Laura Perry's Blog, page 2

A Dilemma of Horns: Minoan Bulls and Cows

If it has horns, it must be a bull, right?Wrong.I explain all the details in today's Minoan Path blog post:A Dilemma of Horns: Minoan Bulls and CowsTo join the conversation about ancient Minoan culture and Modern Minoan Paganism, head on over to our welcoming community at Ariadne's Tribeon Facebook.In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

New Year, New Saying, No Resolutions

My social media feeds are full of friends and colleagues sharing the New Year's resolutions they've made and intentions they've set. It's the same every year. And while I applaud those who actually carry through with the resolutions and intentions over the long term, that's just not an activity I feel inspired to participate in.You see, I think there's a reason it's so hard to stick with all the resolutions people make this time of year. Sure, it's the beginning of the new calendar year, but that's an artificial construct. January 1 isn't the beginning of anything in nature. In the northern hemisphere, if you dare to look away from your screen and out your window, you'll see that it's dark and cold these days, the time that Nature slows down, even stops. There's no energy out there, no vibrant springtime or exuberant summertime or even crisp autumn energy. Starting anything new is an uphill slog at best.This is the season of darkness and hibernation.Centuries ago, people in Europe and other parts of the world celebrated the New Year around the time of the Spring Equinox. This is the time when the Earth's energy is rising, the days are growing longer, the air is warming, the trees and bushes are blooming. It's the time to plow the fields and plant the year's crops.It's the season of growth, of burgeoning energy, of vibrancy.It's the time to start new things.To me, that's the best time to make resolutions and set intentions. I can ride the wave of growing energy along with the season and let it carry me along as I make those changes. Call it spring cleaning for the soul, if you will.I've found that when I make resolutions at the Spring Equinox, I'm almost always able to keep them for the long term.So what do I do at New Year's? I choose a saying for the year. I've done it for a lot of years now. One year I let my blog readers pick a saying for me. But most years I just wait for something to "pop out" at me. This year, the saying came in the form of a graphic that kept showing up in different places I was poking around online.This year's saying: May all that has been reduced to noise in you become music again.Once I've chosen the saying for the year, I simply hang out with it for the year. I remind myself of it every morning, and some days, that's all I do. But frequently, something will happen during the day - someone will say a few words or I'll read an article or see an image - and that will give me a whole new perspective on the saying and its meaning in my life. Then I'll chew on the experience and see if I can detect new layers, new understandings not just of the saying but of the bigger picture as well.I realize that, in our instant-gratification world, meditating on a single saying for a whole year sounds awfully slow and boring. What the practice has taught me is that meaning unfolds only as fast as we're able to accept it. And the more patient we are with ourselves, the more likely we are to find deeper meaning in ourselves and the world around us.I wish you a year filled with wonder and joy and peace.

Tale-Weaving: Storytime Episode 3

A while back, I started a series of Youtube videos in which I read excerpts from my novels The Bed and Jaguar Sky. Those are the only two novels I've published so far, but people kept clamoring for more, so I decided to start doing readings from some of my favorite books.It turns out, a lot of my favorites are books that are officially meant for a younger audience. But hey, I don't discriminate - a good story is a good story. So first, I turned to one of my longtime favorites, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and the excellent sequels written by William Horwood. I figured, since it's the holidays, Horwood's book The Willows at Christmas was a good place to start.So here's a bit of storytime for you: I love the practice of reading aloud. I think it's something we should do more of, whether we're reading stories to our kids at bedtime or sharing our favorite bits with the local book club, or even just having a "literary evening" with family and/or friends.I have a small stack of books that I'm going to be reading out of as this series continues, but if you have any favorites you'd like to hear, just let me know.

Ancient Spirituality in the Modern World

Today on the Minoan Path blog, I'm chewing on what it means to follow a spirit-led tradition that's based on a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age culture but that's practiced in the modern world. Lots to think about:Modern Minoan Paganism: No rules to breakTo join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism and ancient Minoan culture, 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.

Minoan Ramblings

December has been busy, but I've managed to share a bit about Minoan spirituality in its various forms.My dear friend Dana Corby graciously agreed to do a guest post about how Minoan spirituality has intertwined with Wicca and other forms of Paganism over the past few decades:How the Minoans got mixed up with WiccaAnd I've been contemplating the way the ancient Minoans made offerings, how they set them on different levels from the rest of the altar to set them apart from the mundane:Offerings, Minoan StyleTo join the conversation about ancient Minoan culture and 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.

New Cover Reveal: The Bed

I'm so very thankful that so many people have enjoyed my novel The Bed. But I thought the cover could use a little sprucing up. So I put on my graphic designer hat. After a fair amount of sweating and cursing (and one very clever bit of help from my daughter, who is better at this sort of thing than I am) I've created a spiffy new cover for the book. Ta-da! LOLI hope you like it. I think it captures the vibe of the book much better than the (slightly boring) original cover did.As an added bonus, here's a lovely review of the book by Mabh Savage of Pagan Pages (with the old cover, since that's what was available when she posted the review).Again, thank you so much to all my readers. I appreciate your reviews, your messages, and your kind comments. You make it all worthwhile.

