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We will now move on to our final topic of Monad symbolism, that of labyrinths.

Reference Construction Lesson #4: Creating a labyrinth.

 

Labyrinths

Liebniz writes, “Only geometry can hand us the thread [which will lead us through] the labyrinth of the continuum’s composition, the maximum and the minimum, the infinitesimal and the infinite; and no one will arrive at a truly solid metaphysic except he who has passed through this [labyrinth].”1

Galileo tells us, “Philosophy is written in that great book which ever lies before our eyes — I mean the universe — but we cannot understand it if we do not first learn the language and grasp the symbols in which it is written. This book is written in the mathematical language, and the symbols are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without whose help it is impossible to comprehend a single word of it; without which one wanders in vain through a dark labyrinth.”2

night 1080547 1920 copy

 

Helmut Jaskolski writes, “Thinking people these days have come to have an appreciation of the mandala as an object of reflection and meditation; however, they do not have an adequate idea of the symbol of the labyrinth, which can be regarded as the mandala of the Mediterranean world and of the European culture that arose from it.”3

 

The Labyrinth

Labyrinth comes from pre-Greek (Pelasgian) origin.

labyrs: ‘double-edged axe’ and inthos: ‘place’

Like mandalas, labyrinths are archetypal collective symbols that transcend all cultures because they are grounded in consciousness itself.

labyrinth1

 

The labyrinth is an ‘open’ mandala. One opening leads both in and out. This signifies that there is an inside and outside, tension and dynamic. It also offers a full range of actual and potential meanings.

It is used as a meditative tool – an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness – that combines the circle and spiral into a meandering but purposeful path.

It is a path we must travel, but it can be a path leading either to well-being or misfortune. It is our choice. This choice represents the “all-important choice” – the choice to live for the greatest good of all, (the positive path) or the choice to live for selfish individual good, (the negative path).

choices lowres

 

It represents a journey to our center and back out into the world. That is, we make a journey within – this is the journey of truth. What we experience and learn allows us to make “the choice” with wisdom and compassion. Then we return to the world and offer our services to the greatest good based upon the knowledge gained in our inner journey.

The labyrinth is both a prison and a protective shelter – an interior space open to the external world but also shutting it out.

choices doors lr

 

There is a difference between a labyrinth and a maze.

A labyrinth has one pathway that leads inexorably from the entrance to the goal, albeit by the most complex and winding of routes.

A left or right-handed labyrinth is determined by the direction of the first turn after entering the labyrinth.

labyrinth 2789748

 

A maze is a design that must have many choices in the pathway. Some lead to dead-ends. One choice leads to freedom.

maze lr

 

“The labyrinth experience is a potent practice of Self-Integration as it encapsulates the spiraling journey in and out of incarnation. On the journey in, towards the center, one cleanses the dirt from the road. On the journey out, one is born anew to consciously dwell in a human body, made holy by having got a taste of the Infinite Center.”4

The labyrinth is unicursal. There is one way in and one way out. This teaches centeredness. It also symbolizes that there is only one truth that we are seeking. Regardless of the twists and turns and the speed of travel, we all walk the road towards Unity and no one is truly lost, no matter how much it appears to the contrary.

A maze has many paths & dead-ends. This leads to confusion – the error inextricabilis – the errant path whose right direction cannot be found.

maze 2264

 

Walking a labyrinth is walking a ‘ceremonial pathway’ designed according to principles such as harmonic proportion and alternation of energy.

labyrinth numbers1

 

The labyrinth shares a certain interesting visual similarity with the human brain. In the center of the labryinthine folds lies the pineal gland, awaiting activation.

The use of right/left brain functioning is similar to walking a labyrinth.

brain right left lr

 

“A labyrinth contains non-verbal, implicate geometric and numerological prompts that create a multi-dimensional holographic field. These unseen patterns are referred to as sacred geometry. They allegedly reveal the presence of a cosmic order as they interface the world of material form and the subtler realms of higher consciousness.”5

 

The seven circuits of classical Cretan Labyrinth are associated with the seven primary chakras, the seven regions of the torus, and the 7 muscles of the heart.

“Notice that you do not walk these paths in order from one to eight. The sequence of the paths is 3-2-1-4 and 7-6-5-8. This is a pattern that repeats itself twice: 3-2-1-4 and then 7-6-5-8.”6

labyrinth numbers2

 

Over 300 examples of labyrinths can be found throughout the world. They are historically found throughout Europe, North Africa, India, and Indonesia and occasionally in South America and the American Southwest.

We will explore some of these now.

 

 

Classical labyrinth (Cretan Labyrinth)

This labyrinth dates back over 4000 years.

It is found on Cretan coins as seen below. However it predates the Cretan legend and did not originate on the island of Crete.

cretan labyrinth

cretan coins

 

The Cretan labyrinth is known as the Classical or 7 circuit labyrinth pictured below.

labyrinth numbers1

 

It consists of a single pathway that loops back and forth to form seven circuits bounded by eight walls, surrounding the central goal.

As Mark Booth says, “You must reverse direction seven times but never tread the same path.”

He then goes on to explain, “If you enter the labyrinth and follow its track on foot you find yourself moving in a spiral motion, first to the left then curving back to the right as you move towards the centre. Pilgrims following its route are engaged in a dance like the dance of Jesus described in the Acts of St John. The aim, as in all initiatory activity, is to enter an altered state in which the spirit journeys up through the spirit worlds, experiencing the after-death journey while still alive.”7

There are both circular and square forms of this labyrinth.

square circle lr

 

They are without intersections.

