One of the projects I'm working on these days is a book of modern Minoan myths, tales to bridge the gap between the Bronze Age and our times as we learn to live in relationship with the Minoan deities. The working title is Tales from the Labyrinth. The book will be illustrated, but before I can start on the art, I have to complete the stories.

Today I'm sharing one of them with you - a very important story, the the first one in the book. It's just a little taste of the whole collection of tales. I hope you enjoy it.

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We begin our collection of myths with this story, which is a tale of endings as much as beginnings. As with the Fool Tarot card that brings the end back around to the beginning, here the Serpent Mother bites her own tail to remind us that the universe is not linear, but cyclical. And so our cycle of stories begins.

Dear Ones, may I tell you how you came to be in this world with me? 

Do you remember when you were here before, on this Earth, in a body, perhaps a long time ago, perhaps not so very long ago after all? You did the things you had come here to do for the time that you decided to spend here. And when that time was over, Ariadne came to guide you from here, to help you find your way back to the place you had come from. She was accompanied by the buzzing of the Melissae, whose song reminded you that you were about to begin a wondrous journey, and by the Minotaur, who guards the way. Ariadne took your hand and led you through the Labyrinth, the winding path that is a sacred living thing: the body of Serpent Mother through which we travel between the worlds, between lives.

The Serpent Mother is the Labyrinth of movement and transformation. Her two snakes remind us of the parts of existence the modern world has confused so badly that many of us no longer know which ones to pair together. But the Serpent Mother knows. The snake in her right hand is life and destruction, the vigor of material existence that relies on the taking-apart of the food we eat, the destruction of other parts of the physical world in order to maintain ourselves. The snake in her left hand is death and regeneration, the time of rest and healing outside the material realm, when we abide with the Great Mothers in safety and peace. The path between these two states of our existence is the Labyrinth.

When we dance the Labyrinth with our bodies in this world, whether for celebration or healing or some other sacred and joyful purpose, we remind ourselves of the spirit journey between the worlds, between lives, in the safety and care of our sweet Lady of the Labyrinth who is also the Queen of the Dead. We remind ourselves that we already know the path, that we cannot get lost, that we will always be safe. 

For a time out of time, when you were not here on this Earth in a body, you dwelled among the spirits of the dead, safe in the World Below. Though some will tell you this is a shadowy and desolate place, in truth it is a place of love and comfort, warm and cozy like your mother’s womb. How else would the Great Mothers choose to cherish us between lifetimes, when they love us so? So there we stay, safe and beloved, between lives. 

When it came time for you to be born into this world once again, Eileithyia came with her torch, calling you, reaching out to weave you back into the world of the living. And so you took her hand. And you made the journey again through the Labyrinth, the winding, twisting path that is the Serpent Mother herself. But this time you followed the path in the other direction, from that world to this one, sure and steady. And as with every time you have undertaken this journey, Ariadne accompanied you, the Minotaur guarded you, and the Melissae sang of your going and coming.  

Now that you are back in this world, you must remember those who are still in the Realm of the Dead, for they are your loved ones, too, just as you were once among them and will be again one day. This is why we honor our beloved dead, why we care for them with offerings and songs and dances. Because they are us and we are them. And we all rest in the arms of the Mothers from one lifetime to the next.

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In the name of the bee,
And of the butterfly,
And of the breeze, amen.