The labyrinth is a spiral...it looks flat to us, but it goes up and down through earth energy. The labyrinth is a VORTEX...a gateway to the spiritual realm...it is the birth canal of the goddess...it is the imprint of the sacred in material form...look and you will see the labyrinth on your own body--inside and out: look at your own thumb, your inner ear, your brain, and the human intestines, even the "crown" of your head gives birth to the circle and the spiral...it is found in all creation to: sea shells, spider webs...and above the dance of plants and stars... Forever and ever.

Wherever you are, may you travel the journey to your center of peace.
~Kelly Anne

A special thank you to Father John David Simpson,
our Labyrinth Guide, for adding his expertise to our pages.

Father, you are a light on the Earth. Not only because of
what you believe, but because you are an open channel
that gives respect to all beliefs that are based in love. I'm grateful to be able to align my spirit with your guidance.
You are a gift.

Another mystery. .. I sometimes use a silver plumb on the labyrinth. It will begin to rotate counterclockwise or in various other ways. I think this is true because the labyrinth is a natural spiritual gift which radiates with the earth ley lines...

I have had women tell me, the Chartres Labyrinth without the lunations has no power. I believe these women because, the labyrinth is a female image of the Divine. So, every Chartres Labyrinth should have the lunations, or it is dead. Lunations are those half-moon symbols which surround the labyrinth on the outer edges. These small symbols seem to activate the whole path and ground it to the ley lines giving up power through the earth into the symbol itself. The lunations also, since they are moon images, draw power from above as from below. There are 28 and 1/2 moons on each quadrant, equally one moon cycle (one month) on every quadrant. So the full pattern is one season--spring or summer or winter or fall--or four months. This is why the labyrinth is very spiritually powerful on the equinox or solstice times of the year.

Look at the whole pattern, one can see it is divided into 4 equal parts. A Christian or others can see a cross which comes from the sacred mystical rose at the center and goes out to the edges of the labyrinth. A Native American will see the Medicine Wheel. The quadrants represent both the individual and all of creation. For the individual: 4 parts of being human: body, mind, soul, and community. For creation: 4 cardinal directions, 4 primary colors, 4 winds of nature, 4 archangels, 4 inner planets, and the 4 Gospels. As the path within the labyrinth flows from one quadrant into another and then back again, so all of our humanity and all of creation itself flows into one another. There is really no separation, just harmonious giving and taking from each quadrant into the other. This teaches us the way of healing, for the labyrinth is nothing but a healing spiritual gift for our time...now.

The Labyrinth is an archetype, a divine imprint, found in all religious traditions in various forms around the world. By walking a labyrinth, one may rediscover a long-forgotten mystical tradition that is insisting to be reborn for our time.

The labyrinth has only one path so there are to tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joy. Walk with an open mind and an open heart.

Guidelines for a walk:

Quiet your mind and become aware of your breath. Allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go. The path is two ways. Those going in will meet those coming out. You may "pass" people or let others step around you. Do what feels natural.

The Three Stages of a Walk

~ Purgation (Releasing) ~ The Path To The Center: A releasing, a letting go of the details of your life. This is the act of shedding thoughts and distractions. A time to open the heart and quiet the mind.

~ Illumination (Receiving) ~ The Center: When you reach the center, stay there as long as you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you to receive.

~ Union (Returning) ~ The Path From The Center: As you leave, following the same path out of the center as you came in, you enter the third stage, which is joining to God, your Higher Power, or the healing forces at work in the world. Each tim you walk the labyrinth you become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul reaching for.

Give yourself time to walk the labyrinth at your own pace. It is a time of encounter. If you need to stop at any point on the path, stop. Then look and listen. What are your receiving? Why have you asked to stop at this particular point in your journey to or from the center? Sit on the path and wait, take your time and hear, see, smell, touch, say your vision or encounter. Then move on.
~John David Simpson

Meet our guide, Father John David Simpson, Priest, Labyrinth Guide and friend.

He's going to share some of his knowledge with us as he gives us a more in depth look at a favorite Labyrinth of his, The Chartres.