The labyrinth was used in European churches in the Middle Ages as a substitute for making a costly or dangerous journey to Jerusalem.  Pilgrims would walk to the center as if they were going to Jerusalem.  Research indicates that the labyrinth was used as a spiritual meditation tool by clergy and laity alike.  The most well known of the remaining labyrinths is in the floor of Chartres Cathedral, France known as the classical eleven-circuit labyrinth.  It was built in the early 13th century (1220)  using the lost knowledge of sacred geometry and proportion.  Many different materials have been used for Labyrinths; stone, mosaic tile, rock etchings, turf (mounds of dirt or grass), and tapestry (cloth, canvas, carpet).

The classical eleven-circuit labyrinth has eleven paths outward from the center circle.  The path meanders around a circle with many turns.  Actually there are 35 turns; 6 right angle and 28 180 degree.  The center has six petals and is referred to as a rosette.  The six petals refer to many different things; the six days of creating, six states of planetary evolution: mineral, vegetable, animal, human, angelic, unknown.  There are 10 labyrs in the design.  Labyrs are the double headed axe objects in the labyrinth.  Labyrs is the root word of labyrinth.  Lunations are the outer ring of partial circles that completes the outer circle of the labyrinth.  The lunations are unique to the Chartes Cathedral labyrinth.  The lunations consist of 28 1/2 two-thirds circles per quadrant, except at the entrance where two are absent.  Some believe the labyrinth served as calendar keeping track of the lunar cycles of twenty-eight days each.

For more information on the history and use of labyrinths visit The Labyrinth Society , Lessons For Living, or Labyrinth Enterprises websites.