In the Book of Tobit, the demons Solomon controls rise up against him, led by Asmodeus; in some traditions, Asmodeus impersonates Solomon, while in others, this uprising is a possession of djinni. #TempleThursday #FolkloreThursday

In the Quran, Bilquis, the Queen of Sheba, brings her nation's sun worship to Solomon's court, where in time she submits to Solomon's faith; in some folk traditions, Bilquis is the daughter of a djinn. #TempleThursday #FolkloreThursday

Hermeticism in Japanese Buddhism, particularly of Shingon and Tendai schools, is famous for its remote mountain living, its waterfall meditations and ablution as purification rituals, and for another topic: its self-mummification! Like many Buddhist ascetics, some lived so simply they mummifed, some drinking tree resin to slowly kill themselves while not framing it that way. Some remained critical of this, to the point that when the Meiji government began to persecute non-Shinto religions in Japan, they outlawed religious suicide alongside assisted suicide (rarely were these methods ever done alone), and by the end of the 1870s the practice was completely outlawed. Shrines to these ascetics remain open. #TempleThursday #FolkloreThursday

For centuries, estates in Europe had garden hermits, men who were paid to stay on site and live as a recluse on estate land, living in anything from a hut to a chapel but always provided for: in food, in payment, in service. While many stayed, some were allowed to wander as a true hermit or nomad, and were even seasonable. Most viewed these hermits with curiosity and were treated as entertainment for the rich: look how comedically these rustic ascetics live! Many others, more favorably, treated these hermits with respect and sought their advice on matters from maintaining the manor and farmland to management of perhaps even the kingdom, in the case of Charles VIII of France with his hermit Francis of Paola. Whatever the case, today we view them as a #mood #TempleThursday #FolkloreThursday

Twelve is central to time-keeping, many cultures dividing the year into twelve months, with twelve zodiacs in both the Western and Eastern systems. #TempleThursday

In Buddhism, there are twelve steps that represent samsara and the need to be reborn. Called the Nidana, you begin ignorant, gain consciousness and worldliness, become addicted, and ultimately die. Not the best twelve step program. #TempleThursday