Last time, we looked at some of the land animals the Minoans depicted in their art: cattle, monkeys, lions, and so on. Today, we're going to explore the Minoans' images of animals of the sky, the domain of our Sun goddess Therasia - so, essentially, birds, though I think bees also count.
Sometimes it's easy to tell which type of bird is being shown. For instance, that's a swallow flying by some lilies in the image at the top, which is a segment of the Spring fresco from Akrotiri. Here's the whole thing, with quite a few swallows:
This is one in a series of posts about finding our deities in Minoan art. Find the whole series here.
Today we're going to focus on the Melissae. In Ariadne's Tribe, we view them as bee-spirit goddesses who care for the spirits of the dead. As such, the bee and beehive are the most obvious symbols we associate with them. For instance, there's the famous Malia bee pendant:
It was during the Worldwide Meditation of April 4th/5th, 2020, that I was visualizing the White Light pillar coming down from Creator to gobble up confusion, fear and fight the current panic around the virus on Earth, when suddenly, out of the White cloud, came a Dark Blue cloud. Then to my surprise out of the Blue Cloud, came a huge swarm of Bees. As I watched in my meditative state, I saw them being sent around the Earth. How amazing, I thought, feeling what a perfect negative energy killing, bees can have on Earth.
The next morning I wrote an email to my friends, clients and students about my Vision, and how I felt that the Earth had gone through a transformation, had changed for the better.
It has taken us a while, but we finally came up with a logo for Modern Minoan Paganism. Until we started tossing ideas around, I had no idea it was going to be such a tricky issue.
There are lots of symbols that people associate with the Minoans. Perhaps the most famous is the labrys - the double-bladed ax that was used not to sacrifice animals (it appears they used swords and daggers for that) but as a sacred symbol with many layers of meaning.
Studies indicate the possible long-term effects of lead exposure. NASA prepares to launch more nuclear-powered spacecraft. And activists talk about what the March for Science next week means. It's Earthy Thursday, our segment about science and Earth-related news. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
Climate change pushes people to leave their homes for places with (perhaps literally) greener grass. Scholars try to combat the preponderance of "alternative facts." And a look at how changes in engineering and architectural design could help make the future more sustainable. It's Earthy Thursday, our segment on science and Earth-related news! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
NASA sends a probe to an asteroid to study the origins of life on Earth. A predominant theory in linguistics is challenged by new evidence. And it looks like bees might finally be getting a break. It's Earthy Thursday, our weekly segment on science and Earth related news! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...
Victoria
I would say as neopagans we are constructing our futures rather than reconstructing THE future. I'm not sure if we are in the process of becoming a tr...
Steven Posch
Not so sure about "culty," though.Many--if not most--peoples with a collective sense of identity have a term for the "not-us people": barbaroi (non-He...
Mark Green
OK, this is funny.But could we [i]please[i] stop using that word (or, worse, "Muggles")?Having a down-putting term for people who aren't a part of you...
ty!
