The Labyrinth

[Anibis]

Oh what a headache. First of all, in trying to move some posts from the Celibacy thread to here, something went askew, and I lost some posts. I managed to restore most of them, but sadly, Pheonix, I lost your informative post on the Labyrinth and the Goddess, as well as my response. In any account for those of you who do not know, this thread has basically been culled from a previous one, where the conversation began to veer off topic. So here it is, and hopefully we can recover the lost thoughts, one way or another. The following is a post which followed from an exchange in this (http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthread.php?p=4295#post4295) thread.

Okasaki Castle writes:
Well, set up a system of shields, or grids, around your own physical form that purifies what comes into your own circle of inlfuence, ie near you physically. m1thr0s's grids are good to copy there, if he doesn't mind, or if you are ethically unscurpulous or take a different view of property or w/e. Or you could do standard psychic self-defence 'bubbles', empowering them with a purification quality. It's all just mind turning really, so it's a question of how you set up your systems and concepts...

Well, what you say, OC, shows quite an astute familiarity with 'fields' as such. I won't comment on your post cuz it stands alone, but I will offer a technology that I have use which serves to filter energy in and out of my sphere. I haven't brought this up here yet, so I guess I will now. intead of an impenetrable barrier, I tend to use the Labyrinthine approach. It still means that people will need to work through it, in order to see you for real, but it has the advantage of admitting those true to their energy and confounding those who have imballanced systems. It can by nicely protective. Here is my own adaptation of the 11 circuit 'Chartes' Labyrinth found in the floor of the Cathedral in the French town of the same name.
http://Ibisis.zoints.com/image/37416-Labyrinth
The 11 circuits make it resonate very well with both the Tarot and Abrahadabra. Think of it as an onionskin of 11 layers. Including the outside and the heart, there are 13 component 'regions'. Anyways, it makes a good 'circulation system'.
-Ibisis

[m1thr0s]

wow. that's an intense diagram Ibisis...vaguely reminescent of the circular Xiantian diagram (http://www.biroco.com/yijing/xiantianstar.htm)...though very different mathematically I think...

Puts me in mind of the "eleven gradations of the tetractys" and/or other 11-based systems...since it is chronological, it would not be too great a task to assign some numeration system to it...something evenly divisible by 4 would be good...if it had a logical remainder, so much the better.

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

I've got some nifties to add to it. Give me a few days. It works, suprise, suprise, with the Thoth Count... heh heh...
-Ibisis

[Anibis]

How would you approach it chronologically, M1thr0s? The bends, or the circuits, or what?
-Ibisis

[MythMath]

Synchronicity...(humming Police melody to self)...

Listen, sometimes it seems that half of the threads
on this forum are like layers of the same onion...:yes:

BTW, just today I read a review for Sting's new album:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000HXDESU.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V59149640_.jpg

{Isn't he that 6-hour tantric sex dood...?}

Just to keep all this on topic...:p

peaceouthomies,

[m1thr0s]

yeah...I think we're a little off-topic here...
How would you approach it chronologically, M1thr0s? The bends, or the circuits, or what?not sure about the numbers yet but you can definitely color-code your quads...I'd probably go with TOL color scales King-Queen-Prince-Princess etc...Daath has no color associations but Saturn does. Or you could just pick 2 and go with Path colors 1-11, 12-22... This might be the best way to deal with paths that cross over Quad areas...

There is also small cards going on here with 36 path areas, including center...less attractive in my view but also divisible into 4's...it would be cleaner if your paths numbered 37 though...I'm getting 35 + center area = 36...

This thing feels like a brain...kinda creepy and cool at the same time...it makes for a very intelligent sort of shielding since it essentially converts incoming energy of any kind...sort of like a still...I follow a very similar format via the hexagrammal rings...this is a little more organic, like a giant mycillium patch or something...

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

...or a spider's web...
-Ibisis-

[Kuroyagi]

To me a labyrinth is primarily and basically a spiral (or in art history: a volute) rather than a maze in the modern understanding. In this sense the Chartre one is already an affectation/mannerism (but still less than the Rokoko view on it).

