LABYRINTH (place of the double ax)
Predating Christianity by thousands of years and found nowhere in Old Testament worship, the labyrinth is a maze-like construction with only one way in and out. Traditionally it’s an ancient symbol for the divine feminine, probably derived from the myth of a goddess slaying a foe with a double ax. The patterns are similar in purpose to mandalas of South Asian Buddhism, physical representations of the spiritual realm designed to aid in meditation.
In the early ’90s, when New Age channeler Jean Houston introduced the labyrinth to Lauren Artress, canon of San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, Artress was at first overcome with “almost violent anxiety” but has since promoted the use of the labyrinth.
Not all labyrinth walks produce the desired “shift in consciousness.” Some people experience dizziness, aches, and strange or vivid dreams. Apparently the labyrinth—with or without belief in God—may produce a “spiritual” experience.
“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight” (Psalm 119:35).
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