Crystal Ponti
@crystalponti.bsky.social
A freelance writer exploring the intersection of history and folklore. Bylines: The History Channel, The New York Times, BBC, etc. Also @HistoriumU (Historium Unearthia); Grieving mom of Adam.
muckrack.com/crystal-ponti
muckrack.com/crystal-ponti
Fireflies were once thought to be wandering spirits. Their flickering lights resembled signals from the unseen. #MythologyMonday
Art: Elliot Lang
Art: Elliot Lang
February 16, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Fireflies were once thought to be wandering spirits. Their flickering lights resembled signals from the unseen. #MythologyMonday
Art: Elliot Lang
Art: Elliot Lang
Spiders often represent fate in mythology. Their webs echo the invisible threads that connect every life. #MythologyMonday
February 16, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Spiders often represent fate in mythology. Their webs echo the invisible threads that connect every life. #MythologyMonday
In many myths, insects are not pests but messengers. Their small size allows them to slip between worlds unseen. #MythologyMonday
Art: Cindi Riley
Art: Cindi Riley
February 16, 2026 at 12:26 PM
In many myths, insects are not pests but messengers. Their small size allows them to slip between worlds unseen. #MythologyMonday
Art: Cindi Riley
Art: Cindi Riley
In Victorian symbolism, cats represented both tenderness and mystery. The heart was never meant to be entirely understood. #FolkloreSunday
Art: DeborahBart
Art: DeborahBart
February 15, 2026 at 8:33 PM
In Victorian symbolism, cats represented both tenderness and mystery. The heart was never meant to be entirely understood. #FolkloreSunday
Art: DeborahBart
Art: DeborahBart
Stories often show cats lingering at thresholds, between indoors and out. Love, too, lives in that liminal space between certainty and risk. #FolkloreSunday
Art: Paula Bridges
Art: Paula Bridges
February 15, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Stories often show cats lingering at thresholds, between indoors and out. Love, too, lives in that liminal space between certainty and risk. #FolkloreSunday
Art: Paula Bridges
Art: Paula Bridges
Black cats in some cultures symbolized enduring love. Their dark coats represented loyalty that remained even in uncertain times. #FolkloreSunday
Art: Dreamframer
Art: Dreamframer
February 15, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Black cats in some cultures symbolized enduring love. Their dark coats represented loyalty that remained even in uncertain times. #FolkloreSunday
Art: Dreamframer
Art: Dreamframer
Ancient Egyptians associated cats with Bastet, goddess of protection, home, and gentle devotion. Love was strongest where cats felt safe enough to rest. #FolkloreSunday
Art: MissUpacey
Art: MissUpacey
February 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Ancient Egyptians associated cats with Bastet, goddess of protection, home, and gentle devotion. Love was strongest where cats felt safe enough to rest. #FolkloreSunday
Art: MissUpacey
Art: MissUpacey
Elks, towering and antlered, were sometimes seen as forest guardians. Disturb the land too deeply and something with hooves might answer. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Eikthyrnir, Sasho Dimitrov
Art: Eikthyrnir, Sasho Dimitrov
February 11, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Elks, towering and antlered, were sometimes seen as forest guardians. Disturb the land too deeply and something with hooves might answer. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Eikthyrnir, Sasho Dimitrov
Art: Eikthyrnir, Sasho Dimitrov
Winter in Scandinavia stretches long enough to invite imagination. When darkness lingers, stories grow teeth. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Mountain Dreams
Art: Mountain Dreams
February 11, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Winter in Scandinavia stretches long enough to invite imagination. When darkness lingers, stories grow teeth. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Mountain Dreams
Art: Mountain Dreams
Sea rovers were more than raiders. In saga literature, they were fate-chasers, carving destiny with oars and iron while the North Sea watched without judgment. #WyrdWednesday
February 11, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Sea rovers were more than raiders. In saga literature, they were fate-chasers, carving destiny with oars and iron while the North Sea watched without judgment. #WyrdWednesday
The Storsjöodjuret, Sweden’s lake monster, coils through centuries of sightings. Fishermen swear they’ve seen its ridged back ripple just beneath the gray water. #WyrdWednesday\
Art: Nils-Erik Nilsson
Art: Nils-Erik Nilsson
February 11, 2026 at 12:16 PM
The Storsjöodjuret, Sweden’s lake monster, coils through centuries of sightings. Fishermen swear they’ve seen its ridged back ripple just beneath the gray water. #WyrdWednesday\
Art: Nils-Erik Nilsson
Art: Nils-Erik Nilsson
Love potions in fairy tales rarely work as intended. Desire forced becomes disaster. Love must be chosen freely to last. #FairyTaleTuesday
February 10, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Love potions in fairy tales rarely work as intended. Desire forced becomes disaster. Love must be chosen freely to last. #FairyTaleTuesday
Soulmates in folklore are not always romantic. Some arrive as friends, siblings, or companions whose presence alters a life forever. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Flavia Cuddemi
Art: Flavia Cuddemi
