To manifest a Labyrinth

A Reflection on experiences & lessons 
​By Rev Lynx

       Take a deep breath, find your center, listen.  That right there is the most important aspect of manifesting a Labyrinth. Listening to the land, the trees and flow of Nature in the area.
        The first step to manifestation is to just sit with the space and listen to what IT wants manifested upon it, this part takes months and months. Discussions with the land owners, researching materials and options, the 1st half year or more of a build is active communication and active listening, very little manual labor.

        There are so many aspects to a build that come up it’s important to think about each step.  To think ahead without locking yourself into absolutes, nature and the land will present a lot of hurdles and challenges along the way so it's important to have alternative plans and options. 

Steps:

• Find the space
  • Sometimes this is the easiest part depending on the who and where. 
  • Is it accessible?
  • What would you need to change about the space to accommodate the build
  • Fit the build to the land, not the other way around. The land will let you know what works.
  • Take lots of pics from different angles.
• Discernment aka the Listening phase
  • Set time aside to connect with the site. Listen. Look. Feel. Just be Aware.
  •  Be aware of all the life that is home to the area, how do you plan to balance that loss?
  • Visualise the area with different components. Stone, plant, tree, bush, paths. 
  • Why? What's the purpose, the intent of the site. 
  • Deciding on where the Center will be is a good place to discern before any other details
• Planning
  • What's your budget?
    • Financial Budget
      • How and where will the funds come from?
      • Tools are vital to creation and maintenance
      • Time Budget? Is there a deadline? How long are you going to obligate yourselves?
    • Manpower Budget
      • Who is your team? Who can do what? Job delegation during the build will be vital so knowing who is capable of what ahead of time helps you understand how big of an endeavor you’ll have ahead. 
  • Design phase
    • Traditional circuit labyrinth? Custom design? Get some measurements of the area. (diameter, area, boundaries, etc)
    • Get some graph paper and draft a few concepts and ideas, you’ll know when it’s “right”
    • Materials
      • What will be the main means of creating the space. It can be as simple as mowing a path in some tall grass, a full hedge labyrinth?
    • Maintenance: The who, how and general maintenance needs after the build 
  • Break Ground & Do the thing
    • There's no step by step for this part, each build is unique and its up to the team to decide what methods work moving forward.
    • Make the ground breaking a ritual. 
    • There will be setbacks, certain plans won't work out as planned. In those moments take a step back, re-evaluate and try something different. Listen to the land and to each other.

In order to create a sacred site there is always a loss to nature, there has to be some act of destruction and those aspects are integral to starting a new build. Thinking about how your plan affects the wildlife, big and small in that area.  With the Labyrinth of the Ways and Stacked stones we made regular offerings, blessings and set aside time to honor the land months before we broke ground, especially with Wisteria which was home to so much destruction and loss (strip mined in the 50s and 60s). We have to approach each build with respect and right relationship with the host of spirits and life of the space.  It’s a give and take. 

    Every time we went to work on a site the work became a ritual. We declared sanctuary and established our center. We called to Land spirits and announced our intent and asked for their blessings. We declared our intent and plan for the day to the host of Gods and Spirits and asked them to guide our work. We made offerings, gave thanks and acknowledged the process of destruction for the purpose of growth.  A Labyrinth should be an extension of the land and gods, a tool for personal gnosis, spiritual exploration,divine communion and as one Labyrinth walker put it: “A Labyrinth is a personal sermon with your own higher self”. So every step of the process is sacred. Every aspect of a labyrinth is in balance with everything around it and those who work it and walk it. 

    Planning to make the maintenance easy was a blessing. Wide walkways for easy movement and navigation of lawn mowers.  If there's going to be living aspects to it, do so with intent.  To help make maintenance easier, when in the design phase constantly ask “How?” How will this maintain shape? How will this erode? How will we keep this maintained. How does this impact the land?  All those How questions will help guide your design choices. Don’t cut corners & do what's within your means. It’s not the size of the Labyrinth that matters, it's your intent and the land's blessing. 

    In closing, a Labyrinth build is a very unique and personal experience for those involved. On a solitary level and for the group as whole. You will learn about yourselves and each other and all I can say is be open. Be open to the lessons. Be open to the land. Be open to each other. Be open to yourself and your guides. There is no other experience like it and it is truly a labor of love and a truly humbling endeavor.  

Be well, do good and be a blessing unto each other.
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