Friday, January 10, 2003

CARTAGO - (Near San Jose) COSTA RICA


Here they are, the three owners of the only Labyrinths in Costa Rica! All pictured together at the Labyrinth of Dr. Steven Kogel. Interesting fact: They were all born in the U.S.A., and migrated to beautiful Costa Rica.

ANCIENT LABYRINTH - YUCATAN REGION OF MEXICO

In a spiritual trip to the Yucatan, our Host Hunbutz Men took our group to a set of caverns, "Lol-Tun". At the end of one of the caves there was a huge open area with a high hill. Walking to the top of the hill, giving offerings, the cave revealed this etched picture of a Labyrinth on a subterranean hill carved in stone.
He also reveals that there existed Mayan temples, places of initiation, where subterranean pathways were cut out of interior temples that required the initiate to walk in darkness and complete a course, which may have included scorpions, poisonous snakes, and if they returned out after the ordeal, they became enlightened Shaman. This seems reminiscent of another story, sans Heroine, from Greek Mythology, about the Minotaur.  

Thursday, January 2, 2003

BEAUTIFUL EARTH MOUND LABYRINTH IN NEW MEXICO


This beautiful raised mound style Labyrinth is on property owned by Sonia Hodsen. At the first International Labyrinth Society (TLS) Gathering in Colorado in 1999, I met Sonia, and we made an instant friendship. She was concerned that it was important that TLS remember how the sacred circles in North America were tied to traditional ancestors. And how the Labyrinth was a sacred circle that could now be tied into blending the two together. Sonia is a beautiful Elder holding sacred space.

PRAIRIE LABYRINTH - MISSOURI


No site could be complete without this breathtaking photo of the inspirational Prairie Labyrinth birthed by Toby Evans. Cut out of her field of prairie grass, it is one of the largest in the world that has a caretaker who organizes events and walks for the public. I also met Toby at the first Labyrinth Society Gathering in 1999, and found an instant "sistar" connection to the traditional roots that had guided my journey of service as well. She is a dedicated woman who has written about her phenomenal spirit guided story in her book, Keeper Of The Circles - Answering the Call to Wholeness ©2001. You can visit www.prairielabyrinth.com for more information.

SOUTHWESTEN UNITED STATES - TRIBAL LABYRINTHS

No site would be complete without the reference to the Labyrinth pattern often woven into baskets by early tribal people from the Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon cultures, and still used today by the Tohono O'odham and Pima tribes. Here is a rendering of that design that always shows a "man" and the Labyrinth.