Author's Note

“From the Great Above she opened her ear to the Great Below.

From the Great Above the goddess opened her ear to the Great Below.

From the Great Above Inanna opened her ear to the Great Below.”

The Labyrinth is based on the Descent of Inanna, a Sumerian myth in which the goddess Inanna (also known as Ishtar) descends into the Underworld to attend the funeral of her sister Ereshkigal's husband. With each gate she encounters, she must surrender one of the mythical mes (pronounced mays), items that possess godly powers and meanings. I don't want to spoil the ending, but let's just say that her sister is not happy to see her. This is believed to be the first resurrection story in recorded history, predating the birth of Jesus by more than a thousand years.

For this version, I chose to make it a personal exploration of different aspects of identity and have the player encounter their own Shadow Self. While there are seven gates of the Underworld in the original myth, for simplicity's sake I condensed it to three.

I have painstakingly avoided the use of gender throughout the entire story so that everyone can place themselves inside it.

Pieces of Power

In the original myth, the mes that Inanna must sacrifice include the crown of heaven on her head, beads around her neck, her dress, her breastplate, golden ring, her rod of power, and a strange item known as “Come, man, come.”

Each me, or as I have decided to call it 'piece of power', was chosen for its personal significance. I wanted to make each choice customizable to the player's preference and interpret the original mes into ones the player could relate to. I ended up creating two distinct types: one that expresses an angry Shadow Self and one that expresses a lonely one. Neither option is more correct than the other. Each item requires surrender in order to proceed to the next gate and the final level of the Underworld.

Carl Jung and the Shadow Self

Many interpretations of Inanna’s Descent suggest that Ereshkigal was actually an expression of the Shadow Self. It is significant that in the original story, Inanna’s resurrection can only occur once Ereshkigal has been offered peace and healing.

Famed psychologist and myth enthusiast Carl Jung did extensive work on the concept of the Shadow. He was one of the first people to suggest that it neither be repressed nor ignored, but embraced. He suggested that the qualities that we loathe in others originate within our Shadows, the qualities we ignore or repress in ourselves.

He believed that without acceptance of the Shadow, we cannot be fully actualized.

Symbolism

Before entering the Underworld, the Gatekeeper says out of nowhere, "Be satisfied. A divine power of the Underworld has been fulfilled. You must not open your mouth against the rites of the Underworld." This is an exact quote from the original myth of Inanna's Descent, spoken by the gatekeeper each time the goddess questions why she must surrender one of her mes.

Tantalizing blueberries and blackberries are part of the landscape of this Underworld. In Greek mythology, Persephone ate pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld. As a result, she was forced to split time between earth and the Underworld forever.

The logo used in the top left corner and also above the entrance to the Labyrinth is the symbol that originally aired in Black Mirror's episode "White Bear" but was made famous in its choose-your-own-adventure movie "Bandersnatch." The symbol signifies multiple branching pathways.

Personal Meaning

At the time of this project’s creation, I was experiencing lots of major life changes happening all at once. I had been living one way for several years that I was very comfortable with but knew that if I wanted to grow, I had to disrupt my comfort and face my fears of failure and loneliness.

Initially, this project was intended to be only one piece of a trilogy within a sprawling labyrinth, each piece focusing on one aspect of the human condition. What was intended to be only one of three paths (this one was originally called the Cathartic Path) became the entire labyrinth.

The experiences at each gate of the Underworld are pulled straight from my own personal memories, struggles, and symbolic moments of significant change that I’ve gone through. As an artist, we learn that universal truths are achieved only by expressing deeply personal ones. I’m pleased with the way this project has turned out. I am still deciding whether or not to go forward with the trilogy.

I had such a fun and profound experience creating this project. I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think at the Comment Wall.

May you embrace your Shadow and live your life to the fullest.