neanderthal paganism
@milbel.bsky.social
Writing about the origins of religious thought, prehistoric ritualism, mythology, and pre/perinatal psychology.
Articles here ➡️ milbel.com
Articles here ➡️ milbel.com
Pinned
The Lost Book of Shinto
Kunio Yanagita’s Elusive Wartime Masterpiece on the Japanese Family System
www.milbel.com
Everyone knows Japan has Shinto.
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
Symbols repeat across cultures because they’re older than any civilization we know.
November 13, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Symbols repeat across cultures because they’re older than any civilization we know.
Showing my family what I’ve worked on this year (they don’t care)
November 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Showing my family what I’ve worked on this year (they don’t care)
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
Get outside. And hopefully North of a major urban light center
November 12, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Get outside. And hopefully North of a major urban light center
“Our lives are like the wind, or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other, then fade away.”
―Hayao Miyazaki
―Hayao Miyazaki
November 11, 2025 at 5:07 PM
“Our lives are like the wind, or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other, then fade away.”
―Hayao Miyazaki
―Hayao Miyazaki
The fairy-tale worldview is Neanderthal.
The folklorists were simply the first to write it down.
The folklorists were simply the first to write it down.
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The fairy-tale worldview is Neanderthal.
The folklorists were simply the first to write it down.
The folklorists were simply the first to write it down.
By the third trimester, fetuses achieve REM sleep, unconsciously logging the earliest memories that will inform their dreams forever.
November 10, 2025 at 7:55 PM
By the third trimester, fetuses achieve REM sleep, unconsciously logging the earliest memories that will inform their dreams forever.
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
Citizens of the Land of Mushrooms, C20th lithograph.
November 9, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Citizens of the Land of Mushrooms, C20th lithograph.
Every Northern culture shared this common idea: the bear's retreat into the earth promises rebirth in spring.
November 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Every Northern culture shared this common idea: the bear's retreat into the earth promises rebirth in spring.
Scholars assume indigenous cultures were passive recipients of European stories rather than the bearers of their own rooted mythological traditions.
The argument for common Paleolithic inheritance 👇
open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p...
The argument for common Paleolithic inheritance 👇
open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p...
The Bear’s Son Tale: A Neanderthal Legacy
The world's most widespread folktale may echo a shared ancestral memory.
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Scholars assume indigenous cultures were passive recipients of European stories rather than the bearers of their own rooted mythological traditions.
The argument for common Paleolithic inheritance 👇
open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p...
The argument for common Paleolithic inheritance 👇
open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p...
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
Forest in Late Autumn,
Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.
Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Forest in Late Autumn,
Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.
Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.
Neanderthals buried their dead in the fetal curl, returning them to the “womb” for rebirth.
Bodies faced the rising sun. Caves became tomb-temples—thresholds between worlds.
#LegendaryWednesday
Bodies faced the rising sun. Caves became tomb-temples—thresholds between worlds.
#LegendaryWednesday
November 5, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Neanderthals buried their dead in the fetal curl, returning them to the “womb” for rebirth.
Bodies faced the rising sun. Caves became tomb-temples—thresholds between worlds.
#LegendaryWednesday
Bodies faced the rising sun. Caves became tomb-temples—thresholds between worlds.
#LegendaryWednesday
Ancestors blend into a single form to protect their descendants.
Trees die and become the mycelial networks that protect their descendants.
Paganism is nature.
Trees die and become the mycelial networks that protect their descendants.
Paganism is nature.
November 5, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Ancestors blend into a single form to protect their descendants.
Trees die and become the mycelial networks that protect their descendants.
Paganism is nature.
Trees die and become the mycelial networks that protect their descendants.
Paganism is nature.
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
The passage grave at La Barbière in Crossac (Loire-Atlantique) has a 20-ton 4x3m capstone over the chamber still supported on 3 orthostats; the others have been robbed. Two slipped capstones and some supports still survive from the ruined passage. #TombTuesday.
November 4, 2025 at 8:49 AM
The passage grave at La Barbière in Crossac (Loire-Atlantique) has a 20-ton 4x3m capstone over the chamber still supported on 3 orthostats; the others have been robbed. Two slipped capstones and some supports still survive from the ruined passage. #TombTuesday.
“The Irish fairies were not imagined as being very different in form or appearance to the human race, except that they might be somewhat paler in hue and dressed in clothing of silk and satin.”
November 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“The Irish fairies were not imagined as being very different in form or appearance to the human race, except that they might be somewhat paler in hue and dressed in clothing of silk and satin.”
Everyone knows Japan has Shinto.
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
The Lost Book of Shinto
Kunio Yanagita’s Elusive Wartime Masterpiece on the Japanese Family System
www.milbel.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Everyone knows Japan has Shinto.
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
But in the early 20th century, one folklorist feared the tradition had drifted too far from its roots, and set out to recover what was ancient, native, and half-forgotten.
Read “The Lost Book of Shinto" now👇
#promosky #writersky
www.milbel.com/p/the-lost-b...
we've entered the underworld 🫡
November 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
we've entered the underworld 🫡
"Herbstreigen" (Autumn Dance), Hans Sandreuter
October 31, 2025 at 5:06 PM
"Herbstreigen" (Autumn Dance), Hans Sandreuter
"My soul, my journey should continue with you. I will wander with you and ascend to my solitude." ―Jung
October 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
"My soul, my journey should continue with you. I will wander with you and ascend to my solitude." ―Jung
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
Hannah Frank
Moon Ballet
lithograph, 1934
Moon Ballet
lithograph, 1934
October 30, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Hannah Frank
Moon Ballet
lithograph, 1934
Moon Ballet
lithograph, 1934
The modern pumpkin, carved and lit from within, is a symbol in perfect continuity with the ancient doctrine of rebirth: a husk or a skull illuminated from within, death animated by the spark of life.
October 30, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The modern pumpkin, carved and lit from within, is a symbol in perfect continuity with the ancient doctrine of rebirth: a husk or a skull illuminated from within, death animated by the spark of life.
me on friday god willing
October 29, 2025 at 7:17 PM
me on friday god willing
The witch in the house is an echo of the bear in the cave:
“Witches have red eyes and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.” (Hansel and Gretel)
#WyrdWednesday
“Witches have red eyes and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.” (Hansel and Gretel)
#WyrdWednesday
October 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The witch in the house is an echo of the bear in the cave:
“Witches have red eyes and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.” (Hansel and Gretel)
#WyrdWednesday
“Witches have red eyes and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.” (Hansel and Gretel)
#WyrdWednesday
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
Goodnight.
🖼️ Edna Eicke, New Yorker October 27, 1945.
🖼️ Edna Eicke, New Yorker October 27, 1945.
October 27, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Goodnight.
🖼️ Edna Eicke, New Yorker October 27, 1945.
🖼️ Edna Eicke, New Yorker October 27, 1945.
Reposted by neanderthal paganism
There she goes
October 28, 2025 at 4:40 PM
There she goes