Chartres Labyrinth

Folks have spent quite a bit of time out on the property waiting for the sun to rise or set. I decided to give them something to do while waiting and started building a labyrinth around the outside of the stone circle for people to walk.

June 1999 - I have been debating about sculpting a ring of capped stones, like Stonehenge, out of straw bales and cement to surround my stone circle. I had stacked a few bales to get an idea of what it might look like and was just not satisfied with the results. I would like to have used real stones but I am short a few folks it would take to quarry then move them off the mountains 6 miles to the site. Instead I have decided to build a labyrinth like the one at Chartres around the stone circle out of small hand sized stones.

Oct 1999 - We have now started gathering smaller stones and I am placing them in concentric circles spaced about three feet apart around the outside of the circle. So far I have completed four of the planned 12 circles. When finished the outside ring will be about 50 feet from the center of the standing stones.
 
 

Oct 1999 - Because of the mountains that surround us, our horizon is not flat and my calculations used to roughly position the larger stones are off by a small amount. I have been adjusting the position of each of the the larger stones to align with the rising and setting sun on the solstices and equinoxes.
 

Oct 1999 - With the help of a number of our friends, we gathered the many, many stones needed to complete the circles. I have rearranged the 12 outer rings to mark the turns and paths of the labyrinth. The five larger stones in the detail picture are aligned with sunrise on the eight divisions of the year. There are 5 other stones on the west side of the circle to mark the sunset positions.

Dec 1999 - We were lucky to get a bit of snow to celebrate the winter solstice. I took these photos just before the sun rose over the mountains. It was a very beautiful morning. Absolute silence, cold and the surrounding valley looked as if it had been painted in pastel colors.