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Crossing Paths with the Labyrinth
(This article appeared in the February 2007 issue of NorthEastern Holistic Resource (Vol 9, No 2)
Visit their website: www.holistic-resource.com )
In the 1990s, nearing the turning of the Millennium, an ancient earth-based “technology” sought us
again…the labyrinth. One of its re-discoverers was the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress who, in 1991, led a group
of six people onto the centuries-old labyrinth set into the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. They were the
first people to venture deliberately onto its path for at least 500 years. And as I’ve heard her tell the story, a
golden light seemed to rise up as they walked, filling the air around and above them.
Her transformative experience on the Chartres labyrinth helped sow the seed for Veriditas: The Voice of the
Labyrinth Movement, the organization she founded in 1996 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Its mission is
to introduce people to the meditative and healing powers of the labyrinth.
Labyrinths have actually been with us for thousands of years. 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. Its last notable popularity was in the Middle Ages as part of
Christian practice when labyrinths were built into the floors of “pilgrimage cathedrals” in Europe where the
devout would complete their spiritual journeys by walking their winding paths. Of these eighteen, two survive
at Chartres and Amiens Cathedral. But with the decline of this church-centered activity, labyrinths were
largely forgotten once more.
My first encounter with a labyrinth was on the beautiful tree-filled quad of Skidmore College at a summer
conference in 1998. Someone had laid out a 7-circuit or “Classical” labyrinth using thick white yarn and its
simple yet elegant curving path captivated my eye. No one was there to explain what this was before me on
the grass, but it clearly was inviting me to venture onto it. So, taking a tentative first step, I began my own
journey on and with the labyrinth.
In 1998 labyrinths were still relatively uncommon in the U.S., but they were even then undergoing a dramatic
revival. There are “logical” explanations offered for the resurgence of interest including Dr. Artress’
synchronistic encounter at Chartres. Her subsequent and widely read book, Walking a Sacred Path: the
Rediscovery of Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, also helped fuel its return. A belief I’ve come to hold deeply is
that the labyrinth has reappeared to be of service to us in these tumultuous times.
By now, 2007, no doubt most of you reading this have “crossed paths” with a labyrinth somewhere, and may
well have had your own “first” experiences walking one. More and more labyrinths are opened every year
putting them within reach of nearly everyone. They are being installed in a wide variety of places including
churches, all sorts of outdoor spaces such as public parks, retreat centers, and college campuses, also at schools,
hospitals, and even prisons. And increasing numbers of people are building labyrinths in their back yards with
some then opened to the public. I particularly like the story of Suzanne Hoback and her husband who felt
moved to build a labyrinth at their B&B, The Foxglove, in Freeville near Ithaca. Their 7-circuit herbal
labyrinth is named Turtle Walk and invites passersby to enjoy its fragrant and peaceful pathway. Directions
to it can be found by visiting the “Labyrinth Locator” at the Veriditas website (www.Veriditas.net) where
you’ll find an amazing 85 labyrinths available to walk in New York State alone.
The two most common labyrinth patterns are the Chartres labyrinth, its four quadrants and rose-petal center
based on sacred geometry, and the much more ancient 7-circuit or Classical labyrinth. There are many others
and new ones appear all the time. (see source list at the end) All labyrinths share the basics of being circular in
shape and having a winding but purposeful path leading you from the edge to the center and then retracing
this journey back out again. And another virtue, as I assure people who come to explore its path, is that there
is no “right” or “wrong” way to walk a labyrinth. Labyrinths are very user-friendly! You only have to arrive
at its entrance, pause to center yourself with a few easy breaths, and then step onto the path allowing your
body to set its own pace as you move along.
Every walk is its own unique experience. 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. In our non-stop, 24-7, “wired” world that thunders in each morning as soon as we arise, finding
space to come to quiet and peace is nearly always a challenge. Lauren Artress describes the labyrinth as a
“pattern amidst chaos”. It offers a refuge from the hurly-burly of our lives, a place to withdraw to, regroup,
and listen to our inner-voice, and to our spirit that is patiently waiting for us.
My continuing work with the labyrinth keeps adding to my understanding of why this ancient spiritual tool is
once again gracing us with its presence. When I give workshops and hold labyrinth walks, I am constantly
amazed by how it draws people in, and how eager they are to set out on its path. The gifts many receive are
often inspiring and profound. I was still new to this work in 2002 when I had the opportunity to help a women’
s group in Little Falls at St. Paul’s Unitarian-Universalist Church hold a labyrinth walk on September 11th,
the first anniversary of 9/11. In this small Upstate community, thirty-five people responded to their invitation
to walk the labyrinth that evening. It was a profound experience for all of us, the labyrinth providing a place
to be together to find refuge and further healing in its safe and sacred space. After completing her walk one
woman told me with tears in her eyes that it was the first time she’d felt real peace in that entire year.
We are most certainly blessed by the labyrinth’s return. Its gifts are generously and gently offered to all who
come to its path, and are truly only a few steps away. This poem of Rainer Marie Rilke captures some of its
wondrous essence:
My eyes already touch the sunny hill
Going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
It has its inner light, even from a distance—
And changes us, even if we do not reach it,
Into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
We already are.
