Directions to Make a Labyrinth
Few things are more rewarding than to create a labyrinth and walk it afterwards. The love and care that go into the building - and in the walking - add to the transformative benefits of the labyrinth.
This part of the website will teach you how to make your own labyrinth. Currently, we have just directions for the Masking Tape Chartres Labyrinth. In the future, we will be adding Baltic, Classical, and Concentric labyrinth directions as well as tips for use of materials and other information to help you in your labyrinth-building efforts.
9 Making the Petals
The center of the labyrinth has six flower petals. Where the petals meet, the merged lines are decorated with a little cross-like pattern. The tip of these petal crosses are exactly half way between the first circle and the center point of the labyrinth. For example, in the 36-foot labyrinth, the center is nine feet, which means the radius, from the center to the first circle, is four and one-half feet, or 54 inches. The tip of the petal cross is midway on the radius, or 27 inches from both the center and the inner circle (see below).
The straight lines on either side of the entrance path have one-armed crosses so that nothing sticks out into the path. These can be located easily. Opposite the entrance, at the "top" of the labyrinth, the petal cross is on the center axis of the labyrinth. This also can be easily located and put into place.
There remain two petal crosses on each side of the center. By eye or by measurement, locate the tips of these crosses on the midpoint of their respective radii, spaced evenly between the top cross and the entrance crosses. Once you have these laid out, then you have an easy job of making the petal circles, since you have marked both ends of the circle.
The tendency is to make the petals too pointed. Make them as rounded as possible. The petals will add an enormous amount of appeal to the labyrinth. People love to sit in the middle of the petals and meditate after reaching the center of the labyrinth.