Walking the Labyrinth

Sally Welch is a Canon at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. She is the author of several books on pilgrimage and the labyrinth, a conference speaker and leader of workshops on spiritual mapping, pilgrimage and other practices from the Christian spiritual tradition.

A labyrinth is a pattern consisting of a single circuitous path that winds into the centre, with no possibility of getting lost, as in a maze, and no dead ends. It is one of the most ancient tools for spiritual growth and development, dating back to medieval Christianity, and is currently enjoying a popular revival, especially in contemporary 'Fresh Expressions' of church.As an effective focus for prayer and worship, labyrinths - temporary and permanent - are increasingly found in traditional and alternative church communities and at festivals like Greenbelt. This book provides a complete guide for beginner and seasoned labyrinth explorer alike.An accessible and inviting illustrated guide, it: traces the history of labyrinths in the Christian spiritual tradition, explores the different ways groups and individuals can use a labyrinth for prayer and reflection, gives instructions for creating small and large, simple and complex, temporary and permanent, indoor and outdoor labyrinths based on the most well known designs - e.g Chartres, Rouen and Amien cathedrals, and it provides outlines for spiritual exercises using the labyrinth.