February 10, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Soulmates in folklore are not always romantic. Some arrive as friends, siblings, or companions whose presence alters a life forever. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Flavia Cuddemi
Art: Flavia Cuddemi
Love, in all its forms, is the most powerful enchantment folklore ever created. And like all magic, it demands care. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Marianna Mills
Art: Marianna Mills
February 10, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Love, in all its forms, is the most powerful enchantment folklore ever created. And like all magic, it demands care. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Marianna Mills
Art: Marianna Mills
Unhappy endings linger because they honor love that mattered even when it failed. Grief is proof of depth, not weakness. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Van Gogh
Art: Van Gogh
February 10, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Unhappy endings linger because they honor love that mattered even when it failed. Grief is proof of depth, not weakness. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Van Gogh
Art: Van Gogh
Owls are often solitary in myth, not because they lack community, but because they guard dangerous knowledge. Some truths are not shared lightly. #MythologyMonday
Art: Nikita Coulombe
Art: Nikita Coulombe
February 9, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Owls are often solitary in myth, not because they lack community, but because they guard dangerous knowledge. Some truths are not shared lightly. #MythologyMonday
Art: Nikita Coulombe
Art: Nikita Coulombe
Ominous birds persist in stories because they move freely between sky and earth. Anything that crosses boundaries makes humans uneasy. #MythologyMonday
Art: Corbeau
Art: Corbeau
February 9, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Ominous birds persist in stories because they move freely between sky and earth. Anything that crosses boundaries makes humans uneasy. #MythologyMonday
Art: Corbeau
Art: Corbeau
Owls do not predict death in myth so much as they remind us of it. And reminders, too, are a form of wisdom. #MythologyMonday
Art: Alyssa
Art: Alyssa
February 9, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Owls do not predict death in myth so much as they remind us of it. And reminders, too, are a form of wisdom. #MythologyMonday
Art: Alyssa
Art: Alyssa
Being snowed in was once an expected winter fate. Stories were shared, fires fed, and survival became communal ritual. #LegendaryWednesday
January 28, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Being snowed in was once an expected winter fate. Stories were shared, fires fed, and survival became communal ritual. #LegendaryWednesday
“Losing one’s head” still means panic or desire overtaking sense. Language remembers what the body once feared. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Travis Chapman
Art: Travis Chapman
January 28, 2026 at 4:10 PM
“Losing one’s head” still means panic or desire overtaking sense. Language remembers what the body once feared. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Travis Chapman
Art: Travis Chapman
Across cultures, blizzards teach the same lesson. Nature does not negotiate, but it does respond to carelessness. #LegendaryWednesday
Art: Cornelius Krieghoff
Art: Cornelius Krieghoff
January 28, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Across cultures, blizzards teach the same lesson. Nature does not negotiate, but it does respond to carelessness. #LegendaryWednesday
Art: Cornelius Krieghoff
Art: Cornelius Krieghoff
In myth, heroes sometimes lose their heads metaphorically long before they lose battles. Pride decapitates judgment quietly. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Boardman Robinson
Art: Boardman Robinson
January 28, 2026 at 12:33 PM
In myth, heroes sometimes lose their heads metaphorically long before they lose battles. Pride decapitates judgment quietly. #WyrdWednesday
Art: Boardman Robinson
Art: Boardman Robinson
Whiteout conditions were believed to erase the boundary between worlds. Travelers warned that spirits could walk beside you unseen when the sky swallowed the ground. #LegendaryWednesday
Art: Luca Alberti
Art: Luca Alberti
January 28, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Whiteout conditions were believed to erase the boundary between worlds. Travelers warned that spirits could walk beside you unseen when the sky swallowed the ground. #LegendaryWednesday
Art: Luca Alberti
Art: Luca Alberti
Fair folk bargains are famously literal. Ask for help and receive it, but never in the way you imagined. Precision is survival in enchanted negotiations. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Charles Altamont Doyle
Art: Charles Altamont Doyle
January 27, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Fair folk bargains are famously literal. Ask for help and receive it, but never in the way you imagined. Precision is survival in enchanted negotiations. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: Charles Altamont Doyle
Art: Charles Altamont Doyle
Secrets in folklore are rarely harmless. Locked chests, forbidden rooms, and sealed letters always hum with consequence. Curiosity is punished not because it’s wrong, but because it’s powerful. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: John Bauer
Art: John Bauer
January 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Secrets in folklore are rarely harmless. Locked chests, forbidden rooms, and sealed letters always hum with consequence. Curiosity is punished not because it’s wrong, but because it’s powerful. #FairyTaleTuesday
Art: John Bauer
Art: John Bauer