I now have a relatively large, and empty, yard that I am trying to figure out what to do with. I keep getting gardening books from the library, hoping for inspiration. Right now I'm in the middle of a book on Labyrinths. First of all, it's interesting that labyrinths and mazes are actually different: labyrinths consist of a single path, and mazes have choices. So, I think I actually like mazes better (and the "labyrinth" in Labyrinth was actually a maze). Still, the book is more about labyrinths, and it is interesting to know the history. The first historical reference to a labyrinth seems to be with King Minos of Crete, who supposedly had a Labyrinth with a Minotaur at the center (the story reminds me of Hunger Games). Later, the the labyrinth was adopted by many medieval Christians, who took it as symbol of one's spiritual walk: you many not know where you are right now, but your path invariably leads to the center (these early labyrinths were usually made with the paths forming a cross in the center). Supposedly, walking one of several official labyrinths setup in churches throughout Europe could substitute for making a required pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In the 1600s-1800s, the labyrinth somehow morphed into hedge mazes, which were popular in public spaces and on wealthy estates. Recently, there seems to be a renewed interest in Labyrinths, both by Christians of more traditional denominations, as well as people seeking general spiritual and meditative experiences. There also seems to be more interest in mazes, as a form of novelty and entertainment - but I haven't gotten around to any books on mazes yet (still need to finish the one I have on labyrinths).
The is now a World-Wide Labyrinth Locator, and a World Labyrinth Day (today!). So, I found some labyrinths in our state and Adrian and I went to check them out. There wasn't really much variation in the design, but it was interesting to see some actual labyrinths. The denominations most likely to have labyrinths seem to be: United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and a few non-denominational sounding churches, often with "Unity" in their names. Also, several hospitals and health centers seem to have labyrinths. Which makes sense, both walking and mediation have known health benefits.
So here are the some labyrinths I walked, and I decided to put them together in a post today:
