LABYRINTHS
The Hopi Indians of North America had a symbol for Mother Earth known today as the "Classical Seven-Path Labyrinth." It was this symbol of the Mother which identified the sacred in nature - that spiralling form found throughout nature. Labyrinths were woven into objects to personify man's connection to his source and were often placed at sacred places in nature to remind him of this union. When one walks the labyrinth it is in recreating this very ancient expression of thanks and remembrance of the divine in all things.
Healing
The Labyrinth is an extension of man's desire to co-create with nature. When man consecrates space in nature as sacred he heals a part of himself. The earth has the capacity to heal us just as we have this capacity to heal the earth, it is a symbiotic relationship. In ages past when people worked closely with the earth the first and best fruits of the harvest were always returned to the Mother in thanks for her many gifts.
Gifting
The Labyrinth is a beautiful form of this gifting process between man and his
environment -- a precious spiralling pathway uniting us with our natural
habitat. The conscious intent of creating this Sacred Space originates in our
awareness of the divine and how we use the universal language of colour, sound,
movement and form to heal and regenerate our land, ourselves. We reveal
ourselves by what we do and say, how we build, paint, and sing. The joy of
unveiling the true self freed of emotional restraints cannot be surpassed.
Transcend
Labyrinths are temples that enhance and balance and bring a sense of the sacred - a place where we can confirm our unity with the cosmos, awaken our vital force and elevate our consciousness. These structures are space/time temples where we can behold realities that oddly enough transcend space and time. The orientation, form and geometry of a labyrinth has symbolic as well as spatial importance. It is a mirror for the divine, a place to behold the beauty in
nature.
Kundalini
Spiralling inward and out, this serpentine flow is the most generative form of subtle energy. The process of moving through the pathway unwinds this stored energy, releasing, magnifying, and ultimately harnessing the flow. Working directly in conjunction with the human energy fields this spiralling flow interacts with the kundalini energy coiled at the base of our spine converting the subtle energy into life force itself. This uncoiling of the kundalini vitalizes us through a process of unfolding both upwards and inwards, an exhalation and ingathering of energies known as the dance of creation.
Intent
Labyrinths are known as sacred gateways and have been found at the entrance of ancient sites around the world. Often located at the centre of subtle 'earth energies' these temples enhance, balance, regenerate and confirm our unity with the cosmos.
Meditation
A type of Labyrinth known as a Yantra was used as a meditation by Hindu midwives to assist in childbirth and served as a means of relaxation for the birth canal, another labyrinthine form.
Spirals
The spiral is the most generative form of subtle energy. When its coil is unwound the stored energy is released. The areas where straight ley lines cross, or where underground water run are places to build sacred temples, labyrinths. These places are rich in both yin and yang (yin underground water crossing yang energy lines). The labyrinth resonates to this numinous spiral, the Phi ratio known as the 'Golden Mean' found in all of nature.
Labyrinths have always been associated with ancient pilgrimage routes and rituals of self-discovery. They were worn as a form of protection and ornamentation and were often found carved on doorways to bless a dwelling.
Magic
Labyrinths are time windows, portals, where time stands still. They are known to facilitate altered states of consciousness and have parallels with reincarnation, initiation, prosperity, and fertility rites. Ancient Scandinavian sailors believed the labyrinth had magical properties and when walked could control the weather and ensure a good catch.
Movement
Many Sacred Dances have taken place within the Labyrinth such as the "crane" dance recounted in the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minataur. It is believed that the action of "dancing" a labyrinth magically activates it's inherent powers!
Ancient Temples
As a universal symbol the Labyrinth appears throughout history dating some 4,500 years and appears cross-culturally over the face of our world throughout our known history.
Imagination
Labyrinths date back to early Crete, Egypt,Peru and India and were used for ritual walking and spiritual contemplation. Often called "city of turns" labyrinths were equated with Holy cities such as Troy,
Jericho, and Jerusalem.
The Brain
Equated with the brain many cultures believed that the labyrinth could cure illness. Today the labyrinth is known to have a curative effect on certain ailments by producing a sense of well-being and balance through a type of vestibular stimulation, accessing both left and right hemispheres of the
brain.
Union
Moving through a Labyrinth changes ordinary ways of perception connecting the inner and the outer, the right brain and the left brain, the involutional and the evolutional through a series of paths that represent the realms of the Gods and Goddesses. These realms are associated with planetary movement as a process that induces Unionwith the One.
http://www.labyrinthina.com/path.htm