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Among the Intellectualoids
Walking the Labyrinth at Washington's Church
Would George Washington or Robert E. Lee have walked the labyrinth? This potentially New Age tool is now available at Christ Episcopal Church in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, which both generals once soberly attended.
Almost maze like, a labyrinth is a circle with a winding path within it, leading to its center. Liberal churches frequently host a labyrinth, typically a large canvass sheet thrown on the social hall floor, so that spiritual seekers can meditatively walk it on a path of self-exploration.
Christ Church Old Town now regularly hosts a labyrinth on Saturday mornings, with passers-by invited by a large sign fronting George Washington Parkway. The 230-year-old sanctuary majestically bestrides a leafy block in the center of what used to be a seaport town, but which is now a posh and historic bedroom community for Washington commuters. The churchyard includes the graves of Confederate soldiers, and a few Revolutionary War ones. Recent head stones mark the graves of Kennedy-Johnson era U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Fowler and his wife, signifying that Christ Church remains socially and politically prestigious.
Inside the sanctuary, George Washington's original pew box remains. Across the aisle is Robert E. Lee's pew. He was baptized as an adult in the church, which is a few blocks from his boyhood home. Both soldiers were admired for their piety but, as Virginia gentlemen, reticent to share details of their faith. Picturing either one popping by the social hall on Saturday morning to slowly walk around a canvass labyrinth is hard.
On a recent Saturday morning, the labyrinth at Christ Church is empty, though three women in upper middle age circle round it, reading the explanatory literature. "I don't do visualization," one comments to the others, as she evidently pondered what is expected of labyrinth walkers.
Often touted as an "ancient" Christian rite that allowed Medieval pilgrims symbolically to sojourn to the Holy Land without having actually to go, the modern labyrinth movement actually seems to have started mostly in 1990s era San Francisco. Its chief popularizer was Episcopal priest and psychotherapist Lauren Artress of Grace Cathedral, who wrote Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice in 1995. She recalled walking her first labyrinth at a 1991 "Mystery School" seminar with psychologist and mystic/channeler Jean Houston, who later famously assisted then First Lady Hillary Clinton in trying to summon the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Artress was particularly captivated by the labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. She described her epiphany when she surreptitiously cleared chairs off the floor design and began to walk it in a meditative state. The popularity of Artress's movement later motivated other labyrinth seekers routinely to perform their own ritual in the cathedral. Initially, cathedral officials erected a sign warning that the labyrinth "cannot be a magical place where man pulls hidden forces from the Earth. That would be (were one to do so) a perversion of the builders/creators. For in doing so, one would substitute man in place of God." But confronted by increasing numbers of American tourists, the poor priests struggling to upkeep an 800-year-old cathedral, eventually embraced the fad, though they do not claim labyrinth walking is "ancient."
The labyrinth as a design is ancient, often associated in Greek mythology with the legendary palace at Knossos of King Minos of Crete, where the Minotaur, who was half beast and half man, roamed. In the ancient Roman-Greco world, labyrinth mosaics, with the legendary bull-man at its center, often appeared on villa floors. The originally pagan symbol eventually surfaced in the architecture of Medieval Christianity. But even Artress has admitted there are "no known records of anyone walking the labyrinth" in Medieval churches and "no Christian writers or artists who directly refer to the labyrinth as a spiritual tool" in early or medieval history. She has speculated that labyrinths possibly were a "sacred tool that no one was allowed to talk about."
Artress herself is no fan of orthodox Christianity, pantheistically honoring "the Source," "the Sacred," and "the God within," which has been "destroyed through centuries of patriarchal domination, through fears of creativity and of the traits associated with the feminine." Artress prefers this "Source" to the more traditionally transcendent God "out there" who "keeps track of whether we follow the rules."
Not surprisingly, critics complain that labyrinths are more a New Age tool than a Christian rite. The explanatory sheets at the Christ Church Old Town labyrinth do little to allay that criticism. One fact sheet promises that "psycho-spiritual healing does happen on the labyrinth" and admonishes that "those practicing 'new age' spirituality are usually very sincere spiritual seekers. Try not to be judgmental." The labyrinth "symbolizes the journey to the center of self," is "not doctrinal or dogmatic," and the "only dogma you will meet in the labyrinth is your own."
New Age or not, labyrinths mostly just seem a little silly, at least for adults, who are expected slowly to perambulate across a canvass matt with a straight face. An instruction sheet at Christ Church suggests: "Walk alone and with a crowd. Notice the sky. Listen to the sounds. Most of all pay attention to your experience."
The stately symbols of more traditional faith that litter the churchyard and animate the sanctuary of Christ Church seem to offer more mature spiritual uplift than the canvass labyrinth that occasionally appears on the social hall floor.
