Traced invisibly by our movement, she lives at The Oregon Extension where I spent my Fall 2022 semester. I walked her nearly every day and joined a ritual started by those who walked before me: collect small offerings to place in the center.
Baby peppers… bright red and fresh from the garden.
Sticky calendula flowers… grown from seahorse seeds.
Woolflower. Cockscomb.
Rusty dead moth.
Iron amaranth grain.
Smooth stick… adorned with lecture doodles.
Glittery labradorite stone… previously pocketed during a barefoot Croagh Patrick hike.
She became one of my closest friends. An invitation for reciprocity and reflection. An observation of gathering and decay. Two years later, I continue to draw insight from her generative force. Much of my process stems from this small patch of dirt in Lincoln, Oregon.
the cascade-siskiyou labyrinth
I returned in August, 2023 on the night of a super moon with offerings from a summer of travel.
The white feather I found spiraling from the sky in Valladolid.
Weathered string untied from an outlook railing in Mürren.
A papery pink petal taken from the gutter of the Florence duomo roof.
A spider found dead in a goblet of the Orvieto cathedral.
A piece of pottery previously resting at the bottom of Lake Bolsena.
The pressed hornets nest found on a trek through the Swiss Alps.
Four-leaf plucked from Parque del Retiro in Madrid.
Pink and yellow rock… courtesy of the Dolomites.
And a stone found at the belly of Segovia’s aqueduct.
I have found many labyrinth friends across the world. Each time I step into the center, I close my eyes and imagine that I am standing with her cascade-siskiyou sister.
On my 23rd birthday, I walked a labyrinth in Birmingham, Alabama. I took a stone that lined the path and left an offering. This stone was shipped to a friend who studied with me in Oregon. She is currently living in Hungary. She generously pilgrimaged to the Budapest labyrinth and placed the stone in the middle.
Labyrinth sandwich to confuse future geologists.
5,201 miles.
Thank you, Avery.
other circles
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