Drawing an Eleven-Circuit Medieval Labyrinth

Posted On April 1, 2020

“What is a labyrinth and why would I want to draw it?”

A labyrinth is a path contained within a constrained boundary, generally filling the whole space and winding back and forth without crossing itself. It can be as simple as an inward spiral or as complex as the designs embedded in the floors of medieval cathedrals. A labyrinth is not a maze because there are no dead ends; you may not know where you are, but you are always on the right path.

There is a deep history of walking or tracing a labyrinth as a spiritual practice. A labyrinth walk has been used as a symbol of pilgrimage, an examination of the spiritual journey to our inward centre and a return to the external world.

Labyrinths are found throughout the world. Chances are, there is one near you. If it is not possible to find one nearby or you are not able to get to one, you can still take the labyrinth journey at home. You can draw a labyrinth and use it to trace the journey with your finger, a pen, or a stylus. (Finger labyrinths are a real thing!)

Downloadable PDF Labyrinth

If you would like to just download a PDF copy of a labyrinth, here it is:

If you would like to draw your own, follow the instructions below. I have found that drawing the labyrinth has been as much a part of the journey as “walking” it. I invite you to give it a try.

Labyrinth Designs

There are numerous styles of labyrinth, including classical, Roman, medieval, and contemporary. These styles are also classified by the number of concentric paths, or circuits, in the design. The labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral is a medieval design, consisting of eleven concentric paths that wind toward a central interior circle.

The Chartres labyrinth has many decorative elements that add to its beauty and symbolic nature. It is also possible (and easier) to draw a simplified version that maintains the same pathways, but leaves out the decorative elements.

Proportions and Drawing Methods

The central circle in the Chartres labyrinth is one-quarter of the total diameter of the outer circle. In the simplified version, we will make the inner circle diameter the equivalent of four path widths.

The major components of the labyrinth are twelve concentric circles that form the eleven paths of the labyrinths and some lines that determine the entry path, the turning points, and the path to the central circle.

Pencil and Paper

If you plan to draw the labyrinth on paper, you will need a ruler, a compass (or a string with a loop at each end), a pencil, an eraser, and a fine-point marker pen. If you make each path 1/4-inch (~5/8-cm) wide, you can calculate the total diameter of the labyrinth drawing as (11 paths + 4 path widths + 11 paths) × 0.25 inches/path = 6.5 inches (~16.25 cm). This fits nicely on a letter-size or A4 sheet of paper. An underlying grid of 1/4-inch squares is also helpful.

Draw the guidelines, circles, and lines of the labyrinth lightly in pencil, as described later on. After these are drawn, you will selectively erase parts of the lines and circles to form the labyrinth pattern. Once the pencil drawing is complete, trace over the unerased lines with a fine-tip marker to make the finished drawing.

Drawing Program/App

You can draw the labyrinth with a drawing application such as Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, or Microsoft Visio. I used Procreate on an Apple iPad and have also tried Illustrator and Visio.

If your app permits the use of separate drawing layers (i.e., not Visio), the task becomes much easier. If you have separate layers for paths (circles) and lines, you can erase parts of circles without erasing lines and vice-versa. (Select the layer that contains a circle or line you want to partially erase. The other layers remain untouched.) The utility of this will become apparent as we progress through the drawing process.

Add a layer for construction guidelines that you can turn on and off as needed. A layer for tracing a path through the labyrinth to check for dead ends is also useful.

Basic Structure

For simplicity, I will use inches to refer to the labyrinth dimensions. You can scale this to any size by multiplying the given dimensions by a constant scale factor.

Draw twelve concentric circles. The innermost circle has a diameter of 1 inch or a radius of 0.5 inches. Each successive circle has a diameter 0.5 inches larger than the previous one. So, the diameters, going from the centre outward, are 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and so on, finishing with a circle of 6.5-inch diameter.

Draw two perpendicular guidelines through the centre. These will help with placement of the lines that divide the paths.

Draw three parallel lines, one path width (0.25 in.) apart. The two lines on the right form the entry to the centre. Notice that they form a path that is centred on the vertical guideline and both lines touch the innermost circle. The rightmost line touches the outer circle. The second line extends outside the circles.

The line on the far left aligns with the second line at the bottom end and touches the second-innermost circle at its top end. The two leftmost lines form the entry to the labyrinth.

Draw ten short lines that mark the turning points of the labyrinth. These lines lie on top of the guidelines, so you may want to look at the next drawing to see where they are placed.

Placement is critical to ensuring that the labyrinth has no dead ends. On the left, leave the outermost path open, then draw a line across the next two paths. Leave one open, draw across two, and so on.

On the top, the pattern begins with a line across the two outermost paths, then one left open, a line across two, one open, etc.

On the right, begin at the outside with two open paths, a line across two, one open, a line across two, etc.

When the dividing lines are drawn, remove the cross-hair guidelines.

Central Path

The central path connects directly to the inner circle, but also swings over to the right-hand side of the circle, as highlighted. (Don’t draw the highlight unless you can place it on a separate layer of your drawing that can be turned on and off at will.)

The highlight shows a section that includes the six outermost paths and another section with the five innermost paths. Placement is crucial in order to avoid dead ends.

Erase three portions of the vertical line and the portions of the circle that cross the central path. Leave one circle intact where it separates the two paths that branch to the right.

Entry Path

The entry path is parallel to the central path, as shown by the highlight. The fifth and sixth paths from the outermost circle branch off to the left.

Erase two portions of the left-hand line and the portions of the circles that cross the entry path. Leave one circle intact between the fifth and sixth paths to separate the left-hand branches of the path.

Turning points

The short lines you drew earlier mark the turning points of the labyrinth paths.

Erase a small part of each circle that crosses the centre of a short line. These form the turning points in the path. Make the erased portion about one path width on either side of the line.

Dead Ends into the Central and Entry Paths

Finally, you need to open up the paths that dead-end into the central and entry paths. The highlights show where these are.

Erase portions of the circles so that the highlighted dead ends are opened up.

That’s it! Check for dead ends by tracing all the way through the labyrinth.

The following video shows the sequence of construction steps outlined above.