounding it.

The rooms of the beautiful Wenckheim Palace became reading rooms for the new Central Library in 1931. The old Smoking Room is a must-see space, with its gallery and spiral staircase.

6) Book Club of California, San Francisco

A poet, a book collector, a bookstore owner and a printer founded this safe house of print in 1912. The Club originally only promoted writing from California, but it now covers the West as a whole.

The Club has published over 200 books, and like all the best secret libraries, their clubhouse also holds its own collections of rare books.

vienna libraryBest of all, it's open to the public during the day. So if you’re a person who still distrusts the Kindle, you’ll be right at home at the Book Club.

7) The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle, UK

The largest independent library outside of London is affectionately known as the Lit and Phil. A stone’s throw from Newcastle upon Tyne’s Central Station, this gorgeous Georgian-styled building first opened in 1825. It now holds over 160,000 titles and its mission remains the same – to educate the people of the city.

Academics discovered a mistranslation of an Egyptian mummy’s name thanks to forgotten documents hidden on the Lit and Phil’s shelves. You can see Bakt-en-Hor in all her glory at the nearby Great Museum North.

It also provides meeting spaces and hosts regular talks and performances to help raise funds for the library. Members can even borrow books by post!

book bike8)   The Bookbike of Pima County, USA

This is one library that should not be a secret. The Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona provides the Bookbike of Pima County. Volunteers hand out free books and library cards and provide information about local library and literacy programs. There are three Bookbikes, all run by volunteers. They gave away 11,276 books in 2012!

The Bookbikes make monthly visits to a range of locations, including a farmers' market, a soup kitchen, low-income housing, an LGBT centre for teenagers, and a women's shelter. The volunteers behind the Bookbike want to reach potential readers who find it difficult to access libraries. If the readers can't go to the libraries, they'll just bring the library to them. Simple!

You can find them on Facebook if you’d like to know where they’ll be next.

9) Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City, Italy

St Peter's Square Vatican CityNo list of secret libraries would be complete without an entry on the Vatican. Brought to the public’s attention by Dan Brown’s thriller Angels and Demons, the archives opened to selected groups in 2010. Previously, only approved academics could gain access.

You can find the archives in a wing of the Vatican behind St Peter's Basilica. There are more than 52 miles of shelving below ground, and the oldest document dates to the 8th century.

The archives also hold letters about King Henry VIII's annulment from Catherine of Aragon, trial records for the Knights Templar in the early 14th century, and correspondence between the Vatican and figures like Michelangelo and even Hitler. The archives also feature in my ARKANE thriller, Destroyer of Worlds.

The Vatican like to claim the archives are private, rather than secret. But there is still a section inaccessible to academics. What hidden treasures might lie within?

This list just scratches the surface of the world of secret libraries. So next time you visit a new city, see if you can find a hidden treasure trove tucked away.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: library

Like The Da Vinci Code? Try These 9 Weird Conspiracy Theories About Art

April 4, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Conspiracy theories are not exactly new. Humans just love coming up with strange – or suspicious – explanations for unusual behaviour. But The Da Vinci Code definitely popularised the idea that codes and secrets could be hidden in works of art.Like The Da Vinci Code? Try These 9 Weird Conspiracy Theories About Art by J.F. Penn - www.jfpenn.com

And where better to hide a secret than in plain sight? Only the initiated can understand it and decode the message.

Even if you’re not sure that the figure in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper is Mary Magdalene, here are some other artistic conspiracy theories that you might find more plausible!

Michelangelo immortalised Mary Magdalene in marble, not the Virgin Mary

Michelangelo's Pieta depicts the crucified body of Jesus lying in the arms of the Virgin Mary. It's one of the most famous sculptures in the history of art.

But commentators aren't exactly buying it. After all, Jesus was 33 when he died – but Mary doesn't look much older. That’s not exactly surprising. After all, the Virgin Mary is nearly always represented in an idealised way.

pietaOr is there more to it?

Art historian Cinzia Chiari put forward a different theory in the Biblical Conspiracies series. For her, the statue is indeed of Mary. Only not the Virgin Mary. No, the Mary in the sculpture could be Mary Magdalene.

