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Birds abound in Minoan art: swallows (shown above in a detail from the Spring fresco from Akrotiri), doves, partridges, hoopoes, and other birds whose exact species we can't identify. I've looked before at the variety of our feathered friends who appear in the frescoes, statuary, and other Minoan art.

In Modern Minoan Paganism, we associate swallows with Therasia, doves with Rhea, and larks with Korydallos. But how did the Minoans view birds, through the lens of their culture and beliefs?

I'm deciding a moral dilemma. I have an opportunity to make money while bringing my message to a new and possibly broader audience. On the other hand, there is a risk that instead of bringing my message to more people, association with the convention's sponsor could damage my reputation and thus diminish the reach of my message.

As I mentioned in part 1, my next step was to seek divination from 3 different diviners. I'm not looking for a 2/3 majority on the yes or no question of whether to go any further with the pursuit of this opportunity; divination isn't democracy. I'm looking for what all 3 agree about. The first person I asked is not doing divination at this time, but I know many diviners. I have not seriously sought any other diviner's advice before, so this is new for me. I already know that I can't read for myself, though. Every time I do that, what I see is my own death.

Successful divination requires focus, perseverance, and a little faith. Sometimes our paths come to a fork in the road, and much like that forked divining rod, we must follow our strongest intuition. Interestingly, life paths can indeed come full circle. I've come to believe that if we tune into what the divine is trying to whisper in our ears, we will take the paths we are intended to at the right moment in time. Perhaps we aren't ready for a certain direction at a given interval. That doesn't mean that roads aren't meant to be revisited. When I was a young girl, my favorite toy was a tape recorder. I delighted in creating radio plays and acting out favorite movies and TV shows with my closest friends. Conducting interviews was also a beloved pastime.

Flash forward several years later to graduating with a master's in digital communication strategies at Marquette University. Although I have a background in journalism and filmmaking, podcasting was something I naturally gravitated to with my studies and projects. It felt like coming home, and conducting interviews in this medium and editing them was the perfect way to express myself creatively. Since I recently decided to embark on a full-time freelancing career, it seemed like the perfect time to launch a brand new podcast: "Women Who Howl at the Moon."

Give your tarot cards a rest and create a one-of-a-kind divination tool: a bag of crystals you can use to do readings.  It is very easy to do.  Collect stones you have picked up on travels, and keep your eye out for crystals as you go about your daily business.  You can gather up relatively inexpensive stones such as garnets, agates, amethysts, and tiny citrines at your favorite metaphysical shop or you can buy them online. (See Resources page 143).  Ideally you have all the stones listed below but you should have at least a dozen to start with.

Select a favorite velvet bag, and when the need arises, turn to crystal visions for your enlightenment.  Most of us cannot afford diamonds in our bag of crystals, so substitute clear quartz here; for emeralds, switch to peridots, and garnets can substitute nicely for rubies.  Some new age stores and online sources also have “rough rubies” and “rough emerald” pieces for just a few dollars each, so it is possible to find these spiritual stones at reasonable prices.

Beltaine and Samhain, for some of us, are what Christmas and Easter are for lax Christians. Even if you don’t go to every spiritual gathering throughout the year, there are certain holidays you really like to celebrate with your community.

Note: Websites tend to reduce photographs to make webpages load quickly. This often blurs details in the photos.

If you know me well, you’ve seen me use anything at hand for divination. Everything around me has an opinion. (May not always be a good opinion, but a lot of the time it is.)

Divination is part of my every day, throughout the day. I’m constantly trying to communicate with my Gods, whether  divining for myself or for clients in classes and private sessions. This oracular thread woven throughout my hours is one reason I love making divination tools. Making a deck or other divinatory tool and then using it inspires me and opens me to the Divine in new ways. 

Given my use of anything nearby for fortune telling, and my interest in making oracular tools, it’s no surprise that, after I’d spent a couple of years making a pen and ink alphabet (with some watercolors thrown in), it occurred to me to make the letters into alphabet oracle cards for myself. Or if you prefer, “Alphabet divination cards.” Are you asking, “What is alphabet divination?” The answer is: I had no idea what it was until I made the idea up. I’ll explain:

It is murky out there. It has been this way for a long time. There are roiling atmospheres of complicated astrological conditions that will persist for years. There are currents and crosscurrents of cultures, ideologies, and religions moving and colliding into whirlpools and riptides. And all that is churning while the icecaps are melting.  There are pundits, prophets, and profiteers with axes to grind. It seems a safe bet to put your money on cynicism, apocalyptic narratives, and apathy as respite.