They continually switch directions back and forth.

They completely fill up the interior space by running in the most circuitous fashion, and they repeatedly lead the visitor past the center he is seeking to reach.

 

However, each traveler unavoidably ends up in the center.

no person 3209015 1920

 

The labyrinth then leads back from the center as the only possible way out.

The Cretan labyrinth is closely associated with the ancient saga of the Minotaur.

minotaur lr

 

This myth, like all others, is highly symbolic and able to be interpreted on many levels in many ways.

The Minotaur was born to Minos, King of Crete from the womb of his wife Pasiphae.

Pasiphae had an affair with a ‘wondrous white bull’ leading to the birth of the Minotaur – half man and half beast.

Minotaur Vulci Etruria Louvre Egisto Sani

Pasiphae and the baby Minotaur, red-figure kylix found at Etruscan Vulci, 4th century BC

 

King Minos had Daedalus, the master builder, create a labyrinth to act as prison, hiding place and temple in which the Minotaur was forced to remain in the center.

Theseus, son of King Aegeus, defeated the bull using a thread from his beloved Ariadne to find his way back out of the labyrinth.

Angelica Kauffmann Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus Google Art Project

Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus by Angelica Kauffmann

 

“Just as Theseus struggled against the Minotaur, so man struggles against evil, and is guided back out through the maze by Ariadne or divine grace.”8

The slaying of the Minotaur can be viewed as a triumph of self-knowledge; a spiritual liberation or slaying of the base, superficial and selfish aspects of ourselves to transform into loving and wise spiritual beings.

The Minotaur can also symbolize the monstrous aspects of human nature that must be transformed, or else they will destroy.

Theseus slowly grasps it is he himself he is attacking as he attempts to attack the Minotaur.

Friedrich Durrenmatt explains, “No matter where he turned, he was always face to face with himself. He was walled in by himself, all over was himself, himself was endless, reflected by the Labyrinth into infinity.”

In the end, Theseus and the Minotaur become one, each the mirror image of the other.

 

As Helmut Jaskolski says, “Man and his shadow are one.”

Theseus Thomas Hawk

Credit: Thomas Hawk

 

“Labyrinths were symbolic of the involvements and illusions of the lower world through which wanders the soul of man in its search for truth. In the labyrinth dwells the lower animal man with the head of the bull, who seeks to destroy the soul entangled in the maze of worldly ignorance.”9

 

There is yet another aspect of the Cretan myth that author Michael Glickman discusses in Crop Circles: The Bones of God.  He writes, that as the myth goes, “Queen Pasiphae of Crete fell passionately in love with a bull and gave birth to the half-man, half-bull Minotaur.  Pasiphae’s husband, King Minos, desperate to hide his shame, had the labyrinth built to shelter and to conceal the monster.  The task of the hero Theseus was to enter the labyrinth and slay the Minotaur.  To aid Theseus, his love Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, gave him a magic ball of thread.

Here is the heart of the riddle.  If the Minotaur were truly housed in a labyrinth, Theseus would have had no difficulty in finding him; he would simply have followed the single path from the entrance to the center where the Minotaur lurked.  In what way might the ball of thread have been magic?  Many commentators assume that the ball of thread given to the hero by Ariadne was simply to be paid out behind him as he entered the maze, thus promising him a safe exit.  But if the thread was simply to be trailed behind to lead him out, there could be little magic involved.

Another proposition is that the ball of thread was magic, and that, when Ariadne threw it down at the entrance, it rolled of its own accord unerringly toward the Minotaur, thus guiding Theseus inward to the combat.  If we accept that the thread was magic, we can see that the labyrinth nature is confirmed.  The thread has itself defined the single labyrinthine pathway.”

So what does this mean?  The string itself is no string at all.  It is a symbol for “divine love” – Dante’s “divine love” as represented in the Divine Comedy by Beatrice.  Dante was led through the Inferno by Virgil, representing reason, yet Virgil could only take Dante so far.  It was Beatrice who led him the rest of the way to the pinnacle of Paradise and to his vision and experience of Cosmic Consciousness itself.  Divine love represents the compassion and unconditional love that must be cultivated within each individual in order for them to spiritually evolve.  Thus the magic thread marks the way of spiritual evolution, which can only be recognized when a person begins to cultivate compassion for all life, and unconditional love for all beings, within their hearts and souls.  When this process begins, the way is then ‘lit’ like a torch in order for the individual to understand where the journey leads and how to get there.  The way inward can only be illuminated by love and compassion.  Otherwise it is dark and frightening and the territory remains confusing and the journey unknown.

The journey of Theseus inwards to the Minotaur and outwards back to Pasiphae represents the journey of spiritual evolution through the chakras.  The labyrinth itself symbolizes the activation and balancing of those chakras.  The thread represents the 4th chakra – that of love and understanding and that which holds all the others together in harmony.  Without this chakra being activated – that is, without the desire of a person to learn compassion and to use it on a daily basis, one will be lost in a pitch-black darkness, ignorant, alone and seemingly abandoned.  Once a person learns to live through love and compassion, the once darkened pathway becomes illuminated and the journey, and what one must do to complete the journey, becomes obvious.  What an individual once thought was a maze, is illuminated as a labyrinth.  There is only one path – one truth – though there are many distractions.  The only way forward is through divine love – compassion, empathy and kindness for all life – and there is only one journey – that of spiritual evolution.

