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Have you ever walked a labyrinth, finding your way along its winding path to the center and back? Perhaps you’ve associated labyrinths with ancient tales and far-off lands (or Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy film starring David Bowie), or maybe you’ve encountered one at a place of worship or park near you. Some folks have even added them to their own residences, creating a private, appealing space for contemplation and reflection.
Lars Howlett, a master labyrinth builder and designer, said labyrinths resonate with people for many reasons. In addition to their geometric beauty, a labyrinth can be an excellent meditation practice, “especially for people who have a hard time sitting and quieting their mind,” he said. “You can use it as a way of setting an intention or solving a problem or simply connecting to the environment.”
Howlett, with his business Discover Labyrinths, has created more than 80 permanent labyrinths at all kinds of places, including hospitals, schools, parks (check out, for example, one of his public labyrinths at Rainbow Park in San Jose) and private residences.
Labyrinths vary in style, size and material. Though they may be historically and mythologically associated with tricky passageways, such as the one in the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur, a labyrinth, as defined by today’s labyrinth movement, has a single path to the center and a clear view of the overall design and destination.
Looking to add a labyrinth to your landscape? Visit these spaces for inspiration
You can find plenty of labryniths at Peninsula parks, places of worship, schools and more. We’ve listed just a few below, but you can also search for many more online using the world-wide labyrinth locator at labyrinthlocator.org.Â
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
725 Welch Road, Palo AltoÂ
Stanford University
Adjacent to the Windhover building at 370 Santa Teresa St., Stanford
(Stanford also sometimes has an indoor labyrinth available at Memorial Church)Â
Electronic Arts campus
205 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City
Eaton Park
3000 Eaton Ave., San Carlos
Mercy Center
2300 Adeline Drive, Burlingame
While a maze is a puzzle to be solved, involving choices and dead ends, a labyrinth is generally unicursal, with a continuous path leading in and out, making it ideal for walking meditation and contemplation.
As labyrinth aficionados put it, “In a maze you lose your way. In a labyrinth, you find your way,” Howlett said. He counts among his mentors Lauren Artress, the founder of the Bay Area-based labyrinth organization Veriditas, where Howlett is also now a faculty member.
Whether designing a labyrinth for a large public space or one to fit a small, private backyard, Howlett said the process is the same: You need to consider design, style, size and materials.
Consider materialsÂ
Howlett’s own background is in photography, and he approaches labyrinth design from an artist’s perspective. He’s worked with many materials, from the ephemeral to the longlasting, and said there are many different options depending on the environment, the intention behind the project, and the budget.
“A labyrinth can be as simple as being mown in the lawn, to using river rocks and placing them on the surface and using mulch, to inlaid brick in the grass or decomposed granite on the site,” he said.
He especially loves working with reclaimed brick, and brick made from recycled clay. Labyrinths made using concrete or pavers have a higher cost upfront but likely require less maintenance.
“Usually the more organic materials are less expensive in the beginning and (require) more upkeep and maintenance over time,” he said.
Some use labyrinths as a resourceful and eye-catching replacement for grass, using drought-tolerant plants and gravel instead.
“It’s a good way to get rid of your lawn and have something nice and attractive you can use in a different way,” Howlett said.
As when adding any landscape feature, it’s important to consider drainage, and what plants and other materials are best-suited to the particular site and ecosystem.
For the San Mateo County Phoenix Garden, a therapeutic and educational garden that’s part of the county health department, Howlett designed a thriving labyrinth of lavender. One of his private clients had mosaics created by an artist in Turkey, which were then shipped to California, where Howlett installed the pieces into a labyrinth over concrete. He’s also on occasion painted labyrinths over unused tennis courts.
“Every project is different and that’s why I see it as art. Each one is unique,” he said.
Determine your spaceÂ
While labyrinths can be large and elaborate, some as long as 15 circuits (rings) or more, Howlett said a labyrinth needn’t require a lot of space. “People often think they don’t have room,” he said in regards to adding a labyrinth to a home or garden, but in its simplest form, a walkable labyrinth could have just three turns as it winds its way inward.
“It could be as small as 10 feet in diameter,” he said, with a three-foot center and a one-foot path. Having a narrow path isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially where mindful meditation is concerned. “That slows you down and that focuses your experience,” he said.
Choose a style and design
When it comes to selecting a labyrinth’s specific design, there are many to choose from, and no matter which you pick, Howlett recommended giving the matter deep consideration and checking out a variety of patterns for inspiration. He also offers guidance via his steps for labyrinth building page on his website.
Before you get started
Seven questions to consider while planning your labyrinth
Intention: Why create the labyrinth, who will experience it and how will it be used?
Site: Where will the labyrinth be located, and how will it relate to the environment?
Resources: What people, tools, materials, funds, etc. are available to support the project?
Design: Which pattern, how many circuits and what variation might be most appropriate?
Materials: What will form the lines, the paths, the perimeter and the foundation of the labyrinth?
Building: Who will create the labyrinth, and what is the optimal strategy and timeline for completion?
Sustaining: What is the expected lifespan of the labyrinth, and who will tend to its health and vitality?
Information from Lars Howlett, Discover Labyrinths.com
“There are archetypal designs – some designs have more energy or history than others and so even though the labyrinth design can be very simple, it’s good to look at historic designs, at classical or medieval labyrinths that have been passed down generations,” he said. “The classical labyrinth goes back 4,000 years.”
There are contemporary patterns out there as well, but in that case, “I think it’s good to work with a designer who understands how different patterns have different energy,” he said.
Becoming a ‘master builder’Â
Howlett previously worked as a photojournalist in Half Moon Bay and is also a former photography teacher at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton. It was there, as far as he can recall, that he walked his first labyrinth, in 2004. A candlelight labyrinth walk at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco inspired him further, eventually leading him to undergo labyrinth facilitator training and explore labyrinths in Europe, including Sweden, which he said has more ancient and historic walks than anywhere else in the world.
“I came back from that experience and decided I also wanted to design and build them,” he said of taking his next labyrinthine step. He studied under the tutelage of master labyrinth builder Robert Ferre, who took him on as an apprentice for several years, and eventually he inherited Ferre’s tools and curriculum. He started Discover Labyrinths in 2015 and was named a master builder by his peers in 2017, according to his website.
Though he relocated to Maryland in 2023, Howlett still returns to the West Coast regularly, to visit family as well as to work and remain part of the local labyrinth community. Recently, for example, he led workshops for the Veriditas Labyrinth Summer School in Burlingame. The Bay Area, he said, is “kind of like the epicenter of the modern labyrinth movement.”
More information is available at discoverlabyrinths.com.
