The "Dark Queen" came about as the result of a practical joke played on a friend some years ago. We were hosts to our best friends, who were staying with us for several months before they relocated.

When the time came for them to leave we knew we were going to miss them and on moving day, as they were packing up the last of their things and loading them onto a truck, I noticed our friend's stuffed Gonzo, from the Muppets (yes, grown men have stuffed toys too) lying next to a packing box. So I took the Gonzo and hid it behind an antique gumball machine in our family room

Our friends left and the Gonzo stayed. For a while I wondered what to do with the Gonzo and then, one morning, I bundled him in a box, with the following letter, and sent him off to our friends .

The letter read

This "Gonzo" was found by the "Dark Queen", hidden behind a receptacle which holds sweet chewables, in a room used for amusements in the "Magic Castle". When queried about it, this "Gonzo" explained that he had traveled many miles over the centuries to come to a mystical place at the end of the big land, where he was told great wonders would befall him.

The Dark Queen advised the Gonzo that, in order to dwell in the Magic Castle, he must earn the right, and would therefore be required to complete a "Quest".

She told him that he would have to leave the Magic Castle and travel across the great waters to the Land of High Hills, and there, he was to seek out his Father, a mighty and powerful King, who himself was on a new and exciting adventure. The Gonzo would know great hardship and great joy, but would one day reach the pinnacle and realize his purpose.

His quest would be over and he could dwell forever in the Magic Castle.

Thus began the title "The Dark Queen", for my friends were amused and have continued to call me the Dark Queen to this day.

If you will indulge me, I would like to further expand on the nature of the name.

Dark in no way implies sinister or evil, though I was much drawn to the plight of the Evil Queen in the fairy tale Snow White. I felt the queen was much maligned and was merely fighting for her own survival. She would look into the mirror liking what she saw and the mirror would reflect that back to her. For some reason, and over a period of time, she stopped believing in her beauty, and when she looked into the mirror she saw another image reflected. That of a sweet and pure maiden. How the queen longed to be that maiden.

We all feel the loss of innocence and beauty as we grow older, we are more seasoned, our lives are cluttered with the ominous responsibilities of our own kingdoms, our families, and subjects therein.

The queen saw that Snow White was cared for by the Seven Dwarfs, who worked and sustained and protected her from harm. She envied that maiden, she envied her freedom to be sweet and innocent and protected. She began to believe that this was the part of her that was lacking and she resented that which was merely a reflection of another part of her. Although the queen longed to be that person again, she hated her as well. The queen was strong and assertive and knew how to survive at any cost. She had ruled and controlled a kingdom. But time and history have always favored the fair and sweet. The queen felt unfulfilled and in her anger, struck a deadly blow to Snow White and put her to rest for a very long time.

Well, we all know the end of that story, the handsome prince came along, the queen was destroyed and Snow White rescued from a fate worse than death. So much for the Dark Queen.

I have learned what is for me the true meaning of "dark". According to legend, Native American culture, in fact many other cultures as well, the dark represents the great void or the place within all of us that we seek our stories, our beliefs. It is the place that we go to, to reflect and to solicit the answers to questions when we are troubled. Some call it withdrawal, but we seem to emerge from the dark, calmer, more peaceful and sometimes wiser for listening to our own inner voice.

We look for solace within from the pressures and stress of our daily lives. It is the place we enjoy our greatest fantasies, our own fairy tales, where we listen to our hearts, instead of our practical heads. It is the place of innocence and dreams where we know our truths at the most cellular level. It is the Dark, it is the Void, it is our home within the heart. And so, the Dark Queen continues, for from this place within come our stories, not historical by nature, but metaphoric and mythical.

Some years ago, I took a workshop on the Native American Medicine Wheel, our Earthwalk around it and the Dreamwalk beyond. The result of the journey was to identify our personal mission. My mission was to sing my "Heart Songs" literally.

It was my promise to myself, both the seasoned woman and the innocent girl, that I would publish my stories and the stories of others on this journey.