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Labyrinths--(Cont'd)
In many of these cultures, the purpose and usage of the labyrinth symbol is relatively clear. It has been used as a ceremonial pathway and as a dancing ground.
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The labyrinth symbol and the mythology that surrounds it, have surfaced in many cultures in many ways. These symbols have been found carved in rock or wood, woven into the design of blankets, baskets and jewelry, laid out on the ground with water-worn stones in deserts or on shorelines, displayed in colored tiles on the floors of churches, cathedrals and villas, or cut right into living turf. 
The twisting, winding paths are often seen as guarding the central goal from direct penetration. Here the souls of the dead ancestors were often thought to reside, barred from escaping and causing harm to the outside world, but contactable by traversing the coils of the labyrinth. Elaborate rituals such as choosing mates were performed in the paths of the labyrinths. The expanding and contracting circuits mimicking the path of the sun as it travels across the sky, a recognition of the perpetual rebirth of the sun each morning and each year. 
Legends hint the labyrinth seems to symbolize the paths to be followed, in daily and seasonal cycles, in life, in death and in rebirth. Beyond these may exist an ancient understanding of the cycles of time, all safely concealed within the labyrinth, locked up in numbers and movements. 
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