Is Michelangelo saying that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' lover?

Possibly. Or maybe he's just returning Mary Magdalene to her place in history. After all, she was present at the crucifixion. According to the gospel of John, Mary was also the first to discover Jesus had left his tomb. The Pieta might mark Michelangelo’s attempt to depict her sadness at his death.

But the discovery of a terracotta model in 2010 shows that Cupid was originally supposed to be in the scene too. It can’t be confirmed that the model was made by Michelangelo, but experts are convinced that only he would be brazen enough to put a Greek god in a sculpture intended for the Vatican.

But as Cupid was the god of romantic love, it makes more sense that he'd appear in a scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Michelangelo also thumbed his nose at the church – in the Sistine Chapel

One of Michelangelo's greatest works is his Sistine Chapel painting. It tells the story of the Book of Genesis.

But its success rests on a slightly morbid part of Michelangelo's past. At the age of 17, he started dissecting corpses to better understand human anatomy. It's unclear if he was given them, or he dug them up. The latter would make him a more famous bodysnatcher than Burke and Hare.

But Michelangelo wasn't looking to sell the bodies. He just wanted to make anatomical sketches. And some of these are hidden within his Sistine Chapel paintings.
Michelangelo - Creation of Adam

In 1990, physician Frank Meshberger spotted an anatomical illustration of the human brain in cross section. Michelangelo hid it inside the God Creating Adam central panel.

But in 2010, Ian Suk and Rafael Tamargo also found precise illustrations of the spinal cord and brain stem within The Separation of Light from Darkness. The brain stem even forms God's throat!

Experts are unsure if the hidden illustrations were intentional, but artistic conspiracy theories exist about their possible meaning. Michelangelo grew disenchanted with the Church – believing instead in the possibility of direct communication with God.

And with the Church's denunciation of science, was Michelangelo making fun of their stance? Or is it just another of art’s strange conspiracy theories?

British artist Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper – and he painted scenes of his murders

The identity of Jack the Ripper is probably one of the most hotly contested debates of the last 128 years. It seems that everyone from Prince Albert to Richard Mansfield was accused of being one of history’s most notorious serial killers.

ripperBut in 2001, novelist Patricia Cornwell added a new name to the list in her book, Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert. Cornwell even spent £2m buying 32 of the British artist's paintings, as well as some of his letters, in her efforts to prove his guilt.

Most famous for painting both nudes and nightlife scenes, Sickert captured the dancers and lower orders of London. Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec did much the same in Paris.

And it’s these paintings that provide the ‘evidence', particularly a series of grim paintings created in 1908. Known as The Camden Town Murder, they were inspired by the murder of a prostitute in the Camden area.

Cornwell claims the paintings are too similar to the autopsy photos of the Ripper's victims to be a coincidence. She even had one of them torn up, looking for evidence.

DNA samples were taken from both the letters allegedly written by the Ripper and those written by Sickert. There were no matches, though Cornwell was triumphant when two of the letters had the same unusual watermark.

Given Sickert's father was a stationer, it's fair to assume he supplied a lot of people with paper.

Cornwell herself admits it’s nigh-on impossible to know for certain who Jack the Ripper was. She maintains it was Walter Sickert…but the rest of the art world disagrees.

The Mona Lisa contains a hidden code in her eyes

Mona LisaYou can't discuss conspiracy theories about art and not mention the Mona Lisa. She's been the subject of intense scrutiny for many years. The common belief is that the woman is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florence merchant. Others believe she was his mother.

But is the figure actually a man – or even Da Vinci himself? And where exactly is the painting set?

Stranger still, Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage claimed that a secret message was embedded in the painting. According to them, Da Vinci put tiny numbers and letters into the eyes.

Now, such letters can only be seen by magnifying high-resolution images of the painting. They're invisible to the naked eye. Apparently ‘LV’ appears in the right eye, while the figures in the left eye are harder to understand.

But experts agree that the letters are difficult to read clearly. So did Da Vinci foresee the development of magnification technology? Or are people just seeing what they want to see?

