Just One More! It's My Fave!

In all honesty, I quite like Keanu Reeves. I think he's actually a good actor, although I know it's fashionable to deride him for allegedly having only a single facial expression. And you know, I doubt if he really was sad, dejected or depressed while sitting on that bench and eating his sandwich. Keanu Reeves has always struck me as a thoughtful, introverted man. He was probably pondering something, mulling it over. I think he's a lot deeper than he's given credit for. Then again, I watched him on Jay Leno once and he seemed like a complete doofus. But there you go.

Part of my soft spot for Keanu Reeves is that in 1995 he turned down some lucrative movie work in order to come to Winnipeg (my old home town) to play Hamlet on the stage of the Manitoba Theatre Centre. He chose to try and stretch himself as an actor rather than just make more easy moolah by filming Speed 2. You gotta respect that.

And also, the coolest film sequence in history is Neo's final battle with Agent Smith in The Matrix. Oh yeah.

No, Keanu, NOOOOO!!

It is NEVER appropriate to vomit on cute little bunny rabbits, Keanu, even if you DO barf rainbows and twinkly stars.

Did that never-ending sandwich finally upset your stomach, poor Sad Keanu?

You may have started off dejectedly eating that sandwich on your lonely park bench but it ended up taking you to many exciting places, didn't it?

Want to see more photos of the Sad Keanu meme? Click here!

Christian Labyrinths

In medieval Europe, one of the greatest acts of devotion which a Christian could perform was to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But such a pilgrimage became impossible when the Crusades turned the Middle East into a bloody war zone. So (it is said) a special labyrinth was designed as a substitute for that pilgrimage. If a Christian traveled to a far-off cathedral and walked its labyrinth, that act of devotion was considered equivalent to going to Jerusalem.

The most famous of these Christian labyrinths is found in the French cathedral of Chartres. Inlaid on the cathedral floor in 1201, it eventually fell into disuse once the Crusades were over and labyrinth walking was no longer popular. At one time, rows of chairs were bolted (!) to the precious labyrinth floor but have since been removed, now that labyrinths are popular again. However, as you can see in this photo, moveable chairs are still assembled on the labyrinth when needed.

Despite its Christian origins, the Chartres labyrinth retains many characteristics which are distinctly reminiscent of traditional worship of the Divine Feminine. All Christian labyrinths are devoted to the Virgin Mary, for instance. Because of this, the labyrinth's centre is always represented as a multi-petaled rose, the traditional symbol of Mary.

The Chartres labyrinth's centre recalls the magnificent "rose windows" often found in cathedrals and which are sacred to Mary as well.

Like labyrinths sacred to the Goddess, the Chartres labyrinth is also circular in shape, the symbol of the Divine Feminine. Notice as well that when one rounded turn meets another in the Chartres labyrinth, a special black space is created (there are a total of ten). Christians call this black space a "labrys." But this is in fact a very ancient Minoan term from the island of Crete. It is the name of the Goddess's sacred double-headed axe used in ritual worship. Clearly it forms the basis for the name "labyrinth" as well.

While Christians continue to use the pagan term "labrys," the characterization of the rounded turns as "the breasts of the Goddess" has disappeared. Guess it came a bit too close to acknowledging the true nature of She who is really being honoured by the labyrinth!

Happy Labour Day, Everyone!

Pagan Labyrinths

The Cretan (or Minoan) labyrinth is the oldest form of labyrinth. It comes from the ancient Goddess-centred Minoan civilization which once flourished on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. This labyrinth is sacred to the Great Goddess, as evidenced by its circular shape (a central symbol of the Divine Feminine). The four rounded turns within the labyrinth are known as "the breasts of the Goddess."

How does this labyrinth's unicursal nature fit with the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur? The Cretan priestess Ariadne gave a ball of red yarn to the Athenian hero Theseus so he could trace his way into the labyrinth, kill the Minotaur at its centre and then safely find his way out again. That's a description of a maze, not a true labyrinth.

I think the myth we know today is a later patriarchal version interpreting (and distorting) much older symbolism. We know that bulls were sacred to the Goddess in ancient Crete. "Minotaur" means "moon bull" so it was probably a revered symbol of the Divine Feminine in Crete's early days. In the myth's patriarchal version, the Minotaur becomes a symbol of death and evil which must be slain. Scholars also believe that Ariadne was originally the Great Goddess Herself but was downgraded in the patriarchal myth to simply being the daughter of the King and a priestess in the temple. She betrays her people and her religion to help Theseus, who callously uses and deserts her.

So, given these later patriarchal distortions, it's not really surprising that a unicursal labyrinth gets recast as a multicursal maze. It moves the plot along, creates suspense and sets the context for Ariadne's betrayal. In fact, this Greek myth as a whole may be understood as a metaphor for the ascendancy of patriarchal culture over the Goddess-centred culture which preceded it.

Now that the Divine Feminine is being actively revered again in the western world, walking Her labyrinth has become a popular expression of Goddess spirituality and devotion among pagans.

We tread Her sacred path once more.

Labyrinths Are Not Mazes

Many people use the words "labyrinth" and "maze" interchangeably. But they are not the same thing at all.

A maze is deliberately designed to fool and confuse the walker. There are twists, turns, dead ends. You can get lost in a maze. A maze is multicursal -- it has multiple paths but only one path gets you to the destination. A maze is a puzzle to be figured out.

But you can never get lost in a labyrinth because it only has one path. The path may twist and turn, but there are no dead ends or misleading alleyways. A labyrinth is unicursal -- it has a single path that leads to the centre and back again.

That's why a labyrinth can be used for meditation -- you don't have to use your left brain to figure out the correct path. Knowing that you cannot get lost, you can turn off your left brain. Your right brain is then free to take over and conduct a truly meditative experience for you.

Labyrinths: Walking the Sacred Path

The popularity of walking a labyrinth as a spiritual exercise has enjoyed an amazing resurgence over the past 15 years or so in both the Pagan and Christian communities. I first experienced the power of a labyrinth on the Summer Solstice in 1997 and immediately fell in love with this ancient form of walking meditation. Since then, I have walked many labyrinths -- some close to home and some far afield. I'd like to share some of my favourites with you so I'm starting this new series of blog posts discussing labyrinths I have known and loved. As usual, the series will not be sequential and there may well be gaps between postings on this particular subject. But come along with me anyway and together we'll walk the sacred path!