Labyrinth

Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice used by many different faiths for spiritual centering, contemplation, and prayer. Entering the serpentine path of a labyrinth, you walk slowly while quieting your mind and focusing on a spiritual question or prayer.

What is a labyrinth?

A labyrinth is not a maze. It has only one path to the center and back out, which is called unicursal (one line). It has no blind alleys or dead ends as mazes have. The path twists and turns back on itself many times before reaching the center. Once at the center, there is only one way back out.

The labyrinth symbolizes a journey to a predetermined destination (such as a pilgrimage to a holy site), or the journey through life from birth to spiritual awakening to death.

History

Labyrinth images are found in many cultures. The term is of ancient Greek origin and the labyrinth in the palace of Knossos in Crete figures in Greek mythology. It is found in Hindu and Hopi images, among many others.

In Christian usage, a labyrinth was constructed in stone in the floor of Chartres Cathedral near Paris, around the year 1200 A.D. The faithful could make a pilgrimage journey to the cathedral and complete it by walking the labyrinth as the final symbol of a journey to the Holy Land.

It was also used as an act of repentance for sins. The penitent might walk it on their knees. Labyrinths are found in many Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe.

How to Walk a Labyrinth

There is no set ritual for walking a labyrinth, but the basic advice is to enter the labyrinth slowly, calming and clearing your mind. This may be done by repeating a prayer or chant.

Open your senses and focus on the process of taking slow and deliberate steps. Bring to mind a prayer or spiritual question to contemplate during the walk to the center.

Reaching the center, pause to reflect, pray, and listen for an answer or for deeper revelation. Now begin the return journey. Pray or reflect further. Upon exiting, absorb the experience with continued reflection, prayer, or journaling.

Experiences to Expect

Walking a labyrinth in this way can be surprisingly calming and clarifying for your thoughts. Even if you don’t have a spiritual side, the slow, intentional walking in a quiet place on a set path allows for a level of focus that can be difficult to find in a busy life.

The path of the traditional Chartres design weaves back and forth, but also takes the walker seemingly close to the destination at the center, then sends you off on many more zig-zags away before you once again appear to be nearing the center. This can bring to mind expectations about goals and how unexpected tangents can appear in life.

If there are others walking the labyrinth, you’ll at times approach them on your path and then be sent farther away. This can bring to mind how people enter and leave your life.

The above was taken from ‘Walking a Labyrinth as Spiritual Exercise’ by Wendy Bumgardner, updated on March 16, 2020.

Additional guidelines for using/walking the labyrinth.