The begonia'S Labyrinth

The Begonia'S labyrinth

Begonia grandis Dryand. is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Begoniaceae family.The rhizome is nearly spherical, the stem is erect, up to 60 cm high, with longitudinal ridges and no hair.
The stem leaves are alternate, the leaf outline is broadly ovate or ovate with unequal sides, the upper surface is brown-green, often with a red halo, the lower surface is light, with purple-red, the stipules are oblong to lanceolate and membranous, the scape has longitudinal ridges and is glabrous; the flowers are mostly pink, the bracts are oblong, the tip is obtuse, and they fall off early; the anthers are obovoid, the ovary is oblong, the capsule is drooping, the outline is oblong, the seeds are oblong and small, and the number of light brown is extremely large.

It blooms in July and begins to bear fruit in August. It is distributed in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Fujian and other places in China.It grows on the moist stone walls of valleys, dense forests, and shrubs.
The flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of this species can all be used as medicine.The flowers are varied and the leaves are soft and charming.Potted begonias are often used to embellish living rooms, display windows, or decorate home windowsills, balconies, coffee tables and other places.

Design of the begonia Labyrinth

Inspired by Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth, The labyrinth of Chartres evokes Greek mythology. The architect Daedalus constructed it for the destruction of a monster – the Minotaur – who ate the children of Athens. Theseus vanquished the monster, and he was successful due to the thread spun by Ariadne.

In the Middle Ages, several labyrinths were created on the pavement of religious buildings: Reims, Amiens, Saint-Quentin. They also appeared as a signature of their sponsors and project managers (indicated by their names on a central plaque) .
Appreciate the complexity and elegance of the patterns, the main director that represents the execution of pattern in stone.

The labyrinth at Chartres has important geometric points :
– If you 'project' the facade onto the pavement, the center of the rose window – where Christ appears majestically – corresponds to the center of the labyrinth.
– If you compare the labyrinth with the central portal statues and the placement of the old altar, draw a square, and there will be a pattern in the plan of the Cathedral.

THE LABYRINTH IS A PATH :

it invites you to take a “pilgrimage.”

The energy that can be found here is within the people who walk it – praying and being touched by the grace of the moment.

The outcome? Walk mindfully with authentic meditation – having your body and soul become one.

It is found while walking this path step after step, not afterward, not walking around it that this revelation can be found. The pathway evokes meditation on the human existence – long, fluctuating, challenging – people can advance with confidence regarding their reconciliation. A sense of existence can also be found: it is different for everyone – for sure.

hISTORY OF cHARTRES cATHEDRAL lABYRINTH.

The labyrinth was desired by the chapter of Our Lady of Chartres. The college of priests began the construction of the cathedral – around 1200 . The labyrinth expresses visually the essential symbolism that we wish to respect today :
For this that guides the faith, the challenge of the labyrinth is to open oneself progressively to Christ before advancing towards the altar, the love that Christ gave and a desire to surpass all personal difficulties. The opportunity is given to re-evaluate your sins – abandon them and seek forgiveness in order to advance.
The purpose is to meditate with Christ on death and eternal life .

The latest discoveries show that the labyrinth was initially created for the liturgy of Easter Vespers – a celebration of the Church remembering the victory of Christ over death.

Each person is welcome to seek silence and peace through meditation on the labyrinth. We invite visitors willing to think about their life as a whole – to live by this journey throughout their lives.

We ask that you never do the following things :
– It is not an object for amusement,
– Nor is it an object of appropriation: advance at a regular rhythm, without stopping, please be attentive to others walking.

The labyrinth walk must be done with shoes and not barefoot.

wALKING cHARTRES cATHEDRAL lABYRINTH.

Many visitors come here with the purpose to walk the labyrinth. They believe that the labyrinth could be useful for healing and meditation. Some group of tours even especially arrange for these activities.

The labyrinth is not available for walking all the time. The ranks of chairs which cover the most part of the labyrinth will give you the difficulty to trace the pathway.

There are the moments when the labyrinth is free from the chairs so visitors could walk the labyrinth. However these schedule are subject to change.

If certain cathedral services like pilgrimage, weddings and funerals take place, they will interrupt the schedule during one or two hours.

sTORIES OF THE LABYRINTH

Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth
The largest ever built in France

I must admit that I couldn't find Chartres labyrinth in my earlier visits to Chartres Cathedral! And this was really made me so upset! So I went to Chartres Media library and borrowed some books about the cathedral. Finally, I discovered that the labyrinth is situated on the central nave. But how could I didn't see it?

I went back to the cathedral and this time I checked very well and make sure that I would not miss something. And yes...I found the labyrinth! It is hidden under the cathedral chairs.

Actually I found it by accident... I saw two visitors who was walking among the chairs and bowing their head just like searching for something.

I looked at them quite a moment about what they were doing until I understand that they were trying to walk the labyrinth which covered by cathedral chairs at that time.

Now I can say to you that if you enter Chartres cathedral from the Royal portal, you will be able to see the labyrinth on floor in the center of the nave.

Chartres labyrinth was built from limestone in early 13th century. It is no doubt one of the ancient part of the cathedral.

With approximately 13 meters diameter, the labyrinth takes place the entire width of the central nave. It forms more than 261 meters pathway.

Different sources mention different number of measures related to this labyrinth. And personally I never had my self doing the measure of it. If you wish to know further, Jeff Saward explain more details about the size and shape of Chartres cathedral on Layrinthos website.

From the labyrinth, you could see the other side of the rose window and three other windows below it. If you notice really well, you will find out that the roses window has almost the same size as the labyrinth.

If you ever wonder why there is a kind of metal filter that covers the windows as seen on my picture above... It is because Chartres cathedral is under restoration by the time I took this picture. I think the windows should be uncovered soon after finishing the works.