Ritual Collection

Statue of Athena in the Parthenon of ancient Athens
Statue of the goddess Athena inside the Parthenon, ancient Athens. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

The Little White Chapel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Jewish high priest and Levite in ancient Israel
Jewish high priest and Levite conducting a ceremony, ancient Israel. Antique hand-colored woodcut

Map of the Coronation ritual within Westminster Abbey
A panoramic view inside Westminster Abbey to show the position, movements and sequence of ceremonies (indicated by numbers) of the Coronation ceremony of King George VI. Date: 1937

The Druids - Bringing in the Mistletoe, 1890 (oil on canvas)
GLS219810 The Druids - Bringing in the Mistletoe, 1890 (oil on canvas) by Henry, George (1858-1943) and Hornel, Edward A

Reconstruction of the Stone circles at Avebury, Wiltshire
Reconstruction (after J)

Worshippers at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel, Middle East

Queen of the Witches, Maxine Sanders. 4th May 1974

Sri Lanka - Geta Beraya and Udekkiya players
Traditional Sri Lankna drums and drummers. The standing player is holding a hill country drum called the Geta Beraya (a drum with a knot)

Codex Borgia. Ritual and divinatory mesoamerican manuscript written in Nahuatl before of the conquest of Mexico. It is related with the aztec calendar Tonalpohualli

Bust of goddess Tanit. Carthaginian art. Sculpture. SPAIN. BALEARES. IBIZA. Ibiza. Museum of Archaeology of Ibiza and Formentera

SIBERIA: SHAMAN. A shaman of the Tungus people of Siberia, with antlers and ritual drum. Copper engraving, Dutch, 1705, after a drawing by Nicolaes Witsen

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
General view of the State Procession down the Nave led by H. M. The Queen, flanked by her Maids of Honour after the Coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on June 2nd 1953. 1953

Queen Elizabeth II is crowned
The moment during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II where the Archbishop of Canterbury places St Edwards crown on the Queens head. Date: 1953

The Girl. Costume design for the ballet The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) by I. Stravinsky, 1912. Found in the collection of the State Central A. Bakhrushin Theatre Museum, Moscow

The Trundholm sun chariot. Early Bronze Age. C. 1400 BC
Prehistory. The Trundholm sun chariot. Early Bronze Age. C. 1400 BC. Scandinavian

Druid carrying mistletoe and a sickle. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Morris Men BB76_04939
Headington Quarry Morris Dancers outside the Chequers public house, Headington, Oxfordshire

Costume design for the ballet The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) by I. Stravinski, 1930. Private Collection

Egypt. Goddess Nephthys. Relief. Memphis
Egyptian Art. Goddess Nephthys wearing a headdress in the shape of a house. Relief. Mit Rahina Open Air Museum. Memphis. Egypt

Picture No. 11671273
Great Crested Grebe pair performing courtship dance. Date:

Bison dance of the Mandan Native Americans in front of their medicine lodge
MANDAN: BISON DANCE, 1844. Bison dance of the Mandan Native Americans in front of their medicine lodge. Aquatint engraving, 1844, after Karl Bodmer

Symbols of Power and Glory and of Christian Faith. S. Edwards Crown, The Imperial State Crown, The Sovereigns Orb and the head of the Royal Sceptre with Cross

Navajo sand paintings preserved on tiles
Navajo sand paintings on tiles displayed for sale at the intertribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, New Mexico. Photograph

Druids collecting sacred mistletoe
Druid ceremony gathering mistletoe in the forest. Hand-colored engraving of a 19th-century illustration

Egyptian deities separating night and day
Ancient Egyptian deities Shu separating Sibu and Nuit. Hand-colored 19th-century woodcut reproduction of a painting on a mummy-case

Buddist celebration of Losar (Tibetian New Year) where Buddists throw flower in the air, Bodnath, Katmandu, Nepal, Asia

Pouring coffee during a coffee ceremony, Ethiopia, Africa

Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel, Middle East

Shaman mask, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (B. C. ), Canada, North America
Shaman mask, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (B.C.), Canada, North America

Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel, Middle East

Gokstad Ship, 1880
A Norwegian Viking ship excavated at Gokstad

Druids at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Symbolic designs on the lid of the Pastos in the vault of the Adepts, c
RGL212699 Symbolic designs on the lid of the Pastos in the vault of the Adepts, c.1895 (coloured ink on paper) by English School

