These symbols appear in the four corners of the Pathways Institute Labyrinth. These are ancient Germanic symbols for the seasons. These symbols ended up in the corners of the labyrinth because Patricia Karnowski (who had the original idea for the PAC labyrinth) was looking for something to put in the corners. She was thinking about putting a yin/yang symbol in one corner, and asked those of us painting the labyrinth for ideas for the other three corners. I had done a study group with her and put together a presentation on the historic use of different symbols, so I suggested she pull out the presentation to see if there was anything we could use. When we saw the seasons were a series of four symbols, we used them. No deeper meaning it was, "oh look, there are four of these - they'll work for the four corners, and they are easy to draw too."

Now, whenever I walk the Labyrinth, I notice the symbols and can't help but reflect on the stages and cycles in my life. The year I got married, I felt like I was in spring, and identified with the new shoots. One year I was depressed, and I felt heartened looking at the winter sign and seeing that, even though the ground may be frozen at the moment, the seeds underneathwill sprout when the time is right.

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Spring