Comments
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Appleby| 4.13.09 @ 6:32AM
The Sixties Are Over. The Sixties Are Over.
THE SIXTIES ARE OVER.
cnc| 4.13.09 @ 9:44AM
it is always amusing to hear one religious group condeming the practices of others as silly superstitions. It's as if they believe that there is a whit more support, credence, or plausibility for their own than for any other practice of spirituality .
Big Leo| 4.13.09 @ 10:58AM
Good article, Mark-- they set up a labyrinth at New England Conference ten years back. I watched people encounter this phenomenon for awhile. It was very popular among feminists and Marxist wannabees. That would be a good way to sort out pastors I don't want as my spiritual leader-- if they loved the labyrinth, they were disqualified.
Anneke9| 4.13.09 @ 1:39PM
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and noticed that labyrinths became popular around the time that the Episcopal Church started accepting Buddhist meditative practices and other James Pike-inspired psycho-babble. At the time, I interpreted it as a desperate attempt by a declining denomination to make their particular church more appealing, fun, innovative, etc. in order to attract new members. All it did was drive Bible-believing Christians, like myself, out of the denomination. Very sad.
Ray Gagner| 4.13.09 @ 4:22PM
Perfect for people whose egos are so supreme that they cannot envision a God outside themselves.
Jim| 4.13.09 @ 4:22PM
I have walked the labyrinth and oooh the depths of my soul that were revealed to me. Sorry, it's true, I have but no revelations. Oh, well.. maybe next time.
Denver Todd| 4.13.09 @ 7:30PM
My pastor often teaches on looking into the depths of your soul, and what you would find there. He give the answer, and it isn't a happy one: you would find sin. Artress and her like do everything possible to subvert this truth. But for those of us who truly believe, we have another truth to rely on, you know, the one about Christ dying for our sins and rising on the third day. Ahh, we even have a day to celebrate it: Easter.
PF Dye| 4.14.09 @ 12:09AM
Does anyone else find it odd that the author feebly tries to juxtapose "labyrinth walking" with the "traditional faith" of George Washington, a practitioner of masonic mysticism?
stephanie| 4.14.09 @ 11:55AM
And would Christ care if you walked a labyrinth?
I think not. If your faith in your lord is secure, what would be the harm in walking one and calming your mind and body, saying a prayer. If you have a question, you might while walking, find an answer.
What is there to be afraid of?
Bilwick| 4.14.09 @ 12:45PM
I'm skeptical of most New Age things but I would say a good rule of thumb is "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it." (Suicide and heroin being major exceptions to that rule.) I read a book on labyrinths by a nun wo was a fan of them and used them as a recurring metaphor in the rest of her book. It actually made me want to walk a labyrinth. The worst that can probably happen is that I'd end up saying, "Eh, not so much."
Josh| 4.14.09 @ 4:54PM
Mark Tooley needs to brush up on his history. Washington was a mason, the "New Age" equivalent of that era. At least a Christian case can be made for the labyrinth. Can you say this about freemasonry? Also, if a labyrinth brings someone to faith in Christ, who is Tooley to question it? Didn't Jesus say it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the sea, than to hinder the development of another's faith in Christ?
Pingback| 4.14.09 @ 8:57PM
Steynian 345 « Free Canuckistan! links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Mark Winward| 4.15.09 @ 7:36AM
There is actually little evidence of the labyrinth ever being a part of Christian spirituality prior to Artress' 1996 text, "Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth." The book is an illuminating read that, surprisingly, few advocates of the modern Labyrinth take time to explore. Artress, a canon at Grace Cathedral, advocates enhancing the labyrinth’s usefulness by coupling it with such New Age practices as channeling, visioning, and the use of runes. Attress states she hit upon this idea while visiting Chartres Cathedral in France. In the book, she recounts clearing away chairs in the nave - without permission and much to the dismay of the cathedral staff - and meditatively walking the pattern found in the center. Having had an intensely moving spiritual experience, Attress imported the Chartres labyrinth to the United States - the pattern today most commonly associated with the practice.
Although there are no records of anyone actually walking the labyrinth as a spiritual discipline either at Chartres Cathedral or in Christian tradition prior to Artress’ innovation, there is ample evidence for it being well woven into ancient pagan spirituality (see “The Idea of the Labyrinth: From Classical Antiquity Through the Middle Ages,” by Penelope Reed Doob). Furthermore, the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral originally displayed a brass minotaur at its center until the cast was plundered during the Napoleonic era to melt down into canons.