The basic spiral already has the mirroring effect ("know whats coming"); and you can surely imagine the basic two verisons: the classical round one and the right-angled one (projected upwards they are a cone and a pyramid with all their implications). If you project it into earth then you'll get an entrance to the underworld- like the classical gate of Minos (the original labyrinth was a spiral). Like you said: use it as a shield, or even as a funnel as a whirling maelstrom, a "tractor-beam" that drags things to you quicker, OR: as a net (spider web ;) which is different in some aspects cause a spider web is based on "equality" of its knots and time/space coordinates), but the labyrinth-web is also used as a net that you can throw/project on top of your prey...its the net of Poseidon who lives in the earth and who sent Minos his bull of fertility...;)

There are really many ideas one can have with labyrinths..."A labyrinthine man is never looking for truth but always for his Ariadne." (Nietzsche) etc.pp.

[Anibis]

To me a labyrinth is primarily and basically a spiral (or in art history: a volute) rather than a maze in the modern understanding. In this sense the Chartre one is already an affectation/mannerism (but still less than the Rokoko view on it).

The basic spiral already has the mirroring effect ("know whats coming"); and you can surely imagine the basic two verisons: the classical round one and the right-angled one (projected upwards they are a cone and a pyramid with all their implications). If you project it into earth then you'll get an entrance to the underworld- like the classical gate of Minos (the original labyrinth was a spiral). Like you said: use it as a shield, or even as a funnel as a whirling maelstrom, a "tractor-beam" that drags things to you quicker, OR: as a net (spider web ;) which is different in some aspects cause a spider web is based on "equality" of its knots and time/space coordinates), but the labyrinth-web is also used as a net that you can throw/project on top of your prey...its the net of Poseidon who lives in the earth and who sent Minos his bull of fertility...;)

There are really many ideas one can have with labyrinths..."A labyrinthine man is never looking for truth but always for his Ariadne." (Nietzsche) etc.pp.

A very nice set of observations. A net, a funnel, a mealstrom, certainly. Here I must lament, once again the loss of Pheonix's post, since it really did a good job of emphasizing that the Labyrinth ties into feminine (Matrix) energy. Chartes for example is a pilgrimage spot for people devoted the the virgin Mary, and the labyrinth itself is very much like a womb. Patrick Conty Has a book called Genesis and Geometry of the Labyrinth in which he uses topological manipulations to convert labyrinths into knots. His contention is that the Labyrinth is essential Ariadne's thread, and the solution to the maze. More powerfully, he goes as far as saying that the labyrinth is actually the key to [I]untying[I]rather than simply cutting, the Gordian knot. This makes sense and accords with certain ideas of 'loosening the knots of the soul' that come about in Hebrew Kabbalah. The Labyrinth at CHartre once had a brass plaque in the centre depicting the Minetaur, Theseus, and Ariadne, and declared that it was indeed the maze of King Minos which Deadalus built. The plaque was melted down in the Napoleonic era....
-Ibisis
Is there a chance, Pheonix, of re-building that post?

[Kuroyagi]

Yeah Id also be interested in that post since I didnt read it the first time around.

The connection to chtonic cults of fertility of the earth (Mary, Inanna etc) and the labyrinth is really quite obvious...the esoterically relevant labyrinths always seem to be of the one-way type like the Chartre one above (or think of coiled snake, Sumerian etc.) and not of the mere maze type (that also have dead-ends etc.), yet if this is so there remains the question: why was a red thread even necessary if one cant loose ones way?. Maybe the maze is a further symbolical level to it. Maybe it also means that its more difficult to "solve" its riddles by only looking instead of practically running through it on foot, for treading it yourself (an apeal to empiricism :p )..etc.

