#spirituality

Laura Perry - Author and Artist

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Honoring the Dead: Modern Minoan Seasonality

Oct 26, 2016
1 min

Honoring the Dead: Modern Minoan Seasonality

Here in the northern hemisphere we're heading toward Samhain, a time to honor the ancestors. The Minoans didn't celebrate Samhain - their sacred calendar is pretty different from the modern neopagan Wheel of the Year - but they did do some things that look an awful lot like our modern Samhain celebrations. To find out more, head on over to my Minoan Path blog: Honoring the Dead: Modern Minoan Seasonality If you'd like to join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism, hea

Minoan Birds: Goddess on the Wing

Oct 19, 2016
1 min

Minoan Birds: Goddess on the Wing

The Minoans were great artists. They depicted birds and other animals so accurately that we can identify the specific species in the frescoes and on the pottery from ancient Crete. But they also created images of birds that don't make any sense realistically: bird heads on human women, birds with breasts...but perhaps these weren't meant to be real birds. Perhaps the Minoans worshiped a Bird Goddess, an aspect of the Mother Goddess as she flies through the air or descends fro

A Bit of a Rant: The Minoans weren't Greek!

Oct 13, 2016
1 min

A Bit of a Rant: The Minoans weren't Greek!

In case you hadn't noticed, the Minoans of ancient Crete are very much my thing. I'm a bit obsessed, having written two books and created a coloring book and a Tarot deck with Minoan themes. In the process of feeding that obsession, I've studied a lot about the Minoans. I'm no expert but I'm pretty well informed. One of the most common misconceptions I come across when I talk with people about the Minoans is that a lot of people think they were Greek. No, in fact, they weren'

Calling to the Gods: Some Things Never Change

Oct 5, 2016
2 min

Calling to the Gods: Some Things Never Change

I was going to write an article about the Pleiades in Minoan spirituality and culture for today’s blog, but the research time for that got pre-empted by the fact that my husband was hospitalized and then had major surgery. I promise to write about the Pleiades later. But the whole surgery-and-hospital thing got me thinking about the role of the gods in our lives and how that has changed—or hasn’t—since ancient times. My husband just had surgery for diverticulitis, a problem h

Let's Celebrate the Feast of Grapes!

Aug 31, 2016
1 min

Let's Celebrate the Feast of Grapes!

In Modern Minoan Paganism, the last day of August is the Feast of Grapes. It's a celebration of the grape harvest and the sacrificial death of the vine-god Dionysus. Find out how you can mark this day in today's Minoan Path blog post: Let's Celebrate the Feast of Grapes! To join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism, head on over to Ariadne's Tribe, our welcoming community on Facebook. In the name of the bee, And of the butterfly, And of the breeze, amen! #paganism #c

Book Review: The Old Ones in the Old Book

Aug 24, 2016
2 min

Book Review: The Old Ones in the Old Book

I recently had the pleasure of reading a really unique book. For years I've been fascinated by the tidbits about ancient pagan spiritual practice that are scattered throughout the Bible's Old Testament, a.k.a. the Tanakh. But I was never able to put those bits together into a cohesive picture of what that spirituality might have looked like. Then I read The Old Ones in the Old Book by Philip West. And it turns out, the world of the Old Testament wasn't nearly as monotheistic

How do you do Minoan?

Aug 17, 2016
1 min

How do you do Minoan?

The most common question people ask me is, "How do you DO Modern Minoan Paganism?" In other words, what does the spiritual practice look like? I've answered that question in today's blog post over at The Minoan Path on PaganSquare: How do you do Minoan? If you'd like to join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism, head on over to our welcoming community at Ariadne's Tribe on Facebook. In the name of the bee, And of the butterfly, And of the breeze, amen. #paganism #min

Journeying to the Realm of the Dead

Jul 20, 2016
1 min

Journeying to the Realm of the Dead

This week on the Minoan Path blog I'm exploring another ritual posture from ancient Crete. I've discovered some interesting aspects of this one that are different from what other people have experienced, all because I stopped to think about how these figurines were meant to be positioned (hint: It's not upright like the photo shows). To find out what I discovered, hop on over to the blog post: Minoan Ecstatic Postures: The Realm of the Dead If you're interested in Minoan spir

More Minoan Ecstatic Postures

Jul 13, 2016
1 min

More Minoan Ecstatic Postures

This week on the Minoan Path Blog I'm exploring some more ritual postures that the ancient Minoans used for journeying to their goddesses and gods. Most modern Pagans are familiar with ritual gestures - the Goddess Pose from Wicca, for instance - but ecstatic postures are a little different. They're meant to be held for an extended period of time to help guide a trance journey. I first got interested in these poses after reading Belinda Gore's awesome book Ecstatic Body Postu

Book Review: The Awen Alone

Jun 23, 2016
2 min

Book Review: The Awen Alone

I've just finished a lovely book. The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary Druid is part of the Pagan Portals series, shortish introductions to a variety of pagan subjects. For such a brief book, this one is certainly packed full. Joanna van der Hoeven has done an excellent job of creating a useful reference that's good for dipping your toes in but also promises to be worth referring back to farther along the line. For starters, it has one of the best introductions to

