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As long-time readers will know, this whole Girls Underground idea started with the movie Labyrinth – my favorite movie of all time, which I’ve seen hundreds of times. As I was watching it again recently, it occurred to me to write down some of the lessons from the Story, ones that are actually quite applicable to many spiritual and magical journeys. (Note: these were one of the inspirations for the Lessons cards in the Girls Underground Story Oracle.)
If that is the way it is done, then that is the way you must do it.
Say your right words.
The way forward is sometimes the way back.
You can’t look where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re going.
Quite often it seems like we’re not getting anywhere, when in fact we are.
You get a lot of [false alarms] in the labyrinth, especially when you’re on the right track.
You can’t take anything for granted.
No, it isn’t [fair], but that’s the way it is.
While I came up with the concept of Girls Underground, I certainly am not the first person to notice similarities between some of these stories. Especially between any of them and Alice in Wonderland (which may account for the high number of Alice references in GU books – consciously or unconsciously, the authors know what type of story they’re telling). Here’s a great visual examination of some of the parallels between the movie Labyrinth (one of the primary inspirations for Girls Underground) and Disney’s Alice movie. It’s quite remarkable.
One of the plot points of the Girls Underground archetype is:
She interacts with people or things that are somehow connected to her ‘normal’ life at home, or briefly returns home in the middle of the journey.
While this is found in many GU stories, it is exemplified best, perhaps, by the original inspiration for the whole idea: Labyrinth. Not only does Sarah return to her own bedroom again while still on her quest (via the Junk Lady’s deception), but many of the creatures and things she encounters during her stay in the labyrinth (including the labyrinth itself) are echoes of items she has in her room: dolls, stuffed animals, posters, books, games, toys. This is illustrated wonderfully by this amazing set of animated gifs, juxtaposing the childhood object with its manifestation in the otherworld:
Girls Underground 