By Frater Ryda
Undoubtedly one of the most common parts of Greek mythology is that of Theseus, a young hero sent to kill the Mynotaur in the labyrinth set inside the kingdom of Minos, and Ariadne, King Minos daughter that secretly handed Theseus a ball of thread that would eventually help him find his way out of the labyrinth after killing the beast. A story of love and tragedy as always. But what troubled me are two things. What does the labyrinth symbolise and also what does the thread mean? Can we use the labyrinth as a symbol of the unconscious mind? And if so, is the thread a tool for finding our way into it? And lastly how do you find that tools?
A few years ago in an RPG game that I was playing, I read that it had a spell called Ariadne’s thread and it was used for guidance into the spirit realm. At that time I already had started my quest in magic and the occult and since I was already curious on creating my own paradigm and belief against all the “must and should” most of the nowadays magical orders provide, I decided to take this “spell” and make it real.
I was not really sure on how to, but it had to be done somehow. In the beginning I started meditating as I was walking trying to think of the place I needed to go but that didn’t work. I needed to connect the place with me, like I had already been there to tie a knot with my thread. So I figured this was the way. I had to feel like I was already there, and by the time I acted as such I felt that small pull. A small force leading you to walk on a street that you weren’t planning to go to. But that wasn’t enough. I had to find the thread. I sat down and thought for a while and remembered the Chakras for some reason. Which one would I use if I had to combine them? I thought about Anahata, and then remembered an expression we use: that the sailors may have the wind in their favor for safe traveling. Theseus went to the island of Crete by ship and came back to Athens the same way. The wind played a big role in his journey. And so, I stood up and did the craziest thing: I started following the wind. The wind was already where I wanted to go and this would be my connection. I changed my path plenty of times until I saw the place I was looking for. I sat down for a moment realizing how real the thing that happened was and then I went on with my plans.