Books by Lauren Artress

book cover The Path of the Holy Fool

The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers

In The Path of the Holy Fool, Lauren Artress reveals how the ancient archetype of the labyrinth can provide a divine spark for the imagination and ignite our visionary powers for personal and global transformation.

Now available in paperback, eBook and audiobook!

Amazon’s #1 New Release in the Psychology of Creativity & Genius! (as of Nov. 2020)

What people are saying about The Path of the Holy Fool:

“Lauren Artress has long been a pioneer of a sane and compassionate spirituality which is at once both inclusive and deep. In her new book, The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers she brings together a strong spirituality — informed by the classical tradition — with a sound grasp of the strengths and challenges of depth psychology. Her vision of the Labyrinth as a doorway to the divine imagination is exactly right for these challenging times and her focus on the Holy Fool tradition enables her readers to embrace hope as well as the awesome mystery at the heart of things.”

~The Reverend Dr. Alan Jones Dean Emeritus of Grace Cathedral

The Path of the Holy Fool is a timely reminder that we can co-create the world we live in by learning to use our imagination for good. In this book Lauren Artress uses a mythic story to show us how imaginative processes can open us up to seeing the world in a new way while encouraging us to share our gifts with the world. Dr Artress offers many practical ways for us to become brave citizens of this beautiful planet. She reminds us that if we don’t know where to start, all we need do is step onto a labyrinth and be open to the mythic journey that begins with that first step on the path. We need reliable guides during these times, and this book provides just that.”

~ Catherine Anderson, Author of Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth 

Publisher’s Summary

The Path of the Holy Fool summons each of us to become a Holy Fool: one who is accountable, stands for equality and social justice, embraces an ecological vision, and encourages community spirit. Lauren Artress, who established the two permanent labyrinths at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, is a leading force in the Labyrinth Movement. Her new book The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers expands upon her earlier work in Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice.

Through the Parsifal story Artress suggests the labyrinth serves as a Grail that is discovered in the invisible, imaginative, in-between world symbolized by the Grail Castle. Most importantly this book invites readers to explore and reflect upon their own uniquely configured imaginations. It is through the imagination that self-reflection and raw experiences of the Holy occur.

Once we navigate our imaginative processes without fear, the labyrinth experience ignites our creativity, heals our wounds and opens our big picture vision that nurtures empathy and gives us eyes to see and ears to hear—even through the sorrows of the pandemic—the call for a life-enhancing future. The labyrinth offers the Holy Fool an unwavering path as we learn to takes risks, create new modalities and find a way to contribute to our evolving world.

“The Labyrinth inspires in the people who have come to walk along its sinuous, painted path a palpable mix of solemnity and joy.”

The New York Times

Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice

Lauren Artress reintroduces the ancient labyrinth, a walking meditation that trancends the limits of still meditation, and shows us the possibilities it brings for renewal and change.

‘Walking the Labyrinth’ has reemerged today as a metaphor for the spiritual journey and a powerful tool for transformation. This walking meditation is an archetype, a mystical ritual found in all religious traditions. It quiets the mind and opens the soul. Walking a Sacred Path explores the historical origins of this divine imprint and shares the discoveries of modern day seekers. It shows us the potential of the Labyrinth to inspire change and renewal, and serves as a guide to help us develop the higher level of human awareness we need to survive in the twenty-first century.

The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform

Full of exercises, suggestions, questionnaires, assignments, and meditations for getting the most out of the Labyrinth experience, The Sacred Path Companion is the indispensable guide for anyone searching for a spiritual journey that will inspire, educate, and engage.

Created by one of the guiding forces of the Labyrinth movement and the author of Walking a Sacred Path, this comprehensive and interactive workbook includes:

  • The art of Labyrinth walking
  • The nine lessons of the Labyrinth
  • Four guidelines to gauge spiritual growth
  • Specific uses for healing and transformation through the Labyrinth
  • Forgiveness and reconciliation
  • The six purposes of ritual
  • Developing visions for the Labyrinth movement
Lauren Artress

A Leading Force in the Modern Labyrinth Movement

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress is Canon Emeritus of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and the author of Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice, and The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform (Putnam/Riverhead Books, New York). Her latest book The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Creative, Healing and Visionary Powers is inspired by her thirty years of work with the Labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral.

In addition to her writings on the labyrinth, Dr. Artress is a spiritual guide, speaker and trainer, and the founder of Veriditas, a non-profit dedicated to introducing people to the healing, meditative powers of the labyrinth.

Veriditas logo

Veriditas is a 501c3 non profit incorporated in the State of California in 1995 by Lauren Artress. The word "Veriditas" originated with Hildegard of Bingen and means "the greening power of life".

Grace Cathedral is home to not just one but two labyrinths — and to the Modern Labyrinth Movement. We welcome you to our labyrinths as a walking meditation, a spiritual practice or simply an opportunity to calm the mind and enjoy peace, quiet and reflection.

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The World-Wide Labyrinth Locator has been designed to be an easy-to-use database of labyrinths around the world.