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The Labyrinth: A Metaphor for Our Sacred Journey
By Jim Miles
Since prehistoric times, the labyrinth has been used as a sacred space for meditation and prayer. The term "labyrinth" comes from the Greek labrys, which means "double axe," and inthos connoting "place." When one looks down on a labyrinth it looks like the two curved blades on each side of a battleaxe handle. Thus, it is translated as "the place of the double axe."
Some believed that these early labyrinths served either as traps for malevolent spirits or as defined paths for psycho-spiritual rituals. Labyrinths of various sizes, shapes and designs were prevalent throughout ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Much variety and diversity can be found in their construction and location. They have been etched in stone inside churches and cathedrals, and placed outside in gardens, parks, fields and on beaches.
The Middle Ages brought a heightened interest in labyrinths. Their designs became more complex with elaborate eleven rings - a design more complex than the classical seven rings. The full flowering of the medieval labyrinth design came about during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries with the eleven-ring, grand pavement labyrinths of gothic cathedrals. Like almost every Christian motif and ritual, cathedral labyrinths originated from ancient northern Celtic, Middle Eastern and classical Greek and Roman traditions. The best-known labyrinth is embedded in the stone pavement of Chartres Cathedral near Paris.
The Middle Ages was an era of pilgrimages. Since most people could not make the grand pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem, they would make pilgrimages to important cathedrals. By walking the labyrinth, the faithful could make a substitute pilgrimage to the Holy Land and be united in spirit with the Crusaders. To make a pilgrimage to a sacred place such as the Holy City is part of an ancient, ongoing tradition of spiritual commitment. The Medieval builders were careful to incorporate their understanding of sacred architecture into the design and location of the labyrinths, which were usually placed beside the baptismal font near the entrance of the church.
The symbolism of the labyrinth has endured throughout centuries beyond this era. The labyrinth is a timeless and universal symbol signifying wholeness and completion. It blends the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a winding but purposeful path. It can symbolize our own inward journey to the center of our Being, the Sacred Self, and back again out into the world. Walking the labyrinth is like a prayerful initiation awakening and accessing the wisdom of our immortal soul, of our Spirit Self, affording us a direct experience of our own life's journey, releasing our addictions and attachments to allow us to experience the bliss of the Inner Self.
A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It challenges the mind with detours, roadblocks, twists and turns. To find the correct path in and out of a maze requires left brain activity of logical, sequential and analytical reasoning. A labyrinth has only one path. The way into it is also the way out. There are no tricks or blind alleys to cause confusion as there are in mazes. The path of a labyrinth leads you on a serpentine route to the center and out again. The labyrinth only requires right brain activity of intuition, imagery and creativity. Unlike the maze, which requires many decisions and choices of a calculating mind to find the center, the labyrinth only requires a passive and more receptive mindset for a choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not to enter; whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
Walking a labyrinth brings about centeredness. When one walks the clockwise and counter-clockwise turns of a labyrinth, the left and right hemispheres of the brain become more balanced. There is no right or wrong way to walk it. You have only to begin and follow the path. Enter the labyrinth with a reverent and prayerful attitude. When the center of the labyrinth is reached, one should pause, reflect and leave when it seems appropriate. Upon exit, one could turn and face the labyrinth and signal an ending with a bow or an "Amen." At its profoundest level, walking the labyrinth is a metaphor for going to the center of your being and back out into the world with a deeper and more expansive understanding of who you are.
The contemporary resurgence of labyrinths in the west stems from a growing need to honor again the sacredness of all life. Within the mystical traditions of all religions lies a wellspring of ageless wisdom. The concept of the labyrinth walk is representative of this. There are thousands of labyrinths all over the world that are utilized by people of various religious and non-religious traditions. More than thirty of them can be found in the greater Houston area.* The locations of some of these can be accessed by going online to www.labyrinthsociety.net.
Find a labyrinth and begin your own sacred journey!
*The labyrinth at the Sylvan Rodriguez Park, 1201 Clear Lake Blvd., is based on the Chartres labyrinth and was designed by Houston artist Dixie Friend Gay. It is open 6 a.m.- 8 p.m. daily. Another area labyrinth is located across the street from Carmel Temple, 1208 Pennsylvania, South Houston.
(Ed. Note: An expert in the field of labyrinths is Reverend Doctor Lauren Artress, author of Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool. Dr. Artress created Veriditas, a program centered around a twelfth century mystical tool symbolic of the path of life that is reintroducing the walking meditation back into the Christian tradition. She travels worldwide offering workshops and lectures on the labyrinth.)
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