Walking a Venerable Path
Herbs add scent and sensuality to the ancient practice of labyrinth walking.
By MARY FRAN MCQUADE
February/March 2005
The World is too much with us; late and soon, Getting
and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that
is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! —William
Wordsworth
RELATED CONTENT
Let your herb garden set the stage for pools, waterfalls and fountains that will attract wildlife, ...
Medical meditation involves healing through specific meditation prescriptions for patients based on...
Find out whether the best herbal extracts are fresh or dried....
Harvest your garden the eco way with these easy to follow tips. Our
list of herbs that regenerate ...
If, as the poet says, the world has weighed you down lately and
you feel that your heart is no longer quite your own, you may find
the ease and quiet reflection you need in the roundabout of a
labyrinth. In a labyrinth, you’ll find no dead-ends, no decisions
as to the right way to go. One path leads from entrance to center.
As in life, hairpin turns and doubling back may mark your way, but
the route leads inexorably to your destination.
In materials as well as design, a labyrinth is limited only by
your imagination, and can be as grand or as humble as you please
“I’ve made them out of kitty litter on the floor that can be swept
up afterwards,” says Virginia Burt, landscape architect and
principal of Visionscapes, an Ontario, Canada company specializing
in gardens designed to foster spiritual awareness. Rocks, bricks
and paint on concrete or canvas are other materials that can
comfortably outline a labyrinth.
Although herbal labyrinths aren’t common, the long association
of herbs with knot gardens and parterres make them a natural fit
for use in labyrinths. If labyrinth lovers — and there’s a network
of them worldwide — need another good reason for using herbs in a
labyrinth, it would be the strong spiritual benefits attributed to
labyrinth-walking. Tracing its twisted spiral path (see Page 45) is
said to quiet the mind, ease grief, inspire creativity and provide
insights into life issues and problems. What better addition to
this journey than the scent of herbs?
WALKING MEDITATION
“Labyrinths are a sacred space,” Burt says. “I describe the
experience as the Three I’s: initiation, at the entrance;
illumination, during the inward journey and at the center; and
integration, on the outward journey. It’s a walking
meditation.”
The heady scent of herbs adds another dimension to the spiritual
and emotional impact of a labyrinth. And if all this discussion of
the spiritual seems a little far-out to the practical-minded herb
gardener, planting a labyrinth can be counted as one more novel way
to enjoy gardening with our favorite plants.
Ancient cultures all over the world have used some version of
the labyrinth, as have medieval cathedrals like the one at
Chartres, France. These serpentine gardens went out of fashion in
the ultra-rational 18th century. But today, many people are
considering labyrinths as they seek the spiritual in their
lives.
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>