Conspiracy theorists note that da Vinci took the painting everywhere with him in his later life. Was he protecting a secret message? Or just protective of his final image of his mother?

The Last Supper hides a musical secret

Da Vinci’s The Last Supper was critical to the plot of The Da Vinci Code. And like the Mona Lisa, the painting apparently hides secrets beyond the identity of the figures. In this case, a musical score.

This secret doesn't hinge on the figures – but the bread rolls on the table.

Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper high res

In 2007, computer technician Giovanni Maria Pala noticed the placement of the rolls looked like musical notes. He drew a musical staff across the painting to find out what the notes were.

Played left to right, the music makes little sense. But Da Vinci always wrote right to left. Following that logic, the loaves (and the hands of the Apostles) become a 40-second musical score.

Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Da Vinci museum in Tuscany, admitted that Da Vinci was also a musician. The spaces in the painting provide the proof that the rolls and hands were intended to act as musical notes. Even detractors note the music is too perfect to be a simple coincidence.

Rembrandt and Vermeer traced their masterpieces

Tracing images is a tool beloved of artists and designers when they want to save time. Adobe Illustrator even includes an Image Trace option if you want to turn a scanned image into a vector graphic. But could two of history’s most realistic painters have traced their famous works?

The term ‘camera obscura’ appeared in 1604. It describes a device that projects real life images onto nearby surfaces. We'd recognise it today as an early type of camera.

But David Hockney thinks that 17th-century artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer used similar devices to create the basis of their lifelike paintings.

Hockney came up with his theory after comparing the projection-trace drawings of Andy Warhol with 19th-century drawings by Jean-Dominique Ingres. The parallels got him thinking – could other artists have traced their masterpieces from real life?

The art establishment deplored Hockney’s conclusion, but researcher Tim Jenison teamed up with Penn and Teller to see if it could be done. They built a set to match Vermeer's The Music Lesson and set up a camera obscura.
Vermeer's The Music Lesson
No one can say one way or the other if Vermeer and Rembrandt were even aware of the camera obscura at the time. But the results seem to speak for themselves…

Francisco Goya didn’t paint his infamous Black paintings

If you’re looking for the best representations of nightmares on canvas, then Francisco Goya is a good place to start. Or is he?

The Spanish artist Goya was originally known for traditional portraits or war scenes.

But he suffered a serious illness in 1819. After his recovery, he decorated the walls in two rooms with dark, nightmarish visions. The paintings would become the Black Paintings, now in the Museo del Prado.

Francisco de Goya, Saturno devorando a su hijo (1819-1823)Saturn Devouring His Son is perhaps his most famous gruesome image.

In the traditional story, Goya signed the house over to his grandson, Mariano, in 1823. The following year he moved to France. Mariano apparently only discovered the paintings after Goya died.

Art historian Juan Jose Junquera doesn't buy that explanation. After all, Goya still received visitors while he was in the house. But no one ever reported seeing the paintings – and you can't exactly miss them.

Only one inventory of the house ever mentions the paintings. Published in 1928, the authors claim it was written in the 1820s. But Junquera believes it’s a fake, because it uses contemporary descriptions of objects rather than early 19th century words.

Even more strange, the original bill of sale of the house describes a one-storey dwelling. The upper storey was added in 1830. The Black Paintings were found on both the house's upper and ground floors…but the upper level was added two years after Goya's death.

Instead, Goya expert Juliet Wilson-Bareau pointed to Goya's son, Javier, as the real creator of the paintings.

Javier could paint, and he knew his father’s techniques well. But he'd never made money as an artist. What better opportunity than the death of his mentally unstable father to finally sell his work?

A painting of Elizabethan magician John Dee had skulls removed

John Dee, the Tudor scientist and occultist, appears in an intriguing Victorian painting by Henry Gillard Glindoni. In it, Dee performs an experiment for Elizabeth I and her court.

But that's not the weird part. X-rays have revealed that a ring of human skulls originally encircled Dee. The ghoulish secret was painted over.

