Labyrinth proposal for Arts Festival

 

Written by Cllr Keith Martin for Westport Town Council

What is required for a Westport Labyrinth?

1.     A green space or car park space large enough for the labyrinth

2.     Bark, stones, whitewash, paint or even potatoes for marking out the Labyrinth

3.     Artist’s fee and expenses

 

What is required from Westport Town Council is items 1 and 2 with the Arts Festival meeting the Artist’s fees and expenses.

 

The Labyrinth is a community project, which would invite all residents and visitors to take part in walking the Labyrinth.  It is envisioned to have the Labyrinth available in the town for the week of the Arts Festival for the public to view and use and for a special labyrinth day to be held during the festival, which would involve a large body of people in using and walking the Labyrinth.

 

Ideally the council would make available a green area such as the Fairgreen or the Park to the rear of Westport Leisure Park and the Labyrinth can be marked out by removing the turf to a depth of an inch or two and filling in this space with bark.  This is totally reversible and or can be left in place on a permanent basis. 

 

Second option is to provide a hard surface such as a car park space at the Quay Pond or Point and allow the Labyrinth to be marked out in whitewash.
Introduction to Labyrinths
A labyrinth is an ancient, sacred, archetypal pattern that has been found throughout the world in many forms and sizes.  Labyrinths have a single path to and from the centre.  Labyrinths are one of the few archetypal patterns that we can physically interact with.  Labyrinths are enjoying resurgence in popularity as tools for meditation and healing.  The process of walking the labyrinth helps many people become more centred and balanced.

Labyrinths are different from mazes. Labyrinths are unicursal, which means that they have one well-defined path that leads us into the centre and back out again. There are no dead ends or paths that divide.  A maze on the other hand is a puzzle to be solved: a left-brain task that requires an active mind, logic, analytical skills, and problem solving abilities.  A labyrinth is a right brain task involving intuition imagery and creativity.  With a labyrinth there is only one choice: the choice to enter or not.

History of Labyrinths
Labyrinths have been found in almost every part of the world and used in many cultures over the past 5,000 years.  Their origin is a mystery.  The oldest labyrinths in the world are difficult to date because they are carved into rocks mainly around the Mediterranean area and in particular Gallicia in Northern Spain and Val Camonica in Italy.  One of the oldest dateable labyrinth, found inscribed on a clay tablet from Pylos, Greece, dates back to 1200 BCE.  This labyrinth was of the seven circuit classical design, one of the two main labyrinth designs along with the Chartres labyrinth.

Irish Labyrinths
One of the oldest and most well known is the 'Hollywood Stone', which was found lying face down in a grassy lane near the village of Hollywood in County Wicklow, by some local men hunting ferrets.

Dating from around the sixth century CE, the Hollywood Stone most likely has some direct connection with the ancient pilgrimages to the monastic settlement at Glendalough.

Since December 2005, the Hollywood Stone is once again on public view in the Visitors Centre at Glendalough, after lying in storage in the National Museum in Dublin for almost twenty years

The only known non-modern medieval style labyrinth in Ireland is now mounted on the wall at the Church of St Laurence in Rathmore, County Meath.  The design of this labyrinth is similar to labyrinths found in churches around Europe.
 
Another classical design was found in the cobbled stone floor in Bridgetown House in Castletownroche, County Cork.  Unfortunately, this labyrinth is no longer
visible; essential repairs involved it being preserved underneath a new floor.

A more modern labyrinth was found in the Church of St Regnus, Burt, County Donegal.  Curious about these three seven circuit classical labyrinths in Ireland is that they are all right handed labyrinths as opposed to the more common nowadays left handed labyrinth.

Walking the Labyrinth:
People walk the labyrinth for many different reasons: For balance; to centre themselves; to increase their awareness; to connect to their higher selves; to balance their chakras, for grounding, and to bring peace.  It is usually helpful to have an intention before you walk the labyrinth.  Your intention can be looking for an answer to a question, or just seeking a way to find balance or improvement in some area of your life.  The experience of walking the labyrinth is different for everyone, and differerent each time you walk one.


Construction of a Labyrinth

They can be constructed in a number of ways.

• By cutting turf out of a grass area
• By inserting of stone slabs into grass
• By marking it with stones
• By marking it with candles
• By marking it with potatoes
• By marking it with whitewash on the grass
• By marking it with paint on stone, concrete or tarmacadam