Sacred Circle Fire Ring
Granite scraps make a cool addition to this bluestone patio.
The Sacred Circle is a ceremonial fire pit, Hammerhead Stoneworks built on the outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina. Forty-five feet in diameter and requiring over 50 tons of stone, the Sacred Circle is used as a gathering place for a diverse community of spiritual practices. The space can accommodate groups of well over one hundred people.
Tennessee Sandstone was used for the drystone walls, seating caps, and the majority of the flagstone paving. Blades of Absolute Black radiate from the central fire pit to site boulders placed at the cardinal compass points. Immediately surrounding the fire ring, Pennsylvania bluestone along with countertop scraps create a celestial design, depicting our solar system from multiple perspectives.
Built in the winter of 2013-14, this was a large project for Hammerhead at the time and encompassed all of our craftsmanship and aesthetic ideals. This creation is a community gathering space as well as a beautiful and enduring work of functional art.
Firepit project layout
We confirmed the site layout with a rainbow of spray paint.
A car port frame laced with sheet plastic protects us from the elements.
Construction started with the drystone walls. Mason Gary Wilson works beneath the winter shelter. The gray conduit is for lighting spaced around the perimeter.
A long curving free-standing wall as part of a ceremonial fire pit.
Culverts are placed in each wall to allow surface drainage to escape the central patio, which crowns in the center at the fire pit.
Seating wall with capstones at the Sacred Circle fire ring.
The seating walls are 18″ tall. They are built drystone, though the caps are mortared in place for stability.
Rays of Absolute Black granite lead from the boulders to the fire ring.
We purchased two slabs of Absolute Black granite to complete the rays that connect the fire pit to the boulders.
Granite scraps make a cool addition to this bluestone patio.
Mars and Jupiter, scrap counter tops transformed into planets, float in a sky of Pennsylvania bluestone. The seams that make up the orbit of each planet are slightly beveled; from certain angles, one can see arc they follow around the sun. Pluto makes an appearance in the next segment, as a small icy white orb with an odd elliptical orbit.
A panorama of the fire pit dedication ceremony.
Over eighty people attended the first fire, a dedication event welcoming a diverse community of spiritual practices to the Sacred Circle. Taoist, Buddhist, Shamanic and Cherokee traditions were all honored.
First fire at the Sacred Circle
Sacred Circle Ring