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.
8 Making the Turns
To convert a group of concentric circles into a labyrinth you must install the turns. The locations for these are shown in the image below. Traditionally, these back-to-back turns are shaped like bow ties, also called labryses. (A labrys is a double-headed ax in Minoan mythology.) You can just use a straight line, or you can get fancier and make them rounded. If you want to really make it fancy, use a razor or knife to trim the tape into a smooth circular shape (see photo below).
To make a turn from one circuit to another you must remove a piece of tape from the line that separates the two paths involved. Here's a secret on how to locate the turns easily. Note that at the top of the labyrinth there are four turns. Look at the bottom one, it is centered on circle 2, which is the circle from which you will remove a bit of the tape to open the turn. Now, move your eyes clockwise to the innermost labrys on the right side of the labyrinth. It is centered on circle 3. Continue clockwise past the entrance and to theinnermost labrys on the left side, which is centered on circle 4. Do you see the pattern? The labryses extend outward in ascending numerical order in a clockwise spiral. The next one at the top is circle 5, the right is circle 6, the left circle 7 and so forth until circle 11, which is the outermost labrys at the top.
The entrance paths are flanked by single (rather than back-to-back) turns. The 
easiest way to figure them out is just to have your picture of the labyrinth handy to consult. The turns are grouped in pairs. Note that two circles (6 and 7, counting outward from the center) actually cross the entrance paths, creating turns into the labyrinth. The illustration to the right shows all of the turns in place. Now you have a labyrinth. If time is short, you have no more masking tape, or you just don't want to do any more work, you can stop here. You have made a labyrinth. You don't have to continue through the following steps. But you can if you wish.
For example, you can make rounded labryses by taping in a whole space and using a knife to trim it (see photo ).