A labyrinth is a shaped path, a form of walking meditation that can be found in cultures throughout the world. This lens will give you links to labyrinth sites, show you pictures of different variations and has video so you can take a virtual walk.
What is a Labyrinth?
What's the difference between a labyrinth and a maze?
Many people use the term labyrinth and maze interchangeably, however, the two are really quite different.A maze is a network of paths where the correct route to the center is disguised within the pattern. There are false passageways and turnbacks. And yes, almost every single dictionary you look at will say that this thing can also be called a labyrinth.
However, the classical form of labyrinth I'm talking about here has a single pathway that leads to the center. The pattern can be symmetrical or not, and the person walking the pattern will follow the singular path into the center and back out again.
The Cretan or Classical labyrinth is a seven circuit form, and can be circular or square. The seven pathways and eight walls form a mirror image when viewed from above and is the most commonly found shape. The design is often laid out over an area approximately forty to forty-five feet in diameter, allowing paths wide enough for those entering and exiting to pass one another. With a labyrinth, there is only one pathway to walk, whereas with a maze, switchbacks and dead-ends work to obscure the true pathway to the center.
The Romans adapted labyrinth designs and incorporated them into floor decorations, making the designs fourfold. They also incorporated more complex shapes, producing labyrinths that spiraled or meandered. Sometime around the ninth or tenth centuries, the concepts of the Classical and Roman labyrinths began to fuse, making a shape that worked better in a Christian context. At this time, partially to assist in the assimilation of pagan faiths, some European churches began to incorporate labyrinths in their floor designs. The Chartres Cathedral in France has a labyrinth c. 1205 and this well-known variation has been the basis for most modern church and cathedral designs ever since.
A Turf-Scraped Labyrinth
Books on Labyrinths
I've recommended titles on both the technical and spiritual aspects of the labyrinth. You may find that one or the other interests you more, or you might be like me, and pretty much love everything about them.
How Labyrinths Work
Or, why folks walk in these things.
The process of walking a labyrinth is viewed by some as a form of prayer or meditation. It is also viewed by some as more of an oracle or divination, as part of the process is to ask a question that you want answered. Here's a short explanation of how a labyrinth "works."
- Entering the Labyrinth - The person who is about to walk the labyrinth should enter when they feel ready to do so. Some people like to walk around the labyrinth in a clockwise direction until they feel focused and relaxed, or until they think of their question, and then you start on the path.
- Walking In - During the walk in, the person walking is supposed to keep their question in mind. Some labyrinths are designed to be for one person at at time, whereas other traditions have many people doing it at all at the same time.
- At the Center - At the center of the Labyrinth is where you are supposed to receive your answer. Some traditions say you stay there until you receive it, others use multiple trips back in and out until you get it.
- Walking Out - To walk out, you follow the singular path out that you took to get to the center. It's during this part of the walk that you are supposed to receive information on how to integrate your answer into your life, or get info on how to better achieve your goal.
My First Labyrinth Experience
I encountered and walked my first labyrinth at a private campground in Willits, CA in 2004. I was invited to a private weekend gathering, a couple wanted to get together about 50 of their closest friends and get away for the weekend.The land has been gardened by the owners since 1970 and is a full working farm as well as a campground. Wandering off one afternoon, looking for the path to the orchards, I came across the labyrinth. I never made it to the orchards.
The layout was the classic Cretan, although I didn't know that then. A simple set of instructions were bolted in place on a nearby stump, protected from the weather by a piece of plexiglass. I read about having a question or intention, cleared my mind and began to walk.
It's a wonderfully eclectic labyrinth, made of river rock by the English woman who is the co-owner of the land, with her American husband. The terrain is sloped, as they live essentially on a mountaintop, so sometimes the path has a definite direction and slope to it. At the center is a nice large boulder, obviously placed for sitting down and meditating across the view of the valley. That's just what I did when I got to the center.
Later, having met the Lady of the land and the labyrinth, she asked me (in her British accent) "So, did you notice how the boulder in the center lines up with the strange and wonderful energy peak across the valley?" I had noticed.
Watch Labyrinths Being Made And Walked
1) This is a pseudo-timelapse film of a man and his daughter painting a labyrinth on canvas. This is a great option for those who want an indoor and portable labyrinth.
2) This is a temporary labyrinth made on a beach out of rocks.
3) This is a stuning overhead view of people walking a labyrinth in the UK.
2) This is a temporary labyrinth made on a beach out of rocks.
3) This is a stuning overhead view of people walking a labyrinth in the UK.
curated content from YouTube
Labryrinth History
These sites will provide more historical info and background on labyrinths.
