In the Native American tradition, a person’s symbolic "power animals" reflect his or her character traits. I’m not sure what my power animal is, so I looked up bear, and found that the bear represents gentle strength and dreaming. That sounded great! There was a lovely drawing of a bear and a traditional story from the Lakota Sioux people to go along with the description. Hmmm, maybe I do have a power animal after all . . . Take a peek and see what yours might be.

>> Honoring the Animal Spirits

Ijo Orunmila: A Guide to the Yoruba Religion

This site is presented by Fashina Falade, Chief Olubikin of Ile-Ife, and begins with the Yoruba cosmology, followed by pages on many aspects of Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of Africa. Much of the information is beautifully presented in the form of stories, poetry, and prayer, with occasional photographs of people and ceremonial objects.

One large page is devoted to Oshun (the Yoruba goddess of love, of water, and much more). It includes stories and prayers to her, as well as a list of over a dozen names for her various aspects, such as Oshun Koyode, the spirit of dance, and Oshun Ede, the spirit of elegance. Be sure to check out the Opon Ifa (circle of life) page as well to see a powerful photograph of a group ceremony.

>> Ijo Orunmila: A Guide to the Yoruba Religion

The Gnostic Archive

This easy-to-navigate site has a lot of resources, beginning with a comprehensive library of Gnostic scriptures including the famous Nag Hammadi library as well as a large selection of writings from other traditions. There is an introduction to Gnosticism and a Gnostic reading list with a comprehensive, annotated bibliography. Using RealAudio, you can listen to full-length lectures selected from the archives of the Gnostic Society's "Friday Lecture Series" on subjects ranging from psychologist Carl Jung to the Kabbalah.

The home page features a perennial question of humankind and Gnosticism’s answer to it: If God is all-powerful and all good, why is God's creation full of such terrible evil? (You’ll have to visit to see what their answer is!) And you’re invited to take a moment to reflect on a brief meditation and readings from Gnostic scriptures. A fascinating introduction to this old yet new tradition, the site is searchable by keywords and subjects and has lots of food for thought (not too many pictures, though).

>> The Gnostic Archive