Glindoni John Dee performing an experiment before Queen Elizabeth I

Most experts think the changes were to make the painting more palatable to buyers. But the conspiracy theories say otherwise. While Dee is now known as more of a scientist, in his lifetime he was something of a conjurer.

What we call science now was closer to ‘natural philosophy’ in Dee’s day – and considered more like magic.

Exhibition curator Katie Birkwood believes the editing trick was to help cement a more serious and stately reputation for Dee. But last year, the Royal College of Physicians ran at an exhibition about John Dee's lost library. And it included his crystal ball and an obsidian mirror.

Perhaps Dee was more of a magician after all…

Vincent Van Gogh may have created his own homage to The Last Supper.

The Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) shows an evening scene of diners at a cafe. They're enjoying the night air while a waiter moves between them.

But Jared Baxter thinks it is Vincent Van Gogh’s homage to The Last Supper. The waiter seems to have long hair, and his white uniform resembles Jesus’ white tunic. Crucially, twelve diners sit at the tables around him. There's also a shadowy figure exiting stage left. Taken together, Baxter thinks the composition echoes Da Vinci's.
Vincent Willem van Gogh - Cafe Terrace at Night (Yorck)

It sounds like another of the far-fetched conspiracy theories. That’s until you discover that at the time he painted it, Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo about the work, explaining that he had a “tremendous need for, shall I say the word—for religion.”

There's even a large cross in the painting, in the window behind the waiter/Jesus.

Perhaps the troubled artist wanted to explore the security of religion. Or maybe he just wanted to reference the work of a master painter. You can decide for yourself!

Do you know any other artistic conspiracy theories?

All of these conspiracy theories rest on hidden meanings or codes. Perhaps we’ve all been fooled into thinking they’re more than just awe-inspiring works of art.

Or maybe the conspiracy theories are true. But next time you’re passing an art gallery, try taking a look at their permanent collection. Who knows what you’ll find hidden in the oil or marble?

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: conspiracy

15 Amazing Ancient Goddesses from Around the World

February 14, 2017 By J.F. Penn

I really enjoy reading books with strong female characters, but empowered women are not a recent phenomenon in stories.

15 Amazing Goddesses from Around the World by J.F. Penn - www.jfpenn.comFemale power was also venerated in ancient times, as portrayed by these kickass goddesses from around the world.

1) Kali

Kali often appears as a dark or angry goddess with blue skin, a garland of skulls and a knife, her tongue red with the blood of those she devours.

destroyer of worldsIn each of her origin stories, she emerges through anger to destroy evil forces. In one tale, two demons attack the goddess Durga. Kali emerges from Durga's wrath and defeats the demons.

In another story, she fights an ancient demon, Raktabija. Each drop of his blood gives birth to a clone when it touches the ground.

During the battle, Kali cuts Raktabija and drinks his blood. She even eats his clones. The aggressive effect of his blood turns the goddess into a destroyer.

Yet despite her terrifying reputation, Kali is the ultimate protector against evil. Some even believe she will continue to exist after the end of the universe. In my thriller, Destroyer of Worlds, there is a pivotal scene set in a temple devoted to Kali …

2) Sekhmet

Sekhmet goddess statue
A large marble statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. This lioness faced goddess statue is located in the temple of Medinet Habu on the West bank of the Nile at Luxor, Egypt

They don't get more powerful than the Egyptian deity, Sekhmet. Her name even translates as ‘Powerful One.'

Her main centre of worship lay in Memphis and the lioness-headed goddess represented The Destroyer. But strangely, for such a destructive figure, her priests were skilled doctors and healers worshipped her as their patroness. It seems the sender of plagues could also cure them.

But Sekhmet could also be fearsome. In one legend, Ra grew angry with mankind. They stopped following his laws and lost interest in justice, so he sent Sekhmet to punish them.

Her rampage decimated mankind until Ra decided things had gone far enough. She wouldn't listen, so consumed by blood lust, so Ra mixed beer with pomegranate juice. He poured the ‘blood' in front of her and Sekhmet got so drunk she promptly fell asleep. Her blood lust disappeared when she woke up 3 days later.

