Labyrinth St John's Cathedral is fortunate to own a lovely canvas Labyrinth, in the eleven-circuit style found in many churches. This Labyrinth is set up most of the year, in the North Transept of the Cathedral, for meditation and prayer. You are welcome to walk it 9am-4pm, Monday through Saturday. Groups may make arrangements to walk the Labyrinth in the evenings. Contact the Cathedral office for more information.
Labyrinths: A Circle of Meditation
A labyrinth is a pattern with a purpose, an ancient tool that speaks to a long-forgotten part of us. Lying dormant for centuries, labyrinths are undergoing a revival of use and interest. They offer a chance to take “time out” from our busy lives, to leave schedules and stress behind. Walking a labyrinth is a gift we give ourselves, often leading to discovery, insight, peacefulness, happiness, connectedness, and well-being.
The labyrinth represents our passage through time and experience. Its many turns reflect the journey of life, which involves change and transition, rites of passage, cycles of nature. Different from a maze – which has dead ends and false passages – the labyrinth has a single path that leads unerringly to the center. It shows us that no time or effort is ever wasted; if we stay the course, every step, however circuitous, takes us closer to our goal.
Thinking is not required to walk a labyrinth. At the same time, one must remain alert to stay on the path. This combination of reduced mental activity and heightened awareness makes the labyrinth ideal for walking meditation or prayer. Some walk or dance the labyrinth just for the fun of it, or to express a certain intent or wish. There is a strong connection between the labyrinth and earth energies, reestablishing a long-lost rapport with nature and with the feminine. The turns of the labyrinth are thought to balance the two hemispheres of the brain, resulting in physical and emotional healing. As reaching the center is assured, walking the labyrinth is more about the journey than the destination, about being rather than doing, integrating body and mind, psyche and spirit into one harmonious whole.
The seven-circuit labyrinth is the most common labyrinth pattern in the world. Most westerners know it by the name “Cretan” labyrinth, because European archaeologists first encountered the symbol on coins (dated 500 BCE) recovered off the Mediterranean island of Crete. But it is found in almost every culture and time period. The Hopi people of the American Southwest have it as their symbol for the Earth Mother. It appears across Northern Europe, in India, Peru, and many other countries.
Since it does not belong to any single culture, many labyrinth enthusiasts feel it is inappropriate to continue to call it the “Cretan” labyrinth, particularly since most of the other examples predate the Cretan coins. Some have called it the “classic” or “ancient” labyrinth. More recently, labyrinth enthusiasts have adopted the more generic term “seven-ring, single path” or “seven-circuit, unicursal” labyrinth, which merely describes its form. Using this term helps us realize that it is a global cross-cultural symbol and leaves everyone with their cultural heritage undiminished.
Spirals are precursors of elementary single-path labyrinths since they, too, have a winding path leading to a hidden center. The triple spiral was found on a bronze belt plate from Koban in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia, as well as on the ancient Celtic burial chamber in New Grange, Ireland. The design is formed of three double spirals grouped around a triangle. The double spiral and the downward pointing triangle are two of humanity’s oldest symbols. Each spiral will lead you in counterclockwise and out clockwise. This movement is regarded by many cultures as representative of dissolution/death, and creation/rebirth. As you go from one spiral to another, you will enter the triangle center, where you have to choose which way to go next.
During the Middle Ages, many Gothic cathedrals designed eleven-circuit labyrinths as substitutes for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for use as penance, and in other sacred devotions. The most famous of these is the one at Chartres Cathedral, outside of Paris, France. The Chartres labyrinth is inlaid into the stone floor of the cathedral, using the principles of sacred geometry and proportion.
However, to define a labyrinth as a pattern on the ground or floor is like saying a master painting is a canvas with oil paint on it. That’s true, but both are much more than that. In each case, the visible form leads to a deep inner experience. Thus, the labyrinth is really a tool, the physical entry point to the energy and truth that lie beyond the visible. |
