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How To Make a Labyrinth  I know this is cyberspace, but I beg you to draw a labyrinth with paper and pencil (you remember those crude writing implements?). The construction of a labyrinth is a lesson in sacred geometry. If you do it just with your brain and not with your hand, you won't really gnow what it is all about. Please draw this labyrinth at least ten times! Look for the feeling you get when you draw a labyrinth and when you don't have to think about it any more. Your hand gnows what to do 'by itself'. Gnowing is consciously using both your analytical/left-brain and your intuitive/right-brain assets equally.  The figure in the upper left-hand corner is called 'the Seed Pattern'. Building a Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth Begin by drawing the seed pattern  seen in the upper left-hand corner of this illustration. Always start at the top of the Cross, and either go clockwise or counter-clockwise. In this case, a line is drawn clockwise to the first available dot or line-end that you can hook on to - is the top of the 'L' in the upper right-hand corner.
From the top of the 'L' in the upper right hand corner, lift your pencil and go to its mirror on the left-hand side of the seed pattern - the top of the mirror 'L' in the upper left-hand corner. And then draw around to the dot in the upper right-hand quadrant, and so on.
Please get a pen and some paper and try this now. Please! It's important!
Right- and Left-handed Labyrinths  Right-Handed Labyrinth (first turn is to the right). Left-handed Labyrinth (first turn is to the left.) You have already drawn a left-handed labyrinth. Can you see how to make a right-handed one? Do just the opposite from what you've just done. Go from the top of the Cross in a counter-clockwise direction to the top of the mirrored 'L' in the upper-left quadrant, and so on. There are many mirrors to be found in a labyrinth. Neither right- nor left-hand paths are right or wrong. Which one appeals to you? Use that one.
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The Seed Pattern
The Classical Three Circuit Labyrinth
While there are many different types of labyrinths, we will be concentrating on the Classical type labyrinths here. Just as a pearl can grow from a tiny grain of sand, and a large crystal can be grown from a tiny seed, Classical Labyrinths can most easily be constructed from simple bilaterally symetrical (same on both sides) seed patterns.  The simplest one is for the Classical Three Circuit Labyrinth, which is constructed from a Cross and four dots in the resultant quadrants: To make a labyrinth from this seed pattern, always start at the top of the Cross. Draw an arc from the top of the Cross to the dot in the upper right-hand quadrant. Go the dot in the upper left-hand quadrant and make an arc around to the right arm of the Cross, and so on as shown below. 
Right-handed Classical Three Circuit Labyrinth
(The first turn upon entering is to the right) You can make a right-handed classical three circuit labyrinth by mirroring what you did with the left hand one. Start at the top of the Cross, go to the left to the dot in the upper left-hand quadrant. You will encoiunter mirrors frequently when you work with these magical single path tools. Sometimes left becomes right and right becomes left. You'll notice the similarity between these classical labyrinths and the left and right hemispheres of the human brain. Labyrinths are tools that bring these hemispheres together. This is called gnowing. 
Right-handed Classical Three Circuit Labyrinth
(The first turnupon entering is to the right) |
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Locating the Site for Your Permanent Labyrinth
and
Building It Cont.  | Building Your Labyrinth | Now to build it. Let's say that you happen to have a lot of fist to head-sized rocks, so you're going to mark the walls with them. First lay out the center cross of the seed pattern so that it aligns with the major axis, or orientation that you have already chosen.   | | You then need to figure out how wide your paths will be and how much space your walls (the rocks will take). Find a stick with a branch that goes off at roughly a 90 degree angle, and make one length what ever width you want. You might consider using a cubit - the length from your elbow to the tip of your extended middle finger for the width.
| Holding the stick like a golf club, you can then use it to measure the width of all of the paths. Using your "cubit club," lay out the "L's" in each of the four quadrants, and then the four dots. I think it's easiest to go this far using yarn and sticks.  | When I've gotten this far, cover lines, angles and dots in the yarn seed pattern with rock walls. Again, using your "cubit club," to measure the width, build all of the other walls just as you would do with pencil and paper. You can use this same technique to dig out a turf labyrinth. You can choose to dig the paths or the walls and leave the other grass/turf. I dug the path out with mine, and have filled it with bark chips. Nice on the feet, keeps down the weeds, and most important, by raising your blade a notch or two, you can mow it with your lawn mower! | Maintenance No matter what kind of materials you use to make your labyrinth - up to and including paving stones - it will need maintenance. Rock walled labyrinths need weed whacking, turf labyrinths need weeding and mowing, paved ones will shift, and weeds will grow up between the stones, etc. Know this before you begin. Maintenance is built in part of the obligation you incur when building a sacred space like this - otherwise, unlike a stone circle, dolmen or temple, it will very quickly disappear. But used regularly with love, a permanent outdoor labyrinth will bring you a lifetime of growth. If you have any questions or if you encounter any difficulties, please contact Sig. Enjoy! |
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Locating the Site for Your Permanent Labyrinth
and
Building It Cont. Orientation:
Locating the Mouth/Entrance Of Your Labyrinth There is no right way of doing this. One thing to be clear about, although it could, you don't necessarily want to put the mouth of the labyrinth so that it is oriented to the back door of your house - i.e. the shortest distance from the house! That's your left brain speaking. The only group of labyrinths that I know of that have a specific location is that many Viking age labyrinths are oriented to the Summer Solstice Sunset. But that then gives you free range of choice. 
You can choose to orient the mouth in the direction of a significant horizonal feature like a round barrow on a nearby hill, a mountain peak, or a church spire. You can orient it in one of the Cardinal Directions using a compass and correcting for magnetic deviation. You can orient it towards the Summer or Winter Solstice Sunrise or Set. If you want to do this, check out MAG's Orthographic Projection section. Or, you can let your intuition find the best orientation. Stand in the goal and say, "I want the best orientation for the mouth of this labyrinth." Just as with triangulation, turn around slowly with your L rod in the search position. The L rod will seem to stick in one direction. Have a friend mark that direction with another stick. You now have the information to locate and orient your labyrinth. 
| when dowsing seek the appropriate direction for the mouth of the labyrinth | |
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