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For centuries, mythology and folklore have provided a way for people to experience wish fulfillment indirectly. Women who faced difficulties conceiving in the past might have found reassurance in these tales of extraordinary pregnancies, no matter how peculiar or fantastical they appeared.
10. Consuming a Human Heart - Sicilian Folklore
In the Sicilian folktale “Saint Oniria,” two hunters lose their way in a forest and stumble upon an opulent cottage. They settle in and are captivated by a “divine scent” emanating from the fireplace, which they discover comes from a human heart hidden beneath the firewood.
The heart possesses a mesmerizing allure: The hunters are compelled to take it with them, and upon reaching an inn, the innkeeper’s daughter is irresistibly drawn to steal and consume it.
Although a virgin, the daughter conceives a child. Her father, convinced she has brought shame to the family, punishes her severely. However, after the child’s birth, it is revealed that the heart belonged to Saint Oniria, who had perished in a fire and returned to impart moral lessons to the abusive father and humanity at large.
Similar tales are found across Europe. Most feature a deceased hermit (instead of a saint) and a young woman who either inhales the scent or consumes his heart (or another part of his body) to resurrect him. However, this particular version uniquely incorporates a Second Coming of Christ motif.
9. Consuming a Grain of Wheat as a Chicken - Welsh Mythology
In the era of King Arthur, a sorceress named Ceridwen discovers the formula for a magical brew designed to bestow beauty and intelligence upon her unattractive and foolish son. The potion requires a year and a day of boiling, so she entrusts the cauldron to a young servant named Gwion Bach. As he stirs the mixture, three drops spill onto his finger, scalding him. He instinctively licks his finger, absorbing the beauty and wisdom meant for Ceridwen’s son.
The cauldron then shatters, as all the magic was concentrated in those three drops, leaving the remainder as toxic poison. Upon learning what transpired, Ceridwen is enraged. Gwion Bach, now possessing the ability to shapeshift, transforms into a hare and flees. Ceridwen pursues him as a greyhound. He then becomes a fish and leaps into a river, only for her to follow as an otter. He takes to the skies as a bird, but she chases him as a hawk.
Eventually, Gwion Bach descends to the ground as a grain of wheat. Determined to catch him, Ceridwen transforms into a hen and devours him. When she realizes she is pregnant, she intends to kill the child after birth. However, upon seeing the infant’s beauty, she spares him, places him in a bag, and casts him into the sea.
Fortunately, the baby is washed ashore, rescued by a prince, and grows up to become the renowned Welsh poet Taliesin, who has neither confirmed nor denied this account of his origins.
8. Conception Through Water and Sunbeam - Navajo Mythology
In Navajo mythology, two significant female figures stand out: the Changing Woman, symbolizing the Earth and the seasons, and her sister, White Shell Woman. These figures were deemed too extraordinary to be content with ordinary men.
One day, while walking, the sisters felt a sudden desire for male companionship. Changing Woman lay on a rock, extending her legs toward the Sun, which mysteriously triggered her first menstrual cycle. Meanwhile, White Shell Woman reclined in a mountain stream, becoming the bride of water.
The Sun and water eagerly fulfilled their desires, resulting in the sisters’ pregnancies. Changing Woman gave birth to a son named Monster Slayer, while White Shell Woman bore a son called Water Child. In alternative versions, Changing Woman is the mother of both children, having been impregnated by water just four days after delivering Monster Slayer.
7. Conception Through Snow and Fire - European Folklore
Across Europe, numerous versions of “The Snow Child” exist, but the core story remains consistent: A husband returns from years at sea to find his wife has borne a child. Knowing it cannot be his, he questions her. She insists she conceived by consuming a snowflake or falling into a snowdrift.
In many renditions, the husband takes the child outside, returns alone, and declares the child melted. Some versions escalate the tale by having the husband sell the child into slavery, then claim the child melted away.
However, not all versions conclude this way. In “The Snow Daughter and the Fire Son,” a story from Bukovina, a childless couple strolls near their cottage. The wife swallows an icicle that falls from their roof, leading to the birth of a “snow daughter” who is pale, icy cold, and can only thrive in freezing conditions.
Unsatisfied with this miracle, the wife later wishes for a “fire son” while sitting by the fireplace. A spark lands in her lap, and she gives birth to a son who is fiery red, hot to the touch, and can only survive near flames.
Naturally, the brother and sister cannot live together peacefully and ultimately bring about each other’s demise.
6. Consuming a Flower - Norwegian Folklore
In the world of fairy tales, eating a flower can result in either a snake or twin daughters (one beautiful and the other unattractive). In “Prince Lindorm,” the outcome is a snake.
The tale revolves around a barren queen who consults a wise woman to achieve pregnancy. She is advised to eat one of two flowers—red or white—to conceive. Displaying poor fairy tale decision-making, she consumes both and gives birth to a snake. However, the snake later marries and transforms into a handsome human prince, ensuring a happy ending.
This conception method also appears in the tale of “Tatterhood,” where a barren queen uses the same approach. However, she gives birth to twin girls. The first is Tatterhood, an unattractive girl who rides a goat and wields a wooden spoon.