 

 

Spiral “Mazes”

“Intertwined spiral mazes from Neolithic times, identical with the Cretan Labyrinth, the Maori tattoo, and the American Indian Tapu’at (mother and child), are carved into the rocks of barrow tombs in New Grange, Ireland.  These double spirals have been interpreted as symbols of death and rebirth, because as one follows the line coiling inward, on finds another line coming out in the opposite direction, suggesting both burial in the tomb and emergence from the womb: the dinergy of life and death.” ~ Gyorgy Doczi

Credit: Gyorgy Doczi – The Power of Limits

 

“The tangible unity of the dinergic spiral lines brings home the realization that death and life are in some mysterious and unfathomable way interlocked.  The sense of awe that follows this realization sparks new energy from the embers of grief.” ~ Gyorgy Doczi

 

 

Other Labyrinths

There are many labyrinths found in Spain dating from 2000 BC to 1500 BC.

Parada Galacia Spain 2000 BC Mogor Marin Galicia Spain 2000 BC Armenteira Galicia Spain 2000BC

Parada, Galacia, Spain; Mogor Marin Galacia, Spain; Armenteira Galacia Spain: all from 2000 BCE Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

There are also prehistoric labyrinths found from Egypt, Italy, England and Sweden.10

 

From the Ptolemai temple at Kom Ombo in Egypt; Roman origin between 100 BCE and 100 CE:

Egypt Ptolemaic temple Kom Ombo Roman BC AD

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

From the Villa of Dionysos, Pafos, Cyprus from the 2nd century CE:

Villa of Dionysos Pafos Cyprus 2nd cen CE

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

From Orbe Switzerland, 160 CE:

Orbe Switerland 160 CE

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

From Ulmekarr Grebbestad Bohuslan, Sweden, prehistoric or medieval:

Ulmekarr Grebbestad Bohuslan Sweden prehistoric or medieval

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

Classical Labyrinth (Chakra-vyuha type)

This type is found primarily in India.

It is based on a 3-fold, rather than 4-fold seed pattern. (Seen below)

Chakravyuha labyrinth.svg

 

It often has a spiral at the center and appears in Tantric texts called “Chakravyuha” as described in the Mahabharata as the impregnable battle formation.

chakravyuha

Intricate carvings showing a legend from Mahābhārata, where the warrior Abhimanyu enters the chakra-vyuha – Hoysaleswara temple, Halebid, India.

 

Labyrinths Found in India

There is a square Indian labyrinth found in Gedimedu near Pollachi in 2015. (Not pictured)

It is 56 feet by 56 feet in size and dates back 2000 years. The labyrinth has been partly built over.

 

It is similar to those found on clay tablets at Pylos, Greece from 1200 BC.

labyrinth india

 

A circular labyrinth was found in a cave in Andhra Pradesh in the 6th century.

andhra pradesh labyrinth

 

The largest known ancient Indian labyrinth was found in Tamil Nadu state in 2014.

Goa India 2000 BC

Labyrinth in Goa, India from 2000 BC Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

J.C. Cooper comments, “Labyrinths also share symbolism with the enchanted forest, the course of the sun, paradise regained, attaining realization after an ordeal or trial, a rite of passage from the profane to the sacred and the journey of life through the difficulties and illusions of the world to the center as enlightenment or heaven.  Going into a labyrinth symbolized death, coming out is rebirth.”

 

Egyptian Labyrinth

There is a myth of the lost Labyrinth of Ancient Egypt.

The Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 BC) claims to have seen it:

“This I have actually seen, a work beyond words. For if anyone put together the buildings of the Greeks and display of their labours, they would seem lesser in both effort and expense to this labyrinth…Even the pyramids are beyond words, and each was equal to many and mighty works of the Greeks. Yet the labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids.”

The labyrinth was said to contain a colossal temple and 3000 rooms full of hieroglyphs and paintings.

labyrinth diagram egyptian labyrinth

The diagram of the Egyptian labyrinth produced by 17 th century German scholar, Athanasius Kircher

 

It was named ‘labyrinth’ by the Greeks after the complex maze of corridors designed by Daedalus for King Minos of Crete.

Many wrote about it in the past:

  • Manetho Aegyptiaca (3rd century BC)
  • Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC)
  • Strabo (64 BC-19 AD)
  • Pliny (23-79 AD)
  • Pomponius Mela (43 AD)

“It is not clear whether the Egyptian temple was described as a labyrinth simply because it was so huge and so complex that one could easily become lost, or whether it was intentionally designed as a maze where one had to find their own way through it.”11

During the 19th century the remains were discovered 11 ½ miles from the pyramid of Hawara.12

 

Italian Labyrinth

A labyrinth is Italy was found in the Tomba del Labririnto, a subterranean prehistoric grave in Luzzanas.

 

From Luzzanas, Sardinia, Italy. It is thought to be of Roman origin between 100 BCE and 100 AD. However some claim it is from 2000 BCE.

Luzzana Sardinia Italy Roman origin BC AD

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

It represents the route followed by the dead, the hope of rebirth, and returning from the womb of Mother Earth.