Minoan Midsummer: Layers of Religion

Jun 22, 2016
3 min

Minoan Midsummer: Layers of Religion

Religion isn’t a static thing. We don’t invent a religion once and leave it as is for centuries. Cultures change, people change, and spiritual practice changes, too. Minoan civilization lasted for centuries. Just the “palace” periods, the times when the big temple complexes were being built and rebuilt, lasted about 500 years. Minoan civilization as a whole lasted more than two millennia. And during that time, the spiritual practice in ancient Crete changed and grew. We can t

The Colors of Minoan Life and Art

Jun 15, 2016
1 min

The Colors of Minoan Life and Art

Minoan art is so vibrant and colorful, I feel like I could walk right into the scenes on the frescoes. Where did they get those beautiful colors? You might be surprised. You might also be surprised to know that some of the colors have meanings beyond just 'This is pretty.' To find out more, have a read through my latest Minoan Path blog post: The Colors of Minoan Life and Art To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, hop on over to Ariadne's Tribe on Facebook. #min

Walking the Labyrinth

Jun 1, 2016
1 min

Walking the Labyrinth

The labyrinth is one of the most recognizable symbols of Minoan spirituality. But people from a wide variety of paths and traditions incorporate the labyrinth into their practice. Find out more about this fascinating spiritual tool in today's Minoan Path blog post: Walking the Labyrinth To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, hop on over to Ariadne's Tribe on Facebook. In the name of the bee, And of the butterfly, And of the breeze, amen. #minoan #spirituality #p

Faking History: Minoan Spirituality on the Line

May 18, 2016
1 min

Faking History: Minoan Spirituality on the Line

This isn't something most people think about very often, but archaeological forgeries can be a problem when we're trying to reconstruct ancient spiritual practices. Today I look at the fake Minoan snake goddess statues, among others that have had an impact on modern Minoan Paganism: Faking History: Minoan Spirituality on the Line To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, head on over to Ariadne's Tribe, our welcoming community of spiritual adventurers. In the name

A toast to the Minoans!

May 11, 2016
1 min

A toast to the Minoans!

It can be hard to figure out exactly what ancient people did to worship their gods, but art can give us some clues. The Camp Stool fresco from Knossos shows a particular type of ritual that we can easily perform in the modern world to connect with the Minoan deities. Check out the details in today's Minoan Path blog post: A toast to the Minoans! To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, hop on over to Ariadne's Tribe and meet our welcoming community. In the name of

How history changes: The Minoans and their neighbors

Apr 27, 2016
1 min

How history changes: The Minoans and their neighbors

Life doesn't happen in a vacuum and history isn't interpreted in a vacuum, either. Each of us brings preconceptions to the table when we're investigating the ancient world, and Sir Arthur Evans was no different. Learn more about how much our view of the ancient Minoans has changed in the century since he excavated Knossos: How history changes: The Minoans and their neighbors And remember, some of the things we think we know today about the ancient world are probably wrong, to

How do you know that's a ritual object?

Apr 6, 2016
1 min

How do you know that's a ritual object?

Over in Ariadne's Tribe (my discussion group that focuses on modern Minoan Paganism) we often find ourselves questioning the label 'ritual object' that's applied to so many archaeological finds with such abandon. Of course, there are ways to figure out whether most artifacts are ritual items or not, but since most archaeologists aren't practicing Pagans, they might not understand how this works: How do you know that's a ritual object? So take those 'ritual object' labels with

Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?

Mar 16, 2016
1 min

Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?

The Snake Goddess is iconic of Minoan civilization and religion, but who is she really and what place does she have in modern Minoan Paganism? Read today's Minoan Path blog post to find out: Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? To join the discussion about ancient Minoan civilization and modern Minoan Paganism, pop on over to Ariadne's Tribe. In the name of the bee And of the butterfly And of the breeze, amen! #minoan #crete #spirituality #symbolism #paganism #culture

Minoan Ecstatic Postures: Saluting the Sacred

Mar 2, 2016
1 min

Minoan Ecstatic Postures: Saluting the Sacred

Many modern Pagan traditions involve sacred postures of one sort or another. This is an ancient practice, one the Minoans used to honor their gods and induce altered states of consciousness. Today on the Minoan Path Blog I'm sharing several of the less-well-known sacred postures from ancient Crete: Minoan Ecstatic Postures: Saluting the Sacred To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, pop on over to Ariadne's Tribe. In the name of the Bee - And of the Butterfly -

Grandmother Ocean: Constant Inspiration

Feb 17, 2016
1 min

Grandmother Ocean: Constant Inspiration

The ancient Minoans lived on an island surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Those blue waters inspired their livelihood, their cuisine, and their religion. Have a look at some of their beautiful, marine-inspired art in today's Minoan Path blog post: Grandmother Ocean: constant inspiration To join the discussion about modern Minoan Paganism, head on over to Ariadne's Tribe on Facebook. Everyone is welcome. In the name of the Bee - And of the Butterfly - And of the Breeze - A