Trinkets packed into a faded wicker basket on the edge of a spiritual walking path in Elgin hint at the countless visitors seeking solace or inspiration in the past year.
Some bring silver rings or religious medallions. Some leave Native American dream catchers or feathers or wildflowers. There are slips of pastel paper penned with angst-ridden poetry. And then there are remnants of addictions: cigarettes, salt packets, beer bottles.
Ron Williams, who oversees the grounds of the Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth at the Unitarian Universalist Church, said that several times the repository has overflowed with visitors’ gifts. He buries the mementos on the fringe of the walking path and then waits for the basket to fill again.
It is one measure of gauging the continued popularity of the labyrinth, which was moved to the Elgin site last year, after neighbors of the labyrinth’s creators, Neal and Mary Harris of Barrington, complained about the steady stream of traffic in their residential area.
The Harrises volunteered to move the labyrinth and its 25 tons of rock to the Unitarian Universalist Church, 39 W 830 W. Highland Ave., Elgin. Since its dedication there in June 1997, the meditative tool has drawn visitors from throughout the northwest suburbs and neighboring states. Williams estimates that more than two dozen people seek out the path each week.
“You can go to the labyrinth in the evening or on different days and there will often be someone there,” said Diana March, an Elgin resident who helped lay the labyrinth last year. “For some people it is a place that they not only travel to once, but return again and again.”
Looking at the labyrinth from afar, one sees only a field of rocks, some black, some gray, some a soft speckled pink. Upon closer inspection, the stones reveal a circular pattern spanning 92 feet in diameter.
An opening on the north side allows walkers to enter the labyrinth and follow a 3-foot-wide path that snakes back and forth through the circle until it reaches a six-petal rosette design in the center. There is only one way to the center and one way out, March said. But the maze has no dead-ends.
This is a place for quiet introspection, self-exploration or celebration. Some visitors said they come here to mourn the death of a loved one or to grieve a failed relationship. Some said they come to give thanks for the day’s blessings or to seek advice from their God. Others simply come to listen to the birds chirping in nearby trees and to study the patches of thistle and daisies that ring the path.
“It’s a way to calm yourself down and focus on the present,” said Joe Masonick, 48, an Elgin teacher who recently rode his bicycle to the labyrinth. “I don’t have to worry about where I’m going because I’m following the path. I truly am free to let my mind go.”
The Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth is modeled after one laid in the 13th Century at the Chartres Cathedral in France. Over the years, the circular symbol has reappeared in religious paintings or Native American basket weaving.
The 1995 release of Rev. Lauren Artress’ book “Walking the Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool” brought new awareness to the structures, March said.
New labyrinths are being built across the country, including two in the Chicago area. The St. Charles Episcopal Church recently laid the Jubilee Labyrinth on church grounds, and the Theosophical Society in America in Wheaton will unveil its labyrinth later this month, March said.
“There is most certainly a resurgence of interest in the design,” March said. “I don’t think this is a fad. The design itself is so powerful and so sacred, and the labyrinths are being laid with such seriousness for the common good.”
Williams, who visits the path weekly to realign the rocks or to bury trinkets left behind, likens the allure of the labyrinth to readers’ attraction to a good book.
“When you’re into a story and it’s an intense story and you come to the last page, boom, it’s done. You’re almost sad because you’re saying goodbye to good friends,” Williams said. “When I know I’m about out of the labyrinth, I slow down because I don’t want to leave.”
