Sunwheel Block

Today we poured concrete and I did the mosaic on the 58"x32" step, our third mosaic step at the top of the stairs. We'll take the wood form off in a few days when the concrete has cured. I still have some minor cleanup to do on the tile pieces and black stones. This tile is all recycled from a huge project I did - two walls behind our woodstove - it took me 8 days to tile it and a few years later 8 days to remove it. I am happy to be reusing all the tile, including the marvelous fan-shape tile corners.

This is a pair of ancient symbols that date back to 2250 B.C.E. in Sweden. The cross within a circle is one of the many symbols of the sun, and one of the oldest spiritual symbols of the Germanic peoples. It is representative of the seasonal cycles of the year, the cycles of agricultural succes in the field and the cycles of human events within the year. It invokes the vital cosmic powers of life, fertility, peace and plenty from the fire of the heavens. The Earth is represented to this day by the sunwheel in scientific communities. It is the symbol of Terra Firma - our planet - the very center of all magical and other worldly culminations from all nine worlds. In ancient times small sunwheels made of wheat were set on fire and rolled down the fjords into the bay in Scandinavian rituals at Midsummer.