Laura Perry's Blog, page 21

Topless Minoan Women: Not What You Think

Today's post over at The Minoan Path Blog is all about those topless women found throughout Minoan art. No, they're not the ancient equivalent of Playboy magazine.      To find out what this sacred symbolism really means, hop on over to:   Topless Minoan Women: Not What You Think   For more information about the ancient Minoans, their spirituality and how you can bring that culture and religion alive in the modern world, join the discussion in Ariadne's Tribe.  

Product Reviews: Mystic Echoes and Phoenix Rising Apothecary

Over the years I've written a lot of book reviews but today I'm sharing something a little different. I'm reviewing products I got from a couple of independently-owned businesses that I hope you'll support. These days, it's hard to do any kind of shopping without handing your money over to huge corporations. Patronizing small, independent businesses is one way to keep your hard-earned cash in the hands of regular people, where it supports local communities rather than corporate interests. And

The Two Worlds of the Minoans

    Today's post over at The Minoan Path Blog describes the cosmology of pre-Indo-European people such as the ancient Minoans. It's not the three-worlds concept we're used to from later European cultures, but a two-worlds universe. Read about it here:   The Two Worlds of the Minoans   For more discussion of the ancient Minoans and their world, join us in Ariadne's Tribe.      

Migrating my blog to my website

I've decided to tidy up my online presence a bit. With that in mind, I'm moving my blog from its longtime location here on Blogspot to my website. I'll be leaving the Blogspot site up - for a while at least - while reblogging some favorite old posts onto the website, as a way of making them more easily accessible. If you have any particular posts you'd like me to migrate over, please let me

Migrating my blog to my website

  I've decided to tidy up my online presence a bit. With that in mind, I'm moving my blog from its longtime location on Blogger to my website. I'll be leaving the Blogger site up - for a while at least - while reposting some favorite old blog posts here. If you have any particular posts you'd like me to migrate over, please let me know. As always, I'll announce Minoan path blog posts here as well.   Time for new adventures...    

Big Ritual for Solitaries

That title sounds contradictory, doesn't it? But I know many of you are in the position of practicing as a solitary. I've spent my fair share of time like that. And you know what? It doesn't mean you have to forgo 'big ritual.' Honest.




Have a look at this post I've written for the Minoan Path Blog:


Big Ritual for Solitaries



It details a technique you can use to enjoy 'big ritual' even if

Book Review: Following the Deer Trods

Today I'm reviewing another great book by Elen Sentier  - you can check out my earlier review of Elen of the Ways as well. Today's review is of the follow-up book titled Following the Deer Trods. Both books are part of the Shaman Pathways series by Moon Books, the lovely people who were so kind as to let me publish Ariadne's Thread.





This is the best kind of sequel: Following the Deer Trods 

The Secret Identity of the Labrys

Today's post over at the Minoan Path blog is about that well-known emblem of ancient Minoan spirituality, the labrys.




This famous object is not what it might first appear to be - a weapon. If you'd like to find out its true identity, have a look at the blog post:


The Secret Identity of the Labrys

For more discussion of ancient Minoan spirituality, join us on Facebook in Ariadne's Tribe.

Was Ötzi a Shaman?

A reader recently asked me to write up a blog post about Ötzi (pronounced ‘etsy’), the ancient man whose mummified remains were found in the Alps on the border between Austria and Italy in 1991. The Wikipedia page about Ötzi gives a pretty good overview of the information we know about this man from his remains, while the website of the museum where his body is housed offers great details and

Ariadne was just a girl and other urban legends of antiquity

Urban legends in the ancient world? Well, propaganda, at the very least. Conquering cultures tended to rewrite the mythology of the cultures they took over to suit themselves - the ancient version of disinformation campaigns.




Today's Minoan Path blog post teases out some of the original Minoan deities and myths that the later Hellenic Greeks altered for their own purposes. There really is a