Mystical and definitely
Otherworldly, the circles of stones speak to us of days long ago,
which we will never fully know. Monuments of the Neolithic period,
of the early Bronze Age and continuing into the Iron Age, they hold
a fascination for many people and especially those of us who hold
in our hearts the belief of the Faery-Faith.
Often located in hauntingly
lonely places well away from all signs of the modern world, they
can instill in the person who seeks them out a feeling of awe as
one ponders their cryptic purpose. It is no wonder that stone circles
have given rise to all kinds of bizarre speculation about their
builders and users, arousing in the imaginative visitor visions
of lurid torchlight ceremonies performed under the stars, presided
over by robed Druidic priests. That much may be fantasy.
Equally, it is doubtful
if we will ever come close to learning the truth about these monuments.
Even the natives who live within the local of stone circles can
only provide a vague hint of what they might mean at all. For the
most part we are left to intuit the powerful messages rising from
the very center of the land in which these formidable orthostats encompass.
By definition, a stone
circle is an arrangement of upright stones forming an open ring
whose purpose was essentially ritual. It is often but not always
megalithic in character. About two hundred sites are known in Ireland and it is probable that very many more lie undiscovered beneath
large areas of blanket bog. Of the recorded sites two main concentrations
are identified: in southwest Munster and mid-Ulster, the latter
centered in the Sperrin Mountains region of Co. Tyrone.
Stone circles are also
found in the adjoining counties of Fermanagh and Derry. In this
area the stones tend to be of small size, generally no more than
2 feet in height. Some of the Ulster circles have associated stone
rows, called alignments, and some stand near cairns and other burial
monuments.
Stone circles are scarce
in eastern Ireland and only a handful of widely separated sites
are recorded. These are found in Wicklow, Castleruddery, Kildare
and the Loughcrew Hills, which is actually located in Co. Meath.
The Munster distribution occurs mainly in two areas of Co. Cork:
one in the coastal district of Ross Carbery and its hinterland,
the other in the Boggeragh Mountains some 30 miles inland. Co. Kerry
has a good many sites and several excellent examples are located
along the east side of the Kenmare River. A few of the better known
monuments are signposted but while these include some fine megalithic
rings, there are other interesting sites which the dedicated hill-walker
will only discover through personal inquiry.
Some of the circles,
with the greatest sense of atmosphere, are the most hidden though
they are not necessarily always remote from centers of population.
A distinguishing feature of many of the Co. Cork stone circles is
the presence in the ring of a horizontal axial stone, referred to
as a "recumbent stone," aligned with two dominant portal stones
placed directly opposite. The occurrence of the axial stone has
provided a strong argument in support of the theory that these structures
were erected for an astronomical purpose.
The popular idea that
stone circles were sophisticated observatories built to the instructions
of an astronomer-priest elite is now largely discredited. Attempts
to establish precise celestial alignments for many of these monuments
tend to be inconclusive, not because none could be discovered but
because those that were could not be shown to be the result of intentional
planning. The probability of fortuitous alignments occurring is
high, and while some rings revealed several possibilities, others
produced none. That is not to say that orientation played no part
in the design of stone circles. On the contrary, it is noteworthy
that the axial stone circles of west Munster are nearly always aligned
northeast to southwest, that is, with the portal stones facing sunrise
and the axial stone facing sunset. However, there is sufficient
deviation from one circle to another to suggest that exact alignment
was not required and that orientation was more likely to be connected
with ritual than with scientific study, perhaps in the same way that many Bronze Age wedge-tombs, with
which stone circles are broadly contemporary, have their entrances
facing south-west towards the setting sun.
The stone circles of
southwest Ireland have diameters of from 8 to 30 feet or more. Small
five-stone rings are the most consistent type and should perhaps
be regarded as a specific class. The larger axial stone circles
of Munster are composed of between eleven and seventeen stones,
while greater numbers are also found. The height and shape of the
orthostats varies considerably, from low boulder rings whose stones
are no more than a foot or so above the ground, to imposing circles
that have portal stones of which stand over 6 feet high.
