As one of the oldest forms of religious beliefs, animism* has brought forth an attempted explanation to the greatest mysteries of humanity; what is religion? Derived from the Latin origin of 'anima' meaning spirit, breath, life, or soul, animism is the belief that things in nature (e.g. ...

We should perhaps begin with a very basic definition of this character from Irish folklore. The leprechaun, as Rose (1998) defines him, is a sort of fairy who takes the form of a tiny old man who does indeed often wear the cocked hat that he is represented as wearing in contemporary popular...