3) Ishtar

Ishtar ruled sex, power, fertility, love and war in ancient Mesopotamia. Her sex appeal was so great that when she descended into the underworld, all sexual activity ended on earth. Some myths claim that Ishtar entered the land of the dead to rescue her lover, Tammuz.

ishtargate
Ishtar Gate, from ancient Babylon

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, she proposes to the eponymous hero – but he refuses. She turns to her father, Anu, for help. Ishtar threatens to break open the doors of hell if he doesn't give her the Bull of Heaven. She made a similar threat to the gatekeeper of the underworld.

Anu gives her the Bull and she sends it after Gilgamesh. The hero kills it and Ishtar mourns the Bull with her courtesans. Ishtar is certainly a forceful goddess!

The Ishtar Gate, the entranceway to ancient Babylon, features as a key place in ARKANE thriller End of Days. It's now in the Pergamon Museum in central Berlin.

4) Hecate

Hecate presides over crossroads, entrances, witchcraft and sorcery in ancient Greek mythology.

A range of stories tries to explain her appearance in the Greek pantheon. In some tales, she was the only Titan to aid Zeus in his fight against the Titans. In others, she is an import from other cultures.

Eventually, her followers associated Hecate with the supernatural. Homeowners placed protective shrines to her at their doors to hold the wandering dead at bay.

But her most interesting trait is her appearance as a three-formed goddess. Scholars connect this with the new, half and full moons. She also ruled the triple kingdoms of earth, sky, and sea. Modern Wiccan practices associate her with the ‘crone’ period of a woman’s life.

5) Izanami-no-Mikoto

The Japanese goddess of both death and creation bore many children with her husband, Izanagi-no-Mikoto. Her name means ‘She who invites.' But she died in childbirth and descended into the Yomi (underworld). Her husband entered the shadowy lands of the dead but he couldn't persuade her to return with him.

Izanami ate the food of the underworld, so she couldn’t return to the world of the living. The tale recalls the Persephone legend of Greek mythology.

Izanagi couldn’t accept her answer and made a torch out of a hair comb. Seeing Izanami by firelight, his once-beautiful wife was now a rotting corpse. Izanagi fled but his wife pursued him. He sealed the Yomi shut with a giant boulder, locking Izanami in the underworld forever.

6) The Morrigan

The shape-shifting Celtic Goddess presided over war, fate, and death. As a patroness of revenge, magic, and witches, she also ruled rivers, lakes and other freshwater bodies.

Primarily a war goddess, the Morrigan took the form of a raven or crow. She flew over battlefields to spur on the troops. Her name translates into a range of meanings, including the Phantom Queen or the Queen of Demons.

DevianceSome scholars compare her to the Norse Valkyries, deciding the fate of the warriors in battle. The survivors left the battlefield until dawn to allow the Morrigan to claim the heads of the dead.

Some tales call her the Washer at the Ford. She washes the clothes of men who will die in battle, choosing who will live and who will die.

In Deviance, a London Psychic crime thriller, the character of Magda Raven is an urban shaman. She channels the power of The Morrigan, calling on London's ravens to help her in time of need.

7) Papatūānuku

Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother in the Māori world. She represents the land. Mountain ranges sometimes represent the curves of her body.

According to the creation story, Papatūānuku and the sky father, Ranginui, bore many children. But their parents’ tight embrace crushed them. The gods pushed Papatūānuku and Ranginui apart so they could see the stars.

Different iwi (tribes) tell different stories. In some, the gods made humans directly from the earth. Try urban fantasy adventure Risen Gods to read more about Papatūānuku and Ranginui.

8) Tiamat

The Babylonian goddess is an ancient figure. She appears in the creation epic, the Enuma Elish, in which she forms the world with her consort, Apsu. The gods kill Apsu and Tiamat raises a demon army to fight them.

She loses the battle and Marduk, the new king of the gods, splits her corpse to create the seas and the sky.

In other stories, Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean. She represents chaos as well as creation. She also takes the form of a giant sea dragon to fight her warring children.

9) Frigg

Wife of Odin, Frigg is the highest-ranking Aesir goddess in Norse mythology. Some scholars attribute tales of her deeds to Freya, a similar goddess in the pantheon.

