How to Draw a Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

I have previously shown how to make a Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth and today I will show you step by step how to make the circular version. Let’s look at the 2 side by side and compare them.

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

The interesting thing about these is that they are so different. The square version has 2 entrances and 2 goals, while the circular has one of each. Obviously there is also the overall shape and corner shapes apparent in the individual names.

When I made my circular version I noticed that it did not fit into the typical labyrinth making process. I have a potential usable seed pattern, but each step is more complex than normal. I also noticed that the labyrinth is a series of (mostly) vertical straight lines and half and quarter circles. Let’s explore this with a diagram I made to show what makes up the labyrinth and compare it to the 7 circuit classical labyrinth:

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth: Everything in red is a straight line. Everything is black is either a half circle or a quarter circle. This is a right handed labyrinth (first turn is to the right).

Classical Labyrinth: Everything in red is a straight line (basically just the seed portion minus the dots). However the black portions are not perfect circles. When you make this labyrinth you are connecting points with curved lines. This is a left handed labyrinth (first turn is to the left). This can be made right handed, but left handed is typical.

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth seed pattern ?

I trial and errored the making of this labyrinth. It is complicated. So, while it is not ideal, I am going to use this very large seed pattern. Otherwise, each step is complicated. So the most difficult part of this is creating the seed pattern correctly. Smooth sailing from there !

For this labyrinth I will be drawing each step in red on top of a completed labyrinth with thin lines to show you where that step is located in relation to the completed labyrinth. After each step the previous steps lines change to black from red.

Step 1: Draw the starting seed pattern.

I included the grid in this example to show you how to draw this seed pattern. It is the most complicated I have ever used. Start with a plus sign. The horizontal is 8 units long, while the vertical line is 6.5 units long, 3 units below and 3.5 units above that line. At the end of each side of the horizontal line draw a 4 unit vertical line. Beside the left line you just made add 4 lines to the left, all 4 units long. Make sure they are equidistant apart. On the right side do the same thing but with only 3 additional lines instead of 4. Now you can fit 3 vertical lines on the right side, 2 grids long and aligned t the top of the just made 4 grid lines. Moving to the left side you will do the same thing with 1 exception, the line just to the left of the top of the plus sign should aligh with it at the top (1.5 grids instead of 2). Next under the horizontal line, aligned to each end you will draw three 2 unit long horizontal lines ( 6 total lines). And finally the last line of this complicated seed is a horizontal line on the left side, aligned with the previously 3 on the left but draw 3 grids long instead of 2.

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth seed pattern

Step 1 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 2: Draw the Goal

Between the two short lines in the center draw and arch to connect them. Teh top of the arch should align with the top of the vertical lines on its left and right.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth step 2

Step 2 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Steps 3-9: Create the top arches

These are all the same maneuver and so they get bunched into 1 explanatory step. Create a semi circle to connect the top of the end of the next inner line on the left to the line on the right. The peak should align to the peak of the goal. Essentially you do this 7 times to create the top of the labyrinth ! Shown here as a rainbow; start with purple, then blue, etc.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth steps 3-9

Steps 3 - 9 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Steps 10/11: Connect the internal turns

You should have 2 empty spaces to fill in the center of the labyrinth on either side below the goal, each has 3 vertical lines. Take the end of the 2 outside lines on each side and connect them with an upside down arch. Shown in red and blue below.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth steps 10 & 11

Steps 10/11 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Steps 12-15: Draw the left corners

On the bottom left connect the end of each vertical line with the end of each horizontal line working you way from inside out. Each of these is a quarter of a circle, or arch. In order, red, blue, green, yellow below.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth steps 12-15

Step 12-15 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Steps 16-18: Draw the right corners

Same as above but on the right side, and only 3 times, shown as red, blue and green below.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth steps 16-18

Step 16-18 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Steps 19 - 21: Close the outer pathways

On the bottom left you should have 3 horizontal lines of the same length (the southernmost line is slightly longer). Connect the 1st and third with a semi-circle to create a turnback pathway (shown below in red). Do the same thing on the right side opposite (in blue). And our final step is completing the labyrinth by connecting the bottom of the plus sign with the end of the horizontal line on the left with a quarter circle (shown in green).

