Labyrinths and mazes

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Labyrinths and mazes

• They have often been confused.
• When most people hear of a labyrinth they think
  of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze.

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A maze
A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has
twists, turns, and blind alleys.
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A maze

• With a maze many choices must be made and an
  active mind is needed to solve the problem of
  finding the center

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A maze

• It is a left brain task that requires logical,
  sequential, analytical activity to find the
  correct path into the maze and out.

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labyrinth
A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that is related
to wholeness.
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• A labyrinth has only one path. The way in is the
  way out. There are no blind alleys. The path
  leads you on a circuitous path to the center and
  out again.

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With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be
made. The choice is to enter or not. A more
passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice
is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
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• A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves
  intuition, creativity, and imagery.

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Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and
prayer tools.
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Labyrinths

• At its most basic level the labyrinth is a
  metaphor for the journey to the center of your
  deepest self and back out into the world with a
  broadened understanding of who you are.

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General Guidelines

• Walk for a different reason each time .

• Once you reach the center,
• relax
• meditate
• seek answers to questions

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Chartres Cathedral

• The most famous of the remaining labyrinths is at
  Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France.
• It was built around 1200 and is laid into the
  floor.

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Chartres Cathedral

• In the past it could be walked as a pilgrimage
  and/or for repentance.
• As a pilgrimage it was a quest, a searching
  journey with the hope of becoming closer to God.
• When used for repentance the pilgrims would walk
  on their knees.

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Chartres Cathedral

• Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would
  serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to
  Jerusalem and as a result came to be called Road
  of Jerusalem.

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seven-circuit labyrinth

• The oldest and most common design is the
  classical seven-circuit labyrinth.
• Seven circuits refers to the seven paths that
  lead to the center or goal.

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DESIGN
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CHAKRAS

• The seven circuits of the classical Cretan
  Labyrinth pathway have also been associated with
  the seven primary chakras of the body.

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CHAKRAS

• Yoga works with the chakra system as do various
  complimentary healing modalities, for example
  Healing Touch and Therapeutic Touch.

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CHAKRAS

• There is also a correlation between the chakras
  and the seven colors of the rainbow.

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Roman Times

• In Roman times, the labyrinth motif was used in
  mosaic pavements throughout the Roman Empire.

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mosaics

• These mosaics were normally square and the size
  of a room, usually with a vigorous image of the
  Minotaur, or Theseus slaying the Minotaur, at the
  centre.

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The Minotaur
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• According to Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete
  had the craftsman Daedalus construct the
  Labyrinth in order to conceal the Minotaur, the
  half-bull, half-human offspring of Minos' wife
  Pasiphae and a bull.

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• For some unknown reason, Daedalus and his son
  Icarus were confined in the Labyrinth.
  Constructing wings of feathers and wax, the two
  were able to escape by flying above the walls of
  the Labyrinth. Young Icarus, however, impetuously
  flew too near the sun. His waxy wings melted and
  he drowned in the Icarian Sea.

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• Theseus was the son of Aegeus, King of Athens. At
  the time Athens had to pay a tribute of seven
  boys and seven girls to Crete - as food for the
  Minotaur - every nine years.

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• Theseus decided to put a stop to this and joined
  a tribute group going to Crete.

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• There, Ariadne, one of Minos' daughters, fell in
  love with him. She gave Theseus a ball of string,
  which helped him find his way out of the
  Labyrinth after he had killed the Minotaur.

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Theseus
The great Athenian hero
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The Minotaur
Minos son. Every nine years, seven youths and
seven maidens to king Minos of Crete.
MinotaurMinos' wife, Pasiphaë (Pasiphae)and a
bull Architect Daidalos the Labyrinth
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The Minotaur
Theseus volunteered to go . Successful in his
mission to change the black sails of the ship
with white, in his return to Athens
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The Minotaur
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The Minotaur
Ariadne daughter of the king. I have fallen
deeply in love with you. If you will promise to
marry me, I shall give you something that will
help you find your way out of the labyrinth. A
ball of thread. She told him to tie one end of
the wool to the entrance, unwinding the wool as
he walked.
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The Minotaur
Entered the labyrinth
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The Minotaur
Theseus killed the Minotaur
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Abandonment of Ariadne
Theseus stopped at the island of Naxos, where he
left Ariadne.
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Death of Aegeus
Forgot to change the black sails with the white
ones. When his father saw the ship entering the
Cape of Sounion with the black sails, he fell
from the cliffs into the sea and from that time
the sea took his name, Aegaeon.
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King of Athens
Theseus thus became king of Athens. Theseus was
made the King of Greece but he didn't want to be
the king because he felt that a people's
government where everyone would be equal would be
better suited for Greece. He resigned his power
and organized a commonwealth, building a council
hall where the citizens would gather and vote.
Theseus did keep the title of Commander in Chief
of Greece.