The White Wolf Ancestry of Romans, Genghis Khan, Turks, and Dacians

Rome, the Capitoline She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus, photographed by my daughter Lysandra Furstenberg

There are stories that refuse to stay in one place. They move through empires and forests, from the hills of Rome to the endless grasslands of the steppe, carried not in stone, but in memory and blood. Again and again, across distant peoples, the same figure appears: not crowned, not tamed, but wild: the wolf.

From the White Wolf and the Lupercal cave in Rome, to the wolfish-blood origin of the Mongols, the She-Wolf Asena ancestry of the Turks and, of course, to the fearless Zalmoxis and the Great White Wolf of the Dacians let’s follow the wolf.

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A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick: Which Truth We Seek?

A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick

History rarely buries its secrets cleanly. We often mistake quiet for innocence. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. When confronted with the past, is it the truth we seek… or the version we can live with?

A beautiful story by Helen Hollick is featured in our new historical fiction anthology COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.

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Colorful Birds in a South African Garden, International Bird Day

Cape White Eye bird

We are lucky each winter to spot so many colorful birds in our garden, to have it turn into a theater of feathers and folklore. There are brilliant flashes of color, bold intruders strutting like conquerors, and quite a few picturesque personalities.

I am so happy to share with you not simply a list of birds, but a procession. And each one arrives with a story. Find more African birds and their legends here.

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Why Red and White Became the Colors of Mărțișor on March 1st

Why Red and White Became the Colors of Mărțișor

Red and white color my thoughts well ahead of 1st of March. In the Romanian tradition, on the first day of spring (in the Northern hemisphere), twined together, threads of red and white spring forward on Mărțișor day, quiet yet insistent. Unassumingly simple. Deceptively small. A charm no heavier than Spring’s first breath.

But red and white are never accidental. They’ve followed humanity across centuries and continents like faithful companions.

So why do red and white spell Spring?

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