"A c e l e b r a t i o n o f t h e c r e a t i v e s p i r i t ."
Labyrinth
This is the classical or seventh circuit labyrinth. Seven circuits refers the seven paths that lead to the center or goal. This is an ancient design and is found in most cultures. It is sometimes dated back more than 4000 years. Also known as the Cretan Labyrinth it is associated with the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. This design was found on Cretan coins.
Labyrinths have most likely always been used in a spiritual manner. They can create a heightened awareness of the human condition and aid psychological and spiritual growth.To build a labyrinth is to create a sacred space. To walk a labyrinth is to imbue it with power and meaning. The more a labyrinth is used the more powerful it becomes as a symbol of transformation.
The classical labyrinth has an association with Christianity. A cross is the starting point used to construct this labyrinth. The cross at the center can become the focus for meditation and the experience of the labyrinth. The classical labyrinth design is found in many churches in Europe.
There is no right way to walk a labyrinth.
You only have to enter and follow the path.
However, your walk can encompass a variety of attitudes. It may be joyous or somber. It might be thoughtful or prayerful. You may use it as a walking meditation.
Adults are often serious in the labyrinth. Children most often run in and out as fast as they can in a playful manner.
I've been wanting to build a labyrinth for quite a few years now.
The beginning step was the summer of 2008. The plan was to move the piglet pen around the area of
where I wanted the labyrinth and have them do their job. Pigs are amazing at digging, rooting and working
up an area. We moved their portable pen which housed the five of them, about 6-7 times.
Then we moved the piglets to their permanent pen and I cleaned up the area they had rooted.
Just a few sticks, rocks and a few machinery parts buried from years gone by. They literally tore
up the area and ate all the botanicals that grew there. Then that fall, our family planted 5 huge
rose bushes around the parimeter of the labyrinth area. These were dug up by my youngest son
and myself, which were free from the Healing Garden in at the Aitkin Hospital. What a wonderful gift.
I hoped all of them would winter over well.
Rice hulls from the wild rice plant were delivered and dumped near the area. My oldest son moved
them with the tractor bucket to the middle of the labyrinth area. They should be a good
deterent and block the regrowth of the pig weed, burdock root and crab grass roots that the
pigs might have left behind. Spring of 2009 nothing was done but finally in August the hulls were spread out and we start hauling in rocks to begin the design.
Look at the photos below!
The Middle Ages showed a renewed interest in labyrinths and a design more complex than the classical seven-circuit labyrinth became popular.
This was an eleven-circuit design divided into four quadrants. It was often found in Gothic Cathedrals but over time many of these eleven-circuit designs were destroyed or intentionally removed.
The most famous of these remaining labyrinths is at Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France. The labyrinth at Chartres was built around 1200 and is laid into the floor in a style sometimes referred to as a pavement maze. The original center piece has been removed and other areas of the labyrinth have been restored.
This labyrinth was meant to be walked but is reported to be infrequently used today. In the past it could be walked as a pilgrimage and/or for repentance. As a pilgrimage it was a questing, searching journey with the hope of becoming closer to God. When used for repentance the pilgrims would walk on their knees. Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and as a result came to be called the "Chemin de Jerusalem" or Road of Jerusalem.
In walking the Chartres style labyrinth the walker meanders through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the goal. An expectancy is created as to when the center will be reached. At the center is a rosette design which has a rich symbolic value including that of enlightenment. The four arms of the cross are readily visible and provide significant Christian symbolism.
2009 Spring Update
The progress of building our labyrinth is at a stand still. Our mundane lives have taken precidence.
Only a few rose bushes survived the winter. It was expected really as they were dug up much later than should of been.
August 2009 We started building IT AGAIN!
Excerpts from www.lessons4living.com
We are all on the path... exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path.
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 path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into
the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life's
journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to
"That Which Is Within."
Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze.
A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys.
It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the
correct path into the maze and out.
A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys.
The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again.
A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices
must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth
there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed.
The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self
and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.
Early to mid-evenings when the sun was still at it's highest we would visit the Venne's Rock Nursery! Seriously they grow rocks on their little homestead. Over the years, they have picked and piled. I'm kicking myself now for not taking pictures of our harvesting. I will do that this year as we finish the Labyrinth! I want to thank the Venne Family for contributing the rock and helping with loading the rock into our little pickup on our many visits. If I remember right we made 5 trips. We don't have enough rock obviously. Harvest Season took over our time and the project was put on hold, yet another year. But we are absolutely delighted with what we have accomplished.
We couldn't believe the rock we found that became the center piece of the labyrinth. Isn't it amazing. It is a "Cross-Rock" or what some call a "Fairy Rock".
January 2010
When you walk a labyrinth choose your attitude. From time to time choose a different attitude. Make it serious, prayerful, or playful. Play music or sing. Pray out loud. Walk alone and with a crowd. Notice the sky. Listen to the sounds. Most of all pay attention to your experience.
Some general guidelines for walking a labyrinth are:
1. Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet and centered. Give acknowledgment through a bow, nod, or other gesture and then enter.
2. Experience: Walk purposefully. Observe the process. When you reach the center, stay there and focus several moments. Leave when it seems appropriate. Be attentive on the way out.
3. Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an acknowledgement of ending, such as "Amen."
4. Reflect: After walking the labyrinth reflect back on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to capture your experience.