Two Blades: Minoan ritual labryses and practical tools

There are labryses, and then there are double axes. There's a difference, and it has to do with how each one is used. I explain the details in today's Minoan Path blog post here:Two Blades: Minoan ritual labryses and practical toolsTo join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism and ancient Minoan civilization, head on over to our welcoming group at Ariadne's Tribe on Facebook.In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

Happy holidays! Or, don't tell other people how to celebrate

The holiday season is a rough time of year for many people. A lot of us have to navigate family conflicts, religious baggage, work obligations, issues of expectations and stress and budgets... you get the idea. So why must so many of us make it even worse by making demands about how others deal with this time of year?I've grown to expect that a certain variety of Christian will make a stink about people who don't say Merry Christmas. I just can't take them seriously and I've gotten good at ignoring them. But I've recently seen a whole bunch of people (including ones I thought were above this sort of thing) telling others how to celebrate the various holidays that come this time of year.It's one thing to remind our friends and family that many societal expectations about, for instance, Christmas/Solstice gatherings and gifts are not part of our personal "rules" for the season and we won't be upset if they don't follow those "rules."It's one thing to say, "This is how I do it. I just wanted to share, but I certainly don't expect you to do the same thing and I won't be disappointed if you do something different."It's one thing to make it clear to the people in our lives that we don't want them to feel pressured to do any of the "required" or "expected" things if those things will be a problem for them, and to let them know that their happiness and sanity matter more to us than any kind of holiday activity.These are helpful things to do, to support each other through this time of year that's so hard for many folks.It's quite another thing to tell others, whether over a coffee or on your blog, what kinds of gifts they should give (or not) and which aspects of the holidays they should focus on or ignore. How they should approach the holidays, how they should manage their mental health or their spiritual practice at this time of year.Doing that makes you part of the problem, not part of the solution. It makes you kind of like the "Merry Christmas" fundies, insisting that other people do things your way because, of course, your way is better than theirs.So please pay attention to how you're approaching others about the holidays, both in person and online. Let's help and support each other, not grind each other down and make demands that cause even more friction and strife. The basics of the Golden Rule work well here: if you wouldn't want other people telling you how to handle the holidays, don't go doing that to anyone else, either.In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

Dining with the Ancestors: A Modern Minoan Rite

It's Samhain season here in the northern hemisphere, and my thoughts are turning toward the Ancestors and the spirits of the dead. Though the ancient Minoans didn't celebrate Samhain (it's a Celtic festival, not a Minoan one) they did hold dining rites that look remarkably like a Dumb Supper. Find out about the Minoan dining shrines and how to put on your own Minoan-themed Dinner for the Dead in this week's Minoan Path blog post:Dining with the Ancestors: A Modern Minoan RiteTo join the conversation about ancient Minoan civilization and 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.

Interview with a Witch: Deborah J. "DJ" Martin

One of the fun things I get to do as a writer is chat with other writers about what we do and how we do it. DJ is one of those special people who went from being an online acquaintance to a dear friend in real life. And she's also a talented writer and master herbalist. She writes both fiction (urban fantasy) and non-fiction (really useful books about herbs in both medicine and magic). Full disclosure: I'm also DJ's editor, but I recommend her books because they're awesome, not because I edited them.DJ took some time out to answer a few questions I posed to her recently. Here are her comments:1. What inspired you to write your first non-fiction book? How about your first novel? The first non-fiction, Herbs: Medicinal, Magical, Marvelous!was due to suggestions from multiple acquaintances that my knowledge was marketable. “You should write a book,” they said. So, I did. The first Ogre’s Assistant book, Stressed!, started out as a short story that popped into my head one afternoon. Husband said it had the makings of a full-fledged book and I thought, “why not try my hand at fiction?”2. What does your writing process look like? Are there any little rituals you do to get in the mindset for writing? No rituals, really. Writing non-fiction usually comes easily to me – it’s probably because it’s fairly logical, just like my day job (accounting). I can clear my desk of client paperwork, pull out my notes and start in. I say “usually” because the one I’ve been researching is thus far only interesting to me. I don’t like “dry reading” and don’t expect anyone else to, either. So, it’s on the back burner until/unless I have an ‘aha’ moment. Fiction? I write that when I think I can because I don’t switch gears as easily as I used to. If I’ve been up to my eyeballs in numbers, I know I can’t write fiction, and don’t even try. Otherwise, it’s a physical place – I have comfortable spots both inside and out where I write. With a cup of coffee at hand, of course.3. What challenges you the most in terms of the writing you do – fiction and/or non-fiction? By far, the fiction. I am logical (to a fault, some might say) and even though the characters really write the book, getting them to speak to me (making things up) is tough. Hence, my need to be away from my logical endeavors.4. Magic and witchcraft feature prominently in your books. Do they have as major a place in your day-to-day life as well? They do, and they don’t. Once a witch, always a witch. That’s not to say I whip magic out for every little thing. To me, it’s a last-resort, when all mundane efforts have failed. I do reinforce protections on the house and grounds as I’m cleaning or working outside, check that the land spirits are still okay, that sort of thing, on a regular basis.5. In your urban fantasy series The Ogre’s Assistant, the ogre from the series title is loosely based on one of your clients from your business as a personal assistant. How often do you find inspiration for characters in real life? Do any of these people know that they’re in your books and how do they react if/when they find out?Actually, the ogre is based on my last employer, with bits of a former client thrown in. I do meet interesting people in my line of work and pieces of them might find their way into a character, but I don’t think anyone would recognize themselves. If they did, I make no apologies!