It goes without saying, few medieval Christians would have considered “walking” this cathedral’s labyrinth with a minotaur as its central figure. With its horned man/bull resembling many depictions of the Devil, I suspect the Chartres labyrinth and minotaur served a very different purpose in the architecture of this ancient cathedral. Medieval architects took great care in every detail of a cathedral – even right down to the numerical symbolism of the structure’s dimensions. Given the central placement of this pagan image in the nave in opposition to the high altar, the architectural symbolism was more likely to represent a communicant’s rejection of the ways of the Devil as they walked away to approach the high altar in the mass.
Undoubtedly, many modern Christians find the labyrinth a moving practice, but few realize how heavily laden this symbol is with pagan meaning (see Wikipedia’s brief overview of the topic at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth). Although hardly as trendy, contemplative prayer and disciplined study of Scripture have served Christians well throughout the ages. Knowing the origins of the symbol, my choice will continue to be to leave the labyrinth alone.
Bilwick| 4.15.09 @ 9:03AM
If Jesus was an observant Jew, as it appears he was, the Jewish rituals he practiced seem no weirder or irrationa or exotic to me (a non-religious, ex-Catholic Goy) than walking a labyrinth.
Craig | 4.15.09 @ 7:18PM
I am offended at the characterization of Alexandria as a bedroom community. Actually, Alexandria has more people commuting to it for jobs than from it. We have two major industries -- patents and all the services that surround that, and trade associations with more than 400 located here.
Pingback| 4.16.09 @ 7:13PM
Steynian 345 | good morning america susan boyle links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
stan| 4.17.09 @ 9:07PM
we built a "labyrinth" at my former church on Ash Wednesday - we called it a prayer path patterned after a labyrinth. on the way in were reflections (scripture stations) about Holy Week starting with palms. in the center was communion, the way out took walkers through the crucifixion with the last station being imposition of ashes (last year's palms). It was a powerful time for many - preparation for Lent
Jesus is in the redemption business. a labyrinth may have pagan origins but we washed it in the blood of Christ. Easter was pagan, so was Christmas . . . it's time for the church to reclaim and redeem not retreat from what is unholy - to make holy what is common, secular, profane (isn't that our story - what Jesus was and is doing in us?)
was ours a pure labyrinth? no - but last time I checked geometry was "a-moral." the patterns are just patterns - it's what you do with it. so would I encourage my people to wander mindlessly through a "maze?" nah . . . but if I can give them 30 minutes of quiet to think about Jesus in this ADD world . . .
kinda remember that the church had a big debate over whether the "beat" in Rock and Roll was of the devil . . . (hey Jesus should we pay taxes?) most stuff is morally neutral - it's what we humans do with it . . . like music that glorifies self or glorifies God, like the www can be used for pornography or to carry on a civilized discussion about labyrinths, like a piece of canvas that moves you into the center of a "maze like path" and back out . . .
bob| 4.25.09 @ 11:37PM
Actually a labyrinth is installed in a place to be Christian repellent. See how effectively it works?
Pingback| 4.28.09 @ 10:22PM
Steynian 345 | know thy congressman links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Alan| 6.18.09 @ 8:15AM
Read your Bibles everyone. If it isn't in there as a practice, you shouldn't be doing it. It was used for human sacrifice, used by other religions in the time of Jesus, is used for witchcraft, by druids, I'itoi of the underworld, to name a few. The Minotaur has all the traits of Molech - half man - half bull.
Anyone who uses this in church worship is prostituting themselves, being adulterous (ie adulterous generation) and will one day have to stand in front of Jesus trying to come up with an excuse as to why he/she did introduce this abomination into the church.
Why was Jesus casting out so many demons? Because they were fooling around with things of other religions leaving the door open for a spirit to take them over.
Stay away from spirits and angels that are not the Holy Angels from God. Satan and his 'angels' were tossed out of Heaven for good reason!!!
Maureen| 7.18.09 @ 8:26PM
Now, it's not entirely true that labyrinths were never used as a Christian symbol. There was considerable medieval use of the motif of Christ as the true Theseus, going into the labyrinth (Hell/Sheol) to slay the Minotaur (death) and free the Athenian youths (the dead freed by Christ's harrowing of Hell). Christ also gets drawn as the true Jason and the true practically everything else, whether it's a story from the Bible or mythology. The Middle Ages liked that sort of thing.
But medieval walking of artificial paths as pilgrimages was almost always some sort of station thing (like the Stations of the Cross today, or going back and forth in procession between places frequented by some famous saint to spin out a rather short and disappointing walk into a pilgrimage event) or an endurance thing, like walking all night and all day in bare feet with no food, around the various short paths at that Irish island place. No labyrinth walking. If there had been, it would have either been "creeping" on their knees, or something quite a bit more strenuous in the way of a walk and number of prayers said.
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