- The Labyrinth Society
- The Labyrinth Society exists to support those who build, design, use and care for labyrinths. We provide labyrinth-related information at our annual Gatherings and through our website.
- Labyrinth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Labyrinth From Wikipedia, This article is about the mazelike labyrinth from Greek mythology.
- a web of labyrinths
- South Mountain Community College's info on labyrinths
- Labyrinth Home Page
- Medieval studies scholarly resources compiled and organized from around the world.
- The Labyrinth: Walking Your Spiritual Journey
- We are all on the path... exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path.
- Labyrinth
- This is an online translation of the Cathedral Labyrinth
- Labyrinthos - Labyrinth Resource Centre - Caerdroia
- Caerdroia - the journal of the maze and labyrinth research group. This site
contains full details of the journal and extensive resources on mazes and labyrinths
of all types. It has a detailed bibliography and the best collection of links to maze
and labyrinth sites anywhere on the Web.
Backyard Labyrinth
The Cretan Labyrinth of Gaia's Oasis
This Cretan labyrinth is a backyard labyrinth of sorts, that is if you happen to have over 100 acres as your backyard. This is on private land owned by friends of mine who live near Fresno, CA. They are tending the land as sacred space, and have built a lovely fire circle area with this labyrinth adjacent it. Together the two areas form an infinity symbol shape.This labyrinth was built by scraping the turf to mark the overall shape and the excess dirt was mounded up to form the sides. When the grass grew in the following year, it was weeded and adjusted as necessary. The walking track is rather slim and you almost walk it by putting one foot in front of the other. A nice bench sits nearby so you can wait if someone is walking it. I used the bench to stand on to take this picture.
A few times a year they have friends come stay on the land and we stay up all night, drumming and dancing around the fire. One ritual that is unique to these gatherings is the Labyrinth Gift Exchange. Each person coming for the event is asked to bring a small token or gift. A vessel is placed in the center of the labyrinth and for the first half of the event, people are asked to walk the labyrinth and place their gift in the container.
Then once the gathering reaches the halfway mark, it switches and people walk it when they feel the time is right, and they then take something out of the container. I like to reach in blindly and accept whatever my hand touches first. It's really mysterious and exciting that way. I've done the gift exchange twice. The first year I got a little handmade pottery bowl and the second year I grabbed what turned out to be a little candle holder of a person dancing.
Labyrinth Gear and Gifts
Have a labyrinth in your life even if you don't have the resources to build a life-sized walkable one.
Find A Labyrinth
Labyrinth sites and locators
Want to give walking a labyrinth a try? Check out these sites or try the Labyrinth Locator.
- The Labyrinths of Grace Cathedral
- Grace Cathedral in San Francisco has two labryrinths, one indoor and one outdoor.
- Georgia Labyrinths
- Find out where to see and walk labyrinths in the state of Georgia, USA.
- Illinois Labyrinths
- Locations of labyrinths in Illinois
- Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project
- This organization works with agencies and corporations in the Baton Rouge area to install labyrinths in their community.
- The Labyrinth at Klackle Orchards
- A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful paths.
- World-Wide Labyrinth Locator
- Locate a Labyrinth - Search by one or more criteria; the more terms you add, the narrower the search.
- Labyrinth Enterprises
- LABYRINTH ENTERPRISES has personally hand-made more labyrinths than anyone on the planet, perhaps more than anyone in history. Now in our 11th year of service (1995-2006), we are meticulous master craftspeople who make lasting works of art.
Trifold Labyrinth
This labyrinth is located in Sunnyvale, CA, right across from the Sunnyvale Caltrain station. This is the only trifold labyrinth I have encountered. Instead of being laid out bilaterally (two matching halves) or quadrilaterally (four sections) this one has three.It's concrete and the lines are just thin etchings in the surface. The first time I walked this one, I found myself baffled on certain turns when the lines between concrete panels and the labyrinth lines. However, after walking it a few times, I got used to the layout. In bright sunshine, it can be a bit hard to distinguish between the two markings.
Being in a very public space, I often found that people would stop and watch as my friend and I walked this one. They clearly wondered what we were doing walking in circles on the open plaza.
The "Eyes Wide Open" Shoe Labyrinth
A walking meditation for peace and the dead
One of the most moving labyrinths I've ever walked was at "Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibition on the Human Cost of the Iraq War." This is a traveling show, using shoes to show the human toll of the current war in Iraq. I saw it as staged in San Francisco's Civic Center, Saturday March 26, 2005.They lined up a pair of army boots for every single American soldier who has been killed in Iraq. The total on the day that I saw the show was 1528. They also have hundreds of pairs of civilian shoes, to represent the unknown amount of Iraqis who have died in the conflict.