The legends depict Frigg as a völva – a type of Viking magical practitioner. She reworks the web of fate to alter the course of destiny. Frigg also possesses the power to shapeshift into a falcon.

day of the VikingsIf you're interested in Viking tales, then claim your free copy of Day of the Vikings now. Find out if ARKANE agent Morgan Sierra can prevent a modern-day völva from launching Ragnarok.

10) Nemesis

Known as the goddess of retribution, Nemesis actually acted as a form of cosmic justice. She punished the evildoer as well as anyone who didn't deserve their good fortune.

Far from dishing out punishment left and right, Nemesis judged every case within its individual context. She represented balance and could promise happiness or bring misery in equal measure.

For Nemesis, there could not be more of one than the other.

11) Ma’at

Ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at
Large stone carving of the ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at, Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt.

Ma’at performed a similar role in ancient Egypt, representing perfect order and balance. She's more of an idea but was sometimes personified as a goddess.

The ancient Egyptians believed the universe was essentially a rational place. But chaos existed before civilisation and disorder lurked at the edge of their world. Their society expected all citizens to defend Ma'at in order to hold chaos at bay.

When an Egyptian died, their soul entered the Hall of Ma'at. The judge, often Osiris, weighed their heart against Ma'at's feather. An unbalanced life made the heart heavier than the feather. The Devourer ate the heart unless Osiris threw it into a lake of fire. The soul gained eternal life if the heart balanced with the feather.

12) Mami Wata

Venerated throughout Africa and the African Atlantic, Mami Wata embodies the spirit of water. As a water deity, she sometimes appears as a mermaid. Much like the ocean, she can be volatile and dangerous, as well as protective and nurturing.

She brings good financial fortune and also governs water sprites known as mami watas and papi watas.

13) Spider Woman

Spider Woman is an important deity within the Navajo religion. When monsters threatened humans, she sent Child-Born-of-Water and Monster-Slayer to find the Sun God. He taught them how to destroy the monsters.

grand canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona

Spider Woman made her home on Spider Rock in Arizona. In one legend, a rival tribe chases a Navajo youth into her canyon. She drops a silken cord down into the valley and pulls him up to her home. He waits with Spider Woman until the enemy leaves, running home to tell his tribe of his narrow escape.

As a helper and benefactor to mankind, she taught humans how to weave and farm. She protects the innocent and fights to restore balance.

14) Minerva

Minerva is the Roman equivalent to Athena. She's the goddess of wisdom, as well as the arts and crafts. Her father Jupiter swallowed her mother after a prophecy that she would deliver a son that would destroy him.

Later, a terrible headache struck Jupiter down. The god Vulcan split his head open to give him some relief. It cured his headache and it also freed the fully grown (and fully armored) Minerva.

She told Perseus how to kill Medusa. The Gorgon turned men to stone if they looked at her. So Minerva advised Perseus to only look at Medusa’s reflection. He cut off Medusa's head and gave it to Minerva. She ended up mounting it on her shield, granting her the power to turn people to stone.

15) Hel

Daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, Hel rules the realm of the dead in Norse mythology. She is alive from the waist up and dead from the waist down. The tales portray her as indifferent to the struggles of the gods.

Hel appears in the tale of Baldur. Loki causes his death through trickery and the beloved god journeys to the land of the dead. Hermod, son of Odin, travels to the underworld to bargain with Hel for Baldur’s release. It's an important mission since Baldur's death is a herald of Ragnarok – the Norse apocalypse.

Hel offers to release Baldur if every living creature in the cosmos weeps for him. Loki takes the form of a giantess and refuses to weep. The act condemns Baldur to remain with Hel.

Incidentally, during Ragnarok, Hel leads an army of the dead in a ship made from the fingernails of corpses. Cool!

All of these amazing goddesses are a testament to the diverse range of human beliefs.

Some groups still venerate a handful of these goddesses today, but other figures have faded into the written record as their civilisations fell or evolved. I love to use these myths as part of my stories!

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: ancient goddess

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