King of the Witches, Alex Sanders at his home in Notting Hill, London

Alex Sanders King of the Witches at his basement flat in Notting Hill, London. 13th March 1970

Alex Sanders and Maxine Morris, Queen of Englands 30, 000 witches signed this week at technical advisors for witchcraft sequences n the new film " The Eye of he Devil"

Maxine Morris, Queen of Englands 30, 000 witches signed this week at technical advisor for witchcraft sequences n the new film " The Eye of he Devil"

Great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus) performing courtship ritual at dawn, Cheshire, UK April

Bulls fight during the Maghesangranti festival at Talukachandani village in Nuwakot
Bulls fight during the Maghesangranti festival, which commemorates the start of the holy month of Magh, ushering in the coming of warmer weather and longer days

John Of God, Saint (1495-1550). Portuguese religious man, founder of the ador de la Order of Charity or of Hospitallers (Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God)

Back View Of Car With Just Married Sign
UNITED STATES - Circa 1930s: Back View Of Car With Just Married Sign. (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile/Getty Images)

Pilgrims Bathing in Roben Waterfall, c1827. Pilgrims are taking a ritual bath before visiting the shrine at Oyama. Katsushika Hokusai (1770-1849) Japanese artist and printmaker

Coronation 1937 - The Anointing
The Anointing Ceremony during the Coronation of King George VI, which precedes the crowning

Ancient Greek athlete proclaimed the winner
Crowning the winner with laurel in ancient Greek Olympic Games. Hand-colored halftone reproduction of a 19th-century illustration

Paris Masons, 1740
Freemasons in a Masonic Lodge in Paris perform a ritual. A symbol covered banner is laid on the floor while a blindfolded man, an arm & shoulder bared, is led forth

Advertisement for Doctors China Tea by Gladys Peto, done in her characteristic decorative style. Date: c.1924

Arunta tribesmen of central Australia preparing a new corroboree, 1922

The Duk Duk society, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, 1920. Young men being initiated before they can marry

Ultrafashionable lady. Costume design for the ballet The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) by I. Stravinsky, 1912. Found in the collection of the State Central A

Page from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer, from Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, c1300 BC. The mummy of Hunefer is shown supported by the god or a priest (wearing a jackal mask)

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib sikh temple

Vajrakumara (?) and Consort, Nyingmapa Buddhist or Bon Ritual Card, 18th-19th century

Devotees pray with light
Azim Khan Ronnie

Orthodox priest blessing the soil, Russia. A print from Customs of the World, Volume II Hutchinson and Co, Paternoster Row, London

Secret Societies (nineteenth century). Initiation ceremony of a new member. Colored engraving

Picture No. 11671326
Great Crested Grebe pair performing courtship display spring. Date:

Illustration to John Keats poem Endymion, engraved by F. Joubert, 1872
XJF477744 Illustration to John Keats poem Endymion, engraved by F

The Blessing of the Wheat in the Artois, 1857 (oil on canvas)
XIR173095 The Blessing of the Wheat in the Artois, 1857 (oil on canvas) by Breton, Jules (1827-1906); 126x320 cm; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Arras

Walpurghis Night, 1862 (oil on canvas)
XKH149527 Walpurghis Night, 1862 (oil on canvas) by Spangenberg, Gustav Adolph (1828-91); 124.7x190 cm; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg

Picture No. 11071611
Red-crowned Crane / Japanese Crane / Manchurian Crane in snow calling - Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, Hokkaido Island, Japan. Date:

Japanese Wedding Ceremony series - Bride and Parents-in-Law

Japanese Wedding Ceremony series - Drinking Sake
Japanese Wedding Ceremony - Bride and Bridegroom each drink Sake nine times to fasten the ties of matrimony - the most important ritual act in marriage. Date: circa 1910s

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II by Bryan de Grineau
Spectacular illustration by ILN special artist, Bryan de Grineau

Mistletoe sprigs
Mistletoe. Leaves and berries on sprigs of the European mistletoe (Viscum album). Mistletoe is a parasitic, evergreen shrub that can grow on a variety of trees, but is usually found on apple trees

NAVAJO DANCER, c1905. A Navajo man dressed in spruce branches as the deity Tonenili the water sprinkler, during the Yeibichai, a ceremonial dance. Photograph by Edward Curtis, c1905

Sioux brave heralding the sunrise. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century Frederic Remington illustration

