Into the Labyrinth: Journeys of Transformation

An Initiation I Didn’t Expect

On a cool spring day in the Smoky Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, I had a break in the healing workshop schedule I was speaking at and decided to walk the labyrinth on the retreat property. As the morning fog started to lift, I entered the labyrinth with the intention to unplug for a quiet moment of centering before diving into facilitation work for the rest of the day. 

Within a few footfalls, I found myself overtaken by crashing waves of inner conversations warring with each other. The waves had nothing to do with the workshop and everything to do with an invitation I had clearly heard from Spirit a few days prior, which I was internally arguing with. As I made switch after switch, it became all too clear to me that Spirit was right; I had a very destructive inner stance with my past that was taking me out of alignment. There were a handful of wounded parts within me that were refusing to open to the forgiveness I could feel flowing from my heart toward certain aspects and events that I had experienced growing up. With every mindful step I took, my nervous system seemed to fray even more, showing me that this struggle was very real and deeply embedded in my body, mind, and heart. 

By the time I reached the center of the labyrinth, I was anything but calm and centered! I was completely saturated by formerly suppressed anger; if those events in my life had not happened to me, I would be…happier, freer, healthier, more open…the list went on and on. 

Even though I consciously knew that my past no longer had any hold on the present or what I could create in the future, these hurt parts of me were obviously still very stuck, mistrusting of the changes I was making, and did not know how to forgive or let go. The message was loud and clear; if I wanted to continue my awakening journey with myself and my life, I was going to need to find a way to allow the medicine of forgiveness to help me free myself from dragging the weight of the past pains with me.

I would love to say that this awareness that I gleaned sitting in the middle of the labyrinth allowed me to finish walking the labyrinth while resetting my nervous system with a newfound balance. Instead, as I sat there, I continued to connect more parts of me that had been shunned over the years. Yet, despite this unsettling and unwelcomed experience, the walk in the labyrinth that day was a huge gift! It was the cracking open of the protective armor that I needed. As I walked out of the labyrinth and sat down under a beautiful grandmother Oak tree, I had an opportunity to deeply witness parts of me that had been lost for years. 

Walking With Support

Over the eras, Spiritual Seekers have sought the support of labyrinths in every wisdom tradition throughout the world. They were drawn to build or travel to labyrinths as sacred sites so that they could intentionally partner with these mystical tools, asking them to serve as sacred containers for deep reflection, contemplation, awakening, and integration of the True-Self. 

Today, as we walk or trace the well-worn path of the fellow Seekers, we too have an opportunity to be initiated into the circle of awakening that thousands of others have walked before us. This allows us the ability to call on their collective wisdom and support to be with us as we go inward to hold us in the waves that we might find ourselves in as we gain understanding and transformational change. 

However, many of us today, as modern Seekers, are having to find our way through how to partner with ancient spiritual tools, like labyrinths, without the support of a Spiritual Guide or Wisdom Keeper to help direct us. Luckily, that day in the labyrinth didn’t overwhelm me to the point of harm because I had been taught how to hold the awareness that would come forward and work with it. 

If the image or the idea of a labyrinth has been calling to you, your Soul is asking you to open beyond an experience; it is calling you to continue:

• Diving into a deeper understanding that exposes any hidden attachments to different thoughts, wants, and drivers;
• Witnessing areas of you that are wanting support to unwind and release their allegiances to old protective or conditioned ways of being;
• Engaging with Spirit’s guidance to help inspire you with new ways to meet the inner and outer world that will challenge the status quo of your ego, yet ultimately bring you into more alignment and balance with the topics that you entered the labyrinth with. 

Call Forward a Guide

I was taught that as we walk, we are asked to reflect on four core themes or Soul-Led questions: 

• What are the main ways that “ego” or our protective programs will try to sabotage our growth and transformation?
• What beliefs, ideas, and past pains need to be released to embody our true selves?
• What hidden expectations do we have from our journey that are actually blocking us from full transformation?
• What inspired actions and new thoughts or ways of being will align us with our true selves? 

Since many of us do not have the benefit of a Spiritual Guide or Companion to help us while we walk our spiritual path, many of us do have access to other spiritual tools like Oracle and Shadow-work card decks. 

I have found for myself and clients that working with a trusted oracle deck in tandem with the four questions above helps us feel deeply held and guided as we engage with deep transformational change. 

All you need is to pick one of your favorite shadow-inclusive oracle decks. 

This practice works whether you’re walking a physical labyrinth, tracing a finger labyrinth, or simply sitting quietly with your cards and journaling. 

Oracle Card Spread and Practice

One – Before drawing a card for each position in the spread, pause and write down the question or core theme that you are seeking to transform. For example: I’m on a journey to transform my relationship with anger…fear…past pain…an illness…a conflict.

Two – Bless and thank the deck for its support and ask for the cards to help show you the different insights for the theme of each card. 

Three – It is helpful to write down the cards that come forward, along with the placement/question that they correspond with, so that you can reference back to them as you work with the spread over the next few weeks or even months. 

Four – Work with the cards, their meanings, and invitations to help guide and hold you as you walk or reflect with each “trip” through the labyrinth, until you feel that you have completed that card’s guidance with that question, at which time you can recast the spread with a new, refined question and the next step on your journey of awakening!

TAKE ACTION: Bring this spread into your own practice with Sacred Witness Oracle: Awakening Your Inner Healer. Download the free PDF guide and card reading, and watch the complimentary teaching to explore the labyrinth practice and deepen your experience with the deck.