Earth Sanctuary

## Description

Earth Sanctuary combines exemplary ecology with art and spirit to create a sanctuary for birds and wildlife and a peaceful place for personal renewal and spiritual connection.

* Earth Sanctuary is open to visitors every day of the year during daylight hours.
* There is a fee of $7 per person to visit Earth Sanctuary.
* Payment can be made with cash, check, PayPal, or Venmo.
* No dogs, please.

For more detailed information and beautiful imagery, go to their website.

## Areas of the Sanctuary

### The Cottonwood Stone Circle

The Cottonwood Stone Circle at Earth Sanctuary is 40 feet in diameter, with an outer circle of 12 standing stones 11 feet high. Within the circle are three tall Columbia River basalt columns, plus a number of seating stones and a ceremonial fire pit. A line of standing stones form on the West and East and two outlier stones dramatize the North-South orientation of the stone circle.

### The Fen Pond Stone Circle

The Fen Pond Stone Circle, measures 16 feet in diameter and is made of standing stones up to seven feet high. The four pairs of stones in the Fen Stone Circle are aligned with true North-South, the Summer Solstice sunrise and sunset, and the Winter Solstice sunset.

### Ley Line Sculpture

The *Ley Line* sculpture is a curation of charred driftwood arranged to mark earth energies, which are known to inspire a spiritual experience.

### Ley Line Sculpture (close-up)

Visitors are encouraged to walk along the 56-foot driftwood corridor depicting the ley line to experience the sensations of earth energies in a natural environment.

### Labyrinth

Labyrinths are considered symbols of pilgrimage and a metaphor for life’s journey. The labyrinth at Earth Sanctuary is drawn from ancient labyrinth designs and consists of a Pennsylvania Bluestone path with a Salal hedge. The patterns of the hedge labyrinth at Earth Sanctuary form a path for contemplation, mindfulness and meditation.

### Buddhist Stupa Monument

Experience Buddhist traditions of healing and enlightenment at the Buddhist Stupa monument, high on a hillside at Earth Sanctuary. The stupa is the most important Buddhist monument and sacred structure designed to bring peace and healing.

### Authentic Native American Medicine Wheels

The Earth Sanctuary Medicine Wheel above the Cottonwood Stone Circle is a sacred space designed to amplify the power of prayers. (Photos not allowed. You have to visit to see it!)

The Grey Whale Medicine Wheel is a shrine and beacon of song for whales. It features a real baby Gray Whale skull. Both Medicine Wheels were created and blessed in ceremony by Klaw-osht, a Shaman of the Nuu-chan-nulth tribe from Vancouver Island.

### The Infinite Tower

The Infinite Tower artwork connects heaven and earth at Earth Sanctuary. Created by Chuck Pettis, the 24-foot column of interlocking equilateral triangles creates a deceptively fluid visual effect. The symbolism within the design includes: creating a connection to earth and sky, the use of white as the color of clarity and purity (which reflects shadows and shapes on the sculpture), the honoring of the nearby trees and snags which join the earth and sky, and the incorporation of the number eight (eight triangles in each octahedron) and the number seven (seven stacked octahedrons), which in numerology symbolizes harmony and spirituality.

### Dolmen Megalith

A dolmen is a megalith of upright stones supporting a large horizontal slab. Inspired by a dolmen at Carnac, France, the 20-ton Dolmen at Earth Sanctuary is the first dolmen to be built in the U.S. during modern times. It serves as a place for meditation and reflection where visitors can center themselves and discover an intense, unmistakable connection with the earth.

### Veils of Reality Sculpture

Veils of Reality is a modern minimalist outdoor landscape sculpture crafted from a sacred steel object previously used in a Tibetan Buddhist ceremony and multi-layered fabric. This reclaimed and transformed mirror-like art piece represents the balancing force of opposites and allows visitors to see themselves in a new light.

### Cairns—Stacked Stone Artworks

Earth Sanctuary features numerous artworks made of natural materials, including stacked stones or cairns, made from a variety of stones including crystals. Cairns are traditionally used to mark holy sites or routes.

### Tibet Tech Prayer Wheels

Earth Sanctuary also has two Tibet Tech prayer wheels. Buddhists believe that mindfully turning a prayer wheel produces the same benefits as having recited the number of prayers inside the prayer wheel multiplied by how many times the prayer wheel spins around. Each revolution of the Tibet Tech prayer wheels at Earth Sanctuary releases more than 1.3 trillion prayers.

### Compressed Cube Tensegrity Sculpture

Earth Sanctuary’s Compressed Cube Tensegrity Sculpture is the culmination of Chuck Pettis’ musings on Kenneth Snelson’s tensegrity artworks and his early studies with Buckminster Fuller. The sculpture appears to be floating in space at the same time it is locked into form. This presents a moment of stasis, electrifying.