Blake Benson

The sky on September 18 makes forward motion feel necessary, but it may leave us struggling to find the right direction. At nearly 26 degrees …

In Japan, paper figures known as hitogata have been used in purification rituals to symbolically carry away the things people would rather not keep holding …

The bronze face on Durham Cathedral’s north door has an ominous appearance. The cathedral knocker depicts a lion swallowing a man while snakes bite at …

Most people disappear from history without leaving behind their height. But not Marta. Sometime in 18th-century Ethiopia, a narrow prayer scroll was created especially for …

The monk is just about 16 inches tall. When you wind a key inside it, the figure comes to life—walking, turning its head, raising a …

From orbit, Earth is no longer a map. It becomes a bright, moving world surrounded by darkness, with everyone you have ever known living beneath …

Toward the end of September, the energy becomes more intense and expressive. Some signs feel ready to take a risk, while others finally recognize which …

In the late twelfth century, a strange Latin work began circulating in northern Italy. Called the Ars Notoria, it promised stronger memory, clearer speech, and …

In medieval art, Christ didn’t always appear in human form. He could be a pelican tearing open its breast, a unicorn dying in a maiden’s …

On September 12, the Moon meets Mercury at 2 degrees of Libra—and then the sky starts answering back. It comes barely a day after the …