It is an entrance into the dark passages of the underworld, the innards of the earth, hoping for a return to the light of day.

passage lr

 

It is linked to the passage from life to death and the afterlife regeneration (reincarnation).

 

 

Native American Labyrinth – Tohono O’odham people

This labyrinth showed up around same time as the Greek labyrinth.

There are two distinct differences:

It is radial in design and the entrance is at the top.

 

I’itoi, in the O’odham peoples cosmology, refers to the ‘Man in the Maze’.

tohono oodham labyrinth

 

There is also a 9-path circuit labyrinth found on a Pima hand-woven basket from c. 1910. It was created from 5-fold seed pattern.

Pima labyrinth 1920s

 

 

Classical Labyrinth (Baltic Type)

This type of labyrinth is found throughout Scandinavia and northern German, mostly around the Baltic Sea. Over 500 examples are recorded.

It is called the “Baltic Wheel”.

There is a double spiral at the center with separate entrance and exit.

baltic wheel lr

 

There are many examples found throughout Scandinavia including Norway, Sweden and Finland, with the largest concentration in Denmark. These were painted as wall or ceiling frescos on plaster. Many are only partially preserved. All can be dated from the late 14th century to the early 16th century.13

 

From Ostergarden Stora Anras, Bohuslan, Sweden, 17th century:

Ostergarden Stora Anras Bohuslan Sweden 17 to 19 cen

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

From Hablingo Kyrka Gotland, Sweden, 14th to 16th century:

Hablingo Kyrka Gotland Sweden 14 to 16 cen

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

From Ulmekarr Grebbestad Bohuslan, Sweden, prehistoric or medieval:

Ulmekarr Grebbestad Bohuslan Sweden prehistoric or medieval

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

Russian Labyrinths

There are more than 30 stone labyrinths preserved thought to be 2000 to 3000 years old near the White Sea on the northwest coast of Russia near Finland.

These are the Ancient Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky and make up the highest concentration of ancient labyrinths in the world.

Labyrinth researcher Vlad Abramov says, “After entering a labyrinth and circling several times around the centre you leave it through the same entrance. Just after several turns it becomes unclear how much you have walked and how much more to walk. Subjectively, the time stops, but by watch the great labyrinth is passed in 15 minutes. It is difficult to think about something collateral; the path is narrow and you are required to look permanently underfoot. The path is twisting clockwise and anticlockwise. At last – the exit; and you are happy that the journey is over.”

The following images are all from Solovecke Archipelago in the White Sea in Russia. The exact date of origin is unknown, however they are at least hundreds of years old.

Solovecke Archipelago White Sea Russia hundreds old Solovecke Archipelago White Sea Russia hundreds old2 Solovecke Archipelago White Sea Russia hundreds old3

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

Roman Labyrinths

Romans began to use the labyrinth as a design element in mosaic flooring.

These represent the first real attempts to create different forms of the genre and the first major changes to a symbol that had already been in circulation for nearly two thousand years.

 

Here is an ancient labyrinth from Cimbergo Val Camonica, Italy from 1000 BC:

Cimbergo Val Camonica Italy 1000 BC

 

There have been found approximately 60 Roman mosaic labyrinths – meander, serpentine, and spiral types.

Here’s one from Cremona, Italy from the 1st century CE:

Cremona Italy 1st cen CE

Credit: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos

 

Here’s a Roman labyrinth from the 2nd century CE found in Ouzouer-Sur-Trezee, France:

Ouzouer sur Trezee France 2nd cen CE Roman

 

A simple meander type has been found at Harpham, England from the 4th century AD.

Graffiti of a labyrinth was also found in Pompeii, Italy.

Others exist in Conimbriga, Portugal; Cormerod and Orbe, Switzerland; Paphos, Cyprus; Pula, Croatia; Sousse, Tunisia; Caerleon, Wales and Piadena, Italy.14

 

 

The Otfrid Labyrinth (mid-800s)

The Otfrid labyrinth was a short-lived variety based on the classical seed pattern, but drawn concentrically with an additional set of turns.

This creates an 11-circuit labyrinth.

It was first found in Christian manuscripts from the mid-9th century. See the third image from the left.

labyrinth types

 

 

Medieval Christian European Labyrinths

These labyrinths date from the 12th to 14th centuries in Gothic cathedrals.

They started on church floors in Italy (S. Francesco in Alatri and S. Maria Aquiro in Rome).

 

Below is an image of the labyrinth at Saint Francesco, Alatri, Italy from the 12th to 14th century:

alatri Italy

 

Soon after these floor labyrinths spread to France: Chartres (1215 AD), Reims, St. Quentin, Arras, Toulouse, Chalons-sur-Marne, and Amiens.

Below is an image of the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral:

chartres labyrinth

 

Here is the plan of the labyrinth found on the cathedral floor in Reims, France:

Reims labyrinth

 

The labyrinths at St. Quentin (1495), Arras (13th century) and Amiens (1288) were constructed in an octagon shape signifying resurrection, perfection and a new beginning.

hex labyrinth 1

 

The image below shows the octagonal labyrinth from the Basilica of Saint Quentin in Aisne, France:

st quentin Labyrinth

 

The labyrinth at the Abbey of St. Bertin in St. Omer, France (1350) has an unusual meandering design developed from the standard medieval form. This is pictured below:

st omer labyrinth

 

Other intersting labyrinths are found in St. Servaas, Maastricht, Netherlands (1886), Stadhuis, Gent, Belgium (1533), St. Martinus, Voorburg, Netherlands (1893), Ely Cathedral in England (1870), Watts Chapel in Compton, England (1896), Belfast Cathedral in Northern Ireland (1927), and Koln Cathedral in Germany (1977).

