The sexual classification of ores and stones was maintained in the alchemical writings and lapidaries of the Middle Ages; - Mircea Eliade

Whereas "false stories" can be told anywhere and at any time, myths must not be recited except during a period of sacred time (usually in autumn or winter, and only at night).... This custom has survived even among peoples who have passed beyond the archaic stage of culture. Among the Turco-Mongols and the Tibetans the epic songs of the Gesar cycle can be recited only at night and in winter.

I wanted to study them all; obviously, not as a specialist, but still rigorously, working directly from texts, because I have a horror of improvisation and hearsay learning.

Unii spun că în noaptea aceasta, exact la miezul nopţii, se deschid cerurile. (…) Dar probabil că se deschid numai pentru cei care ştiu cum să le privească.