I have a labyrinth. We built it in 2001, laying it out on the acre of grass to the east of our home. First we laid it out with stakes and string, and once the template was there it demanded to be made permanent. It is 84 feet (25.5 m) in diameter, and has twelve concentric circles around a central circle 9 ft in diameter. When you walk the whole path, from entrance to center, you have walked just over 1/2 a kilometer.
In order to outline the paths permanently, we hauled rocks to our place from my mother’s farm. Most of the paths are delineated by rocks that are about head sized. But the outermost circle is made up of rocks that are considerably larger, some are the size of a small end table. My husband, my son, and our foster son went out and loaded the pickup truck we used. They had to make 21 trips. I laid every rock in place after they were delivered to the site. We figure it took 18 tons of rock to outline the paths. Any way you look at it, it is a lot of rock.
I have been planting it with prairie wild flowers. This is moderately successful because the grass that the labyrinth is laid on is an old fescue hay field, which tends to crowd out the wild flowers. But some of them are thriving, and they make a lovely surprise when you walk. There are also trees that have volunteered, planted by the birds and the wind. I spend some time each year weeding out the ones I do not want. So far, I have welcomed a couple of pin oaks, an elm tree, and a couple of black walnut trees.
The innermost circle of the labyrinth has become a very special place. After it was built, I started thinking about what I wanted the labyrinth to be, how I wanted it to be used. Of course, it is a place of healing and meditation. I started wanting it to be a place where I could promote harmony and world peace. I already had a pretty good start on a collection of rocks from around the world, and so I decided to put them into the center to act as energy focal points, to connect my labyrinth to the rest of the world. So far I have 49 states of the US represented. The only one missing is Delaware. The world is starting to be fairly well represented: I have rocks from all seven continents, including Antarctica. But out of the hundreds of countries in the world, I only have 27 represented by rocks, and I am hoping that people will volunteer to donate rocks for my inner circle.
Needless to say, right now I am wishing I had a lot more rocks from the Middle East. It can use all the healing it can get.