 

Below is an image of the labyrinth found in St. Servaas Cathedral, Maastricht, Netherlands:

Maastricht Sint Servaasbas

 

Many of the Cathedral labyrinths use 11 concentric nested loops rather than 7.

They have combined the 11 circuits of the Otfrid labyrinth with the four-fold symmetry of the Roman labyrinths. See the example of the Chartres labyrinth below.

Mark Booth writes, “The labyrinth at Chartres can be seen as a sort of mandala or aid to meditation and to achieving an altered state.  In the sacred geometry of the cathedral the labyrinth is mirrored by another mandala, the great rose window.”

labyrinth1

Michael Glickman comments, “The importance of this labyrinth [of Chartres Cathedral] is celebrated architecturally, for it is exactly the same diameter as the huge rose window cut into the cathedral’s western wall.  The labyrinth is also precisely the same distance from the wall as the window is above the floor.  If the western wall were to hinge down, the window would sit exactly over the labyrinth.”

11 in Christian number symbolism means: sin, trespass, intemperance and imperfection. It exceeds the number of commandments and does not reach the perfect number 12.

There existed a pessimistic medieval viewpoint identifying the labyrinth as a world of sin.

The sign of the cross is overlaid upon them symbolizing the saving sign of Christ conquering the world of Satan.

The labyrinth became the way of penance, for pilgrims unable to take distant travel.

It represented the “life-orienting ideas of initiation and rebirth, of penance and conversion, and of concentration on the essential.”

It is thus a model of Christian redemption:

Theseus becomes Jesus; the Minotaur becomes the devil.

demon 1299299

 

Christ descended into the underworld and conquered the infernal monster. Theseus/Jesus is able to liberate the righteous souls imprisoned in Hell and travel to Heaven, opening paradise to them.

The Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell: Jesus Christ saving the souls of the damned, author unknown, 14th century

 

 

The Labyrinth as Initiation (such as in the Hero’s Journey)

Helmut Jaskolski writes, “The prospective initiate stands at the single narrow entrance of the Labyrinth. His task is to penetrate into what appears to be the frighteningly complicated inner space, a space that isolates him from those who remain behind as a prison does, through a movement that progressively distances him from those outside, in the same way as if he were dying. It is an unparalleled challenge. It requires a maximum of commitment, time, expenditure, and physical effort. Patience and endurance are indispensable in order finally to reach the center. A 180-degree about face means creating the greatest possible distance from one’s own past. It is simultaneously the death of the old person and the rebirth of a new one. The way back into the world – almost as hard as the way in – is traveled by a changed person, someone who has found a new form of existence, a new way of being.”15

 

Often the term “individuation” is used to describe the mysterious way into the depths.

labyrinth 3207078 1920

 

Carl Jung comments that the quest is “directed towards that hidden and as yet unmanifest ‘whole’ man, who is at once the greater and the future man. But the right way to wholeness is made up, unfortunately, of fateful detours and wrong turnings. It is a longissima via, not straight but snakelike, a path that unites the opposites…whose labyrinthine twists and turns are not lacking in terrors.”

 

Our experiences on the longissimi via “demand the very thing we most fear, namely the ‘wholeness’ which we talk about so glibly, though in actual life we detour around it in the widest possible circles.”

“He who ventures courageously into a labyrinth seeking to find the truth of his life is forced by its circuitous pathways to circumambulate the center of himself, to learn to relate with it and to perceive it from all sides.”16

Hermann Kern writes, “The labyrinth is thus also a symbol of integration, individuation, of the concentration of all essential layers, aspects, and levels of meaning of a human existence. It symbolizes, among other things, the process of maturation from a one-dimensional person, fragmented into a thousand separate functions, into a rounded-out personality, composed in itself, which has found its center.”

labyrinth love

 

 

Da Vinci’s “Mirror”

Leonardo da Vinci desired to construct an octagon using mirrors for the 8 sides in order so “a man inside can see himself infinitely from all sides.”

davinci mirror davinci mirror2

 

This mirror was used in the center of the Milan labyrinth exhibit of 1981.

In the center of a labyrinth a “human being encounters himself in an endless self-reflection. He discovers himself as infinite in his potential and at the same time as a being without any orientation outside of himself. In the infinite reflections of the man inside, the center is surrounded once again by an imaginary labyrinth, which the man, who has become free, experiences as a maze.”17

mirrors

 

Finding oneself “enclosed in the closet of mirrors”, this is the birth of the self-empowered being.

German poet, author, mystic and philosopher Novalis (1772-1801) writes, “We dream of voyages through the universe. But isn’t the universe in us? We do not know the depths of our minds – the mysterious way runs inward.”

“Initiation is for the Romantic ‘hardly more than a leap’ into the space of infinity, into the dimension of the absolute, into purely poetic being.”18

wavenature lr

 

 

The Labyrinth as a Model of the Principle of Alternation:

Alternation – The Mathematics of Inversion

Alternation refers to alternate succession or repeated rotation.

