New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony, Indiana has two labyrinths. The labyrinth symbolized for the Harmonists the difficult path of life to reach true harmony and perfection.

The Cathedral Labyrinth is outdoors and duplicates the original labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral.  This labyrinth is constructed of polished granite. The rose in the middle of the labyrinth identifies its Chartres origin. The labyrinth builder and architects traveled to Chartres Cathedral to make an exact copy of the labyrinth.

The park in which the labyrinth is located was made specifically for the labyrinth, imitating the dimensions of the nave of the Chartres Cathedral.   It was dedicated in October of 1998, by the then Rector of the Chartres Cathedral, Chanoine Francois Legaux.  Janet Lawrence  of Historic New Harmony cares for the labyrinth and hosts solstice walks. During the town's popular Heritage week labyrinth walks are held and specifically for children. 

There is also a fountain added so that people can wash their feet before or after walking the labyrinth if they choose to walk it barefoot. 

The park in which the Cathedral labyrinth is located was made specifically for the labyrinth, imitating the dimensions of the nave of Chartres Cathedral.

The other labyrinth, the Harmonist Labyrinth was originally built around 1815. It was then reconstructed in 1939 with hedges planted in a concentric circular pattern with one path which was established by the Harmony Society. 

A small stone building called a grotto is placed at the centre, an authentic restoration of the Harmonist grotto.

Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana

July 13, 2010
I went to Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in West Terre Haute, Indiana to meet with the Director Brother Barry Donaghue.  Brother Barry is a trained and certified labyrinth facilitator who possesses and displays his love and dedication to the Catholic church, labyrinths, and poetry. I was fortunate enough to share and receive his knowledge, passion, and experience of labyrinths. With the assistance from the community he built an outdoor Chartres replica labyrinth on the grounds. He started with a canvas labyrinth that they still use indoors at Providence Center. He presented an incredible presentation of the history, meaning, and uses of labyrinths. I especially enjoyed his infusion of poetry throughout his presentation and discussion. 

According to Brother Barry, walking the labyrinth, or  otherwise a moving meditation allows one to present oneself, get rid of egos, and get in touch with humanity.  The whole idea of journey is basic to humanity. 


The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being. (Dag Hammarskjold)


Call the world if you Please "The Vale of Soul- making"by John Keats shows us that the soul takes onboard everything and creates psychic space in which we grow. A sacred space- a thin place in where we are drawn to place where the veil between this world and the other world is encountered. When one is in a 'Thin Place' one can feel the powerful energy and know that there is more than the world that our five senses knows. The labyrinth is a tool and a good place to do soul work. 
Celtic saying, 'Heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller.'

The labyrinth walk overflows with metaphor and meaning.  All over the world, people are searching for ways to express their deep desire to be on a journey to oneness with the holy of holies — to experience, if only for an instant, that transcendent moment.  Walking labyrinths is a metaphor of going on a journey. It is to intentionally choose to be on a spiritual path. The call is to be on the move, trusting in the journey, open to seeing things in new ways. When one takes that first step in the labyrinth, one opens to the possibility of encountering the holy of holies on the path. The labyrinth walk is truly an inward journey and an outward sign of your willingness to be present to the holy. Expect to encounter the holy on this path with sure and certain knowledge, reaching and experiencing the center, home.
We humans quest for God and for self-knowledge. We, too, want to experience the holy moment, the presence of the holy. WE KNOW THIS: We cannot discover anything unless we look; we cannot move forward while standing still.
Adapted from “Labyrinths from the Outside In,” Schaper, Camp; Skylight Publishers, VT 


Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Born in 1798 in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin led an extraordinary life. She died on May 14, 1856, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 2006. shrine honoring Saint Mother Theodore Guerin is located at the front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception where Mother Theodore's remains reside. 

Saint-Quentin, France

June 2-3, 2010
The labyrinth in the parish church of the Basilica of Saint-Quentin  consists of black and white stones that cover the entire pavement of the nave of the church. The center of the labyrinth is black. A seven pointed star invites pilgrims to enter the pavement stone labyrinth. This labyrinth like Amiens was copied from Chartres.

Le Basilique de St.-Quentin begun in 1195 and took 300 years to complete. The labyrinth was laid in 1495 and is also a medieval octagonal design. Flying buttress transepts were built to support the sagging towering glass walls.

Like the other medieval cathedrals, St.-Quentin was also once beautified by colorful paintings inside the cathedral. 

Amiens, France

June 1- 2, 2010
Amiens Cathedral is generally considered to be the greatest example of High Gothic style as Amiens is the tallest Gothic church and largest cathedral in France. Just as Chartres cathedral was being finished, Amiens was being started. 

Amiens became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe when the head of St. John the Baptist was brought back from Constantinople by Crusaders. 


