One of the more challenging aspects of developing a new spiritual tradition is having to figure out what you need terms for and what those terms should be.
I was in the middle of writing a child blessing ritual for the upcoming second edition of Ariadne's Thread (release date: May 15) and realized I needed a term for Modern Minoan Paganism folx to use, a word for the kind of person Christians call godparents: the close family friend who will have a special place in the life of a child as they grow up.
A number of traditions and cultures have their own term for this special person in a child's life. Some Pagans have "polytheisized" the Christian term to godsparents. Humanists use the word guideparents. Native Americans and some Asian cultures have aunties.
But I didn't want to appropriate a marginalized culture's term. And the variants on "godparent" felt a little awkward, like they didn't really fit the "extended family" vibe we want for this kind of relationship in Ariadne's Tribe. After some poking around online and in dictionaries and some helpful discussion with Tribe folx, we now have a term that we'll be using.
The word? Amia.
It's the Latin-alphabet spelling of the Greek word άμια, pronounced AH-mee-ah. In Greek tradition, the word is used for grannies, aunts, and any beloved elderly woman, relative or not.
The word has an interesting history. It was borrowed into Greek from Venetian (an Italian dialect), where it was used the same way. Ultimately, it derives from the Latin word amicus, meaning "friend."
In the same way that we consider our pantheon to be a family of deities, we also consider our extended families - blood relatives and chosen family - to be important parts of our spiritual lives. So we'll be using the term amia to refer to our dear friends (of any gender) who will play an important role in a child's life as they grow up. And we'll acknowledge them at our child blessing ceremonies so everyone knows how much we value their presence.