It is a situation in which one thing repeatedly happens or exists after another, such as oscillation.

Alternation is a major philosophical premise of ancient thought.

It is the foundation of reality – a model of “the pulsation of Cosmic Life” as Robert Lawlor states. All life and the entire universe progresses through alternation.

sound wave monopole

 

We will discuss alternation in great detail in Articles 19 and 24 about the properties of the Dyad.

Robert Lawlor writes, “Every aspect of the phenomenal world was seen to be a fixed, instantaneous moment caused by the interaction of complementary components, a moment trapped between light and dark, life and death, day and night, between formation, disintegration and reformation.”19

 

 

Inversion (Reciprocity) – Oscillation between the Physical and Metaphysical

In the Science section of Cosmic Core we discuss the two parallel realities pouring into and out of each other (oscillating back and forth) like an hourglass or spherical torus.

These two realities are the physical reality and the metaphysical reality, or the visible and invisible.

These two realities are interpenetrated. They exist simultaneously.

tworealms lr

 

There is constant fluid-like exchange of the two. Remember, the Aether is fluid-like.

The wormhole (center of the spherical torus) is the bridge between the two.

Atoms are constantly oscillating back and forth from the physical reality to the metaphysical reality (visible to invisible; space/time to time/space) through the shape of a dual torus. This is inversion or reciprocity. They are reciprocal aspects of each other.

Reciprocity relates to the constant interchange between consciousness and matter; between the visible and invisible; between time and space.

torus

 

This constant oscillation and fluid-like exchange happens so fast, it appears to be happening simultaneously.

The oscillating atoms and subatomic particles that make up matter move so fast as to give the impression of solidity. This is why Tesla said reality is akin to a film strip – still images blink on and off so quickly it gives the illusion of continuous movement.

We are constantly disappearing and reappearing at the speed of light.

Keep in mind – though we fluctuate back and forth from the visible to invisible, it is all Aether. It is happening so quickly that we are, in essence, in both realms simultaneously. That means we are never out of reach of the divine. It is within us at all times.

 

 

The Classical Labyrinth as a Model of Spiritual Evolution through the 7 Chakras & 7 Quantum Densities

rainbow full lr

Keep in mind this is a fundamental concept in the esoteric stream of knowledge and the Perennial philosophy. We go to the trouble of showing how the same symbols show up all over the world and throughout time for a reason. This is to illustrate the commonalities in different spiritual beliefs. This idea of spiritual evolution through the ‘densities’ or levels of consciousness might seem strange or unbelievable to many. However it is one of the most, if not the most, important concept that the esoteric stream of knowledge has preserved for humanity.

Different spiritual traditions describe and symbolize this process in many various ways. However the point of all this symbolism is to show that we are spiritual beings; we are born upon this Earth to spiritually evolve; and there is a pattern to this evolution. This pattern involves a seven-step cosmic process of transformation described here and in many other places throughout Cosmic Core.

As we saw earlier, the classical seven-circuit labyrinth consists of a single pathway that loops back and forth to form seven circuits bounded by eight walls, surrounding the central goal.

labyrinth numbers2

 

The Single Pathway:

Represents either a single lifetime, or on the greater scale – a cycle of reincarnation to evolve to the next level of consciousness.

Loops back and forth:

Not only does the fundamental nature of reality constantly involve alternation (consciousness to matter; time to space; visible to invisible) but the spiritual evolution of one individual also involves alternation. Life and growth is a cycle: back and forth, ups and downs; getting close to enlightenment then thrown off the path, then getting closer, then getting knocked off again, and so forth upwards and onwards…

Seven Circuits:

On an individual level this represents the 7 chakras that must be activated and balanced for spiritual evolution to take place (This can take place in one lifetime or many lifetimes; it depends solely on the individual.)

On a cosmic level this represents the 7 quantum densities that relate to the chakras. These are the densities of reality that a soul moves through on its spiritual evolution back to the source. This takes many lifetimes and millions of years.

Bounded by eight walls:

Eight walls represent the octave: the octave of visible color; octave of musical notes; octave of chakras; octave of densities. When you reach the 8th step, you return to the beginning again (with fully unified consciousness).

Central Goal:

The central goal refers to: spiritual maturation, spiritual evolution, the journey through the 7 densities back towards the Source; unifying the mind, body and spirit.

We will now briefly review the chakras. More information can be found in Articles 199-202.

 

 

Chakras

Chakras are Energy Centers, or “wheels of light” that are key elements of the spiritual system of the body. They are connected to the endocrine glands and major nerve centers in the body.

They are like lenses through which everything in existence is interpreted.

They are representative of our state of consciousness and they are directly related to the evolution of our consciousness and to our ability to balance our own thoughts, emotions and beliefs. That is, we must learn to balance and harmonize all the facets of our mind, body, and spirit.

Antahkarana web.svg

 

This evolution of consciousness related to our chakras is sometimes referred to as the “Rainbow Bridge”.

night rainbow penhu island

Night Rainbow Bridge, Penhu Island, Taiwan Strait. Credit: Kaba

 

In the primary system there are 7 chakras.

Each of the primary chakras are associated with a color and psychological/emotional/spiritual quality.

As we move up each chakra, awakening, unblocking and balancing each one, we become more awakened to our true nature and the true nature of reality and the universe.

