Today, I am thrilled to announce the release of Shield of Wisdom: A Devotional for Athena & Minerva created by Bibliotheca Alexandrina. I was honored to be a contributor to this beautiful anthology and am so happy to finally see the results of months of hard work by the editors and be able to hold the (408 page!) beauty in my hand. I, of course, am biased, but if you're looking for articles, prayers, rituals, or additional information about Athena or Minerva, I highly recommend you check it out. Below is the summary from the book's page: Wisdom. Weaving. Warfare. Known to the Greeks as Athena, and to the Romans as Minerva, she leapt fully grown from the skull of the Lord of Thunder. Frighteningly intelligent, quick-witted and fiercely loyal, she is a Goddess who watches over heroes, warriors, and artisans alike. A Goddess of the mind, she admires and rewards cleverness and creativity. And, while she inspires intense devotion in ancient and modern polytheists, she also inspires passionate debate. Is she a friend to women, or does she always favor the father? When she transformed Medusa into a gorgon and Arachne into a spider, was she motivated by compassion or something else? And what of her relationships with her fellow Deities, such as Hephaistos, Ares, and Aphrodite? Are they adversarial, antithetical, or complementary? Within these pages, you will find poems of praise and rites in her honor. You will also find essays and personal reflections that question the Goddess, that challenge her, that analyze the myths around her and what they mean to us, and what they reveal about the Goddess herself. All of these are offered to her with an open heart, and a sincere questioning mind — which we hope she will find as pleasing as any reverent hymn. All hail Athena, Keen-Eyed and Ever-Curious. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have!! Have a wonderful weekend.
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I am thrilled to announce that a new anthology, dedicated to Hades, is now available. It is called Host of Many: Hades and his Retinue. This anthology, published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina is dedicated to the Hellenic god Hades, and those beings associated with him including Persephone, the Ferryman, and Cerberus. This is the 2nd book by Bibliotheca Alexandrina that I have been able to contribute to, and I am honored to be included in this work. There is a wide variety of materials here, from rituals to short stories, scholarly articles and prayers. Each book is unique and compiled by authors from across the globe in many different genres. In this book, you will find the following contributions from me: Meeting Hades: A Meditation Yule Ritual: King in the Darkness If you are looking for ways to honor Hades, or just interested in learning more about how people view and connect Hades and his Retinue, definitely check it out. For information on other books I've contributed to, I've added a new page to this site here that will keep an ongoing list of my writing. In the next couple of months there will be at least one new addition, if not more. If you do check out this book, I'd love to hear what you thought of it! Last week, I finished reading For Praying Out Loud by L. Annie Foerster and I have to say that I was very, very pleased with the content. The book is fairly short at only 150is pages in a non-standard sized book, but it is packed full of ideas and examples of truly interfaith work, and ideas on how to approach it successfully. It covers numerous topics including how to welcome a whole community through prayer, and the importance of creating a (non-specific) holy space for those moments. The author expresses things that are done in public prayers that may make others uncomfortable, and gives great examples on how to open your prayers to a wider community.
The book explores how to write prayers, and ways too pray together by eliminating specific deity names, genders, etc. It also gives options for ways to end prayers that aren't specific to a single faith, which is definitely something that I have struggled with in my own interfaith work. The book talks about unity and diversity, and shares prayers that emphasize and honor that diversity. It shares prayers of peace and justice, healing and remembrance, gratitude and praise, and dedications all in ways that could be open to interfaith communities. I think my only complaint is that I wish there were more of this book. It really is a wonderful resource, and I look forward to utilizing it in my work as Clergy. This week, I finished reading The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk and M. Macha Nightmare. I genuinely appreciate having resources for working with those who have passed away, and the loved ones they live behind. I don't think there is ever enough training to help you heal others hurt from losing a loved one, but resources like this at least give you some ideas on things you can do to help.
