circle is a spiral is a path: a walk with the ancestors

paths of our backyard labyrinth

“The labyrinth is an ancient pattern, awakened and warmed with the footprints of those who came before you…Your story braids with theirs, your breath mingles with the breath of the ancestors.  The path curves like river and root, holding silence, song and sorrow in equal measure. You realize your journey is not yours alone, it is part of a living lineage."

Lauren Artress

"The Wisdom of the Labyrinth"

I was swimming in synchronicity when I chose the card with these words on it, from Lauren Artress' new card deck “The Wisdom of the Labyrinth”.

It was October 2^nd, Yom Kippur, and I was in Chartres, France.  I spent the day fasting, meditating and journaling along the river Eure at the base of the hill upon which the massive Pilgrimage Cathedral sits.  The sign reads Rue Aux Juifs/Quartier Juif de Chartres/Au Moyen-Age.  Translated: Jewish Street/Jewish Quarter of Chartres/ In the Middle Ages.  This is one of the 2 quiet reminders of the Jewish ancestors who once lived here.  The other being a Holocaust Memorial along the WWII Memorial walkway. 

It was a day of stillness & movement, reflection & introspection.  That evening, I broke my fast with some baguette and brie and a candle lit labyrinth walk in the Chartres Cathedral. While I couldn’t find a synagogue or other sign of Jewish life in this town, I know that I walked the iconic 11 circuit medieval labyrinth with the ancestors near and far that night.

The walk was masterfully facilitated by Lauren Artress, inspirational leader of the modern-day labyrinth movement.  Ritual opening of energetic space, candle lit pathways, cello serenades, and more than 35 silent pilgrims from 9 different countries on the path together; the entire experience from beginning to end was magical.  It reinforced my own grounding in the transformative power of this ancient and mysterious symbol and my resolve to use it in my life, my work, my community and those who join me on my Leader Quest: Finding the Hidden Artist to Live a Consciously Created Life.

What better gift is there to give to your ancestors than the path of your own consciously created life for them to follow on?  And what better time to start living it than now?!

Lauren is a living role model for “it’s never too late”:  to embrace your calling, follow your urge, push forth with your huge and new (or maybe old) idea, to create something for others to follow and weave into their own lives. She was 50 when, in the early 1990’s, Lauren, became a woman on her own Leader Quest to spread the beauty and power of the labyrinth experience across the world.  She leaned into her allurement with this 4,000+ year-old mysterious symbol that rose through the collective unconscious, appearing in the ancient world across cultures and wisdom traditions long before technology of any form enabled the viral spread of literally everything everywhere all the time.  She put one foot in front of the other and brought the labyrinth as spiritual practice to the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, started a non-profit for the spread of labyrinths and labyrinth education around the globe, and eventually got Chartres to unveil, literally take the chairs off their iconic medieval 11 circuit labyrinth, after over 200 years of disuse.  With extreme gratitude, I am the fortunate recipient of her inspiration, leadership, and dedication; an ancestor on the path she forged!

That week in Chartres I became a trained labyrinth facilitator and in the coming weeks I will begin working on my certification by leading workshops with labyrinth walking right here in the space we created at our home, with my own Leader Quest in mind.

So, here’s the question: what are you wanting to create from the path of your ancestors and for the ancestors of tomorrow to follow? 

Lean into your allurement, the call, the voice that won’t quit, the urge, the idea that’s pulling your spirit and imagination forth like a super magnet.  And then get to work in whatever big or small way, it's never too late to start!  If you can’t find it or are having trouble holding onto it, or just don't want to go it alone, call me! We’ll get on the labyrinth, get into conversation and get into community and walk the path together.

You can check out my offerings here:  www.visionaire.biz/workshops-events.

If what you need or want isn't here yet, let's design it!

I'm looking forward to weaving the path of conscious creative living together with you.

photos

© 2025

by Lynne Harris Bernstein