Traditional Thai marriage, Bangkok area, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Alaskan Potlatch
Alaskan natives gather for a POTLATCH - a ritual exchange of hospitality and gifts which often ruins the donors who seek to compete in displays of generosity

Investiture of Narses by the Goddess Anahita, Sasanian, 226-651 AD (stone)
XIR279368 Investiture of Narses by the Goddess Anahita, Sasanian, 226-651 AD (stone) by Persian School; Naqsh-e Rostam, Iran; (add.info.: Narses (d)

Initiation of a Mistress of Egypt in the Egyptian Rite (engraving)
3100802 Initiation of a Mistress of Egypt in the Egyptian Rite (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Initiation of a Mistress of Egypt in the Egyptian Rite)

Aguarda Que Te Unten, plate from Los Caprichos, 1799 (etching & aquatint)
3112269 Aguarda Que Te Unten, plate from Los Caprichos, 1799 (etching & aquatint) by Goya y Lucientes

Walpurghis Night (engraving) (b / w photo)
CHT276338 Walpurghis Night (engraving) (b/w photo) by German School, (17th century); Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

The Communion of the Virgin, 1663 (oil on canvas)
JEB4882123 The Communion of the Virgin, 1663 (oil on canvas) by Gimignani or Gemignano, Giacinto (1611-81); 221x172 cm; Palais de Longchamp, Marseille, France; eJean Bernard; Italian, out of copyright

Greek relief of a family sacrificing
Greek relief of a family making an offer at an altar of Zeus. The father is holding a Patera

The Last Post by C. E. Turner
Buglers sounding the Last Post at 9pm before the British monument to fallen soldiers at Ypres, the Menin Gate. Date: 1930

Picture No. 10947434
Superb Lyrebird - male spreading tail during full courtship display on display mound Sherbrooke Forest, Victoria, Australia. Date:

Mass of St. Martin. 15th c. Castilian school. Oil on wood. SPAIN. Bilbao. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

The Queen in the Scottish National Service in St. Giles Cath
The newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II, attends the Scottish National Service of Dedication and Thanksgiving at the High Kirk of Edinburgh (St Giles Cathedral)

1806 Boxing Australian kangaroo in zoo
1806 " Kangaroo" Copper engraving of a keeper attempting to box a kangaroo. First image of a boxing kangaroo, now an australian national icon

Blue-footed booby courtship display C013 / 7485
Blue-footed booby courtship display. Pair of blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) displaying during a courtship ritual. Photographed on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos Islands

Loyola, Saint Ignacius of (1491-1556). Spanish religious man, founder of the Society of Jesus. Painting

Beating the Bounds Boats
ENGLAND - BEATING THE BOUNDS Choirboys and dignitaries sailing down the Thames in rowing boats, en route to St. Clement Danes for the beating the parish boundaries ceremony Date: early 1930s

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From ancient traditions to modern protests, the power transcends time and culture. In 1963, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc made a profound statement by committing self-immolation in Saigon, denouncing President Ngo Dinh Diem's anti-Buddhist measures. Malcolm Browne captured this haunting moment that forever etched itself into history. The Parthenon of ancient Athens stands as a testament to the rituals performed in honor of Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare. The grandeur of this temple reminds us of the significance placed on religious customs throughout civilizations. In Las Vegas, amidst glitz and glamour, The Little White Chapel serves as a sacred space for couples seeking matrimonial rituals. Love takes center stage here as vows are exchanged and lifelong commitments are sealed with tradition. Across the pond in 1953, the Coronation ceremony brought forth an awe-inspiring display of regal pageantry as Queen Elizabeth II ascended to her throne. This meticulously planned ritual within Westminster Abbey showcased symbols of power and glory alongside Christian faith. Traveling back even further in time, we find ourselves at Avebury in Wiltshire where stone circles were reconstructed - remnants from an ancient civilization's mysterious rituals. These enigmatic structures continue to captivate our imagination today. Jerusalem's Western Wall holds deep spiritual significance for worshippers who gather there daily to engage in prayerful rituals dating back centuries, and is a place where faith converges with history and devotion resonates through every stone. Sri Lanka introduces us to Geta Beraya and Udekkiya players whose rhythmic movements form part of traditional rituals celebrating their rich cultural heritage. Through music and dance, they pay homage to their ancestors while keeping these age-old practices alive. Delving into Mesoamerican cultures through Codex Borgia reveals intricate illustrations depicting ritualistic ceremonies intertwined with divination practices - providing insights into their beliefs about life's mysteries.