A labyrinth is a single-path maze; there is just one path that leads from the entrance at the mouth, all the way through to the goal at the centre. Generally, one follows the same path back out to the mouth again, though occasionally a single path flows onwards until it leads the walker back to the outside again.

Unlike a maze as we commonly perceive it, which is a left-brain, intellectual puzzle that needs to be solved to find one’s way in to the centre or out again, and which presents many different obstacles to confuse us, the labyrinth works with the right-brain in a more intuitive and creative way. We are faced with just one choice: that of engaging with the process by walking the path or remaining on the outside, thus forgoing the experience entirely. Frequently, a maze will have quite high walls, hedges or fences that prevent us seeing where we are or where we’re going. A labyrinth, on the other hand, generally has very low walls, often no more than a line marked out on the ground, so we can always see where the goal lies. Therefore, it is impossible to physically get lost, but that’s not the point of a labyrinth; it takes us beyond the physical dimensions.

Why Would You Want a Labyrinth?

A labyrinth is a unique multi-purpose tool that works on many levels, that can be used by individuals or by groups alike; it can work very effectively as a problem-solving tool, as a group-building tool, as a walking mediation, as a way of accessing one’s creativity, as a path to an enhanced feeling of well-being, as a way of communicating with Spirit, however one may see it.

In the labyrinth, instead of getting physically lost, we become lost in our heads, lost in space, lost in time, lost to the everyday world, if you will. We become so confused as to where we are that we eventually give up trying to work it out; we know that we are safe; we know that there’s only one destination that we can reach. Our minds, having originally gone into overload, just learn to relax and take a holiday. It is this space that is created within each of us that makes the labyrinth such a special, powerful and deeply transformational tool. It is a fast track to a level that many of us rarely reach; a level of creative thinking where both our left and right brains may work on a problem concurrently, a more creative, intuitive, meditative state of being.”

Sacred Space that Enhances our Connection with Spirit

Labyrinths are sacred spaces; they have appeared in largely similar designs across numerous cultures at various times over the past 3,000 years and beyond, and generally seem to have been used as ceremonial or ritual walkways. Why should this be so? Who can say why our ancestors came up with this pattern; however, its use in ceremony and ritual seems to indicate that perhaps they felt a strong connection with the Divine within the protection of the swirling walls. For many today, the same is true; having stripped ourselves bare on the walk in, we arrive in the goal at the centre, purified, open and empty. It is at moments of emptiness that we are most open to experiencing the Divine, both within ourselves and in our surroundings.

Metaphor for Life/spiritual journey

Walking the labyrinth, which can be seen as a metaphor for our Life’s Journey or our Spiritual Journey, allows us to enhance our connection with Spirit, with the Divine. It gives us the space and time to open up to our intuition, to our awareness, to silence, to creativity, to transformation, and to healing. It ultimately allows us to meet with ourselves, presenting each of us with the opportunity to confront and acknowledge our Self / Shadow, the Beast or Minotaur at our centre or, indeed, at the centre of the labyrinth of Knossos (which, rather confusingly, must have been a maze, or why the problems getting out?). Therefore, the labyrinth is a space that can bring healing on many levels, a benefit surely not overlooked in the decision to site labyrinths at a number of large and influential American teaching hospitals, for the use of patients, relatives, friends and staff alike.

As with all sacred spaces, labyrinths can be fine-tuned for different purposes depending on where and how they are located, and the intention in the heart of whoever is creating them. If you would like any advice regarding the installation of a labyrinth or other sacred space, please use my contact form or contact The Geomancy Group.

Uses	Types
Breemie Labyrinth	Full Breemie Story
Labyrinths - Introduction