The novel is based loosely around a retelling of the Greek myth The Rape of Persephone. It is important to note, however, that the basis for the Persephone story stretches back farther than the Greeks to the island of Crete. Crete, as opposted to Greece, was a matriarcal soceity; so their version of the Persephone myth does not mention Hades (who rapes and kidnaps Persephone in the more well known Greek version). I would call my novel a combination of the two opposing myths, the character of Hades still plays an important roll, but in my novel, the power lies in Persephone as a Goddess figure.I also drew heavily on the Brittish myth systems and their idea of the dying god, a divine king whose health was reflected in the productivity of the land he ruled. My use of hallucinogenics as a way of energy control and dream walking is also reminiscent of the beliefs of early Brittish paganism, as well as the beliefs of specific tribes of Native Americans in Mexico and Central America.
Much of Alexia's descent into Tai'Granal can be seen as a reflection of the path walked by the initiate as sybolized the progression of the major arcana cards in the tarot deck, most specifically, the car of Strength inwhich a woman is reaching into a lion's mouth which often symbolized the very cave which lead into the underworld, or the unconscious. The garden sceen relies heavily on references to The Garden of Eden myth that you find in Genesis.
For more you can always read:
The Hero With A Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell
Maiden, Mother and Crone DJ Conway
The White Goddess Robert Graves
The History of the Tarot: Origins, History and Symbolism Barbara Walker
The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley