What is a micropantheon, you ask? (Of course you do, because you're the inquisitive type!)
Sorry, but it has nothing to do with small gods, of the Terry Pratchett variety or otherwise.
...Modern Minoan Paganism: Walking with Ariadne's Tribe
Walk the sacred labyrinth with Ariadne, the Minotaur, the Great Mothers, Dionysus, and the rest of the Minoan pantheon. Modern Minoan Paganism is an independent polytheist spiritual tradition that brings the gods and goddesses of the ancient Minoans alive in the modern world. We're a revivalist tradition, not a reconstructionist one; we rely heavily on shared gnosis and the practical realities of Paganism in the modern world. Ariadne's thread reaches across the millennia to connect us with the divine. Will you follow where it leads?
Find out all about Modern Minoan Paganism on our website: https://ariadnestribe.wordpress.com/. We're a welcoming tradition, open to all who share our love for the Minoan deities and respect for our fellow human beings.
Laura Perry
Laura Perry is a priestess and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. She is the founder and Temple Mom of Modern Minoan Paganism. When she's not busy drawing and writing, you can find her in the garden or giving living history demonstrations at local historic sites.
There's a lot of argument in the Pagan community about what constitutes a "valid" tradition. Some people are only comfortable with reconstructionist traditions that can provide an ancient text reference for every portion of their spiritual practice. Others only want to participate in traditions that can claim to have unbroken practices going back generations, even centuries.
Modern Minoan Paganism is neither.
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I've been working on a secret project for a while now. It's finally ready to unveil. But first, I need to give you a little background information.
Those of us who practice Modern Minoan Paganism like to collect up reproductions of Minoan art and artifacts for our altars and shrines. But one thing that's a bit harder to come by is Minoan-style clothing, for those of us who would like to add that aspect to our spiritual practice (or even just for fun).
Over the years, I've sewn a few different garments to use in my Minoan spiritual practice. One of the most fun was this outfit, inspired by one of the Minoan Snake Goddess figurines:
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Divination has many different forms and is a popular practice. You don't have to formally involve a deity to do divination; many of us throw down Tarot cards, runes, or bones in a somewhat casual way when we feel the need.
But there are times when you need to do something more formal, and when you need some help. The word "divination" includes the divine, after all. That's when you invite the appropriate deity and ask for their assistance. (Note that in MMP we never invoke deities, only invite them and then welcome them when they appear.)
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You probably already know that the names of the days of the week are associated with deities (Greco-Roman, Norse, and others). Many people use the deity-day connections to guide their spiritual practice, choosing a particular deity's day for activities that focus on them.
We thought it would be nice if we could do something similar for the Minoan pantheon.
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The Minoans were a seafaring people. They traveled, explored, and traded all over the Mediterranean Sea and possibly beyond it. But that sea travel wasn't a year-round thing. It had a season.
In the Mediterranean, even now, the winter is not the best time to be out on a boat. The winds can be harsh, the water choppy, the weather unpredictable. It was far more dangerous back in the Bronze Age, before the era of long-distance communication and meteorology. The Minoans had a positive relationship with Grandmother Ocean, but they were skilled enough sailors to know better than to push it. Nature is bigger than we are.
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We often think of deities as being less tethered to the Earth than we are, so it only makes sense that many of them have winged creatures among their symbols and iconography.
I've written about birds in Minoan art before, but from a more general perspective, looking back toward the Minoans' ancestors in Neolithic Anatolia. But a lot happened after those people migrated down to Crete and began a new life there. So let's discover which birds - and other winged creatures - are associated with which deities in Modern Minoan Paganism.
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