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Our unconscious exists on many planes and does not adhere to the normal laws of space and time. The deepest pits of Tartarus can lead to a door to the beginning of time. A dark forest from our childhood may yield to a barren desert in our future. There are no straight lines in hell. The doors of heaven may open and then suddenly close. The labyrinth has no consistent pattern and its paths are dangerous. The images we see may be false or the messages we hear lies. The archetypes we meet may be reflections of ourselves or our adversaries. We may see visions before we are ready to understand them or are incapable of deciphering their secrets.

To help us on our journey we can invoke the archetypes of our unconscious through ritual or active imagination. When we are able to focus our imagination and still our rational thoughts, we are able to feel their presence through messages and symbols.

Each God or Goddess has their own unique mythological power and speaks in their own language. For example, Artemis is not only the guardian of thresholds but can also act as our guide in and between worlds.  She is often depicted in ancient ceramics with Hermes escorting Persephone on her return from the underworld in spring. In her triple aspect, she can manifest as Selene and open the portals between the mundane and celestial worlds. As Hekate, she can unlock the doors to the netherworld and guide us across the darkest labyrinths of hell. The moon is the most powerful symbol of Artemis, fixed between both worlds of shadow and light, it acts as a way to keep us grounded between the two realms. When we draw down the moon, we are casting a shadow on our rational mind and submersing ourselves in our subconscious thoughts.

Through the magic of ritual and the power of art, we can channel our unconscious. This is the key to surfacing the unbalanced aspects of our personality or the direst aspirations of our soul. The symbols and visions we receive along the path to individuation must be unlocked and deciphered. They are demarcations where our intellect and our subconscious are not in balance or have yet to be confronted. When this struggle is successful it results in new revelations that are fully embraced, resulting in spiritual transformation.

The path to individuation is solitary. Each must find their own path.