 

 

The Octave of Chakras

The 1st chakra – Red Ray – The Root – The Foundation – Earth

chakra1

Blockages

  • A blockage in red-ray can manifest as a constant worrying and fear of survival.
  • In general, it will exhibit the “demon” of fear, mistrust, helplessness, fearfulness, and inability to cope.

 

Balanced

  • When this chakra is balanced much is open to the seeker due to the fact that it stops blocking experiential data and the higher chakras can begin to use these experiences for higher purposes.
  • Balanced, it will bring up health, prosperity, security, and dynamic presence in the moment of “Now”.
  • We will feel a sense of belonging, safety and security in the world.
  • We will be able to provide for life’s necessities and stand up for ourselves.

 

 

 

The 2nd chakra – Orange Ray – Sacral chakra – Awareness and growth – Water

chakra2

Blockages

  • Often financial concerns fall within this category, as many feel they are not creative enough to make money, or worth enough to share their creativity.
  • Blocked orange chakras can often lead to self-doubt, self-loathing, issues of possession, self-consciousness, and the inability to accept the self as the self is.
  • In the extreme – A need to hold power over other individuals may be seen to be orange ray.
  • In the extreme, you may also see this ray in the treating of others as non-entities, slaves or chattel, thus giving others no status whatever.
  • It can exhibit the “demon” of guilt, inhibitions, shame, blame, dependency or co-dependency, poor boundaries, submission, a need for protection from others, obsession with money and/or sex, an obsession with power and control.

 

Balanced

  • As this chakra becomes balanced, much more creativity, fairness and more emotional balance can result.
  • It will bring us fluidity, grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change.
  • Also: directness, independence, good boundaries, assertiveness, and a desire to protect others rather than misuse others.

 

 

 

The 3rd chakra – Yellow Ray – Navel Chakra – Self-awareness and Interaction – Fire

chakra3

Blockages

  • Blocked yellow chakras can manifest as power manipulation of others and bellicose actions in which one group of entities feel the necessity and right of dominating other groups of entities and bending their wills to the wills of the masters.
  • Blockages in orange-ray or yellow-ray manifest in sexual interactions as a blockage then insatiable hunger due to the blockage.
  • When two entities are vibrating in orange-ray or yellow-ray in sexual interactions, one entity will experience the pleasure of humiliation and slavery or bondage, the other will experience the pleasure of mastery and control over another entity – In this way a sexual energy transfer of a negative polarity will take place.
  • Its “demon” is shame, inadequacy, inferiority or superiority, giving up, irresponsibility, addictions, defensiveness, aggressiveness, escapism, intimidation, avoidance, territoriality, overly competitiveness, and over-sensitivity to criticism.

 

Balanced

  • Unblocked, this chakra acts as a stepping stone to higher vibrations, where the mind and body potentiates to its fullest balance.
  • The strong red/orange/yellow triad springboards the entity into the center ray of green.
  • A positive entity will transmute strong red-ray sexual energy into green-ray energy transfers, transmuting self-hood and place in society into energy transfer situations in which the entity may merge with and serve others and then, finally radiate unto others without expecting any transfer in return.
  • The yellow-ray is the power center. In a balanced entity, the tools (power, love, wisdom) will not be abused but rather, it will approach those tools balanced in the center of love and wisdom and thus seeking power in order to serve.
  • Each entity must, in order to completely unblock yellow ray, love all which are in relationship to it, with hope only of the other-selves’ joy, peace, and comfort.
  • A balanced 3rd chakra brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, courage, strong yet balanced will power, and non-dominating power.

 

 

 

The 4th chakra – Green Ray – Heart Chakra – Unconditional Love & Compassion – Air

chakra4

Blockages

  • The green chakra can be easily blocked by the lower feelings of orange and yellow, such as fear of possession, desire for possession, fear of being possessed, and desire to be possessed.
  • Blockages show up as an inability to offer universal love and compassion.
  • In more conscious beings this expresses or manifests as lack of compassion for the self.
  • Manifests as the “demon” of grief, resentment, anger, jealousy, anxiety, abandonment, bereavement, isolation, self-centeredness, loneliness, martyrdom

Balanced

  • Those desiring to remake society who are working from the green chakra rather than the yellow chakra understand that universal love freely given is more to be desired than principalities or even the rearrangement of peoples and political structures.
  • Balanced Green-ray sexual energy transfers between mates allows the Creator to know Itself with great beauty, solemnity and wonder.
  • Brings us the ability to love deeply, feel compassion and have a profound sense of peace and centeredness
  • Also: balanced emotional expression, compassion, empathy, serenity, joy, courage, intimacy, acceptance, nurturing, giving, able to forgive others and self for everything

 

 

 

The 5th chakra – Blue Ray – Throat Chakra – Communication & Co-Creation – Sound

chakra5

Blockages

  • Blockages in the blue chakra can be seen as a difficulty understanding yourself and also difficulties in accepting communication from others.
  • It can also manifest as an inability to be honest with others and/or oneself.
  • The “demon” of this chakra is lies, dishonesty, fear of communication, complaining & fault-finding.

Balanced

  • Any opinions or judgments are owned
  • It is the truth which empowers.
  • Aids in comprehension, listening, patience in waiting, expression, creativity, good timing, pushing forward, willfulness, following one’s dream, capacity to make decisions, ability to truly listen to others without having to speak.