While the majority of
stone circles are freestanding, some earth-banked rings occur, as
well as enfossed examples, which are related to the henge monuments.
Henge monuments are a type of sanctuary consisting of a circular
earthen bank with internal fosse. Some of these enclosures may pre-date
the stone circle cult but others are probably contemporary with
it, and a number of ritual monuments combine features of both (circle-henges).
It is clear that in some instances the stones were selected for
their shape as well as their size. Mostly un-worked slabs are used,
often boldly faceted and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Sometimes
trimming and smoothing may emphasize a natural feature, and the
stones may be graded for height, usually diminishing in size from
the portals to the axial stone. In some circles the portal stones
are thought to be male and female
symbols.
The most imposing of
all the Irish stone circles is the Lios at Grange, by the western
shore of Lough Gur in Co. Limerick. This well-known and thoroughly
investigated monument is composed of huge stones set contiguously
inside a wide earthen bank. The monument is in some respects unique
but it fits within the accepted concept of stone circles as ritual
centers rather than places of habitation, a facet which excavation
helped to establish. The few stone circles that have been excavated
in Ireland produced hardly any datable evidence, with the exception
of the Lios, the very ample finds from which enabled archaeologists
to assign it with a fair degree of certainty to the Early Bronze
Age.
A clue to the uses of
some stone circles might be sought in folklore. The seven stones
of Lissyviggeen are explained in an old legend as the children of
two giants (represented by the tall outliers), all of whom were
turned to stone as they danced. Likewise, the large 13 stones of
Piper's Stone Circle are explained in an old legend that dancers
were turned into stone for dancing a profane or pagan dance to a
Faery Piper.
The theme of ossified
dancers recurs in connection with other stone circles in Ireland,
and since folklore often preserves elements of fact, one might conclude
that these stories hint at an older use of stone circles, a religious
rite that involved dancing to the sun.
The Dindsheanchus of
the Teamhair stone circle (now disappeared) called the Deisiol,
suggests that one of its uses was a circling processing made in
order to induce the Powers to give success in battle: "a ward with
luck before going to death, where men used to turn right-hand wise."
And let us not forget the Dindsheanchus of Magh Sleacht, an ancient
Irish poem, about 1,000 years old, which describes the old god,
Cromm Cruiach: "Stone idols old ranked round Cromm Cruiach, four
times three, they were of stone, but he of gold." This clearly
illustrates a stone circle of thirteen stones, in which one (most
likely gilded in gold) stood in the center to represent the old
god, with 12 lesser gods encircling him.
Here we learn that this
stone circle was a place of ritual sacrifice that involved animals,
children, and at least one sacrificial king, Tighearnmhas. It was
said that St. Patrick destroyed the whole group of stones with a
maul or sledgehammer. Obviously, this is the story of the early
struggles between Paganism and Christianity. In the oldest legend
then, we learn that the stone circle may really be less a dancing
place than a representation of the dance itself. The chief god (whatever
his real name may have been) stands in the middle, or in front,
of the group, with the "sub-gods" circling round him in eternal
procession. The stones are gods, or rather the representative or
receptacles of godhead.
Were stone circles complex
astronomical observatories, or seats of judgement and law-making
or sacrificial altars, or more prosaically, places of trade where
bargains were struck and goods exchanged? In the end the mystery
remains, tantalizingly locked in the stones themselves and in the
lost culture of the people who painstakingly raised them into position
over three thousand years ago.
This author can only
speak from personal experience, which is based on fifteen years in
both Ireland and Britain. The stone circles in which I have stood
and worked the energy I can attest to the fact that all of them
are connected to a deep current of power that runs through the earth.
