The Labyrinth: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
The Cathedral at Charte had a centuries old Labyrinth which was usually covered by chairs. Anyone interested in walking had to ask a bemused priest let them remove the chairs so they could walk. However, Dr. Artress saw the potential for spiritual discovery and brought the pattern back to San Fransico where she is a priest at Grace Cathedral.
She wrote her first book about it and people started coming to San Francisco to walk and many others to make their own.
The Medieval Labyrinth began in France, most famously the Cathedral at Chartre. It was designed for people who could not go on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was meant to symbolically represent the Holy City.
Of course, the Classic Labyrinth has existed for as long a people can remember. Pliny, talked about several in his Natural History. The Classic Labyrinth is also popular in the US.
I will talk about my experiences with the Labyrinth and give you information about getting one for your church or even your home.
The Chartres Labyrinth: The Model for Grace Cathedral, San Fransico and Around the USA
My First Labyrinth Walk
I saw the advertisement in my Baptist Church for a Labyrinth Seminar at a Lutheran Church given by an Episcopalian Priest. I had no idea what it was, but I liked the Ecumenical sense of the thing.I listened at the Seminar and learned that there is a three step process. Walking in one sheds one's cares and ego, in the center one communes with God and walking out one prepares to reenter the world.
It is suggested that one go in with some intention and draw or journal at the center or after leaving.
The Labyrinth itself was a massive piece of canvas with a Medieval representation. I admit to wondering what the big deal was. I couldn't imagine how one could lose anything following a path that was preordained.
Then I walked. I was taken in very quickly, noticing that at first I came very close to the center, but then was taken away by the path, forces I had no control over. My God, that was something. I walked near the outside, the inside, I came across people going faster or slower than I or people leaving as I was coming in. And I was getting lost and shedding.
By the time I got to the middle I was in an emotional state. I sat down and felt a powerful energy. I stayed and prayed, meditated or just sat. There were tears and a calmness. People came and went, I acknowledged them, but was still in my own world.
At some point I got up to repeat the process, backward, and did feel a building. However, suddenly I was standing a few feet away from the exit. I felt a sudden rebellion and didn't want to continue, but there I was. I stood for a while and then left.
I couldn't have told you how long it took. It could have been a half hour, it could have been three. But I did know more 'what it was all about'.
The picture above is a slice of the Labyrinth at Chartre that I took in 2005. I remember marveling at how old it was. I knew it was ancient, but it was quite striking to be there.
People Building Medieval Labyrinths
However, people are also making their own. A youth in my church did a portable canvas one for his Eagle Scout project. He mapped it out and several of us helped paint it. A friend of mine used bricks to make one on her property in the country.
Here we have three videos of people making these Labyrinths.
Walking, and Making, the Classical Labyrinth.
I have walked fewer of these, mostly because there just aren't as many of them. However, if you want to put one on your property, and you want to do it yourself, this is probably the easiest way. It is also the most organic. It is the same must follow path, with the same in and out, and the same sacred geometry, but it does not have the same precision.The first one I walked was out side of Asheville, NC. Two women had set one up on their country property using large rocks that they found. They say that the experience was that they were guided as to which stones to use at which places. They have it open for anyone who wants to walk. As one goes through it one notices trinkets and small pieces of jewelry that people have felt moved to leave behind.
The second one was on St Columba Bay on Iona to the Northwest of Scotland, where St. Columba first landed to start his Christian ministry and the Iona Abby. It is also made out of stone by members of the Iona Community. I was told that each year the residents make a new one. The energy of that area, one of the 'thin places' is very powerful. Of course, walking it on the Summer Solstice, which I did, added to the experience.
Labyrinth at Columba Bay on Iona, Scotland
Make Your Own Labyrinth
Walking With Your Fingers
There are many ways to walk a Labyrinth and your fingers can also do the job.I own a finger Labyrinth like the one pictured. You can use it with eyes closed or open focusing on the movement. It is a great meditation vehicle.
There are many companies that sell these and other finger Labyrinths.
Great Lens on Other Types of Labyrinth Work and Symbolism
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The Shaman Game of String Figures
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String Figures are found in almost all of the ancient cultures of the world. Most people think of string figures as "just a child's game" In it's simple form it is just that - a game. But on other levels one discovers what has been...
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Legends of The Tree of Life
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The Tree of Life is a Universal symbol found in many spiritual traditions around the world. It symbolizes life itself, with it's branches reaching for the Heavens "Father Sky" and it's buried roots, linking to "Mother Earth". Many ancient mythical s...
Labyrinth Links
- Evolution to Medieval Labyrinth
- This is a great link, basically about the Medieval Labyrinth but shows how the Classical evolved into the Medieval.
- Lauren Artress
- Lauren Artress talks about the Labyrinth.
- The Labyrinth Society
- Great information about the evolution of the labyrinth.
- Walking Your Spiritual Journey
- About the sacred journey of your life.
