Laura Perry's Blog, page 8

Starry Night: Minoan Astronomy

Like many ancient cultures, the Minoans spent a lot of time looking at the night sky and calculation the movements of the stars and planets. Today's Minoan Path blog post looks at some of the items they used to help make those calculations, which were important to their sacred calendar as well as blending with their mythology:Starry Night: Minoan AstronomyIf you'd like to join the discussion 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.And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

Book Review: Shaman Pathways Web of Life

I read this book a while back and a recent conversation prompted me to return to it. Here's my review from the first reading, which I posted on Amazon and Goodreads back then:Do you feel a connection with the natural world around you but don’t know how to incorporate that feeling into your life in a tangible way? Have you encountered any number of medicine wheel or web-of-life spiritual traditions that feel familiar but aren’t exactly the right fit for you? This little book has some practical answers for you. I was gratified to read Yvonne Ryves’ book Web of Life, part of the Shaman Pathways series by Moon Books. It offers a set of exercises for finding your own way, your own unique connection with the natural world and the spiritual world within it. Instead of prescribing a pre-fab tradition, Ms. Ryves takes the reader step by step through the process of developing their own spiritual practice that has meaning and purpose for them, from connecting with the sacred directions to contacting spirit guides or teachers. One chapter even includes instructions for creating your own set of cards to use for working with your personal web of life. This can be a daunting task to undertake all alone, but Web of Life sets the method out one piece at a time, allowing the reader to absorb the new experiences at their own pace. Ms. Ryves offers plenty of background information about worldwide traditions and modern science that incorporate the concepts of connection, circularity and webbiness. But ultimately, the path is an individual one, and this book does an excellent job of showing the way. It’s exactly the kind of book I wish I had found years ago.Reading back through the book for the second time, I realized just how valuable a resource this is in the modern world. So few of us have a connection with any kind of ancestral tradition, beyond perhaps knowing roughly what part of the world our forebears came from. Most of us don't grow up surrounded by Pagan and shamanic practices, but must seek out whatever we can find once we're old enough to start looking. So often, it's hard to find the way that fits each of us best, even after we've sifted through a series of books and websites. "Close but not exactly right" is the description I often hear when people describe how well their current path fits them. Or, "I started with this path but then tweaked it and added this other tradition and I think I still need to add something else."What Web of Life does is take the reader, step by step, through the process of finding their connection with the spirit world, with Nature, and with the energies that underlie all the different sacred traditions of the world. You start with the basics, the fundamentals, and then build from there. At some point in the process, it might become obvious to you that there's a particular tradition you should learn and practice. Or you might realize, as I did, that there's no one left who does exactly what you're supposed to be doing, so you have to take your lessons directly from the spirits. Ultimately, they're our greatest teachers anyway. But Ryves' deceptively simple book is also a valuable teacher because it shows you how to learn, how to make the connections, how to walk your path, whatever it might look like, wherever it might go.May your journey be blessed.

Adventures in sort-of-reconstruction: Modern Minoan Paganism

When I first saw a photo of the famous Minoan Bull Leaper fresco in my high school art history textbook, I never imagined that, years later, I'd be facilitating a group of Pagans who are creating a new modern spiritual tradition based on the religion of ancient Crete. This project, this 'real life devotional' has turned out to have more challenges than I expected. Today's post over on The Minoan Path Blog details just a few of them:Adventures in Sort-of-Reconstruction: Modern Minoan PaganismIt's always an adventure, but I have to say, in the end it's worth it.In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

All the Minoan things!

I do a lot of stuff relating to the Minoans of ancient Crete. It's not all in one place, on one website, so I thought I'd list it all here for your convenience. I've been in love with Minoan civilization since a fateful day in high school when my art history teacher showed us a picture of the Bull Leaper fresco from Knossos and something "clicked" in the back of my mind. In the decades since then, I've written books and created a Minoan-themed Tarot deck. But what's most important to me is continually learning, as new information comes to light, and sharing with others.I have two blogs where I regularly post about ancient Minoan civilization and Modern Minoan Paganism:The Minoan Path Blog at Witches & PagansModern Minoan Paganism Column at The Pagan and the PenI also have a Facebook group where we discuss ancient Minoan culture and religion as well as the ever-evolving path of Modern Minoan Paganism. If you have an interest in the Minoans and bringing their spirituality alive in the modern world, please join us!In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen!

Book Review: The Dawn of Genius

I freely admit to reading anything I can get my hands on about the ancient Minoans, but when I picked up this one, I wasn't sure what to expect. The title and subtitle are full of hype, but thankfully, the actual book contents were more pleasing. My review is here:Book Review: The Dawn of Genius - Minoan super-civilization?In the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

