The Labyrinth
+ All Roads Lead to The Center +THE LABYRINTH
The Labyrinth is a major archetype, symbolizing a process that meanders, wandering back and forth instead of proceeding in a straight line. There are many versions of the labyrinth, from a simple spiral to the complex one at Chartres. The seven-cycle labyrinth has been found in places as far apart as Greece and the American Southwest. The seven-cycle labyrinth can be drawn from the significant points of the sacred year.
STEP ONE
First, draw the cardinal cross, the four directions.
STEP TWO
Next, add the solar points, Summer Solstice Sunrise in the NE, Winter solstice Sunrise in the SE, Winter Solstice Sunset in the SW, Summer Solstice Sunset in the NW.
STEP THREE
For each of the solar points, add a crescent, representing the two standstills of the moon, major and minor.
STEP FOUR
Now, connect the North point with the adjacent lunar standstill. In the example, the North point is connected to the major standstill in the NW quadrant. This means the entrance to the labyrinth will turn to the right.
STEP FIVE
Then connect the next adjacent points as shown. 8 connecting lines will be the “walls” that create the seven paths.
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DESCENT INTO THE LABYRINTH
“Equinox: the descent into the dark, time to turn inward, rejoin the source. Time to walk again into the labyrinth, curving and recurving, the path so winding that time is forgotten. Continue putting one step in front of another, one hand on the wall in darkness, turn when the wall turns, there are no choices here. Just go on, even when it seems that you are going the wrong way, that you are going backward, that you have turned away from center.
There are no wrong turnings in the labyrinth. Once you have entered this darkness, you do not need to know your way, you do not need to decide, figure out, make conscious choices, all that is needed is to keep moving. and not worry about the direction, that is taken care of, once you have entered the labyrinth there is no direction but center. Go on, go on, though thirst and famine seem to dog your steps. Do not be afraid of not knowing. Inward I follow my journey, inward going I turn and turn again. But there’s no need for turning back – for all roads lead to center, and you must walk them all before you can arrive at center. This is what it means.”
I woke from a dream in which I was feeling my way through a dark tunnel. I realized it was a labyrinth, and wrote this meditation.
– Jenny Deupree