Labyrinth of the Self: Inspirations and Author Reflections on Wizard of Madeira
 
Every story begins with a mystery. Some are written on paper, others are carved into the soul.
In Labyrinth of the Self, Simon Victor invites readers to wander the hidden paths behind The Wizard of Madeira, uncovering the dreams, symbols, and strange synchronicities that brought the story to life.
 
This is not a guidebook or an academic study. It is a journey inward: a meditation on creativity, memory, and the quiet voice that calls us back to the center of who we are. Through reflections on myth, art, and the island of Madeira itself, Victor reveals how a single story can become a map of the spirit—a labyrinth whose corridors mirror the twists of the human heart.
 
Blending travel writing with mysticism and poetic philosophy, Labyrinth of the Self explores the sources of inspiration that shaped The Wizard of Madeira: the eternal forest, the forgotten gods, the whisper of time, and the belief that magic is not something we find, but something we remember.
 
Readers who enter this labyrinth will emerge changed, carrying a deeper understanding of the creative process and of the mysterious threads that connect imagination, nature, and destiny.
 
In Labyrinth of the Self, Simon Victor opens the secret doors behind the first book Wizard of Madeira - revealing the myths, philosophies, and creative processes that shaped its creation. This companion volume is part memoir, part literary archaeology, and part philosophical essay. It traces the evolution of a story that began as a personal exploration of loss, time, and transformation, and grew into a mythic saga spanning centuries of Madeiran history.
 
Through vivid reflections and poetic analysis, Victor examines how the novel’s symbols—labyrinths, forests, fire, and birds - mirror the psyche’s inner geography. Drawing on Carl Jung, Jorge Luis Borges, Fernando Pessoa, Helena Blavatsky and Mircea Eliade, the author explores how The Wizard of Madeira serves as a modern hierophany: a meeting point between the human and the divine, the seen and the unseen. The book becomes both a map and a mirror for readers seeking to understand their own creative depths.
 
More than an author’s commentary, Labyrinth of the Self is a meditation on the act of creation itself: how stories choose their tellers, how islands remember their myths, and how every artist must walk the spiral path between dream and reality to find the voice that was always waiting within.