Horrified, the queen exclaims, “If I am your mother, may God grant me the wisdom to change my ways.” Tatterhood, who can speak moments after birth, comforts her mother by announcing the arrival of a more beautiful sibling. True to her word, Tatterhood’s twin sister is born healthy, normal, and lovely, quickly becoming the queen’s favorite.
Despite her appearance, Tatterhood proves to be a formidable warrior. One day, hearing trolls and witches causing chaos outside the castle, she confronts them with her wooden spoon and drives them away. Unfortunately, her sister ventures out to investigate the noise, and a witch replaces her head with that of a calf. Tatterhood then embarks on a journey to a distant land, battles more witches, retrieves her sister’s head, and reattaches it.
5. Placing an Almond on Your Chest - Greek Mythology
Typically, castration prevents a man from fathering children—unless it’s ancient Greece, and you’re the hermaphroditic deity Agdistis.
The gods, fearing this unusual being, tore off her penis and buried it, transforming her into a female. However, the buried penis grew into an almond tree.
When the almonds ripened, a nymph named Nana placed one on her chest, where it dissolved and impregnated her. (Some versions suggest it dissolved in her lap, which seems slightly more plausible.) Nine months later, she abandons her peculiar almond-born child, Attis, who is then raised by a male goat.
The strangeness doesn’t stop there. Attis grows into an extraordinarily handsome man, and his family arranges his marriage to a princess. However, Agdistis, now female, falls in love with her son and interrupts the wedding ceremony. This drives Attis to madness, and he castrates himself on the spot.
4. Conception Through a Shower of Gold - Greek Mythology
Zeus, the notorious womanizer, will go to any lengths to satisfy his desires. He has transformed into a swan, a bull, and even an eagle to conceal his affairs from his jealous sister-wife, Hera. His lovers often accept these animal forms, making his schemes successful. Naturally, Zeus refuses to give up, even when the object of his desire is imprisoned in a tower.
One day, King Akrisios of Argos receives a prophecy that he will be killed by the son of his daughter, Danae. To prevent her from conceiving, he locks her in a tower. However, the cunning Zeus causes a shower of gold to fall from the sky, and Danae becomes pregnant with Perseus as a result.
Upon discovering Danae’s pregnancy, Akrisios places her and Perseus in a chest and casts them into the sea. They survive the journey and wash ashore on the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows up.
Besides slaying Medusa and rescuing Andromeda, Perseus ultimately fulfills the prophecy by killing his grandfather, as functional families are rare in Greek mythology.
3. A Ball Of Hummingbird FeathersAztec Mythology
Once upon a time, according to the Aztecs, a goddess named Coatlicue was sweeping up a temple when a ball of hummingbird feathers fluttered down from the heavens. She picked it up, tucked it into her belt, and soon found herself pregnant. But that’s not the weird part.
At this point, Coatlicue already had 400 other children, the 400 stars that make up the Milky Way. For some reason, they weren’t happy about another sibling, so they conspired to kill Coatlicue. But that’s not the weird part.
With Coatlicue’s daughter Coyolxauhqui leading the charge, all the children assemble and storm into their mother’s home armed with weapons, ready to kill her and her unborn child.
However, Coatlicue's son, the mighty warrior Huitzilopochtli, emerges from her womb—fully grown, clad in armor, and armed—proceeding to slay them all.
Yes, that’s the bizarre twist.
2. A Serpent Entering a Uterus - Italian Folklore
Mythology is rife with tales of bestiality, but Italy elevates it with “Biancabella and the Snake.” The tale starts with a marquis’s wife napping in the garden when a serpent slips into her vagina and curls up in her uterus.
Evidently, this woman is the deepest sleeper in the world, as the snake fails to rouse her. To her delight, she discovers she’s pregnant. She delivers a baby girl with a snake wrapped around her neck, and as the midwives watch in shock, the snake unwinds itself and disappears.
The child, named Biancabella, grows up cherished and celebrated for her stunning beauty. One day, while in the garden, she encounters a talking snake who introduces herself as her twin sister, Samaritana.
Samaritana directs Biancabella to fetch a bucket of milk. She then instructs her sister to undress and bathe in the milk while the snake glides over her, licking the milk from her skin. Though unsettling, this ritual enhances Biancabella’s beauty and perfection.
Samaritana vanishes for a while, leaving Biancabella alone as she prepares to marry the King of Naples. After years of her snake-sister’s subtle rejection, Biancabella falls into despair and contemplates ending her life. Only then does Samaritana reappear to console her, and inexplicably, she transforms into a human woman.
1. Stepping on a God’s Footprint - Chinese Folklore
In Chinese mythology, Houji is revered as the legendary founder of agriculture, credited with discovering cereal crops and laying the foundation for modern staples like Lucky Charms and Cheerios. While some tales identify him as a son of Emperor Ku, others suggest Houji was born through the immaculate conception of Jiang Yuan, Emperor Ku’s wife, who was believed to be infertile.
One day, while wandering in the countryside, Jiang Yuan stumbled upon a massive footprint left by the sky god Shangdi. Curious, she stepped into it, experiencing an unusual sensation. Soon after, she realized she was pregnant.
Following Houji’s birth, Jiang Yuan abandoned her infant son on three separate occasions. Astonished by his survival each time, she concluded that her child was extraordinary and chose to raise him.
