Saturday 28 December 2019
Saturday 21 December 2019
Solstice Stone Circle
Today I went with a friend, whose birthday it is, to take her to visit the Rollright Stones, a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age Stone Circle, about 45 minutes drive from here.
After days of rain it was at least dry above (though not underfoot), but still we were in the bareness of winter landscape.
Nearby, someone had constructed a sculpture of sticks and twigs, seemingly of the Winter Crone.
The stones in the circle are extremely eroded, leaving hollows and pock-marks, in which people had left gifts of wild bird food, or of dried sage leaves or flowers.
A short walk from the circle are the remains of a ruined and fragmented Dolmen tomb.
Here there were more offerings - coins, a ribbon (perhaps prayer tokens) and scattered ashes from a much more recent funeral rite.
When we walked back from the dolmen, people were gathering, some in costume: wearing cloaks, carrying staves, some with ivy or antler headdresses. There were adults, young children, teenagers, dogs.
A centrepiece of offerings had been created - winter evergreens, fruit, flowers, cakes, wine, incense . . . 'Cakes and wine' for sharing later.
And drummers were taking up position.
The sleeves of the purple jackets read, 'Bang to Rites' !
We should have realised: visiting an ancient stone circle, that is always open and accessible to the general public, on the day of the solstice . . . but we hadn't thought, hadn't anticipated . . . and we found ourselves in the middle of a somewhat ramshackle pagan Winter Solstice ritual. This included going round the very large circle introducing ourselves; some just gave names and where they had come from, others identified themselves: as 'witch', 'druid', 'pagan', 'hedgewitch', 'Gardnerian witch', 'follower of the old ways'. People had come from far and wide, some from long distances - maybe just for this gathering; more likely visiting somewhere nearby for Christmas.
We didn't stay for 'cakes and wine'. We were both chilled and needed to be on the road - it was, after all the shortest day. So we headed for a nearby pub to buy hot drinks and a bowl of chips, and to get warmed by the fire. Then we headed home, just as the weather broke and it started to rain yet again.
After days of rain it was at least dry above (though not underfoot), but still we were in the bareness of winter landscape.
Nearby, someone had constructed a sculpture of sticks and twigs, seemingly of the Winter Crone.
The stones in the circle are extremely eroded, leaving hollows and pock-marks, in which people had left gifts of wild bird food, or of dried sage leaves or flowers.
A short walk from the circle are the remains of a ruined and fragmented Dolmen tomb.
Here there were more offerings - coins, a ribbon (perhaps prayer tokens) and scattered ashes from a much more recent funeral rite.
When we walked back from the dolmen, people were gathering, some in costume: wearing cloaks, carrying staves, some with ivy or antler headdresses. There were adults, young children, teenagers, dogs.
A centrepiece of offerings had been created - winter evergreens, fruit, flowers, cakes, wine, incense . . . 'Cakes and wine' for sharing later.
And drummers were taking up position.
The sleeves of the purple jackets read, 'Bang to Rites' !
We should have realised: visiting an ancient stone circle, that is always open and accessible to the general public, on the day of the solstice . . . but we hadn't thought, hadn't anticipated . . . and we found ourselves in the middle of a somewhat ramshackle pagan Winter Solstice ritual. This included going round the very large circle introducing ourselves; some just gave names and where they had come from, others identified themselves: as 'witch', 'druid', 'pagan', 'hedgewitch', 'Gardnerian witch', 'follower of the old ways'. People had come from far and wide, some from long distances - maybe just for this gathering; more likely visiting somewhere nearby for Christmas.
We didn't stay for 'cakes and wine'. We were both chilled and needed to be on the road - it was, after all the shortest day. So we headed for a nearby pub to buy hot drinks and a bowl of chips, and to get warmed by the fire. Then we headed home, just as the weather broke and it started to rain yet again.
Sunday 15 December 2019
Wednesday 4 December 2019
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