| labyrinth |
Cora Greenhill. See Pictures.
It was a fine October morning when we arrived with our balls of string, sacks of bark mulch and tape measures. The ground between the yew trees seemed to be waiting expectantly for us. The remains of the lines of the bark labyrinth we'd made in August were still faintly visible in the grass. The space already seemed to have a magnetic field waiting for the labyrinth to appear.
The vision we'd held for well over a year was ready to materialise. This was a larger and slightly different labyrinth from any I'd made before. Just a slight variation on the classical seven circuit one, to allow for a larger centre and a more symmetrical entrance.
And of course we had to allow for the width of the hedges as well as the paths - it all added up to some complex calculations and careful measurements, which Ian had devotedly attended to.
That whole weekend and the follow up planting day in November just flowed. The weather was glorious and we always seemed to have the right number of people at any one time as volunteers left and others arrived. People made tea, brought pots of soup and stewed damsons, and the hard work got done with ease and good humour. The turf was removed and became another serpent-like work of art in its own right! The soil was limed and manured for the plants, and we all planted one token lavender plant each. We left the mulch to do its work. A few weeks later we planted the rest of the lavender and some rosemary plants that had been grown and potted up for the purpose by the gardeners at Unstone. There are still a few gaps which we will soon fill with sage.
We felt the labyrinth's own magnetism and power throughout the whole process. The dreaming was already there and we just had to follow.
The labyrinth is there for everyone to enjoy, and if you'd like to be actively involved in its upkeep, drop me (Cora) your email and I'll put you on the Labyrinth Circle. You'll be invited to take part in any special events, courses etc centred on the labyrinth, and probably also hear about other labyrinth ventures!
Stuart in the Unstone Office has made a labyrinth page on the Unstone Grange website, which will have pictures of work in progress, and will document the growth and development of the project.
We would love anyone who feels moved to share an experience/impression/inspiration of working on or walking the labyrinth to write a few words or lines to him so that we build up a 'mosaic' of journeys over time.
Send to contributions to Stuart at Unstone Grange. See impressions.
Photos of groups working with the labyrinth could also be sent (total message size and attachments should not exceed 1 Mbyte).
