Scilly and the Archetypal Labyrinth Symbol…
“The labyrinth is an ancient symbol whose convoluted form, found naturally in seashells, animals' intestines, spider webs, the meandering body of the serpent, the eddying of water, the internal structure of underground caves and the whirling galaxies of space, has always been highly suggestive to the imagination. Spirals and meanders, precursors to the labyrinth, have been found among the cave paintings of prehistoric peoples, often incised on or near goddess figurines, carved animals, cave walls and thresholds. These labyrinthine spirals indicate the symbolic passageway from the visible realm of the human into the invisible dimension of the divine, retracing the journey souls of the dead would have taken to reenter the womb of the mother on their way to rebirth.”
- The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images, Tascen, 2022
Pebble spiral at Bar Point, St Mary’s, photographed by Lydia Bassett.
These images of a spiralling labyrinth pattern made of sea pebbles on Bar beach, St Mary’s, were sent my a friend who came across them on her dog walk. We have no idea who made this, but how poignant that it would appear at this time when we are delving into the history of Scilly’s labyrinth heritage. It made me think about the labyrinth as an archetypal symbol that holds meaning across widely different cultures and time periods, and what lesson this archetype - popping up amid Scilly’s pebbles - is offering us now.
According to the Wikipedia entry for Jungian archetypes: “Jungian archetypes are a concept from psychology that refers to a universal, inherited idea, pattern of thought, or image that is present in the collective unconscious of all human beings… archetypes are thought to be the basis of many of the common themes and symbols that appear in stories, myths, and dreams across different cultures and societies.”
In the manner of scholar Sophie Strand, I like to apply a fungal metaphor to the image of Jungian Archetypes: Any individual archetype exists like a mycelial fungus living under the ground - invisible and interconnected and ever present. Then - sometimes - they send up fruiting bodies - mushrooms - as above-ground manifestations of that archetype to fascinate, feed, or poison us for a while, before returning to the ground again.
The activity of maze and labyrinth building on Scilly has this same archetypal feeling to me. The “maze craze” of the 1990s when Troy Town Maze was restored and lots of the Scilly mazes were created - was this the archetype of the labyrinth having a mushrooming moment? And what about when Giant’s Castle Maze was built in the 1950s? Or even Amor Clark building or rebuilding Troy Town Maze in the 1700s? Or us, now, when we have been compelled to undertake this project?
Jung saw the labyrinth as an archetypal symbol and said that “the unconscious is often symbolised by corridors, labyrinths or mazes.” They have long been associated with thresholds, with entering another state or realm. Perhaps making a labyrinth is a way to make a “thin place” - an Irish term for a place where the veil between this world and the realm of the imaginative otherworld - the realm of myth - become permeable.
For such an imaginatively inspiring place, Scilly does not have much folklore. This is likely due to periods of depopulation when huge swathes of islanders were forced to leave the islands, most notably in the early 19th century with new rules enforced by “Lord Proprietor of the Islands” Augustus Smith. Depopulation meant that much of the oral tradition of local story telling that existed elsewhere in Cornwall and further afield was lost on Scilly. Our mythic landscape remains but the myths themselves have vanished.
Perhaps the labyrinth archetype is so persevering in Scilly because of this invitation into the imaginal that exists in the landscape. This is a magical place and we are being encouraged to let the mythic, magic, otherworldly in, to make up for the old stories which have been lost.
We are intending to take up this invitation by building on the myths and stories connected with labyrinth lore in an acutely Scillonian setting. Asking: what would this labyrinth folklore - the Minotaur myth, the Virgin Game, the Walls of Troy, the Serpent dance - look like if they were applied to the locality and ecology of Scilly? It feels like this is the next winding gyre that Scilly’s labyrinths are inviting us to wander down…
More to come.
Pebble spiral at Bar Point, St Mary’s, photographed by Lydia Bassett.