The book begins with a section about Pagan Tradition, including descriptions of the sacred cycle of life > death > rebirth. It also describes the history of the author's goddess tradition, including several different practices and meditation options. While I appreciate the effort put into this information, it is does feel very Wiccan, so keep that in mind if you're working with people in other traditions. This section of the book also explores several different myths of descent and return, like that of Persephone, or the myths of Lugh's crossing, or Venus and Adonis. I appreciate that they shared myths from many different pantheons and cultures. Part Two of the book is dedicated to Pagan Views on death. This is an area that I feel is very difficult to write about because there is no Pagan Dogma, so each person can have their own very different beliefs and still consider themselves Pagan. They share some descriptions of lessons that can be learned from death, and ways death and consciousness relate. They also describe different takes on the land of the dead and the idea of reincarnation. Meditations on different ideas are also scattered throughout this section of the book. I think it's interesting to see perceptions on how some Pagans view death, but once again please don't expect that these ideas will represent everyone the same way. Part Three describes the dying process, including preparing for death, working with the dying, working with the living, and hygiene. I think this was my favorite section of the book by far. The book gives some examples on interactions and practices you can do to someone who is preparing for death. They also give suggestions for working with the living during this time, including some simple things like feeding their pets or making them an amulet. The reminder that health and hygiene needs to be maintained after dealing with a death was simple and important as well. This section includes mineral, herb, oil, and teas that could be useful, as well as chants, prayers, and ritual examples. Next it explores the items both at the moment of death, and shortly after, including information on washing the dead and example funeral and memorial rituals. While none of the rituals could be "plug and play" having at least some templates to use is very helpful in writing a funeral for someone. Part Four of the book dives into different "types" of deaths that may be more challenging to deal with, including the AIDS pandemic, the death of children, and violent deaths. It then moves on to describe, not moving on, but CARRYING on, including discussions on making room to grieve, and making altars or offerings to the dead. This section closes with a list of practical work you can do to prepare for death, including the creation of a living will, communicating your wishes for your death, etc. The book closes with 4 appendixes: How to Make a Mask, Books on Death and Dying (including books for children), Example of a Living Will, Example of a Power of Attorney form. These additional resources are very valuable and I think the book is worth its price simply for those! Ultimately, I think this book is a fantastic resources. Some of the personal stories are sad, but it's important to understand the perspective shared in them. The book doesn't shy away from difficult topics and, even though it isn't from my specific tradition, if needed I know I will refer to this book for funeral work in the future. This week, I finished reading The Interfaith Prayer Book: New Expanded Edition by Ted Brownstein. This book does cover a lot of different religions, giving a very brief (1 paragraph) summary of the religion, and a list of prayers from that faith. It's short and sweet and if you knew what specific faith the group you were working with was, this could be a good resource. It contains prayers from a number of different religious paths including:
However, it definitely wasn't what I expected when I purchased an interfaith book. I'll start by saying that I probably should have read more reviews and dome some more research. I grabbed this book, hoping to be able to compare/contrast the prayers for different religions and get some tips on interfaith prayer. However, this book is simply a book of prayers that are divided up by religion with no interfaith prayers included. It doesn't have use for a diverse population. Additionally, some faiths, like Paganism, are left out completely. It is an interesting resource if you're looking for a specific faith's prayers. Last week, I finished reading Persian Myths by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis. I read this book as part of my continued exploration and study of the ancient Persian culture. The book was short, but I expected that. However, I enjoyed reading the myths of this culture that we still know so little about.
The book begins with a brief history of the Persian people, including where they lived and what the environment was like. It then moves on to explore the Avesta, holy book of Zoroastrianism, and its history. From there, the book goes on to actually dive into the mythology, beginning with the deities from their myths. This included:
The book then goes on to explore the creation myth from the Persian people. It held similarities to other Indo-European cultures, but was unique in other ways. I love reading different creation myths and trying to compare them to other cultures and understand why the myth may be what it is. It's told in a way that I really enjoyed in this book. From here, the book moves on to explore demons, creatures, and heroes. It explores the evil beings known as Yatu and Div. It also describes fabulous creatures, like Saena, the falcon who spreads all of the seeds in the world with their wings. The book then explores the life of the first man from his creation to his death, to the lives that came from his demise. It's a fascinating myth to describe the existence of humankind, but for me it definitely share some parallels with the biblical story of human creation, which was very interesting to see. Curtis then moves on to a dive into Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the Book of Kings, where she highlights some of the myths that are told throughout the epic poem. It shares the tales of the ancient kings, their lives and battles. I originally read part of this poem during my research of evil in ancient Indo-European cultures and really find it absolutely enthralling. Next on the list was a brief dive into mythological creatures, like Ralesh, the horse friend of Rustam, and Simurgh, the King of the birds. Curtis then explores the different encounters with dragons that are found within Persian myths. It's fascinating to see the importance that dragons played in their mythology as the embodiment of greed & evil. The last set of myths covered are the myths around the lives of Zoroaster, Cyrus, and Alexander the great. It's interesting to consider that mythology was so important to their culture that even a conquerer like Alexander now has a place in the lore. The book ends by describing the continuation of these ancient traditions through the oral and written traditions of ancient priest and minstrels. They told the myths, sang the songs, and eventually wrote them done. They created fairy tales and passion plays and created beautiful stories along the way. This book was very interesting for me as someone who really enjoys reading about the mythology from different cultures. It was written in a way that was entertaining, educational, and approachable, even for someone like me who has no real experience with the Persian culture. It was something I enjoyed reading for sure. Earlier this week, I finished reading Run Valdr: Rune Power/Authority by Rodney Cox. I read this book as part of my work in one of the ADF Order study programs, and I found it a very interesting read, especially as someone who is new to the Run Valdr system.
