Build a Labyrinth in One Day
Gather 28 of your closest friends: In this case, the group consists of employees of Weil Lifestyle, LLC, doctors from the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and members of Dr. Weil's ranch staff.
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Get 11 tons of rock. Dump it strategically in four or five piles around the perimeter of the planned location for the labyrinth.
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The first row of "marker" stones takes shape: these first 12 stones mark the 12 concentric courses around the center stake.
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Tie a slip knot on a stake: Pound a stake in the ground, then tie a slip knot around it, and pull the rope tight.
Pull the marked rope taut, then place stones directly under the marks.
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Then move the rope like a clock's hand. Move it a couple of feet, then lay another rank of stones. This gives the other workers a chance to connect the two ranks and start making the circular courses.
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And so on...just keep going!
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Use the occasional "feature" stone, like this lovely piece of rose quartz.
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Until all of the circles are defined with widely spaced rocks: Then it is a question of simply filling those spaces...
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The filling in process is pleasant work. The only rule - if a rock has a particularly pretty face, make sure that face is pointing up!
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For a labyrinth this large, a couple of wheelbarrows can speed the process immensely.
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Labyrinth-making is for young and old!
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Dr. Weil built a previous labyrinth on this spot with two friends, but floods in the summer of 2006 washed most of it away. This time, he was glad for the two dozen helpers.
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Dr. Weil smiles as he says, "I've missed it," of the flood-destroyed labyrinth. Clearly, he is glad to see the new one taking shape.
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Dr. Weil in shades - essential for the brilliant Tucson sun.
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The entry and exit channels, laid out with taut strings, are precisely aligned with the sunrise of the spring equinox. Once this is built, the ends of the circular courses are adjusted according to a layout chart, like this one, so that the walker follows an appropriately circuitous path. It's helpful to use two taut ropes stretched across the labyrinth at right angles to each other (dividing the labyrinth into quadrants) to determine where to make the returns as indicated in the layout chart.
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Greta, a Weimaraner who belongs to friends of Dr. Weil, contemplates the feverish construction activity just before falling asleep.
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Aerial view of the entry/exit channels, taken from a platform in a eucalyptus tree near the labyrinth.
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With the labyrinth largely done by early afternoon, Dr. Weil carried individual stones to fill the few remaining gaps.
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Centering the monolith. Once the courses were laid, Dr. Weil and friends began centering a 500-pound basaltic stone precisely in the center, where the layout stake had been. This new labyrinth was moved roughly four feet from the position of the old one, and the monolith had also been tipped over by the flood. So the stone needed both righting and centering.
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Getting it right. "It's got to be exactly in the center," decreed Dr. Weil, and much grunting and manly effort ensued.
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Dr. Weil sights and sites the stones: The intersection of two taut ropes marks the point that the tip of the monolith must touch.
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Done! Immediately upon completion at 4 p.m., several workers take it for a spin.
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Then Move the Rope Like a Clock's Hand
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