As women we live and heal in the power of circles, and have done since ancient times. You will find labyrinths in various parts of the world. The original ones believed to be traced in sand but no record of them remain. Midwives have used Labyrinths as a tool for healing or reflection.

I have been drawn to labyrinths for many years. They have fascinated me. Sometime into my life as a midwife many years ago I came across Pam England’s use of the Labyrinth in birthing and postpartum. Her writing allowed me to revisit this ancient wisdom and my draw to this ancient symbol.  Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left-brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. A maze can raise fear, stress of a situation of being lost and need to be solved logically a way out but not the labyrinth.

A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again.  This way in and out allows us to journey to and from, in and out. No walls, no judgment, no have to. A tool linked to wisdom and direction.

I have felt that for too long women lose their journey and power in many aspects of life through the medicalisation of many parts of our women’s world, and example is birthing but also motherhood and womanhood. Society poses what we should do, how we should behave, follow the most popular but not giving space to trust ourselves.