This book begins with defining what Run Valdr is, and by comparing it to other systems, like Reiki that are similar in some ways and different in others. Cox then dives into information about runes and the poems associated with those, taking the time to define each run and show the comparisons between Norwegian, Icelandic, and Anglo-Saxon rune poems and the definitions that come from those. As someone who isn't an expert in Runes, I appreciated this thorough explanation and deep dive into the information for each individual symbol. Someone who has a mastery over runes may find this section less useful. After runes are explained, the book moves on to the Run Valdr specific symbols, uses, color associations, and purposes. The symbols themselves are shared as well. Cox once again does a deep dive into each of these symbols, explaining where the knowledge for them came from, color associations he relates to each symbol, and how he has used them in his own practices. When each symbol has been thoroughly explained, you get to dive into the process of actually working with the Run Valdr system. Cox breaks the process down into 5 simple steps, which I think are detailed enough to be successfully approached by someone new to the system, as well as short enough to be easily remembered without needing a long script to guide you along the way. The book also describes attunements for the Run Valdr system and the different methods in which they can be obtained. Like Reiki, attunements are a necessary part of this system, but the single level of attunements and variety in which they can be obtained makes them more approachable to someone new to the system, at least in my personal opinion. After attunements, Cox explores different methods in which someone can build their experience and practice, essentially outlining how he would train someone if he were to do a course in person with a group of individuals. This detail again helps give new people options for how to build their skillset without feeling like they have to attend a course or rely on someone else to impart this skillset upon them. After the base skills and practices are established, Cox dives into the use of Run Valdr for magical practices. He discusses the role of authority in magic, and breaks out information on different types of magic, such as Seidh practice, sigils, and creation of magical objects. He explores methods to meet spirit guides, and builds a handy practice to make those introductions. He also gives though explanations for Resonance & Authority laws that can be applied to magical practices. Cox ends the book by exploring some more advanced techniques, such as finding and establishing deity symbols, creating automatic symbols, and combining 2 symbols to work together. The book ends with three appendices: A Run Valdr/Author history, information on Sif Qi Gong which contains photos for clarity, and a recommended reading list. This book takes an approach to working with this energy system that I think is very approachable and understandable to someone who is unfamiliar with this practice. It gives good step by step instructions that are both easy to understand to someone who may be new to magical systems, while also being thorough enough to be useful to someone with a more advanced skill level. Overall, I enjoyed the information it contained and am interested in how the practice works. I have actually obtained an attunement in this system myself so that I can now practice and familiarize myself with this methodology to see what I can learn next. If you're interested in energy systems, like Reiki and would like to learn more about a new or different approach to energy work, I'd recommend you check this out to see if it's something you're interested in. Earlier this week, I finished reading Original Magic by Stephen Flowers, PhD. I decided to read this book after thoroughly enjoying The Magician Tarok and wanting to explore more of the Persian magical system.