Dying for Dollars

I freely admit to being a child of the 1970s. I totally bought into all the back-to-nature, love-the-earth, give-a-hoot-don't-pollute stuff they taught us. That Native American man with the tear rolling down his cheek in that TV ad still haunts me.Then I grew up and I found out how little that kind of thing really matters when it comes to making decisions in the business world. Sure, we can recycle our household waste, but industry still creates many times more waste than consumers do. We can maintain our cars carefully, take public transportation where it's available, ride bikes... but industry still generates way more air pollution than people's cars do.And then there's this idea that success equals endless, compounding production and consumption, as if the earth's resources were infinite. Sustainability? Not a word that shows up in most corporate annual reports (thanks, in large part, to U.S. laws that literally require corporations to put profits above all else, including the common good).The system is beginning to crumble around the edges, certainly. People are pushing back in large numbers. Some states now allow benefit corporations, which is a step in the right direction, though there still aren't very many of them. Many consumers are doing their best to support small local businesses in order to keep their money in the local economy rather than allowing it to be siphoned off to some corporate headquarters elsewhere.But there's only so much power the individual has. I've watched in horror as the intersection between corporate greed and horribly expensive health care destroys the beautiful woodland right behind my house. When we bought this place 18 years ago, we talked with the farmer who owned the adjacent property. He was well known for refusing to sell out to anyone, for any reason - he even fought the county when they wanted to buy a tiny parcel to put up a water tower. He assured us that he wouldn't be one of those "greedy bastards" who sell the family farm to a developer for a tidy sum and walk away as the countryside is wedged full of even more "little plastic houses."Eighteen years later, he has sold the land, all except for a tiny patch that his house, and his son's house, rest on. Why? Because medical bills threatened to bankrupt him. His wife had a protracted illness before she passed away a few years back, and soon after, he began having health problems himself. Without insurance (he's a farmer, remember) there's really nothing else he can do except sell the family land to a developer who has cut down the woodland that harbored a herd of deer, at least three different kinds of hawks, two kinds of owls, several red foxes, and heaven knows how many songbirds and small animals (not to mention the pasture that housed the farmer's small herd of cattle, which he loved - and so did I). And what will they build? More overpriced houses that we don't need. But it's OK, because the developer is making a bundle and the city of Woodstock gets to annex more property into its tax base. It's all about progress!Intersectionality is important in all sorts of issues: racism, sexism, prejudice of all kinds. But it's also important here. I never would have thought that the lack of a national healthcare system would be a factor in the destruction of the environment. I wonder how many people around the country have had to sell off the land that's been in their family for generations in order to pay medical bills. Last I checked, medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country. But as long as they aren't an issue for the corporate CEOs, I doubt anyone will do anything about it.

Taking Myth Literally: How it trips us up

It's not just Christian who get tripped up by the temptation to take myths literally. Pagans have been doing it for millennia! Don't worry, though - we can always back off enough to look at the symbols and the stories and see how they have meaning beyond a literal interpretation. Case in point: the Labyrinth. Click through to my latest Minoan Path blog post for the whole story:Taking Myth Literally: How it trips us upIn the name of the bee,And of the butterfly,And of the breeze, amen.

Overflowing Abundance: A Ritual with Amalthea's Horn of Plenty

I'm hard at work on a second edition of Ancient Spellcraft. As I'm revising and updating the spells, I thought I'd share a few with you lovely folks. Here's one that I've posted over on The Minoan Path blog, a working for abundance. Whether you feel more drawn to the Minoan goddess Amalthea or the Roman goddess Fortuna, either way, here's your chance to partake of the goddess' overflowing cornucopia:Overflowing Abundance: A Ritual with Amalthea's Horn of PlentyIf you'd like to join the conversation about ancient Minoan civilization and 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.

Book Review: Hopeless, Maine

Awestruck is the first word that comes to mind when describing my reaction to this graphic novel. Tom and Nimue Brown have created quite a masterpiece here, an imaginative gothic tale full of dark magic and suspense with just the right touch of dry humor. The artwork is compelling, as much a "character" in the story as the actual characters themselves; I'd love to step right through the page and onto the island of Hopeless, Maine with all its strange eyeballs and tentacles writhing and squishing in dark corners. The glow-y bits are especially wonderful (how on earth did they do that?) and the characters' facial expressions tell as much of the story as the words do. As I read, I spent a lot of time contemplating the artwork, looking at all the details and feeling the motion within each panel.Salamandra is a marvelous, spunky heroine with attitude who must find her way in the world against all kinds of odds (and I do mean "odd"s - the people and creatures she meets are strange, unique, creepy, and magical, but then, so is she). I'll be honest, I've gotten really tired of all the books out there that are "same old, same old" and this is nothing like that. The story is dark and a little depressing but Salamandra's persistence in the face of it all keeps the book from being overwhelmingly gloomy, and the deadpan humor (especially in the conversation between Sal and her friend Owen) is spot on.I have two minor quibbles with this book, and I think here the blame falls to the publisher and not the artist/author(s). First, the whole thing is incredibly dark, visually; the page backgrounds are black around artwork that's already very dark. I realize they printed it that way for effect, but it makes it difficult to really see the art clearly. I have to wonder if perhaps the printing in the book came out darker than the original artwork; at least, the Hopeless, Maine artwork I've seen online looks a tad lighter than the stuff on the page. I recommend reading with very bright lighting so you can properly appreciate the incredible art. Second, the Prelude, which is several pages of lovely poetic verse interspersed with artwork, has print that's so small it's very difficult to read, which is a shame, because what it says is awesome, dark, and touching.In spite of these drawbacks, I can't help but give this book a strong recommendation. You really should read it. It's a feast for the eyes and the mind. And if you don't end up rooting for Salamandra the way I did, I might have to question your values.

Minoan Fate: Ariadne, Arachne, Ananke

Ariadne has a thread, and that's a clue to her nature as a goddess of Fate. Today on the Minoan Path blog I'm exploring that aspect of her characteristics, including her impact on me personally:Minoan Fate: Ariadne, Arachne, AnankeIf 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.