Labyrinths are old and are found the world over. They are potent symbols. As to what they are symbols of, there are as many beliefs as there are people studying them.
A labyrinth is commonly defined as a twisting path with no decision points. As far as I can tell, this definition comes from Lauren Artress's book Walking a Sacred Path. These labyrinths are more accurately called unicursal mazes. That is a maze with only one path or course. Since they have no choices, they are often used as symbols of life by those who feel they have no choices. The medieval Church was fond of this view and built them all over Europe to teach people that there was only one way to get to heaven.
This definition also ignores the most famous labyrinth of all time: the Labyrinth of the Minotaur. The Minotaur was trapped in a labyrinth so complicated that he could not find his way out. Theseus went into the labyrinth, laying out string to find his way, and killed the Minotaur. This myth would make no sense if the labyrinth were unicursal. No one can get lost in a unicursal maze. There is only one way to go.
That aside, the labyrinth is a tool that any pagan should have in his or her cauldron. It is an earth symbol and is useful for any working that needs things to be ordered. It is very good for grounding.
Labyrinths are numbered by their circuits. That is how many times you have to go around it to get to the center. You have to go around it five times to get to the center of a five-circuit labyrinth. I'm going to give directions for constructing the traditional seven-circuit labyrinth. It is found on coins from ancient Crete, perhaps symbolizing its labyrinth. You couldn't draw any maze complicated enough to get lost in on a coin.
Start with this pattern, leave lots of room around it on all sides:
Connect the end of the center cross to the elbow next to it to get:
Connect the dot next to that to the elbow on the other side of the center to get:
Keep going around. Always connect the two dots, elbows, or cross ends next to the ones you just connected to each other.
Do this again to get:
And then:
And so on. Keep doing this until you run out of unconnected dots, elbows and crosses. When you are done, your labyrinth will look like this:
I added the tail at the very end so the entrance to the labyrinth is balanced. By adding or subtracting levels of elbows you can make a bigger or smaller labyrinth. Here is a small pattern with no elbows, giving three circuits:
Which gives us:
Here is the pattern for a larger one with two levels of elbows and 11 circuits:
The final version is in the center of the article, under the title. You just keep adding one level of elbows to get four more circuits.
As you can see, this type of labyrinth gets large very quickly. If you are making one big enough to walk, make the lines at least two steps apart. You need a circular area 14 steps across for a three-circuit labyrinth, 30 steps across for a seven-circuit labyrinth, 46 for an 11, etc. Add 16 steps per extra level of elbows. The distance walked by someone walking the labyrinth also grows a lot with the size.
Once you have a labyrinth, you can put it to use. Look at it. Let each circuit mean something. People often use the seven-circuit labyrinths to represent the seven chakras. As they walk it, each circuit balances one chakra. Three-circuit labyrinths are often used to commune with the three faces of the Goddess. Walkers focus on the Maiden during the first circuit, the Mother during the second and the crone during the third. An 11-circuit one can easily represent the universe (nine planets plus the moon and sun). Use whatever numerological correspondences seem right to you.
You can also traverse the labyrinth as a labyrinth without worrying about the numerology. Focus on your desire and the journey to it. Let its twisting path represent the struggles you face, and your walk be you facing them. Let your mind flow into the labyrinth and let it take you where it leads. To ground, focus on your energy and let the labyrinth balance it as you follow its inevitable course. In a labyrinth, you always reach wherever you are going. For extra fun, cast a circle around the labyrinth and invoke the earth into it before walking.
A problem arises when you reach the center. Do you cut across the lines to leave it or walk it backwards? Some people cut across, their ritual finished. Others see the act of walking it backwards as representing the duality or flip side of whatever they were doing. Often it is best to leave what to do up to the labyrinth. When you get to the center, ask it and meditate on the answer. Personally, I want to make a labyrinth near a tree with a rope swing. That way I can just fly out of the center.
If you don't like the cross and elbow pattern, you can make your own labyrinth by drawing concentric circles with spokes coming out of the center and erasing. Be warned: it is trickier than it looks. A good labyrinth leads you tantalizingly close to your goal before taking you away again. Whether you want it to have choices and thus become a full-fledged maze depends on your outlook on life and what you want to do with it. Labyrinths with choices should have more than one ending point, unless you think that there is only one way through life, but that it is easy to screw it up.
Beaches and parks are good places to make the larger labyrinths for walking. If you are making it permanent, lay out the lines with rocks and add some each time you walk it. If it is made out in public other people will often walk it and add to the rocks also. Anyway, enjoy your labyrinth. If you decide to make a permanent, public labyrinth somewhere outdoors, send us mail and we'll tell everyone where it is.
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