Mexican Labyrinth of Birth, acrylic 30"x20"
 
Years ago my hairdresser was from Mexico. After I told him about the Birth Warrior, he said two of his aunts were parteras (midwives). They told mothers they had to brave and courageous in labor, like a warrior; in labor they would have to go to the underworld where ancestors were holding their baby. If labor was long there would be a battle to wrestle their baby free; if the ancestral spirit gave up the baby easily, labor would be short.  I imagined labyrinths of birth reflected this, short labors migh have three corridors while long ones have eleven.
 
One night in a dream I saw beads being pressed into the passage walls of the labyrinth in this painting. So I bought beads and pressed them in, and found shells and a Mary too.
 
The three spirits showed up in the paint, so did the lama. When the mother Returns she will have to pass by the two gatekeepers.