How to Make a Temporary 3 Circuit Classical Labyrinth

I had to take over this task recently. There was a birthday party and there was short of space.
On this occasion a 3 circuit labyrinth fits best. Nevertheless, it is good to have enough width for the path to walk. And a bigger middle. Thus I adopted a circular labyrinth with the path sequence 0-3-2-1-4.

A 3 circuit Knidos labyrinth

I had a space of about 4 m. As path width I chose 50 cm, the middle had a diameter of 1 m, and the overall diameter was 4 m. Thus arose a length of about 39 m for the walls which can be marked, e.g., very well with a rope. I have done this with two ropes of 20 m length.

The 3 circuit labyrinth

The 3 circuit labyrinth

But I was not really pleased with it. Since the middle seemed to me a little bit too small. I still hold the 4-fold path width as a good measure for the center.
Hence, I have developed a sort of prototype which I would like to introduce here:

A 3 circuit Knidos labyrinth with a dimension between axes of 1 m

The dimension between axes is 1 m, the center has 4 m and the overall diameter is 10 m. The walls have a length of 86.83 m, the way into the center amounts to 66.34 m. The other dimensions and the radii can be taken from the drawing.

One can split the whole distance of the walls: So I get 38.56 m from A to C, and 48.27 m from B to C (total length 86.83 m). This can be laid, e.g., with two ropes of 50 m and 40 m length.

The walls do not overlap and are made from one line, differently to the 7 circuit classical labyrinth.

Here you may see, copy or print the design drawing as a PDF file.

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The whole is scaleable. That means that if you wish other widths or diameters, the radii, lengths (short all dimensions) will change accordingly. If, e.g., only a 4 m overall diameter is possible, the dimension between axes would become 40 cm and the internal radius 0.80 m (the center therefore 1.60 m). I must multiply all dimensions by the factor 0.4. The path length would be 26.54 m and the (splitted) walls 15.42 m and 19.31 m.

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Here the dimensions of the prototype are multiplied by the factor 0.5. Everything becomes half as big: The dimension between axes 50 cm, the center 2 m and the overall diameter 5 m. The path length decreases to 33.17 m and the /splitted) walls are 19.28 m and 24.13 m (43.42 m added together).

A 3 circuit Knidos labyrinth with a dimension between axes of 50 cm

Here too, you may see, copy or print the design drawing as a PDF file.

Related Post

• The Classical 3 Circuit Labyrinth Type Knossos

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The Candle Labyrinth in the Night of the Churches at Rödelsee (Germany) 2011

On Saturday 29th of October, 2011 the two parishes of Rödelsee celebrated the night of the churches under the motto “open doors, open hearts, open churches” as an ecumenical event.

One program point was the candle labyrinth on the place of Schloss Crailsheim. People were invited to walk the labyrinth from the beginning of the darkness at 18 o’clock until midnight.

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Picture 9

I contributed the layout and have chosen the type Baltic Wheel. Together with active and “old” boy scouts we have put up about 300 light bowls. A small coal fire was burning in the centre and each who liked to do, was invited to throw some grains of  incense into the glow.

The layout drawing

The labyrinth had 4 circuits with an additional short path, the path width was 1 m, the middle had 4 m of diameter, the whole diameter amounted to 12 m, the lines were 122 m long and the way to the middle had 100 m.

For those interested in the layout drawing: Here it is as a PDF file to look at, to copy or to print.

Related  Link

A photo gallery (71 photos) of the event in the newspaper Main-Post from October 29, 2011

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A 7-Circuit Centred Medieval Labyrinth

Someone wished a Chartres labyrinth and had less space, so I layout this design.

The original Chartres labyrinth has 11 circuits and still some other characteristics, such as the lunations and the six petals in the middle. But it  has also a specific alignment which one could call the dramaturgy of these lines.

Chartres Labyrinth with 11 circuits

This is the quick approach to the middle in a few steps with a detour to the left. And this is the quite suddenly and unexpected achievement of the goal after the almost endless bends in the labyrinth in the different sectors, sometimes closer, sometimes further to the middle, from completely outside in a few steps with a detour to the right.
I have seen different 7-circuit medieval types (one should not call them Chartres). But always the alignment was quite an other.
In my opinion the dramaturgy of the original has been preserved in the alignment I have chosen.

Centred medieval labyrinth with 7 circuits

Moreover, it is centred. The entrance path, the last path to the middle and the middle itself are situated on the same line. Thereby remains in the 4th circuit a small free space which reminds the fontanel in a classical labyrinth.
Lea Goode-Harris calls  in her Santa Rosa Labyrinth this free field the heart space. But, nevertheless, my design is not a Santa Rosa Labyrinth, because this has other lines.
Also it is no small Chartres labyrinth, because it lacks the remaining elements of the original. Robert Ferré has sketched a Petite Chartres. This also has an other alignment.

The true Santa Rosa Labyrinth © Lea Goode-Harris

My design is inspired by the Santa Rosa Labyrinth and the Chartres labyrinth, this is right. However, the alignment is not new, but has been already used in 1981 by Randoll Coate and Adrian Fisher for the Archbishop’s Maze at Greys Court in England. The quite correct name for it would be “topographically symmetrical 7-circuit medieval labyrinth”, as Jeff Saward informed me (in the next Caerdroia 40 he will write about this design).

with steady lines

with steady paths

The size of the middle corresponds to the 4-fold path width.
The labyrinth is scalable.
Here you can see, print or copy the design drawing with the essential measurements as a PDF file.

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The Native American Labyrinth (The man in the maze)

There is a classical labyrinth in a quite special form: The man in the maze. It is to find above all on the baskets of the Native Americans in the US which have presumably also developed this type.

The Native American labyrinth

It is round, but the goal is not in the middle. If one looks exactly, one recognises the four points of inflexion of the classical labyrinth. They also mark four corners of a square.

The subdivision in 8 segments is new, they also allow to think of the spokes of a wheel. Thus gets in addition a movement towards the centre and away from the centre. The order of paths is again 3-2-1-4-7-6-5-8; well-known from the classical type. The “path changes” always occur on the 9th and 10th ring. The 11th is as it were the stationary pole or the hub.

Painting

Sand picture

Silver jewellery

In artistic representations this type often appears, hardly as a walkable labyrinth. But it would absolutely be interesting to walk and to perceive such a labyrinth.

You can see a Flash animation on the website mymaze.

If you would like to build such a labyrinth: Please, here you may find the layout drawing as PDF file to look on, to print or to copy.

Postscript from March 2012:
Meanwhile I walked such a labyrinth in the Netherlands. You will find the post of this visit here:
Dolen in dit doolhof: The Willow Labyrinth at Ijsselstein(NL)

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