http://www.lessons4living.com/chartres_labyrinth.htm
This is a labyrinth, or in-ground maze. The one in the pic is set in the stone floor of Chartres Cathedral and dates from around 1200. Please click on the link, and follow the links from there for more info than you probably want.
I was lucky enough to visit England in 1989. I went armed with a wonderful book called "Mysterious Britain," in which I had dog-eared a number of pages showing sites I wanted to visit. I was thrilled to see that there was an outdoor ground maze not too far from where my mother lived. I pointed it out to her in the book, and said I wanted to see it. She said there was no maze there. She contacted my uncle, a recognized authority on local places of interest, and he denied any knowledge of it, as well. It didn't take too long for me to realize that, no matter how many pictures I showed them, they could only visualize a hedge maze, like the one in Hampton Court Gardens. The kind you get lost in.
We finally found my maze, and I walked it. It dated from the middle ages, and had been bricked and restored in Victorian times. It was approximately 50 feet across, but its convoluted path was nearly a mile in length, and took almost 15 minutes to walk.
It's like walking in a Mandala. You have to concentrate to keep from stepping off into the next turn. It's just one foot in front of the other until you get to the center, and then turn around and come back out. It is a great aid for peace and focus. When hunting online for info, I found a host of companies that build these things, so it looks as if they are becoming fashionable, like feng shui and indoor waterfalls.
It sure beats wandering aimlessly on a beach as a form of meditation.
Hey, here's the site - I don't have your e-mail. Have a wonderful Christmas - I love your blog!! See you in the kitchen, doll.
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteThere's a labyrinth right here in Austin at Unity Center on Dessau Rd. I think there are a few more around town.
Wow! That's pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteFire Berry! Thanks for dropping in!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a very interesting subject. I didn't quite realize how interesting until I walked the thing. Trust me, it's not the same as tracing it on the little toy one you can get from Pyramid Catalogue.
My mother and children actively ridiculed my insistence on walking it. I was used to that sort of thing from the kids, but my mother (this is my birth mother, and more-or-less a stranger) had never even teased me before. There is definitely some back story on these things that I haven't found yet!