[Anibis]

Ah, but Kuroyagi. The Labyrinth IS the thread. It's not the maze, It's the solution... Thus argues Conty, and I'm inclined to agree..
-Ibisis

[Kuroyagi]

oops, sorry must have over-read that in your post...&yes, that book sounds interesting. :)

[Anibis]

No prob, I think you'd like it. It's quite hard to wrap your head around some of teh stuff though. I can do 'crystaline' geometric visualizations, but topology is another beast...
-Ibisis

[MythMath]

Notes on the Labyrinth, DNA & Planetary Alignment (http://vincentbridges.com/?p=67)

The Unified Field Of Gnosis: Introduction (http://vincentbridges.com/?p=66)

[Phoenix]

Hello
Ladys and gentleman´s
It´s not complete but you will figure it out :confused:

The Labyrinth: Walking a Sacred Path


Each of us, at some point in life, embarks on a journey. A quest for solace, for truth, for inner peace, for the real meaning of it all. A pilgrimage to find one's soul. Landmarks are hard to come by, and we can easily become disorientated. The labyrinth, a metaphor for one's life journey, can help show the way. The very act of walking the labyrinth encourages focus, assists in opening up the self, in creating a place deep inside where new insights and awareness can germinate, take root and grow. Each journey is unique. People who like labyrinth tend to cross denominational and religious lines to explore them.



http://uucfl.org/images/labyrin3.gif Labyrinths are a potent symbol in many cultures, and have been for thousands of years. One traditional story tells us that the Labyrinth evolved from observations of the recursive swings of the planet Mercury. In one solar year, Mercury backwards three times and forward four. Seven-circuit labyrinths have been discovered within the ruins of cities of ancient Turkey dating back to 5,000 B.C.E. The Classic seven circuit labyrinth is round. The square versions are either Celtic or Roman. Other styles have been found in classical Greece, New Zealand, North America, and Southeast Asia. The earliest versions are found in pictographs, drawings upon stones.



7-Circuit Celtic LabyrinthThe Great Goddess Inanna of Mesopotamia (5,000 B.C.E.) surrendered her seven symbols of identity as she entered the Underworld were, she encountered her Shadow Side, her Dark Sister Ereskigal. Inanna dies, is reborn, and returns empowered reclaiming her seven symbols. (Later, Ereskigal became the model for Lillith, the first wife of Adam.)
With Greek legend when Theseus killed the Minotaur, he defeated the beast at the heart of darkness - and created a myth that is still vibrant and evolving. Roman mosaics often depicted labyrinths as fortified cities. Romans placed symbols of the square labyrinth above doorways for protection.





Christian churches used the labyrinth for prayer and meditation as early as 350. In medieval Europe, the eleven-circuit labyrinth appeared. They served as alternate paths for pilgrimage after Jerusalem fell to the Moslems, and they symbolized the one true path to Christian salvation. The design most popular within Christendom comes from Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral (http://www.lessons4living.com/chartres_labyrinth.htm) at Chartres, France (http://www.chartres.com/). It contains four 7-cuircuit labyrinth, making for a longer journey. Centuries before, this was a site very sacred to the Goddess and to the Druids. Labyrinths have been used as ceremonial pathways, protective sigils, traps for unwelcome spirits and for games and dancing. Puzzle mazes have been exercising our feet and entertaining our minds for hundreds of years - and have become a symbol of confusion.











http://uucfl.org/images/laby.gif


11-Circuit Chartres Labyrinth

http://uucfl.org/images/challab250.gifPeople who like labyrinths tend to cross religious lines. Bob Peach (http://home.speedfactory.net/bsp2323/georgialabyrinths.htm) of Atlanta, Georgia, has produced a 6-circuit design based on the Classic 7-Circuit but incorporated the switchback labrys of the Chartres design. The result is a Chalice Labyrinth Design.
Unitarian Universalists claim the flaming chalice as one of their symbols. In a Christian setting, a Chalice Labyrinth (http://home.speedfactory.net/bsp2323/chalice-laby.htm) takes on a different meaning and might even be adapted to the Stations of the Cross.


