Fascinated by the great monolithic stone circles of the Celtic lands we wanted to incorporate that sense of mystery and spirituality into the garden, but Stonehenge was a little too big. Being inspired by E. Barre Kavasch’s book, ‘The Medicine Wheel Garden: Creating Sacred Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquillity’, we decided to use the Native American medicine wheel as a model that would also pay respect to the Lenape people who hunted and farmed our land before us. Research and planning for the project took a year and construction nine months. Be sure to scroll down to read more in the captions below the photos.

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Stones With Purpose The outer ring of stones are native to the land and knew what their ultimate purpose would be. When rebuilding other gardens we excavated tons of rocks. At a loss as to what to do with them, we just blurted out, “Where do you want to go?” They sort of said, “Just start piling us on the side of the house, please.” So there they sat without purpose for a few years, or so we thought, until this project.

Previous Next Close An areal view of the medicine wheel garden.

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Enter, Ye of Kind Heart and Spirit Stone circles are entered from the East through an arch of three monolithic stones called a trilithon. Here, an iron arbor serves as the gateway to the wheel and is planted with morning glories, salvia ‘Indigo Spires,’ dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ and hollyhocks. We started out with beans and cucumbers climbing the sides, but the groundhogs thought it was a display for “Today’s Special.”

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The Guiding Light 36 stepping stones line the path of the medicine wheel. To guide a seeker on the journey of the year and life, moon and sun gazing globes on three-foot long copper stakes move easily to mark the months and seasons.

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Walking the Wheel The large slates represent the four cardinal directions and the cobbles, the moons. Spirit path stones run along the spokes to the inner path’s stones that mark the eight festivals of Ostara (1st day of Spring), Midsummer (1st day of Summer), Mabon (1st day of Autumn), Yule (1st day of Winter), Imbolc (February 2nd), Beltane (May Day), Lughnasahd (August 1st) and Samhain (Halloween).

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The Great Totem E. Barre Kavasch’s book, ‘The Medicine Wheel Garden,’ suggested anchoring the center of the circle with a peace pole with inscriptions for the word “peace” in a different language on each side. We wanted something a little more personal and created this “totem.” It also serves as the arm of a giant sun dial, although it runs a bit slow! The streamer “wind horses” colors change with the seasons representing blessings being carried by the wind to fulfillment much as a horse carries a person off into the countryside.

Previous Next Close The streamers or wind horses whose colors change with the seasons represent prayers and blessings carried off into the wind much as a horse can quickly whisk a person off into the countryside. Previous Next Close To create the inscriptions we used the computer to print out the sayings in very large fonts. These fancy fonts were then traced onto the eight-foot cedar post and carved out with a wood burning tool. Previous Next Close Upon entering the stone cirlce, the inscription on the totem reads 'Gachtalquot Kishelëmùkòng wulapensohalan pejat ju,' Lenape for 'May the Great Spirit bless all who go hither.' The native Lenape saw the creator as a turtle and so we have placed a turtle totem on this side of the pole. Previous Next Close Walking sun-wise the next inscription is 'Conditor alme siderum, aeterna lux credentium, Christe, redemptor omnium' from the Latin Advent carol meaning 'Creator of the starry skies, eternal light of creation, Jesus, redeem us.' The animal totem is a lamb as Jesus is viewed as the lamb of God. Previous Next Close 'A Bhrigid, scar os mo chionn do bhrat fionn dom anacal,' Gaelic for 'Oh Brigid, spread above my head your mantle bright to guard me,' adorns the western side. When facing Eastward, the direction of new beginnings, to view the inscription, it calls to mind the tale of Brigid, the tripple Celtic fire Goddess of smithcraft, poetry and midwivery, whom in the springtime of the year unveils her mantle of green across the land. She's accompanied by a red and white cow on her journey and is this side's totem. Previous Next Close 'Mitakuye oyasin... we are all related,' is a very simple two-word, but powerful Lakota prayer evoking commonality and harmony between all things. Through it we gain the wisdom that all peoples, plants, rocks, stars, and gods are the same and connected at a cosmic level. The owl whose keen vision enables it to see where other's cannot is said to exist between the worlds and knows all that is to be known and so is the totem for this side.

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Pretty Poisies The center bed changes with each season starting with white snowdrops and purple crocuses for Imbolc and Ostara. Later, apricot tulips and purple iris bloom for Beltane and Midsummer’s zinnias, petunias, echinacea, verbena, and cannas bloom through Lughnasahd, Mabon and even into Samhain. The echinacea seed heads and iris leaves will carry on through Yule as a reminder of what is to come as the wheel continues to turn.

Posted in: Walking the Wheel, Gardening