Venus was her name Goddess on the mountain top Burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her name She’s got it Yeah, baby, she’s got it … Venus by Bananarama For centuries artists have been enamoured by the mythological goddess Venus. Sandro Botticelli’s Venus is … [Read more…]
Romancing the Mushroom pine mushrooms live a thousand years in one autumn Den Sutejo 1633-1698 (translated by Makoto Ueda) Autumn in Melbourne is a fine time to take a trip to the Prahran Market and visit the wild mushroom man, Damien Pike. For many years he’s been sourcing and selling mushrooms. Much … [Read more…]
Phoenix Rising ‘Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.’ Tahereh Mafi Moira Finucane … [Read more…]
‘He who loves not women, wine and song remains a fool his whole life long’. Martin Luther – Professor of theology, author, composer, Augustinian monk. Trees of Paradise Historians believe our Christmas trees might be a close relative of the Medieval Trees of Paradise that appeared in Western Europe around late December in … [Read more…]
Pagan Rituals Many present day Christmas traditions were derived from ancient cultures. Originally created by our ancestors, the same rituals manifest across the Western World every December. In the past these traditions were mysterious and sacred rites. They were backed by superstition, belief in magic and the desire to protect communities from fear of the … [Read more…]