The most commonly-found style of labyrinth is a seven-circuit or Cretan labyrinth, and can take a round or square form. It is defined as having seven paths and eight walls, and when you look down on the shape from above, it mirrors itself left-to-right (bilaterally). For this design to be large enough for more than one person to walk it at once, it needs to be laid out in an area covering 40ft. to 45 ft in diameter. What makes a labyrinth different than a maze is that labyrinths have one walking path, while a maze will have multiple pathways, most of which switchback and turn into dead-end, thus obscuring the true path to the center. A labryinth has just that one path to its core. The Romans were the first culture to embrace the labyrinth and they were fond of executing them indoors, crafting them from floor tiles. They expanded beyond simple shapes and explored styles such as the spiral and the meander. During the ninth and tenth centuries, labyrinths came into vogue in Europe, and began to be created and walked in context with Christian belief systems. Some of this was due to the Church working to absorb and assimilate Pagan beliefs in order to draw more worshippers. One of the most famous labyrinths in the world is found at Chartres Cathedral in France. The elaborate design on the cathedral floor was created c. 1205 and is one of the cornerstones of modern labyrinth design to this day...read more...Sunday, 13 March 2011
Walking A Labyrinth
The most commonly-found style of labyrinth is a seven-circuit or Cretan labyrinth, and can take a round or square form. It is defined as having seven paths and eight walls, and when you look down on the shape from above, it mirrors itself left-to-right (bilaterally). For this design to be large enough for more than one person to walk it at once, it needs to be laid out in an area covering 40ft. to 45 ft in diameter. What makes a labyrinth different than a maze is that labyrinths have one walking path, while a maze will have multiple pathways, most of which switchback and turn into dead-end, thus obscuring the true path to the center. A labryinth has just that one path to its core. The Romans were the first culture to embrace the labyrinth and they were fond of executing them indoors, crafting them from floor tiles. They expanded beyond simple shapes and explored styles such as the spiral and the meander. During the ninth and tenth centuries, labyrinths came into vogue in Europe, and began to be created and walked in context with Christian belief systems. Some of this was due to the Church working to absorb and assimilate Pagan beliefs in order to draw more worshippers. One of the most famous labyrinths in the world is found at Chartres Cathedral in France. The elaborate design on the cathedral floor was created c. 1205 and is one of the cornerstones of modern labyrinth design to this day...read more...