(This article appeared in the February 2007 issue of NorthEastern Holistic Resource (Vol 9, No 2)
Visit their website: www.holistic-resource.com )
In the 1990s, nearing the turning of the Millennium, an ancient earth-based “technology” sought us
again…the labyrinth. One of its re-discoverers was the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress who, in 1991, led a group
of six people onto the centuries-old labyrinth set into the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. They were the
first people to venture deliberately onto its path for at least 500 years. And as I’ve heard her tell the story, a
golden light seemed to rise up as they walked, filling the air around and above them.
Her transformative experience on the Chartres labyrinth helped sow the seed for Veriditas: The Voice of the
Labyrinth Movement, the organization she founded in 1996 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Its mission is
to introduce people to the meditative and healing powers of the labyrinth.
Labyrinths have actually been with us for thousands of years. 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. Its last notable popularity was in the Middle Ages as part of
Christian practice when labyrinths were built into the floors of “pilgrimage cathedrals” in Europe where the
devout would complete their spiritual journeys by walking their winding paths. Of these eighteen, two survive
at Chartres and Amiens Cathedral. But with the decline of this church-centered activity, labyrinths were
largely forgotten once more.
My first encounter with a labyrinth was on the beautiful tree-filled quad of Skidmore College at a summer
conference in 1998. Someone had laid out a 7-circuit or “Classical” labyrinth using thick white yarn and its
simple yet elegant curving path captivated my eye. No one was there to explain what this was before me on
the grass, but it clearly was inviting me to venture onto it. So, taking a tentative first step, I began my own
journey on and with the labyrinth.
In 1998 labyrinths were still relatively uncommon in the U.S., but they were even then undergoing a dramatic
revival. There are “logical” explanations offered for the resurgence of interest including Dr. Artress’
synchronistic encounter at Chartres. Her subsequent and widely read book, Walking a Sacred Path: the
Rediscovery of Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, also helped fuel its return. A belief I’ve come to hold deeply is
that the labyrinth has reappeared to be of service to us in these tumultuous times.
By now, 2007, no doubt most of you reading this have “crossed paths” with a labyrinth somewhere, and may
well have had your own “first” experiences walking one. More and more labyrinths are opened every year
putting them within reach of nearly everyone. They are being installed in a wide variety of places including
churches, all sorts of outdoor spaces such as public parks, retreat centers, and college campuses, also at schools,
hospitals, and even prisons. And increasing numbers of people are building labyrinths in their back yards with
some then opened to the public. I particularly like the story of Suzanne Hoback and her husband who felt
moved to build a labyrinth at their B&B, The Foxglove, in Freeville near Ithaca. Their 7-circuit herbal
labyrinth is named Turtle Walk and invites passersby to enjoy its fragrant and peaceful pathway. Directions
to it can be found by visiting the “Labyrinth Locator” at the Veriditas website (www.Veriditas.net) where
you’ll find an amazing 85 labyrinths available to walk in New York State alone.
The two most common labyrinth patterns are the Chartres labyrinth, its four quadrants and rose-petal center
based on sacred geometry, and the much more ancient 7-circuit or Classical labyrinth. There are many others
and new ones appear all the time. (see source list at the end) All labyrinths share the basics of being circular in
shape and having a winding but purposeful path leading you from the edge to the center and then retracing
this journey back out again. And another virtue, as I assure people who come to explore its path, is that there
is no “right” or “wrong” way to walk a labyrinth. Labyrinths are very user-friendly! You only have to arrive
at its entrance, pause to center yourself with a few easy breaths, and then step onto the path allowing your
body to set its own pace as you move along.
Every walk is its own unique experience. 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. In our non-stop, 24-7, “wired” world that thunders in each morning as soon as we arise, finding
space to come to quiet and peace is nearly always a challenge. Lauren Artress describes the labyrinth as a
“pattern amidst chaos”. It offers a refuge from the hurly-burly of our lives, a place to withdraw to, regroup,
and listen to our inner-voice, and to our spirit that is patiently waiting for us.
My continuing work with the labyrinth keeps adding to my understanding of why this ancient spiritual tool is
once again gracing us with its presence. When I give workshops and hold labyrinth walks, I am constantly
amazed by how it draws people in, and how eager they are to set out on its path. The gifts many receive are
often inspiring and profound. I was still new to this work in 2002 when I had the opportunity to help a women’
s group in Little Falls at St. Paul’s Unitarian-Universalist Church hold a labyrinth walk on September 11th,
the first anniversary of 9/11. In this small Upstate community, thirty-five people responded to their invitation
to walk the labyrinth that evening. It was a profound experience for all of us, the labyrinth providing a place
to be together to find refuge and further healing in its safe and sacred space. After completing her walk one
woman told me with tears in her eyes that it was the first time she’d felt real peace in that entire year.
We are most certainly blessed by the labyrinth’s return. Its gifts are generously and gently offered to all who
come to its path, and are truly only a few steps away. This poem of Rainer Marie Rilke captures some of its
wondrous essence:
My eyes already touch the sunny hill
Going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
It has its inner light, even from a distance—
And changes us, even if we do not reach it,
Into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
We already are.
