Uranus, the God of the Sky, has abstract swallows flying in a sun-wise direction from east to west. The Neptune circuit is all about water and the seas, and I made starfish instead of flowers. Pluto (downgraded from planet status) is dedicated to the Underworld. The nine inner circuits are dedicated to the planets in our solar system and the mythology of the Roman and Greek Gods after which they are named. The warmth of the Summer Solstice in the Bainbridge Island Labyrinth. Over the three months it took to build the labyrinth, hundreds of pebble flowers and other symbols were added to the design. Whenever I heard the bell ring as I was setting stone, I made a pebble flower in the mosaic work dedicated to the people who turned the wheel. ![]() When the prayer wheel is turned nine times, a bell inside it rings. A bronze Tibetan prayer wheel in the park is symbolically connected to the Labyrinth through this circuit. In the 10th circuit, I made a ring of 108 oval stones to form a Tibetan mala, a prayer bead necklace used to count a sacred cycle of chants or prayers. In the outermost 11th circuit, I made 12 lunar mosaics of white quartzite beach stone surrounded by colored stones associated with each moon. The space between the circuits is filled with permeable crushed stone. The mosaic paths are made of beautiful hand-collected stones from different beaches in the region and an assortment of materials with special meaning gifted to me by visitors during construction. I oriented the entrance of the labyrinth to the east and the loops that connect the different circuits to each other fall at the other cardinal directions. Each moon has a plant, animal, and mineral totem, and a color associated with it that relates to the time of year in which it occurs. In Native American astrology, we are born under a lunar rather than a solar sign. ![]() Counting the center, there are a total of 12 circuits, a numerological relationship to the months and full moons of the year. I chose and modified the classic 11-circuit medieval labyrinth design found in the Chartres Cathedral in France. The site required a carefully rendered base of compacted gravel surrounded by a perfectly round 36-foot-diameter steel ring. I can honestly say that the work, for me, was shamanistic. ![]() When I was asked to build a stone mosaic labyrinth on an island in Puget Sound in Washington State, I realized an opportunity to create something overflowing with meaning. Stone mosaic, a medium I have been practicing for the past three decades, is my way to make the hardscape or built aspect of a landscape into something artful, meaningful, and even profound. Whenever I build gardens, I try to incorporate sacred elements and meaning within them. Jeffrey Bale Bainbridge Island, Washington
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