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Sacred Geometry & Labyrinths
Webmaster’s Note: As I was working on this website, specifically the “About Labyrinths” section, I quite naively decided I wanted a short definition of sacred geometry for clarity. I sent an email to David Gallagher who said he would send the question out to the “geometers” in the organization. This started a barrage of emails ping ponging around the world. Reference books were pulled from shelves, dusted off and quoted; souls were searched and definitions were suggested. I quickly realized that there was not going to ever be a consensus! So . . . we’re going to use all of them. TLS embraces diversity among its members and in its definitions.
Sig Lonegren's Definition
In a nut-shell, Sacred Geometry is, "The use of a handful of ratios to create forms that help the seeker to resonate properly to achieve their desired spiritual goal."
While I am aware that others have found sacred geometry in the Chartres Labyrinth, I honestly have never found any evidence that it exists in the Classical labyrinths. Oh yes, you can make them with a compass, but it ain't necessary. Is the turf-cut Chartres-type Braemer labyrinth south of Salisbury in England any less effective than the identical path labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France? I don't think so, I've experienced powerful results in both.
BUT, there is a connection between Classical labyrinths and Sacred Geometry. To really gnow how to make one, you MUST make ten or so with your hands - the same as with and Sacred Geometrical shape like the phi rectangle. Something happens when you make a number of these forms. Suddenly, you can stop thinking about what to do next, and your hand takes over, and you just gnow what to do. That's when the geometry becomes sacred.
So, while it can be made an issue with a small number of labyrinth types, for most of them, except for the gnowing-by-doing-it-with-your-hand aspect, sacred geometry really isn't necessary to the construction of most labyrinths. (Of course you/Western Man can MAKE Sacred Geometry a part, but I have found that it is absolutely not a requirement.)
Unlike standing in the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid, or at the centre of Stonehenge, or in any other sacred space constructed using Sacred Geometry, I don't believe it is the shape/form/ratio of the labyrinth that aids one in achieving resonance or entrainment, it is the act of walking it - back and forth, back and forth that does this. (This is one reason why I am less sure of the efficacy of modern labyrinth variants. It is the pattern that one walks that creates the resonance.
Alex Champion’s Definition
Sacred geometry is the contemplation and utilization of the archetypal geometric patterns of Nature for the purposes of spiritual communion and healing.
Robert Ferré’s Definition
"Sacred geometry is the act of studying the divine act of creation and then using that knowledge to create in the same way. By studying nature, we find that the basic building blocks of creation are geometric. Since a divine hand is responsible for originating the numbers and proportions of the manifest universe, that geometry is sacred. Studying sacred geometry leads us to truth and self-understanding. All societies use sacred geometry to construct their temples, sacred places, and art. Chartres Cathedral, for example. And its labyrinth. Numbers aren't just for counting, nor are they just symbolic. They are the actual essence of everything that exists."
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