The popular designs for a labyrinth focus on the number of circuits which is the number of times the path winds around the center. Either a seven circuit or an eleven circuit labyrinth is common. Chartres Cathedral at Chartres, France, was built over 2000 years ago. During the Middle Ages, many pilgrims walked this path. Its name lends itself to one type of labyrinth which has the eleven circuits. The other form is the seven circuits which is called Cretan or Classical. It connects with the seven Chakras and joins together the spiritual and physical aspects of the body. The circle design gives a sense of timelessness although one can find some linear designs.
Labyrinths are made out of various materials and can be rather large such as forty feet in diameter or quite small. They may be made out of sand, painted on canvas, fashioned with string or arranged with stones cut into the earth. One can walk a labyrinth or even use a finger to trace a path such as in sand or on a painted canvas. There are websites with a screen size labyrinth that one can trace as one reflects.
Locate a Labyrinth
According to the Veriditas Organization, there are approximately 1800 labyrinths in the US today. There is a beautiful one at Canyon Lake, TX. A newly constructed one can be found in a public park at Frontier in Erie, PA. John Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore has a labyrinth. The city of San Francisco has several. You can go to the Veriditas website and use its locator to find one in your area. If one cannot be located, you have the option of building your own or ordering one.