iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Why should the divine child be associated with fire, gold, lightning, or the rising sun? New essay on milbel.com. #writersky #promosky #mythology

121

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

There has always been another interpretation of Neanderthals. It never became the dominant one, but it never went away. open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p... #writersky #promosky #paleosky

open.substack.com

The Other Neanderthal Theory

A Hidden Tradition in Human Origins

151

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

it’s spring. you know what that means.

021

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Klara @themoonunfolded.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

If I had to explain magic to an alien life form I would tell them about nature.

0163

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

"The honor that was to console a man in death must have a compelling force—not only to beget songs, but also to beget a successor in whom the honor shone out anew." ―Vilhelm Grönbech, The Culture of the Teutons (1931) #MythologyMonday

040

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

🏺🏛️ Witham shield, Middle Iron Age, River Thames (pic taken at British Museum)

Photo of front of a bronze oblong shield, with central raised boss in an elongated oval, including red enamel inlays in curvilinear forms.

Close-up of lower part of shield design, including engraved spirals, and zoomorphic features.

510527

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

death is a journey toward the mother, just as birth is a departure from her

060

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

“Religious creativity was stimulated, not by the empirical phenomenon of agriculture, but by the mystery of birth, death and rebirth.”

071

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

1 year of neanderthal paganism ❤️

070

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Sunset at the Waen Oer (cold moor) stone row

A red sunset slips into cloud over the sea. In the foreground five white sheep mill on and around the central recumbent stone between two standing stones. The moorland grass is scrubby and green with patches of rushes.

0533

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Myth is the archaeology of the mind.

0101

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

“The ancient Pythagoreans called the two Bears the Hands of Rhea, and the wandering planets the Hounds of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.”

0102

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

“Our natural magic is but the ancient religion of the world—the ancient worship of nature.” ―W.B. Yeats

0224

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Were the ancients ignorant in canonizing the fetal drama as a mythological archetype, or humbly reverent and curious before creation?

010

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

diluc @handle.invalid · 14/11/2025

this is an owl

5379575904

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Symbols repeat across cultures because they’re older than any civilization we know.

0718

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Showing my family what I’ve worked on this year (they don’t care)

020

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

WayFinding 🏹 🎈 𓄋 @jeffreycrunk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Get outside. And hopefully North of a major urban light center

191

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

“Our lives are like the wind, or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other, then fade away.” ―Hayao Miyazaki

0153

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

The fairy-tale worldview is Neanderthal. The folklorists were simply the first to write it down.

012

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

By the third trimester, fetuses achieve REM sleep, unconsciously logging the earliest memories that will inform their dreams forever.

000

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Citizens of the Land of Mushrooms, C20th lithograph.

Twelve of the most prominent citizens of the land of mushrooms are depicted in this early 20th century lithograph. All are edible except (9) the deadly Fly Mushroom. (4) Coral Clavaria and (8) Parchment Lacatarius are edible when perfect, but when imperfect they are slightly poisonous and should only be dealt with by experts. The other mushrooms are (1) Shaggy Pholiota, (2) Puff Ball, (3) Dog Cortinarius, (5) Red Clavaria, (6) Violet Clavaria, (7) Meadow Mushroom, (10) Common Morel, (11) Magpie Mushroom, and (12) Yellow Chanterelle. The Puff Ball and the Morel are not, strictly speaking, mushrooms, but being close fungi relatives, have been invited to the convention.’

017731

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Every Northern culture shared this common idea: the bear's retreat into the earth promises rebirth in spring.

050

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

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...

open.substack.com

The Bear’s Son Tale: A Neanderthal Legacy

The world's most widespread folktale may echo a shared ancestral memory.

010

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Forest in Late Autumn, Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.

Painting of forest in deep, autumnal colours and unleafed trees.

012724

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

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

091

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Ancestors blend into a single form to protect their descendants. Trees die and become the mycelial networks that protect their descendants. Paganism is nature.

031

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Phil Watson @frenchmegaliths.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

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.

0154

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

“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.”

060

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

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...

milbel.com

The Lost Book of Shinto

Kunio Yanagita’s Elusive Wartime Masterpiece on the Japanese Family System

131

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

"Herbstreigen" (Autumn Dance), Hans Sandreuter

021

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

"My soul, my journey should continue with you. I will wander with you and ascend to my solitude." ―Jung

082

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Emmaeli @emmaelie.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Hannah Frank Moon Ballet lithograph, 1934

Three figures with arms stretched overhead, moon and stars bright in the night sky - white lines on dark background

939868

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

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.

083

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

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

0184

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Goodnight. 🖼️ Edna Eicke, New Yorker October 27, 1945.

The image is the cover of The New Yorker magazine from October 27, 1945, illustrated by Edna Eicke.
The cover art depicts a Halloween scene where three children, dressed in white ghost costumes, are opening a decorative wrought-iron gate. They appear to be trick-or-treating, with bags in hand, and are about to walk down a path toward a large, spooky-looking house visible in the background. The house is surrounded by a dense, dark forest of tall, bare trees, and a light shines from its windows.

421059

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

richard mortimer @richardmortimer.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

There she goes

0749

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Were ancient people ignorant in canonizing the fetal drama as a mythological archetype, or humbly reverent and curious in the face of creation? #pagansky #science #mythology #psychsky #promosky open.substack.com/pub/milbel/p...

open.substack.com

Ancient Religion as Science: An Introduction to Fetal Mythology

How does our primordial journey in utero relate to the origins of religion?

030

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

The hero’s journey resonates so deeply because we’ve all been the hero who outgrows the home, slays the dragon, and is reborn. It’s the universal pattern that begins in the womb. #writersky #psychology #pyschsky #archetypes #promosky #pagan #pagansky www.milbel.com/p/the-fetal-...

milbel.com

The Fetal Journey is the Hero’s Journey

The fight for birth aligns with humanity’s most defining archetype and explains its origin.

081

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Neanderthals were not merely a footnote in our evolutionary story. To a large extent, they are us, and their contributions to the great drama of human consciousness are embedded in our daily and annual traditions. #writersky #pagansky #anthropology #promosky www.milbel.com/p/what-was-n...

milbel.com

What Was Neanderthal Religion?

The foundations of religious thought are encoded in our myths and traditions. We can trace them back to the caves of the Paleolithic.

080

neanderthal paganism @milbel.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

A restoration of "The Voice of the Sacred Tree" litany from the tomb of Qenamun

040

Reposted by neanderthal paganism

WayFinding 🏹 🎈 𓄋 @jeffreycrunk.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

After all, it is no more surprising to be born twice than it is to be born once. ~ VOLTAIRE

072