They are gateways into the Realm of Faery, and as such they also
emit the Faery and other creatures into our realm. The overwhelming
feeling of sanctity will fill the soul at some circles. This was
how I felt at the Fire Temple circle on the crest of Usneach.
This sanctity tugged
at the memory-strings, propelling my mind into a bit of an emotional
stupor, causing my heart to break a bit and depression to shroud
my countenance. A great longing came over my spirit, and the intense
need to step back into another space and time can created a momentary
bout of hysteria, while immortal memory blinded me.
Other circles have caused
me to want to dance, such as the Piper's Stone in Hollywood, Co.
Wicklow. But the first time I stepped through the stones to mistakenly
dance in the "center" the energy spiraled up from the core so fast
that I was knocked off balance, fell to the ground and literally
threw-up! I had to learn that the dance took place outside the stones.
This has been the only circle in which I have performed a Druid
Ordination on Cessair as we stood under the gnarled Hawthorne that
grows within the boundary of the circle.
Some stone circles are encrusted
with blood sacrifice, such as the Grange, and the creatures that
linger there have fed off the ritualistic spilling of the life force
and still hunger for it. In this circle it is not uncommon for the
visitor to suddenly find a cut on their hand with tiny beads of
blood dotting the surface of the skin. These are the circles that
require caution. These are the circles that the visitor must be
ware of stepping into at twilight or in the dark. These are the
circles that control and suck energy away from the uninformed. These
are the circles that look like an open mouth with bared teeth. These
are the circles I hesitate to enter out of respect for the dark
powers that dwell there.
Each stone circle that I have
visited, and there are more than just those described above, have
fed me and made my senses more astute just as I have probably fed
whatever dwelled there. For each stone circle is alive, and the eyes
and ears, and in some cases, teeth of the Otherworld sit in wait
for the next human energy to stumble in. In truth, there have not
been many ancient stone circles in which I've ever felt one hundred
percent comfortable. In fact, I don't think there is one. For I
am all tense and on guard in and around them. I sense the presence
of something that goes beyond my understanding or knowledge of experience.
Yet I am drawn to them, and it has become a hunger within my own
gut to stand within the confines of the stones on a regular basis.
And so, I now have my
own stone circle of six petrified rock gathered from the deserts
of the midwest, and one lava rock gathered from the awesome site
of Lava Falls in Kern Valley. This circle of seven stones encompasses
one large rose quartz placed in the center, for it is the dancing
circle of humanity, of this time and space, of this now. It's center
is aligned with the Hill of Usneach and its flame with the Hill
of Tara, and it has only been in the last three months (since returning
from Ireland) that the essence of Faery has begun to seep through
the stones into my world here, and for the first time I feel completely
at home and safe in a Stone Circle. This is the Ollamh Stone Circle, having received its name after a wolf walked its spiral by torchlight
and received this mantle of our Tradition.
The Faery-Faith Network provides spiritual information on and resources to guide you in the process of developing a personal connection to the Faerie Realm, the fairy, fairies, faery, faerie, faeries, Sidhe, nature spirits, totem animals, otherworld beings, spirit guides, Ancient Ones, Goddess, Goddesses, God, Gods, of Ireland through our spiritual community and/or via the many spirituality classes we offer, which will support the Mind Body Spirit connection, thus providing a greater sense of centered and grounded balance. The Faery Faith Tradition originated in Ireland in pre-Christian, pre-Celtic times and survived as n Oral Faerie Tradition until W.B. Yeats and Maud Gann, members of the Golden Dawn Society delved into the ancient Irish lore and myths, folk tales and fairy tales, and helped bring about the spirituality Celtic Revival. The Faery-Faith Network is not affiliated with any other spiritual organization, such as Victor Anderson's Feri Tradition, Scottish Underworld Traditions, Covenant of the Goddess (COG), the Fellowship of Isis (FOI), Order of Bards, Ovates. amd Druids (OBOD), etc. The Faery-Faith Network is based in Newport Beach, California.
