When Thalia and I set out to start a coven, we picked a name — Desert Rain Coven — based on the natural force that can create growth and change here in the desert. Even as we picked it, we knew it was a working title. After we were called by Dionysos and Ariadne and our coven really began to take an energy of its own, it became clear that was not the right name and that we needed to find the one that was.

Labyrinths and spirals have always been important symbols to both of us as we walk this path. I mean, it is the path (and more). And as we’ve been working with Ariadne, mistress of the labyrinth and initiation, it seemed appropriate to journey to Her for our answer.

The trance ritual got bumped around a bit for various reasons, but when the time came to trance, the experience was eons away from our experience with Dionysos. Ariadne was in the labyrinth that is attached to our grape arbor, at the center. On the way in, we were accompanied by many snakes, encountered a cloaked figure with an owl and danced with maenads. Ariadne approached us, dancing and held out a bowl that looks much like a bowl we actually have on our altar. The bowl changed a bit, the labyrinth glowed, we saw figures walking in the labyrinth. We stepped back, still unsure. I asked Ariadne what the answer was. She said, “The answer lies in the marriage of ecstasy and initiation.” We left the labyrinth, noticing more dancers and a red thread.

When we came out of our trance, we had no clear sense of a name. We discussed what we had seen, looked up words that meant the same as labyrinth, cracked jokes, but still weren’t sure. Winding Path came up then, but we weren’t quite sure. Two weeks went by while we let it lie, discussed it, and let it lie some more. Finally, on Friday, it became clear that Winding Path was the name and that it had been there all along. We took a winding path to realizing it.

Coven of the Winding Path. I like it.