Tag Archives: 7 ring Cretan labyrinth

August Retreat

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It’s been a while since I wrote anything about the retreat.

Still there…. the grass is growing and the wattles are out and I can see the capeweed coming out of its winter hibernation. The positive side of that is the bees will love the swathes of yellow and will feast on the pollen.

A few more trees have been planted around the labyrinth.

I’ve been nurturing some pomegranate saplings in the city garden for a couple of years and as they needed thinning out, thought that they would add to the charm of the larger labyrinth. In addition to the mini olive grove, I now have a space where I can contemplate and cast my mind back to a couple of Ancient Greek myths.

Obviously, the olives are associated with the Oracle of Delphi and it was said that the first temple was constructed out of olive branches. Then there is the story of the labyrinth with the Minotaur at the centre. With the addition of the pomegranates, I’ve added a reference to Persophene…

I’m going to leave you to conduct your own searches either online or in perhaps long forgotten books to read up on these myths and legends.

From time to time we have visitors staying and it is great to be able to share with them the serenity of the place. Accommodation is still very basic and rustic and for the most part BYO. It’s not camping, and certainly not glamping…. at least not yet…. but the ambiance around the campfire each evening certainly adds to the experience. We’ve hosted some candlelit, sit down, share dinners in the shed which have been a great success. The chairs are courtesy of the hard rubbish collection in the city and with a couple of trestle tables…… what more could you want?

Each visitor experience is different.

For the last few years I’ve hosted the BMW MCC for a “Back to Basics” weekend. We supply the wood and water and those who are interested turn up with tents, swags, caravans and campers of all types and dimensions.

The Ambassador Suite (an ancient, original 1970’s caravan) is often pressed into service. We’ve even moved the old potting shed nearby and put in another composting toilet and euphemistically called it the “en suite”.  This actually provides more options such as designating male and female toilets as well as alleviating the need to build a “drop toilet” or put in a septic system (which would use up our precious water). More on that in a later post…

This year we hosted the BMW Club a little earlier than in previous years as the local township had listed a Wildflower Walk for that weekend.  We had most of the wildflowers they were talking about on the property appear last year and I was a little concerned this year when I couldn’t find any sign of them appearing in the weeks prior to the event. Not to worry……. We had 16 people attend and looking for wildflowers was low on the list…. socializing and experiencing the outdoors was on their minds. We all forgot to wander out to the observatory and look at the stars later that evening as the bush TV (fire) captured everyone’s attention.

It was reasonably mild overnight ….no ice in the hand washing basin…. and breakfast was around the fire again…. jaffles, cups of hot tea and then trips down to the dam for the youngsters to catch some yabbies (and return to see another day) and a walk around the retreat to look for wildflowers and to chat. Most managed a walk around the labyrinths and although I’m not trained as a labyrinth facilitator, it was interesting to hear from each person who did the walk how they felt about the experience.

Most departed just before lunchtime as the clouds looked quite threatening and it was reassuring to find those who came by motorbike all made it home safely. One of the guests made a great video about his trip up there and back which I have been given permission to share.

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Labyrinth constructions

Abundance, creativity, dreaming, Energy, labyrinth, Retreat

Facebook kindly reminded me this morning that it has been 2 years since I constructed the 7 ring Cretan Labyrinth at the retrLabyrintheat.

I haven’t spent much time in it lately due to a couple of falls that left me sore and sorry for myself, but over the last couple of visits I got the shovel out to refurbish it.  Not being mathematically minded, I wasn’t  even going to start calculating how many shovel widths the outer ring is and the energy used to move that amount of dirt…. however curiosity got the better of me and I used a circumference calculator to work out that the circumference of the outer ring is a little over 47.1 metres as the diameter at its widest part is some 15metres.  The gypsum applied a while back has definitely improved the soil quality, especially from the digging point of view! Some still remains in the central cross and that got turned over last weekend.

Sage ready to plantThe wildlife likes to play in it, so to keep the definition, rocks from the paddock are gradually being put in the channels created by the digging, which also means less rocks out in the paddock for the mower to run over. Hopefully the rocks will also provide some initial protection for future plantings. The sage program was ambitious and contrary to gardening advice sites that suggest that it is unpalatable to rabbits or hares, the amount of droppings left next to the munched and dug up plants suggest otherwise. It appears that kangaroos enjoy sage as well as garlic.

Solstice morningThe next project is to find a plant that will tolerate drought and extremes of temperatures. Winter mornings can be a little crispy underfoot and a recent week of summer temperatures of over 38C saw even the succulent plant known as pigface, burnt to a crisp. I’m wondering if Rosemary is suitable and will strike a few cuttings to plant before undertaking a big project again.

At the centre is a small rose bush, which is getting drip fed water from the damaged water tank that used to be on the fire trailer.  That was put in  some months back and is only just surviving. The wildlife had dug up the oak tree in the centre, grown from a Rushworth acorn and I was about to discard it, but at the last minute planted it at the entrance. I was delighted to discover it had resprouted and it now has a sturdy tree guard around it.  Last weekend I picked up some acorns in Heathcote and planted one in the outer ring at the northern most point. It will be lovely to see if it sprouts and if so will have a tree guard put up next visit. Apparently Oak trees are a little fussy about having their roots disturbed by repotting.

Shepherd's CrookIn the meantime, I realised that one of the areas near the firepit might be suitable for a small labyrinth and marked out an area with a tomato stake – raking the leaves to make a path once it was clear that it would fit. This has been a handy little labyrinth to walk… the design is called the Shepherd’s Crook and it provides a choice of directions to get the centre once you have entered the first two rings. This is ideal if you choose right or left to be a yes or no answer to a question that you take with you to the centre. I had to detour slightly on one path as I wanted to keep the pigface in that area and there a couple of bull mallee trees to squeeze past on the outer ring.

Pop up labyrinthThe next labyrinth project was a “Pop Up” labyrinth that I drew freehand and in chalk for the City of Monash in Hamilton Walk during the last school holidays. A simple left handed, 3 ring Cretan labyrinth.  My acupuncturist and myotherapist were delighted with my activities and I shall remember to do some proper stretching exercises before I attempt another one of these! It was a beautiful autumn morning and from all accounts there were many children walking it later in the day.  It was completely washed away by a thunderstorm the following day having served its purpose. If asked to do another, I would orientate it a little differently as I wasn’t familiar with the foot traffic in the area.

light in the labyrinthAnd so we return to the 7 ring labyrinth. Slow and steady, plenty of water and several hours later, the outline was redefined.  A mixture of rocks and earth, a rose at the centre – with some jonquil bulbs that are already poking their green leaves above the ground. I’m just hoping that they won’t make the wildlife ill – as I believe they are toxic to cats, dogs and horses.  Another couple of days are needed to add more rocks for more definition.