Building a Backyard Labyrinth
Building a Backyard Labyrinth
A time-lapse movie of building a small labyrinth in our backyard from old brick. The labyrinth is very small (about 10 feet in diameter) so actually walking the path requires narrow feet and fine balance. But even the paddle-footed among us can straddle the path and walk on the bricks, and have a satisfying journey that way.
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More on Spiritual Practice And Other Things From Margo
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"A" is for "Arrowsmith"
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I began this journey as a lens master on June 21, 2008. I started with the story of how my parents began their first small business. That first lens reached a top rank of 188 overall and 14 in business, and then started back down, getting as low as...
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Iona, Scotland: A Thin Place
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"There is a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller. A thin place is where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glor...
More on the Labyrinth
The labyrinth idea book: Making labyrinths from many materials
Amazon Price: (as of 12/27/2009) 
Exploring the Labyrinth: Making Sense of the New Spirituality
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The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform
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A Labyrinth Year: Walking The Seasons Of The Church
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Labyrinths from the Outside in: Walking to Spiritual Insight, a Beginner's Guide
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The Light
Any Purchase Here Will Contribute to Heifer International: The Pay It Forward Entrepreneurial Charity
Lauren Artress
The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/27/2009)
Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth
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Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice
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The Sand Labyrinth Kit: Meditation at Your Fingertips
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Walking A Sacred Path - Rediscovering The Labyrinth As A Spiritual Tool
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Have You Walked? Would You Like to Share It?
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Reply
- GoodBug GoodBug Nov 27, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
- This is what I love about Squidoo. It opens your eyes to things outside of your own experience. I never would have gone searching for info on this subject but when I saw the title it "called" to me - and I came.
And I'm very glad I did. Fascinating lens. I feel inspired to build a mini-version in my backyard.
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Reply
- grannysage grannysage Nov 25, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
- I love labyrinths. I built one in our pasture when I lived on a farm. I walk them whenever I can. Once when walking a large outdoor labyrinth, I felt like I had become someone else, like a very old Native American woman. I even started walking differently.
Thank you for sharing your experience of this very old and ecumenical spiritual experience.
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Reply
- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Oct 19, 2009 @ 8:11 am
- Margo, you have opened my eyes to something totally new -- I had never thought about walking a labyrinth. Thank you!
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Reply
- eccles1 eccles1 Sep 8, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
- what a nice lens!
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Reply
- Obey_The_Goddess Obey_The_Goddess Jun 14, 2009 @ 3:35 pm
- This is an excellent lens! I really love it!
- Load More
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Come Blog About Business
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byFeed Your Cells Pure Food
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAbout Margo Arrowsmith
Lensmaster Margo_Arrowsmith has been a member since June 21 2008, has rated 2,018 lenses, favorited 121, and has created 129 lenses from scratch. Margo Arrowsmith donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "Heifer International: The Pay It Foward Entrepreneurial Charity". See all my lenses
My Bio
For Arrowsmith Printing 9/22/08
I was born into a small business, I believe that small business and entrepreneurs are the backbone of America and what has made us great. They are what made us great and will save us in these unsure times. I have never wanted to have a great job. Well, better a great one, than a boring dead end one, and I have had both. But I have never really wanted a job at all.
Don't get me wrong, I am a hard worker. I have worked a full-time job, a part time job and a private practice all at the same time for a lot of years in my past. It isn't the work, its the working for someone else. Never wanted to do that, and I don't understand those who want to do that.
When I was six months old my parents bought their first small town weekly newspaper in Iowa. This was back in the day, back when small town newspapers were not just advertising sheets. Perhaps there are still some of them that are real, I hope so.
So I came by this perverse nature naturally. My path to self employment has been different than theirs, but it has always been my path, my direction.
Growing up in Iowa, in the fifties, I also grew up politically conservative. By the time I was 30 I was radically left. Today? I am proudly liberal and what that means will be clearer as we progress.
However, I have had conflicts about 'taking advantage of people'. I now know that employing people is not automatically taking advantage of them, but it took a while for me to learn that nothing is intrinsically good or bad. Well, almost nothing.
I have educated myself in business, I have a small business and I have used EFT and other energy clearing methods to help me clarify the old conflicts and move forward.
My mission here is to provide a forum for people who want to work independently through one person businesses or through employing others and for whom the betterment of human kind is an important value. My lenses are about offering good products, teaching people about betting their lives, and using the money they make for their pleasure and the benefit of others.
That is how I see business and if you have a similar vision I invite you to my blog www.creatingbusinessenergy.com
Margo Arrowsmith
Raleigh, North Carolina
Mother and Grandmother
Clinincal Social Worker, Coach and Internet Marketer
Interfaith Contemplative Minister
Student of life, business, the human spirit that motivates us to be our best in all circumstances.
Check out these great lenses...
by Margo_Arrowsmith
For Arrowsmith Printing 9/22/08
I was born into a small business, I believe that small business and entrepreneurs are the backbone of America and w... (more)
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