There was row after row of shoes. In one area, a labyrinth had been made of shoes and you could walk it. Looking at all the types of shoes and all the sizes was very powerful. At the very center of the shoe labyrinth was a pair of brown leather boots. Attached was a note, identifying those shoes as having walked in the very first march against the Vietnam War, which went from Berkeley to Oakland in 1965.
Corn Mazes
The corn maze can take the form of either a traditional maze or a labyrinth or it can be a modern pictorial design, meant to be viewed from above to be fully seen.
- The MAiZE
- World's Largest Corn Maze Company
- Welcome to Sever's Corn Maze!!
- Annual corn maze design cut, since 1977.
- Custom Corn Mazes
- Maze Play shows custom corn mazes based in Idaho.
- A Maze in Corn, Manitoba's Original Corn Maze!
- Cornmaze minutes from Winnipeg and offers a petting zoo, hay rides, as well as sleigh rides in winter for the perfect outdoor activity all year round! Also a giant bale pyramid, pumpkin farm, concession stand, horse drawn hayrides and more for great family fun
- The Story of Corn - Amazing Mazes
- Mazes date back at least 4000 years to the time of Greek myths. In Roman times, mazes and labyrinths were found in artwork, in the design of floors in homes, public buildings and in the pavement of streets. It is believed that mazes were not considered puzzles, but were used for rituals and processions.
- Woodland Corn Maze.
- The Woodland Corn Maze is open between Sept 23 and Oct 31st. Discounts for groups and school field trips. Come visit the Woodland Corn Maze in Woodland, California. The Woodland Corn Maze features a new maze every year, pumpkin patch and haunted house.
- Corn Maze Corunna Michigan, Corn Maze in Dundee Michigan
- Corn Maze fun in Michigan. Two corn mazes to challenge you, one in Corunna - one in Dundee. Come have a great family time out in the country.
- Heartland Country Corn Maze - Harrisburg, SD
- Heartland Country Corn Maze! The greatest family fun in South Dakota!
- The Great Godfrey Maze
- The Great Godfrey Maze is two maze trails cut into 7-acres of corn in Glazebrook Park. This year, the corn is cut into two trails in a pirate shape! Visitors from all over can enjoy getting lost in the maze's twisting turns, dead-ends and traps!
- Denver Botanic Gardens
- This year's Corn Maze is three acres larger than last year, and its challenging design of a spider crawling in a giant web will keep you twisting and turning until you find your way out! The spider is one of the many unique bug sculptures that will be on display at Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street's Big Bugs Exhibit in spring 2007. A mini-maze is also available for kids, free of charge.
Comments and Feedback
Have you walked a labyrinth? Please tell us your experiences! Or if you know of a labyrinth that's open to the public which isn't listed here yet, please tell us about it!
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lynic141257 Mar 29, 2009 @ 10:24 am | delete
- Great Lens I really enjoyed it very informative .
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jenn_halls
Feb 17, 2009 @ 9:49 am | delete
- I really enjoy walking and creating labyrinths of all types. My favorite part is the access they provide to the inner voice. It's an easy way for me to connect deeply to my intuition.
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grannysage
Jan 16, 2009 @ 7:18 pm | delete
- I love labyrinths too and built one in my backyard many years ago. I've been thinking of doing a lens on the topic as well. Great job. I'll be back!
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Jimmie
Nov 8, 2008 @ 8:42 am | delete
- You're officially blessed!
I found this fascinating!
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EarthHealer
Aug 22, 2008 @ 5:17 am | delete
- hello :) I am a labyrinth fiend... I just found squidoo today, and wrote my first lens on that very topic, as I am in the process of creating a 10 metre (australian spelling!!!) Cretan or classical labyrinth this very minute. I walked a 12 metre Medieval (Chartres) labyrinth in 2000, and have known that I would lay out a labyrinth on my home ground,one day, ever since. The labyrinth that I walked was at Crystal Castle, in Mullumbimby, Northern NSW Australia... it is included in Virginia Westbury's book... When I reached the centre, I was blessed to have the space to sit alone in the circle for a good several moments... in that time, the rose quartz crystals placed strategically at the corners of the paths all seemd to line up with each other and joined energy to beam the most beautiful, nurturing energy at me... BLISS!!!!!!! What a wonderful and lengthy lens you wrote... Thank you!
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