Laura Perry's Blog, page 5

Modern Minoan Paganism: A How-to

What is this Modern Minoan Paganism thing I keep going on about? It's a growing spiritual path that focuses on the gods and goddesses of ancient Crete in a way that brings them alive in the modern world. For more details, check out this blog post:Modern Minoan Paganism: A How-ToTo join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism and ancient Minoan civilization, 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 Ecstatic Postures: Syncing with the divine

Ancient cultures had many different methods of connecting with the divine. One thing they did was to use special poses to induce states of trance and ecstasy. In today's Minoan Path blog post, I'm collecting up the work I've done with ecstatic body postures in my practice of Modern Minoan Paganism:Minoan Ecstatic Postures: Syncing with the divineTo 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.

Minoan Gods and Goddesses:The Collection

I've been writing the Minoan Path blog for nearly four years now. That's a lot of archives to search through if you're looking for something in particular. So I've collected up all the posts I've written about individual gods and goddesses into a single article. That way it will be easier to find what you're looking for.Minoan Gods and Goddesses: The CollectionTo join the conversation about Modern Minoan Paganism and ancient Minoan civilization, 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!

Deathwalking: An anthology adventure

Over the years I've contributed to quite a few anthologies. I love being part of a community that comes together over a given subject, sharing our different experiences and perspectives. Then one day I felt compelled to head up an anthology project myself. The subject? Deathwalking.This shamanic practice is also called psychopomping. It involves helping the soul of the deceased find its way after death and move on in peace and safety. This was an essential part of the shaman's role in earlier cultures, and still is in many cultures where shamanic practices have continued in an unbroken tradition. But in the modern West, we've lost a great deal of this knowledge and it's only slowly coming back to us.That's why this little book is so important.I say "little book" because this is a fairly short anthology with ten contributors, each sharing their views about the practice of deathwalking. There simply aren't that many people out there who know about this kind of work, much less people who are actually trained to perform it. And there's almost nothing available in terms of books and other resources for people to find out more.So I gathered up my courage and did something I've never done before: edited an anthology. It's my sincere wish that this book opens a door for people to learn about the process of pyschopomp work and, I hope, inspires some readers to follow up with training in the practice (the contributors offer a number of different options for taking that step).The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and other Amazon platforms. I hope its low price and special subject matter will encourage more people to explore this fascinating and vital subject.

Ancient Minoan Clothing and Fashion

People frequently ask me about daily life in ancient Minoan Crete. Today on the Minoan Path blog I'm sharing an excerpt from Ariadne's Thread about what the Minoans wore, including some images from Minoan art so you can see what I'm talking about:Ancient Minoan Clothing and FashionTo join the discussion 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.

Social Media Worries

The Internet has changed our lives in many ways. I love how we can connect with people of like mind from around the world, share ideas, get inspiration - but I'm not so keen on the privacy issues that have reared their ugly heads lately, ways big companies are taking advantage of our personal data.I understand that a lot of folks are no longer comfortable with Facebook and are leaving it for other platforms, or leaving social media altogether. If that's what it takes for you to feel safe (or at least, safer) then that's certainly what you should do. I won't be leaving Facebook because I have a bunch of people in Ariadne's Tribe counting on me, and I don't feel I can just leave them in the lurch.I've moved the discussion forums for my online classes from Facebook to my own website for privacy. That way, nobody has to subject themselves to social media if they want to take my classes. I'll also be teaching some new online courses via Conjure University beginning April 15. That's a self-contained site so you don't have to deal with social media to take those classes.If you're leaving Facebook and/or other social media, I'd still love to keep in touch. You can sign up for my monthly newsletter HERE or use the form at the bottom of my main web page. I only send the newsletter out once a month, so I won't fill up your inbox with too many e-mails. You can also contact me via my website or any of the social media links at the bottom of this blog post.I hope you'll continue to keep in touch in whatever way you find most comfortable.Blessings,Laura

Spring Equinox, Minoan harvest, and upside-down calendars

Today is the Spring Equinox where I live in the southeastern US, but it's harvest time in places like Crete, where the ancient Minoans lived. It's a confusing state of affairs, but the Mediterranean climate is an important facet of life in that region. Today on the Minoan Path blog, I'm celebrating both springtime and harvest:Spring Equinox, Minoan harvest, and upside-down calendarsTo 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!

Symbols, Opinions, and "Right Thinking" in Modern Minoan Paganism

Different people see symbols and images differently, even within a single spiritual tradition. Is that all right? How important are those differences? I explore these issues today on the Minoan Path blog:Symbols, Opinions, and "Right Thinking" in Modern Minoan PaganismTo 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.

The Minoan Pantheon: A plethora of deities

You've probably heard of Ariadne and Dionysus, but did you know that there are lots more gods and goddesses in the Minoan pantheon than just those two? This week on the Minoan Path blog I've outlined the not-so-short list that we use in Modern Minoan Paganism:The Minoan Pantheon: Gods and Goddesses Galore!To 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!

Labrys and Horns: Minoan Devotionals

I've made you another video! This one includes a bunch of the devotionals from my book Labrys and Horns: An Introduction to Modern Minoan Paganism. I hope you enjoy it.In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen!