In the middle of the lawn on the lower terrace of the Priory’s private walled garden, a large labyrinth has been created where the grass has been cut at different heights. You can go into this garden each day between Terce and the Eucharist.
A labyrinth is not like a maze, designed to confuse. It has a single path with numerous twists and turns that lead eventually to the centre. A note in the guest house explains that in the Middle Ages it was customary for the faithful to vow to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but such a journey could be dangerous. Seven cathedrals in Europe were designated as alternative sites where pilgrims could fulfil their vows. The labyrinth in the Priory garden is a copy of the one at Chartres.
The labyrinth represents a spiritual journey. You enter the labyrinth and at first you hurry, feeling that you are getting close to the centre. Then the path takes you away from the centre and still you walk quickly, but you begin to be aware of the space you are in and you slow down. And maybe you stop. You become aware of the peace and silence in the walled garden, even if you are sharing the space with someone else. They are on their own journey. You become aware of the sounds of the different birds, the blue sky and the movement of the clouds. While you may quicken your pace, you have now settled into your journey and look forward to reaching the centre, but there is no rush. On the way you are teased by views of the centre as you walk towards it and then away from it. Sometimes you stop and think and look around you. And then you reach the centre. You become even more aware of the wonderful peace and the sounds. You are aware of being enclosed, perhaps in the heart of God. You look one way and see the path up to a sheltered seating area. Your eyes turn right and you see a stone altar, and further round the door out of the enclosed garden to the outside world. But there is no rush to go through it.
And then it is time to leave. You may be tempted to avoid the path back and just walk out of the labyrinth. But instead you stick to the path. You recognise certain parts of the path on the way out. As you walk away you feel you are leaving a precious space, taking something precious with you.
You leave the enclosed garden. Through the woods, on the top path, you find a smaller, secret labyrinth. This one is made of short posts cut from trees felled in the wood. The path through the labyrinth is shorter. Like the labyrinth in the enclosed garden you feel as if you are reaching the centre quite quickly and then the path takes you away. You reach the centre, but this is a different feeling. The path leads you to turn around and go back? And then you realise the wooden posts forming the paths meet in the centre to form a cross. It is the cross in the centre that is important.
You walk out of the labyrinth, through the banks of snowdrops overlooking the water meadows, realising again this is a very special place.
The Labyrinths at Burford Priory
Sheena Ginnings