Weatherwatch: How to catch the wind in a trap of stone

viking age stone labyrinth in Sweden.
Some ancient labyrinths were made of stones, rather than cut out of the rock. This one, in Halland, Sweden, dates from Viking times. Photograph: Alamy

The coast of Scandinavia is decorated with many shallow labyrinths cut into the stone, some dating back to Viking times. They are concentrated on the coast because sailors and fishermen made them to control the winds. Their origin is unknown, but they were still being built in the 19th century, with labyrinth rituals enduring into the 20th century.

The labyrinth is unicursal, which means it has a single winding path with no side branches. The challenge is to walk through it without stopping, stumbling or crossing a wall. Tradition says one has to walk the labyrinths in Sweden's Haparanda archipelago either seven or eleven times to calm the wind before a fishing trip. This can be rather laborious, so sometimes the walking was delegated to children instead.

A labyrinth at Härnösand in Sweden is meant to trap bad winds; locals say the wind follows you in and cannot get out again. The same claim is made for labyrinths in Estonia built by fishermen to tame bad weather.

Shakespeare mentions turf labyrinths in England, and a few still exist here. These were not used for weather magic but for a midsummer fertility ritual or game. A girl stood at the centre, and a boy attempted to reach her and carry her out without crossing a line.

The last labyrinth magician in Sweden died in 1963. However, some New Age practitioners still construct temporary labyrinths with biodegradable paint to keep the weather clear at outdoor events.