This book begins by exploring and trying to define the beginnings of magic, describing the wisdom and science of magic as the first great mystery. He dips briefly into the Tripartite system and the different levels of power affiliated with each group. After these explanations have been explored, Flowers begins to explore the religion of pre-Zoroastrian Persia. He begins with a brief explanation of several deities (called ahuras). From there he discusses the theory of the religion, which indicated that humans can gain benefit from the gods by engaging in gift giving. This reciprocal relationship is something we see in many different ancient cultures, like the Xenia of ancient Greece, and the term *ghosti which is a re-constructed word regularly used in ADF. It’s interesting to see so many correlations in religions that appear at first to be vastly different. Flowers then begins to discuss the important actions found in their religion, which includes a large emphasis on sacrificial fire. There is also a brief exploration of some of the culture’s mythology, including a creation myth, cosmological view, and a description of what happens after someone dies. From here, the book moves on to descriptions of the Amesha Spentas which were “beneficial immortals,” which are often interpreted to be Angels or minor deities. This description includes an explanation of Fravashis or the inner guardian angel & guide that lives inside each human. After all of this information has been shared, Flowers begins to describe a magical practice that leads the reader toward initiation. It includes a twelve-month program that involves daily training sessions with meditation, multiple prayers each day, recommended reading, and additional learning of specific words or phrases (both in English & Avestan). The program is quite involved and changes each month to allow the participant to explore themselves and their spirituality in the way of the Avestans. At the conclusion of the study program, the book also contains descriptions and scripts for several different Mazdan Magic rituals. The book ends with a number of appendices, including: History of Eranshahr, Avestan Pronunciation Guide, Analysis of Avestan Manthras, 101 Names of Gods, Astrological Lore, and Resources. Overall, this book has a lot of information in it, and is presented in a way that feels approachable. The study program seems like a good way to establish a daily practice, so I will be experimenting with it personally to see how I like it. While this book isn’t for everyone, I enjoyed learning more about the practices of the ancient Persians and look forward to seeing where these studies take me. Last week, I finished reading The Magician Tarok: The Origins of the Tarot in the Mithraic and Hermetic Traditions by Stephen Flowers, PhD. In this book, Flowers attempts to tie the history of the Tarot cards that we know today to the divination symbology found in ancient Indo-European cultures. While the cards themselves did not come into existence until the 15th century, Flowers believes that the messages and imagery can be related to other symbol sets, such as the Greek Alphabet Oracle.
This book begins with a deep dive into Iranian mythology, exploring the creation myth and how it ties into the mystery initiation cult of Mithras, known as Mithraism. This cult was based on the warrior traditions of the Persian people and involved an in-depth initiation process, involving astrology, mythology, and much internal work. The explanation of this mystery cult is fascinating and well detailed. This initiation system began in what is now modern Iran, but made its way to both the Roman and Greek empires. He explains the different "Grades" or levels of initiation, as well as the deities that were involved in Iranian, Greek, and Roman cultures. As someone who truly enjoys watching the progression of mythology both through history and across cultures, I found this section of the book to be quite enjoyable. The myths and descriptions were detailed but easy to read and understand. I appreciate the knowledge and it gave me the desire to want to learn more about the cultures and practices described. After exploring Mithraism, Flowers then moves onto the Greek Alphabet Oracle, and the ties that he made between those symbols and the Mithras initiation process. He breaks down each individual letter and describes the tie to the Persian mythology, often tying it back to the interpretation in the Olympian oracle use. He then walks through the Major Arcana and ties each of the cards to the Greek Alphabet Oracle. This was a fascinating connection that I had never seen before. I enjoyed this different look at the Oracle, and seeing a different option for interpretation was fascinating. The Greek Alphabet Oracle is the symbol set that I use most often in my personal practice, so additional resources for how to use this symbol set is always appreciated, even if it isn't something that I personally choose to use. At the end of the discussion on the Tarot symbology itself, Flowers ties the Major Arcana and its symbols back to the initiation cycle of Mithraism. Each card represents a specific step in the journey that an initiate would take within the cult. The symbols are shrouded in mystery, so it does not explain the exact steps, but I found this correlation extremely interesting. I plan to do some more research into this initiation process and the practices involved in it. Ultimately, the point of this book is not to say that the cards themselves existed, but that "an archaic system of symbols keyed to sequences of Iranian sirozahs, Greek letters, Roman letters" form the background of icons that came to be the images of the Tarot. While some of the correlations feel like a bit of a stretch, I found Flowers writing style to be easy to read and his opinions well thought out and thoroughly researched. I would recommend anyone read this book if they're interested in mystery cults, initiatory practices, or divination correlation. |
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