 

 

 

The 6th chakra – Indigo Ray – Third Eye Chakra – Unity – Faith – Light

chakra6

Blockages

  • Blockages in the indigo chakra can manifest as feelings of unworthiness.
  • The “demon” of this chakra is illusion, ignorance, ambiguity, inability to focus, irrationality, rigidity, critical attitude, repressive towards others

Balanced

  • When the indigo-ray is activated, balanced and crystallized it is able to transcend space/time and to enter the combined realms of space/time and time/space. Truly through this chakra we can find answers to all the questions we seek. We can contact our higher selves, our higher intelligence and wisdom, in order to fulfill more of our unique potential. With practice and devotion, through this center we can truly touch the infinite.
  • Brings us clear vision, letting us see the bigger picture; also clarity, focus, receptivity, wisdom, perception, intuition, self-evaluation, truth, intellectual abilities, openness to ideas of others, ability to learn from experience, emotional intelligence
  • the perfect balance of compassion and wisdom

 

 

 

The 7th chakra – Violet Ray – Crown Chakra – The Gateway to Intelligent Infinity

chakra7

Blockages

  • The “demon” of this chakra is attachment and an undefined life purpose.
  • “From a yogic perspective, a person’s attachment to something can be beneficial, as in true and genuine devotion or dedication to that which is true, good, healthy, holy. Yet attachments of various sorts can also be harmful.
  • Spiritual paths from around the world and across time have in their various ways noted the constricting and debilitating effect of a psychological, ideological, emotional or spiritual grasping that strangles the inherent expansiveness of life. We cling when we are afraid of change, even if that change is necessary or for the better. We grasp when we insist on maintaining control over something that really is not ours to control.
  • Sometimes what people may think is love may instead be an emotional or psychological attachment to a state of being that actually inhibits or smothers love.”20

Balance

  • Brings us knowledge, wisdom, understanding, spiritual connection, bliss and a clear sense of purpose
  • Also, ability to trust life, values, ethics and courage, humanitarianism, selflessness, faith and spiritual devotion

 

 

Cycles of Quantum Densities

The Rainbow Bridge in Richa

The Rainbow Bridge in Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold, directed by Otto Schenk, 1990

 

As we say again and again, the concept of cycles of reincarnation or quantum densities is a key concept of the esoteric stream of knowledge. Only recently has there been scientific validation of these ancient spiritual concepts.

More information can be found about quantum densities in Articles 233-237.

The scientific definition of a density is based on the number of electrons (N) that fit into an Aether cube.

Movement through the octave of densities relates to the evolution of the soul through octaves of experience, or levels of consciousness, which are intimately related to the chakras. The octave of densities is otherwise known as reincarnational cycles.

The movement through the densities is related to the Precession of the Equinoxes. For example, 3rd density cycles are approx. 25,000 years, the same time span as one Precessional cycle (25,920 years).

The shifting through densities relates to the solar system moving into a new space domain – crossing a domain boundary, creating a supernovae, and leading to a DNA upgrade of all biological life. (Refer to Articles 104-105, 254-256).

The 6 Peaks in Redshift Values found could correlate to densities 2-7, with Density 1 as a “ground state”. (Refer to Articles 93-94, and 236-237).

 

In brief:

  • First Density – Red – cycle of awareness; water, fire, air, earth (mineral consciousness)
  • Second Density – Orange – cycle of growth & movement (plants & animal consciousness)
  • Third Density – Yellow – cycle of self-awareness (human consciousness)
  • Fourth Density – Green – cycle of love or understanding (planetary consciousness)
  • Fifth Density – Blue – cycle of wisdom or light; co-creation (galactic consciousness)
  • Sixth Density – Indigo – cycle of love/light light/love; or blending compassion with wisdom; unity (galactic clustering consciousness)
  • Seventh Density – Violet – the gateway cycle; turning towards timelessness (universal or Cosmic Consciousness)
  • Eighth Density – The first density of the next octave and “a mystery we do not plumb.”

hidden lowres

 

  1. Leibniz, Willhelm Gottfried, Dissertatio Exoterica De Statu Praesenti et Incrementis Novissimis Deque Usu Geometriae, 1676
  2. Galileo, Galilei, The Assayer, 1623
  3. Jaskolski, Helmut, The Labyrinth: Symbol of Fear, Rebirth and Liberation, Shambhala, 1997
  4. Crane, Wesley L, Moon Rising, AuthorHouse, 2010
  5. ibid.
  6. http://www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths
  7. Booth, Mark, The Secret History of the World,Overlook Press, 2010
  8. http://www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths
  9. Hall, Manly P, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, TarcherPerigree, 2003
  10. http://www.labyrinthos.net/photopage01.html
  11. Holloway, April, The Lost Labyrinth of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Origins, 2 September 2014, http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/lost-labyrinth-ancient-egypt-part-1-002033?nopaging=1
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth#cite_note-W.S.-27
  13. http://www.labyrinthos.net/photopage05.html
  14. http://www.labyrinthos.net/photopage02.html
  15. Jaskolski, Helmut, The Labyrinth: Symbol of Fear, Rebirth and Liberation, Shambhala, 1997
  16. ibid.
  17. ibid.
  18. ibid.
  19. Lawlor, Robert, Sacred Geometry: Philosophy & Practice, Thames & Hudson, 1982
  20. Mahony, William, Exquisite Love, Sarvabhava Press, 2014

 

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