A Wisdom Archive on Nix

The Scandinavian näcken, nøkken, strömkarlen, Grim or Fosse-Grim was a male water spirit who played enchanted songs on the violin, luring women and children to drown in lakes or streams. If properly approached, he will teach a musician to play so adeptly "that the trees dance and waterfalls stop at his music"Sacred-Texts.com It is difficult to describe the actual appearance of the nix, as one of his central attributes was thought to be shape shifting. Perhaps he did not have any true shape. ...

Read more here: » Nix: Encyclopedia II - Nix - Näcken

Onech (Hebrew, Jewish). The Phœnix so named after Enoch or Phenoch. For Enoch (also Khenoch) means literally the initiator and instructor, hence the Hierophant who reveals the last mystery. The bird Phœnix is always associated with a tree, the mystical Ababel of the Koran, the Tree of Initiation or of knowledge.

 
(See also: Onech, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

Tahmurath (Pers.). The Iranian Adam, whose steed was Simorgh Anke, the griffin-phœnix or infinite cycle. A repetition or reminiscence of Vishnu and Garuda.

 
(See also: Tahmurath, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

Benoo (Egypt, Egyptian). A word applied to two symbols, both taken to mean "Phœnix". One was the Shen-shen (the heron), and the other a nondescript bird, called the Rech (the red one), and both were sacred to Osiris. It was the latter that was the regular Phœnix of the great Mysteries, the typical symbol of self-creation and resurrection through death - a type of the Solar Osiris and of the divine Ego in man.
 
Yet both the Heron and the Rech were symbols of cycles; the former, of the Solar year of 365 days; the latter of the tropical year or a period covering almost 26,000 years. In both cases the cycles were the types of the return of light from darkness, the yearly and great cyclic return of the sun-god to his birth-place, or - his Resurrection.
 
The Rech-Benoo is described by Macrobius as living 660 years and then dying; while others stretched its life as long as 1,460 years. Pliny, the Naturalist, describes the Rech as a large bird with gold and purple wings, and a long blue tail.
 
As every reader is aware, the Phœnix on feeling its end approaching, according to tradition, builds for itself a funeral pile on the top of the sacrificial altar, and then proceeds to consume himself thereon as a burnt-offering. Then a worm appears in the ashes, which grows and developes rapidly into a new Phœnix, resurrected from the ashes of its predecessor.

 
(See also: Benoo, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

Read more here: » Water sprite: Encyclopedia - Water sprite

In Greek mythology, the Sirens or Seirenes (Greek Σειρῆνας) were Naiads (sea nymphs) who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli which was surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Approaching sailors were drawn to them by their enchanting singing, causing them to sail on the cliffs and drown. They were considered the daughters of Achelous (by Terpsichore, Melpomene or Sterope) or Phorcys (Virgil. V. 846; Ovid XIV, 88). Their number is variously reported as between two and five, and their individual names as Thelxiepia/Thelxio ... Including:

• Siren - Appearance
• Siren - Encounters with the Sirens
• Siren - Popular culture

Read more here: » Siren: Encyclopedia - Siren

In Finnish mythology, a Näkki is a Nix that resides in murky pools, wells, docks, piers and under bridges that cross rivers. He has been borrowed from Näcken in Scandinavian folklore. He is principally known for pulling young children into the depths, if they lean over bridge railings, docks or otherwise look into water surfaces to see their own reflection and touching the water. Näkki is a fine example of a spirit enlisted by parents ...

Read more here: » Näkki: Encyclopedia - Näkki

Abhorsen is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 2003. It is the third and final in his Old Kingdom series, following Sabriel and Lirael. (It is in fact the second part of the story begun in Lirael, which turned out to be longer than the author had expected.) It features the Abhorsen-in-Waiting Lirael, and Prince Sameth, the descendant of the Wallmakers. Lirael and Sameth also have the help of some magical beginning in the creat ...

Read more here: » Abhorsen: Encyclopedia - Abhorsen

'Atlanta Rhythm Section (sometimes ARS) is an American southern rock band. The band unofficially formed in 1970 as former members of the Candymen and the Classics IV became the session band for the newly opened Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, near Atlanta. After playing on other artists' recordings, they decided to become a true band in their own right. The members of the original band were Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitarist), Paul Goddard (bassist), Dean Daughtry (keyboardist) and Robert Nix (drummer). Buddy Buie, the band's manager and producer, is listed first ... Including:

• Atlanta Rhythm Section - Discography

Read more here: » Atlanta Rhythm Section: Encyclopedia - Atlanta Rhythm Section

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Central and South America, from Mexico to Peru. It is a short-lived perennial plant, grown as an annual plant, typically growing to 1-3 m tall, with a weakly woody stem that usually scrambles over other plants. The leaves are 10-25 cm long, pinnate, with 5-9 leaflets, each leaflet up to 8 cm long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. The flowers are 1-2 cm across, yellow, with five pointed lobe ... Including:

• Tomato - History and distribution
• Tomato - Early history
• Tomato - Spanish distribution
• Tomato - Tomatoes in Italy
• Tomato - Tomatoes in Britain
• Tomato - North America
• Tomato - Cultivation and uses
• Tomato - Diseases and pests
• Tomato - Pollination
• Tomato - Hydroponic and greenhouse cultivation
• Tomato - Picking and ripening
• Tomato - Modern uses of tomatoes
• Tomato - Storage
• Tomato - Tomato legends
• Tomato - Controversies
• Tomato - Botanical classification
• Tomato - Fruit or vegetable?
• Tomato - Pronunciation
• Tomato - Tomato records

Read more here: » Tomato: Encyclopedia - Tomato

At the trial the plaintiff's counsel, after reading in evidence definitions of the words 'fruit' and 'vegetables' from Webster's Dictionary, Worcester's Dictionary, and the Imperial Dictionary, called two witnesses, who had been for 30 years in the business of selling fruit and vegetables, and asked them, after hearing these definitions, to say whether these words had "any special meaning in trad ...

Read more here: » Nix v. Hedden: Encyclopedia II - Nix v. Hedden - The case

The court unanimously decided in favor of the defense and found that the tomato was classified as a vegetable, based on the ways in which it is used, and the popular perception to this end. Justice Gray in his decision stated that: "The passages cited from the dictionaries define the word 'fruit' as the seed of plants, or that part of plants which contains the seed, and especially the juicy, pulpy products of certain plants, covering and containing the seed. These definitions have no tendency to show that tomatoes are 'fruit,' as distinguished from 'vegetables,' in common spe ...

Read more here: » Nix v. Hedden: Encyclopedia II - Nix v. Hedden - The decision

Odysseus escaped the Sirens by having all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they ignored him. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus stopped thrashing about and calmed down, and was released (Odyssey XII, 39). Jason had been warned by Chiron that Orpheus would be necessary in his journey. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew his lyre and played his music mo ...

Read more here: » Siren: Encyclopedia II - Siren - Encounters with the Sirens

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph or succubus-like demon that dwelled in a lake. Her eyes shone like green fire. Men who were seduced by her died in her arms, and in some versions her laugh could also cause death (compare with the Irish banshee). She corresponds to the Scandinavian and German Nix. The ghostly version of the succubus is the soul of a young woman who had died in or near a lake (many of these rusalki had been murdered by lovers) and came to haunt that lake; this undead rusalka is not particularly malevolent, and will be allowe ...

Read more here: » Slavic fairies: Encyclopedia II - Slavic fairies - Rusalka