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth steps 19-21

Step 19-21 - Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

That completes the labyrinth.

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

How to Draw a Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

You might have noticed on my How to Make a Labyrinth section of the site I have a section titled Other /Experimental Labyrinths. The first labyrinth included in this section is the Man in the Maze labyrinth, a Native American symbol from the Tohono O'Odham nation. Learn details about it on this blog, or on Wikipedia, or from this article. Below is one I made digitally.

Man in the Maze Labyrinth

I wanted to do a step by step How - to for creating it, but realized as I made it…there was not an easy way to do that. Essentially it is a “copy what you see and good luck” situation. My trial and error included a lot of both. Today I want to explore the making of another Native American Labyrinth, the Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth, and specifically the square version. As I researched how to explain this labyrinth I realized an expert could do it much better, here is Julie Bounford, from her website.

“The mythology of the Hopi of northern Arizona features labyrinths. Most well-known is the Tapu’at, the “Mother and Child” symbol. Both the circular and square forms represent the womb of Mother Earth, the divine birth-giver. The circular in particular is said to represent the road of a human life. In following it, one attains spiritual rebirth. From early on, the labyrinth has been associated with death and rebirth. In death, one returns to the earth (the eternal mother), from which one is reborn. ”
— Julie Bounford

This is a 9 step process, and while I will make it digitally, giving it a ‘clean’ look, it is typically hand drawn and so more natural looking. Let’s get started.

For this labyrinth I will be drawing each step in red on top of a completed labyrinth with thin lines to show you where that step is located in relation to the completed labyrinth. After each step the previous steps lines change to black from red.

Step 1: Draw the starting seed pattern.

The starting seed pattern for this labyrinth is an off-center plus sign. The horizontal line is 7 units on a grid, 4 on the left 3 on the right of the vertical line made of 9 units, 4 above the horizontal, and 5 below.

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth seed pattern

Step 1 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 2: Draw the first layer

Above the top of the plus sign create an upside down U shape that extends out to the left and right 1 unit less than the horizontal lines. See below.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 2

Step 2 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 3: Create the Inner Goal

Create the inner goal by drawing from the previous steps right side around the structure counterclockwise making an upside down square shaped U. There are actually 2 goals in this labyrinth which I will discuss below.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 3

Step 3 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 4: Draw the next level

Connect the right side of the horizontal line in the plus sign counterclockwise to the end of the northernmost horizontal line (created in Step 2) to close off the pathway. Again you have just made an upside down square shaped U.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 4

Step 4 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 5: Draw the next level

This time we are drawing clockwise, connecting the left end of the initial plus sign around the outside creating our familiar upside down square U shape but continuing it to left ( but not closing it off completely). See below.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 5

Step 5 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 6: Draw the next level

This is a long one. Start with an upside down reverse L shape in the lower right plus sign that starts one units or grid up from the bottom of the plus sign. Then continue by drawing your familiar U shape clockwise. End the line on the right side with a horizontal line that stops one unit or grid before the end of the line just inside it. That’s a long one. See below.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 6

Step 6 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 7: Draw the outer goal

The next layer starts equal to the end of the bottom left corner and follows clockwise all the way around to the bottom right corner. Continue the line left until it moves north 1 unit to close off the previous section and create the outer goal.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 7

Step 7 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 8: Draw the outer wall

This step completes the outer wall, but not the total labyrinth. Draw a line starting in the bottom right side centered in the last gap to complete the right entrance. Then follow the outside wall around…until you get to the bottom left corner. Here you need to draw the final wall equal to the wall on the right side. This creates a larger gap than normal above it.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 8

Step 8 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Step 9: Complete the labyrinth
This last step creates a pathway and walls that is not equidistant like the previous steps. The final L shape you draw should be centered between the 2 bottom walls and connect to the end of the last line.

Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth step 9

Step 9 - Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

That completes the labyrinth.

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

2 Entrances - 2 Goals

This labyrinth has 2 entrances and 2 goals. The left entrance, the Mother, is the outer labyrinth, which encapsulates the inner Child section that is reached from the right entrance. I have colored the two labyrinths sections to better show this concept, in blue and yellow below:

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth Mother and Child shown

Alternative Seed Pattern: I hesitate to call this a seed pattern since it is complicated. But it works similar to other seed patterns for labyrinths. IF you start with this pattern the next 7 steps are connecting points to points. Here it is in Red.

