In many ways, a labyrinth is like a parallel of our journey through life.
Before explaining how that works let's take a moment to clarify the structure of a labyrinth.
The most important thing to know is that a labyrinth is not a maze and a maze is not a labyrinth (even though people erroneously use the terms interchangeably) — they are two quite different things.
A maze is a puzzle; a challenge; something that has to be solved in order to get to the end goal in the middle or to emerge on the other side. There are blind alleys and plenty of ways to "get it wrong."
A labyrinth, on the other hand, has a single entrance and a single twisting path that you can follow without having to think about whether you're going to get lost or where you have been in order to eventually get to a single destination at the center, which marks the end of your walk.
It is this fact — that there is a single path of twists and turns — that makes a labyrinth a good metaphor for life.
The single entrance to the labyrinth represents where we start on our path towards a goal and the center of a labyrinth represents the destination.
Because of the layout of labyrinth, we start on a journey that has switchbacks and loops and sometimes it seems like we get very close to our goal and then we take what feels like multiple steps backwards as the paths of the labyrinth take us back towards the outer circuits. But if we persevere, we will eventually make it to the center of the labyrinth, just like we hopefully will make it to the goal we set for ourselves.
The second lesson of the labyrinth is that you can't stay at the center of the labyrinth forever. Just like life itself doesn't end when you reach a goal you set for yourself, you have to move on and so you take yourself back out of the labyrinth and start towards a different goal.
It is also this fact — that a labyrinth only has a single twisting path from beginning to end — that makes it such an excellent meditative tool. Most people use labyrinths as a quiet meditative tool, in which you walk slowly in silence... contemplating a single objective until you get to the center.
And just to clarify: labyrinths are not some New Age or "Woo-woo" thing — they are actually quite ancient and remnants of labyrinths have been found, dating back all the way to the Neolithic. There's nothing occult about them, either — in fact you will find them inlaid into the floor mosaics of many churches and cathedrals everywhere around the world. The most famous being at the center of the Chartres Cathedral in France, believed to date to about the year 1200.
Modern labyrinths are everywhere! In fact you can go to the Worldwide Labyrinth Locator Website and see if there's one located near you. Many are public and located in parks or religious spaces, while others are in people's backyards but owners are often willing to let you visit if you contact them in advance.
Aside from this, labyrinths are also beautiful and serene spaces!
Thanks for stopping by, and we hope you find the time to check out a labyrinth near you!
All images are our own, unless otherwise credited!