In the beginning…

November 4, 2022September 10, 2023 / Ann Murphy / 3 Comments

I have worked, energetically, with stone circles for twenty years, but it was on a trip to the remains of a stone circle in Cumbria, deep in a forest plantation, that I was granted a wonderful insight into one way which our Bronze age ancestors used the circles.

From that experience, I understood that some circles were associated with maintaining fertility. They were used ritually at certain points of the year, (solstices, equinoxes, etc) and at that time priests, priestesses, and the entire community channelled the energy of the solar light into the circle to fertilise the wheat they had harvested the previous season, fertilising the waiting earth beneath; the masculine creative force of the sun, fertilising the female earth.

At the end of the Mesolithic period, ancient communities moved from hunting and gathering to growing and tending. Their focus was on the growing of food, therefore taking care of both the physical landscape and the energetic landscape meant they had a better chance of survival. Their awareness of the Oneness of life was a part of them. They did not simply live on the planet, separate to it as we do, but they understood they were an integral part of it.

But how did the Early Neolithic farmers begin to use stone to contain and hold the energies they built in the landscape? How did they learn that particular form of energy-work in the first place? I have found no evidence of fertility work of this nature in the earlier Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. It seemed to arrive with people who grew their food on a large scale and who needed specific energetic help to accomplish that.

Before agriculture, hunters worked shamanically to connect to the spirit of the animal they were about to hunt, communicating with it before the hunt and asking for, and acknowledging, the creature’s sacrifice to feed them. But, with the advent of agriculture, some of these practices changed. To the ancestor, everything was energy. Every living thing, including apparently inert objects, such as stone, soil, etc, had a spirit and therefore deserved respect and acknowledgement. (You only have to look at the current indigenous people of the world to see how our ancestors might have lived).

It has always been a mystery to me how practices changed, from hunting and gathering, to include the growing of crops. Once you begin to grow food, the process and focus changes. But when did they begin to associate stone circles with corn-energising rituals?

It was only while reading Home by Francis Pryor, that I found a possible answer. Francis had been working on a Neolithic causewayed enclosure site in Etton along with his wife. The enclosure was part of a complex of enclosures, like Salisbury Plain, and comprised a single circuit of interrupted ditches. They discovered, at the end of each ditch segment, objects which had been carefully placed there. The deposits in the segmented ditches were laid in layers, each protected by a birchbark mat, which would have been naturally waterproof. Intact pottery vessels, turned upside-down, skulls, and broken quern stones, for the grinding of grain into flour, were also placed in layers in the ditches.

According to Prior, the objects placed within the ditches were crafts traditionally carried out by women: pottery, weaving, bread-making, etc. That makes me wonder why they deposited these particular objects in the ditches? Was the site traditionally viewed as female? Just as with the Cumbrian circle? The female energy was believed to reside in the earth, so it makes sense that if they wanted to ensure the positive flow of energy into their own home and tribe they would make offerings of gratitude for the resources already received and the petition for that flow to continue for the coming year.

Within the henge, there were also multiple pits filled with ritual deposits, but the most striking thing for me was that in the ditches on either side of the causeways, quern stones had been placed on their sides, so that they stood upright. Stones were placed on either side of the causeway, of which there were possibly four, oriented North, South, East and West, although the South entrance was subsequently destroyed. The deposits seem to have been placed, on separate occasions, but in the same place each time, in layers, perhaps during large gatherings, and by kin groups. Each time they gathered, they carried out ceremonies and a new stone was placed there; again on its side so that it stood upright, but above the buried layer of the previous celebrations.

Grain was an important part of their survival and the excavators of Etton discovered evidence that “cereal crops were both grown and processed within the immediate vicinity, perhaps within the enclosure.”

Datchet causeway. Example of how ditches were spaced.

When I read this for the first time, it immediately reminded me of my visit to Cumbria. and the importance of the stone circle in charging the wheat for the following growing season. The deposition of saddle querns, upright in the ditches, signalled for me the mental leap made by the Neolithic communities from ritual deposits of stones for wheat-grinding to standing stones. Wheat was such an important part of their survival that it stood to reason that the objects associated with grain processing should be held in such sacred esteem. I imagine, through the deposition of these stones, each family was both manifesting their food for the coming year but also giving something back to the Mother, in gratitude for feeding them; for taking care of them. And, as the quote above suggests, if the site was used for the processing of wheat, then corn rituals might well have been carried out in the centre too, creating what later became, the stone circles.

In Knowth, there is the huge concave stone in one of the recesses within the burial mound. Burial mounds represent the womb of the Mother. Knowth is part of the Newgrange complex, where the sun enters the chamber at Midwinter, to light up the darkness within. Again the solar rays fertilising the Mother. The large concave stone is like a huge ceremonial saddle quern and may well symbolise the fertilising of the grain. A gift to the mother and holder of the ashes of people who may have been the ones who carried out the sacred ceremonies.

The carving inside the stone is interesting too: To me, it looks like an energetic representation of the solar rays fertilising the seed within the womb of Mother Earth.

Of course, it may have had multiple meanings. As modern humans, we see symbols as representing things we only have understanding of ‘in the present’. We see things one-dimensionally. Our ancestors may have had access to knowledge we can only imagine, or re-learn, as we work in the energetic landscapes of the Mother.

