The Educational Value of Folk Tales - New Acropolis Library Article By Pinar Akhan posted by UK, April 30, 2022 It is now a well-known fact that reading or telling stories to children starting from a young age has many developmental benefits. Just to name a few: stories can help to improve language and communication skills, develop the child’s brain with the ability to focus, help with associating and expressing their feelings, learning...

The Feathered Serpent - New Acropolis Library Article By Nataliya Petlevych posted by UK, July 6, 2022 Stories of ancient civilizations appear and evolve in the flow of time. The symbols they contain are multivalent and complex and the pursuit of meaning is never a simple task. Ancient Mexican legends tell of great cycles of construction and deconstruction of the world. There was a new dawn, a new age was about to begin, but the sun created...

In this article I will look at the archetypal hero’s journey with particular reference to its feminine aspect and symbolism. Symbols resonate on all levels of nature, meaning that feminine does not refer only to gender or biology (although there might be some relevant keys) but rather the understanding that the feminine is a principle that subsists in all humans, in all living things and on all levels from the psychical to the universal and archetypal. In general, we tend to be more...

As we approach the Vernal or Spring Equinox (First Day of Spring) once more, human beings today and over millennia have found various ways to note and celebrate the renewal of Nature’s cycle. The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere takes place every year on or around 21 March. In 2023, the Spring Equinox will take place on 20 March at 9.24pm (Greenwich Mean Time).  The seasons on Earth change because the planet is tilted on its axis as it travels around the sun. At the time...

The image of Theseus, hero of Attica, standing at the centre of the labyrinth, holding a magical thread (called a clue) brandishing his sword, about to face destiny in a moment of reckoning with the Minotaur, is perhaps one of the most defining scenes from mythology with a symbolism both rich and complex. What this scene reveals is worthy of meditation and there are several useful keys of interpretation available to us. To begin, let us recall that according to Joseph Campbell, the...

In the world of literature there are a few well known epic stories in which the plot is built around the abduction of a woman. In the East one of them is the ancient Indian story of the Ramayana, and in the West, there is the ancient Greek story of the Iliad. These are not just stories of men and women, but also of gods and goddesses. According to tradition there were times when gods would descend to Earth and bring justice in times of spiritual crisis and moral disorder. In ancient India,...

The wisdom tradition and religious thought of the ancient Aztecs is shrouded in mystery. Whilst we cannot completely ‘know’ how these people encountered life, we can intuitively enter an understanding of how they thought, using symbolic language to decipher what remains perceivable through the shifting sands of time. One such remaining treasure is the myth of Chicovaneg and the Creation of the Sun. The story describes a time when an original sun had been extinguished by the...

The Ancient Tradition of Kalaripayattu: In conversation with Lakshmanan Gurukkal - New Acropolis Library Article By Axelle Defrasne posted by Kurush Dordi, July 8, 2024 Shri Lakshmanan Gurukkal hails from a traditional Kalaripayattu family. His father and guru, Shri Veerasree Sami Gurukkal who trained under Guru Govindankutty Nambiar, established the Hindustan Kalari Sangam in Calicut, in 1952, to preserve and promote this traditional...

Traveling Beyond: Explorations with New Acropolis India, is active travel for the aspiring philosopher; to come closer to the rich human heritage of lands and cultures across the globe. The philosophical way encourages us to come closer to what lies “beyond” – the invisible causes of what we observe, such that we may recognize the underlying unity that links humanity.  This article is Part II in our learnings from our travel to Egypt. It is  my  reflection on...

Traveling Beyond: Explorations with New Acropolis India, is an opportunity to travel with a philosophical lens, to visit places, not only as a tourist, but also as a seeker of truth and beauty. To try to uncover together, the wisdom that exists in the world, and to extract from it something that we can apply today, to make our lives and the world better. This orientation for the travel, shared by the National Director of New Acropolis, India, along with my experience and education as a...