book cover image

$15.00 USD + shipping

Dancing at the Edge of Death
The Origins of the Labyrinth in the Paleolithic
by Jodi Lorimer



The labyrinth has recently emerged as a spiritual and physical meditational tool. They are built in churches, schoolyards, gardens, hospitals and prisons. People around the world find them architecturally beautiful and emotionally fulfilling. Yet beneath the feet of modern walkers resides a much deeper mystery. Greek mythology told of the monstrous Minotaur at its center and deeper yet, the people of ancient Crete worshipped a goddess of the labyrinth. Other traditions have understood the labyrinthine journey as a symbolic pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a hero's mythic adventure, and an inescapable prison. How can this elegant and paradoxical form represent so many different experiences?




Author Jodi Lorimer has spent over 12 years following an Ariadne's thread to its source, deep into the origins of human consciousness. The labyrinthine journey to the Otherworld was painted on the walls of caves by the first modern humans in Paleolithic Europe over 32,000 years ago. Ancient shamans mapped the route of the labyrinth revealing the complex minds and spirit of a sophisticated people. Their enigmatic art, arising from powerful experiences encountered in the weirdly beautiful environment of the caves still has a mysterious resonance for us today. What are the deep secrets of this symbol? Why is it reemerging today, proliferating around the world from Tasmania to Finland? And what lesson does it bring us from our ancient ancestors? How can both god and monster reside at the center of the enigmatic labyrinth?


"In Dancing at the Edge of Death, Jodi Lorimer takes us down one track to resolve this apparent paradox. Focusing on the labyrinth not as a physical construction, but as a compelling and intriguing symbol, she shows how this concept has been used, as a central cultural focus, since shamanism first emerged, over 30,000 years ago, as humankind’s first religion. The result is an engaging and thoughtful look at evidence for the emergence of the human mind and the underlying intellectual commonalities that all humans—regardless of time, place or race—share."

David S. Whitley, author of "Cave Paintings and the Human Spirit: The Origin of Creativity and Belief"