http://www.lessons4living.com/101%20Ways%20Labyrinth.PDF (http://www.lessons4living.com/101%20Ways%20Labyrinth.PDF) -
i Hope you enjoy this info




Link´s:

http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html - Resources for Medieval Studies

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0829813721/unitarianunive02
Living the Labyrinth : 101 Paths to a Deeper Connection with the Sacred
Jill Kimberley Hartwell Geoffrion

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014019617X/unitarianunive02
The Way of the Labyrinth : A Powerful Meditation for Everyday Life by Helen Curry, Jean Houston</a>

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048622614X/unitarianunive02 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048622614X/unitarianunive02Mazes)Mazes (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048622614X/unitarianunive02Mazes) and Labyrinths : Their History and Development by William Henry Matthews

http://www.labyrinthproject.com St. Louis Labyrinth Project

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573225479/unitarianunive02 Walking a Sacred Path : Rediscovering the Labyrinth As a Spiritual Tool
by Lauren Artress

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767903560/unitarianunive02 Exploring the Labyrinth : A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth by Melissa Gayle West

http://www.mindspring.com/~daniel12/build.htm Build Your Own Labyrinth

http://www.geomancy.org/labyrinths/index.html More Labyrinths

http://www.labyrinthwork.com Labirinth Work

http://www.ispiritual.com Spirit Hand Labyrinths

http://www.paxworks.com Works, the Labyrinth Builders

http://newage.about.com/religion/newage/sitesearch.htm?terms=labyrinth&SUName=newage More about Labyrinths on About the Human Internet

:rolleyes:

[Anibis]

Thanks Phoenix. This is an awesome and resource-filled post. Especially thanks for taking the time to re-build it...
-Ibisis
Last year I walked the Chartres Labyrinth and it was pretty awesome. They call that place 'the Book in Stone'... very cool stuff.

[Phoenix]

Listen, sometimes it seems that half of the threads
on this forum are like layers of the same onion...:yes:



Exactly my point, maybe there is a comun root to all of these threads, that is worth investigating...:eek:

[deviadah]

Perhaps OT but the island of Blå Jungfrun (the Blue Maiden) is located in the Baltic Sea in Kalmarsund, Sweden. The atmosphere is loaded with mystique. The story tells that witches fly here during Easter. I lived on it, with my mother as a kid, two summers as guardians since it's a national park. There is a wicked labyrinth there of unknown purpose and origin. It consists of 26 rows of rocks in a U-shape. It is said to contain magical powers and to be at least as old as 1741 when Linné (the Botanist) visited the Island. It is not extremly old, but if you have been there the air is not only eerie but looming. Hard to explain, and hey I was only a kid then. Pineal gland pumping and all. I recommend, if anyone ever travels in the south of Sweden, to check it out. Do some ritual, but don't touch the rocks. You'll be put in prison!

http://www.oskarshamn.se/ImageVault/Images/id_1022/conversionFormat_22/scope_0/webSafe_1/width_600/height_400/ImageVaultHandler.aspx
http://www.sydsverige.dk/fotos/artikler/blaa_jungfrun.jpg

[Anibis]

Thanks for this... I will consider visiting...
-Anibis

[MythMath]

I put this together based on an image I saw in a book at the library today...

(note: Labyrinth at Yesod)

Tree of Life over Chartres Floorplan
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q48/MythMath/ChartresLabyrinthToLcopy.jpg

The ninth Sephirah is Yesod, the Foundation.

It is the foundation of the created world on which the other Sephirth rest.

Yesod is usually seen as the lower astral world, the ether of electromagnetic
substance well known in spiritualism and psychic phenomena.

It is a subtle energy that vivifies, coordinates,
integrates and stimulates the physical bodies.

It is related to sexual energies and the sexual organs in the human body.

Yesod has the qualities of imagination, illusions, and dreams, all of which are
necessary to make things happen in the world when properly understood.

It gives us the power to connect, communicate and
contact with outer reality (which is the next Sephirah, Malkuth).


text from: http://www.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/treeoflife.htm