Scant documentation is available on how the Chartres pattern, laid in stone, in Notre-Dame de Chartres has been encountered over the eight hundred years since its construction. In this session, MJ McGregor presents the findings of her dissertation research including the poignant responses of contemporary research participants.
The study reveals that the experience of walking the medieval labyrinth in the cathedral involves a process of coming home-to-self in a spiritual, archetypal, or mythic sense. Analysis of the research participants’ narratives indicated a movement towards wholeness of self, a journey of the heart.
Seven major themes interrelated to the experience disclose that walking the labyrinth in the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Chartres:
- mirrors life.
- offers a safe container for transformation.
- expands consciousness.
- relates to the context of the medieval cathedral.
- connects to the sacred.
- moves to mystery.
- witnesses community, both past and present.
This session will present background on this pattern of the Middle Ages looking at medieval labyrinth manuscript drawings, unique features of the design, and the 12th/13th century cathedral.
The Chartres labyrinth pattern is now found extensively throughout the world. Workshop participants will walk and connect with a portable Chartres-pattern which once graced the south transept of the Chartres Cathedral for private evening walks.
Walking the labyrinth is both an individual and community experience. Time will be offered to share the experience of walking the Chartres pattern before closure of the session.