The Amiens labyrinth was installed in 1288 by the architect Renaud de Cormont (who signed his work) and bears an inscription naming the architects of the cathedral. Unfortunately, unlike the medieval labyrinth at Chartres, this one did not survive the Revolution intact; the present version is an exact copy made in the 19th century.  Its path stretches 240 meters in length. The path turns are the same as the Chartres design, but they are organized in an octagon, and the path and lines are the same width. The path is the darker line. The central stone of the labyrinth has portraits in inlaid marble of the bishop who built the cathedral and the first three architects, with an inscription in copper naming the four figures and the year the foundation stone was laid (1220).  You can see the original center stone in the Musée de Picardie.

Chartres, Amiens and Saint-Quentin cathedral labyrinths were all laid out in the same pattern. They were formed by 11 concentric circles that contained a single path which slowly leads to a center rosette. The path makes 28 loops, seven on the left side toward the center, then seven on the right side toward the center, followed by seven on the left side toward the outside, and finally seven on the right side toward the outside, ending in a short straight path to the rosette.

A school group of children also enjoyed walking the labyrinth! 

Bayeux, France

May 30- June 1, 2010
The labyrinth is laid as a pavement in the Chapter House of Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy, France.  This labyrinth is different in that it's not located in the nave of the cathedral but in the chapter house. Various dates are given from the thirteenth to sixteenth century.

After two days of fruitful attempts of phone calls, long walks and contact connections I was unable to see or walk the labyrinth. The labyrinth is kept locked and I could not find one person to unlock the chapter house. 

I was very discouraged and so I used what time I had left to tour the medieval town. 

Guingamp, France

May 29-30, 2010
The 7 wall unique labyrinth at Guingamp is located  at La Basilique Notre Dame de Bon Secours in the region of Brittany. This cathedral also holds the ancient Black Virgin that brings pilgrims to pay homage to.

The entry to the labyrinth is on the external edge and all the way to be traversed consists in arriving at the center, where is a black stone which reads "Ave Maria".

You must give birth to your images.

They are the future waiting to be born.

Fear not the strangeness you feel.

The future must enter you long before it happens.

Just wait for the birth, for the hour of new clarity."

                                 

Rainer Maria Rilke

Orleans, France

May 23, 2010
On my day trip to Orleans I discovered a quaint town full of cobblestone paths and relics of Saint Joan of Arc. As my approach toward miniature the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix I was stopped in my tracks by the echoing of church bells. The bells turned into the most marvelous music that boomed and echoed off buildings throughout the town. I followed the bells upward alleys to the cathedral.


Located inside were many adorations to Saint Joan of Arc who is a national heroine and patron saint of France.  There is a rich history of Saint Joan of Arc throughout Orleans. The sun was shining through the stained glass so splendid that I had to capture this image! A marvelous cathedral inside!

The labyrinth is located on the side of the cathedral near the parking lot. It is a miniature (Loiret) labyrinth and at first found difficulty in locating it. It is a smaller version but it walkable. This labyrinth is a replica of the medieval labyrinths. In the center of the labyrinth is a sundial.

Chartres, France

On May 21, 2010, I began my pilgrimage in Chartres, France, through an week-long intensive workshop titled “Living an Authentic Life: Walking the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice” with renowned author and labyrinth facilitator, Dr. Lauren Artress.

Numerous cathedrals in Europe have prayer labyrinths embedded into their floors. The most famous of these remaining labyrinths is at the Cathedral of Chartres (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres) about 50 miles from Paris, France. Chartres Cathedral is located in the medieval town of Chartres. The labyrinth at Chartres was built around 1200 and is also the only one of the larger medieval labyrinths still existing. Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and as a result came to be called the “Chemin de Jerusalem” or Road of Jerusalem. The Chartres labyrinth is an eleven-circuit labyrinth, which symbolizes Christ’s cross with its four quadrants, and grace being symbolized by the never-ending path to the center and back, allowing the pilgrim to walk the path at his own pace, stop for prayer and meditation as needed.

Not only is Chartres Cathedral one of the greatest achievements in the history of architecture, it is almost perfectly preserved in its original design and details. Chartres’ extensive cycle of portal sculpture remains fully intact and its glowing stained-glass windows are all originals. Chartres is thus the only cathedral that conveys an almost perfect image of how it looked when it was built. According to tradition, Chartres Cathedral has housed the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the (Sancta Camisia) since 876. The relic was said to have been given to the cathedral by Charlemagne, who received it as a gift during a trip to Jerusalem. Because of this relic, Chartres has been a very important pilgrimage center and people still come from the world over to honor it.

During my week stay in Chartres, there is a very interesting light show every evening during this summer in which the statues on the front of the cathedral are lighted very precisely, so that they are polychrome, as they were originally, with skin tones and eye color and clothes of many colors.