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The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth Installation
The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth Installation, a beautiful 55-foot diameter, stone-lined labyrinth path, is located on the grounds of the Asheville School in Asheville, North Carolina. Marnie Muller co-developed and installed this labyrinth which is situated in a gorgeous green field bordered by woodlands on the 300-acre campus. It is used as a teaching site as well as a place of contemplation and reflection. Marnie researched and wrote her Master’s thesis on The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth as Transcultural Phenomenon at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. She continues to share how this experiential Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth replicates an ancient symmetrical pattern present in many cultures around the world.
Walking the labyrinth helps to integrate the hemispheres of the brain and tends to enhance one’s creativity and learning capacity. By leisurely strolling along the stone-edged path of the Labyrinth one can relieve stress, cultivate holistic perception and gain a sense of inner balance. This historical design has seven circuits which brings you to the Center and then when you are ready, you walk these same circuits back out again. The labyrinth pattern is not a maze, in the sense that with the labyrinth design there are no obstacles or false paths…just one path in, and the same path out. The walk to the Center can be considered a walk to the heart or core of whatever you wish to reflect upon. People today appreciate walking the labyrinth pattern both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, labyrinths are often found in historic cathedrals and churches, and more recently in hospitals and other institutions. Out-of-doors, they are found in formal gardens, parks, campuses, and playgrounds.
c/ Labyrinth Photos by Marnie Muller Prints available at this website
The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth is an ancient pattern found in many cultures around the world, including Crete, Scandinavia, India, as well as the Hopi in the southwest of North America. Many contemporary researchers now distinguish between the terms labyrinth and maze. The term labyrinth is commonly defined as a unicursal design, meaning one path in and the same pathway out; whereas the more generalized term maze may include designs with obstacles, blind alleys or dead ends. The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth, as defined, has seven rings or circuits and no obstacles, with only one path in to the center, and the same path back out. Other unicursal labyrinth patterns include the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth, the octagonal labyrinth at the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Amiens, and the Roman mosaic-style labyrinth.
There has been a resurgence of interest in labyrinths particularly in Europe and now in the United States. From front-page articles in the New York Times and beyond, to the translation of the German opus Labyrinthe by Hermann Kern (English title is Through the Labyrinth), the enthusiasm continues to spread. Labyrinths are being placed in a number of community locations including hospitals, churches, prisons, parks, courtyards, and campuses. Walking the Labyrinth is an invitation to relax, be reflective, and see things in new ways. It is used as a tool in hemispheric integration of the brain as well as for helping to relieve stress and encouraging a sense of inner balance.
Marnie Muller co-developed and installed this 55-foot diameter labyrinth with colleague Clare Coriell, at the 300 acre campus of the Asheville School in Asheville, NC. Marnie also researched and wrote her Master’s thesis on The Classical Seven-Circuit Labyrinth as Transcultural Phenomenon at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.
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