Square Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth alernative seed pattern

If you are interested in how to make the circular version drop me a note. It is difficult but not Man in the Maze difficult ! Here is my digital drawing of it.

Hopi Tapuat Mother Child Birth Circular Labyrinth

Circular Hopi Tapu'at Labyrinth

Maze of the Week #72 - KAFD Grand Mosque Maze

Maze of the Week #72 is of the KAFD Grand Mosque located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Completed in 2017 this mosque has a unique look and I was so happy to make a maze of it. You can learn about the mosque on the Wikipedia page. The form of the mosque was inspired by the shape of a desert rose.

Photos: Check out the website of the architects Omrania and Associates to get a great overview.

The Maze: Just like the last maze, I started with black and white…and then decided to go full color. However, I made them with 2 different solutions so we have 2 options here:

KAFD Grand Mosque Maze in black and white

KAFD Grand Mosque Maze - black and white

And here is the full color alternate version:

KAFD Grand Mosque Maze in color

KAFD Grand Mosque Maze - full color

I hope you enjoy the maze. Download is available on the homepage

Coming next month: More religious buildings

A temple maze - Bagan Temple

A church maze - Old Stone Butter Church

A mosque maze - KAFD Grand Mosque (this maze)

A church maze

A church maze

The 10 Best Maze-Making Design Templates to get you Started

So you want to design your own maze, but you want a little extra help. Well you have come to the right place. I have set-up 10 different maze making templates to get you started, some with variations depending on who it is intended for. There is also a section below of 10 Holiday themed maze making templates for kids, so 20 templates in total ! If you want to learn how to make over 40 different types of mazes - you can find each step by step maze instructions here. My Goal - Maze making made easy !

If you do not read the above How-To’s you can use these 2 simple rules to create a maze:

  1. Choose and create a Start and Goal if they are not already shown on the template. They may be arrows or simply writing Start and Goal in the maze

  2. Create maze walls (by connecting dots, drawing lines as shown) and make sure you have a solution by not closing off all pathways to the goal.

  • Standard Maze Template

No instructions on this one but it is very simple - Connect the dots to create the walls of the maze. Make sure you have a possible solution when you are done ! This can also be used for: Avoid Items Maze, Find Items Maze

Standard maze making template

Standard Maze Template

  • Connected Dots Maze template
    A variation of a standard maze with a bit more flexibility. You will need to add start and goal arrows, or write start and goal within the walls of the maze. A second version is larger at 15x19. This can also be used for: Avoid Items Maze, Find Items Maze

  • Escape Maze Template
    Two versions, one with and one without instructions. You just need to draw a few walls to create the pathways (and choose a goal).

  • Axonometric Maze Template

If you are wondering what Axonometric is, well this set-up will allow you to make a 3-d looking box or other object when you create your maze. Get creative !

Create a Maze template Axonometric

Axonometric Maze Template

  • Letter Maze/ Number Maze Template

    This could be used for a variety of maze types. I pre added the Start and Goal for you. Fill the grid blocks with letters/numbers/shapes/math and give the solver directions on how to solve. This can also be used for: Arrow Maze, Color Grid Maze, Puzzle Maze

Grid maze making template

Grid Maze Template

  • Horizontal / Vertical Maze Template

    Shown as a horizontal maze template, but if you put it on it’s side it would be a vertical maze template. You just need to add some vertical lines in each row to create the pathways.

Vertical maze template

Vertical / Horizontal Maze Template

  • Trail Maze Template
    A great and fun type of maze. 2 versions, with and without instructions. This is a great way to make a hidden message maze.

    This can also be used for: Arrow Maze, Color Grid Maze, Puzzle Maze, Avoid Items Maze, Find Items Maze

Holiday Maze Templates for Kids

And now a special section of templates for the Holidays for Kids. A set of 10 Kids Maze Templates ! The below are all included in the download. Not shown, but downloadable are the same mazes, but in Spanish !