The positioning of the saddle querns in the site in Etton also made me think of Mecca, where before Islam, tribal communities gathered there yearly. Each tribe had its own stone statue representing the energy of their tribe, their over-ruling deity, part of a circle of stones around the sacred site. Only with the coming of Islam was this practice destroyed and now only the ruling family have their ‘stone’, contained in the Kaaba. (Mecca had been a sacred site for many centuries, sacred to a triple goddess. One of these goddesses, Al-Uzzah, was a grain goddess).

As I was writing this, I found this very interesting article: https://www.hunebednieuwscafe.nl/2017/10/british-stone-circles-were-used-for-parties/ The article states: The research into the Ring of Brodgar also showed that each stone comes from a different part of the Orkney Islands. Apparently, each of the diverse groups of people brought its own stone and placed it in the monument. Remarkably, Professor Bayliss’ research also found evidence that people travelled to the Orkneys from as far away as Belgium. This fits very well with the idea of family groups/tribes having their quernstone in the circle.

Many ancient Mother/Goddess sites were symbolic womb; places where, at certain times of the year, the energies of fertility were strongest. The midwinter ritual of the sun piercing the darkest recesses of burial mounds, and temples, were fertility processes: the male sun sending his fertilising principle into the dark womb of the Mother to activate the egg waiting there. These were no empty rituals, however. Our ancestors understood the active energies that revitalised the energy lines in the earth, that brought new vitality after the dark of winter, warming the earth; bringing new growth. Where energy flows, so too does life.

There are naturally powerful places on earth where the energy is palpable, such as volcanos, places where crystals have formed, and deep underground caves. Places too where elemental energies are strong: rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests. But energy is also built through ritual and intention. I have never been a ‘ritual’ worker. I never really understood the purpose of ritual except as a focus for creating and for intention. But, I recently had an experience in a Cathedral Church in Arundel where I saw the result of ritual actions on the energy of a place over time.

We were working on making a triangular connection between the sea and the river Arun. I wasn’t sure where this connection was supposed to be anchored but we went into the cathedral, just in case. I had been given water energy by a wonderfully loving sea elemental on Littlehampton beach and although I knew I had to put it somewhere; I didn’t know where, until it happened. As I approached the altar, which was built on top of an ancient spring, I saw the blue column of light behind it, which had been built up over the years by the priests doing the bread and wine ritual. This was a surprise to me. The energy had built up over so many years and had created a healing channel in the cathedral. This is also where the water energy gift was anchored, which was also a huge surprise. (One of the important things to remember when doing energywork is that religious belief plays no part. It is the positive intentions to help humanity which are important. Although saying that, the ancientness of the catholic ritual contains an energy that I have not found in other, more modern religious rituals).

But this ritual also involves the energising of bread, just as the ancient ritual in the stone circle Cumbria showed. (I think the energising of the wine might have been Roman in origin and added later as patriarchal religions became more prominent. The wine is energised from ‘above’ whereas the bread should be energised by the mother-energy ‘below’).

So that brings us back to the quernstones. We know that causewayed enclosures were the forerunners of stone circles so if the quernstones were placed as sacred objects and connected to a particular kin-group, (as in old Mecca, and Orkney), then it is not such a stretch to see that the later ‘standing stones’/quernstones in a circle came to represent each kin-family’s offerings to the Mother Goddess. The rituals building up over time gave these places their sanctity but there may well have been an extant ‘energy’ that told them where to build these sites in the first place.

The alignments of the main causeways appear to be directional, and the east/west entrances align with the sun. (We have often found main energylines crossing over in these sites, although not necessarily NSEW aligned). The astrological alignment aspects of stone circles might have come into play as a way for them to be sure about the timing of important events. I’m sure the simple beginning of the ritual circles became more complicated over time.

A very good book which explains how Glastonbury abbey was created is: The Gate of Remembrance by Frederick Bligh Bond, F.R.I.B.A. It is a book about the discovery of The Edgar Chapel through automatic writing and gives very interesting energetic information on how a sacred site is created.

Here are some more links for information.

https://www.historyscotland.com/exploring-scotland/stone-circles-and-henges-c-3500-1000-bc-history-map/

Causewayed enclosures

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/historical-places-to-visit/stone-circles

Energetic development of a Stone Circle.

October 2, 2019December 19, 2023 / Ann Murphy / 7 Comments

Sacred sites have very humble beginnings, often as far back as the Mesolithic. From small henges to settled sites, hillforts, henges and stone circles, they all have one thing in common: they were created to bring fertility to the land so that those who lived on it, could thrive.

In much the same way as current practices of prayer and ceremony create energy where they are held, the energies of ancient ritual would also have built over time, allowing the energy to grow steadily and to expand. The people who worked them chose sites that we now call Chakra sites; points where the energy of the Universe, the sun, moon and stars, could enter, and feed, the body of the Mother/Earth. These points are still intuitively found, and I imagine that the ancient peoples coming back into Britain after the Ice Age would have discovered these sites easily and known what they were.

Food would have been a primary concern and so working with the forces of creation: water, sun, light etc., would have been their main focus. They were moving from a hunter-gatherer nomadic culture to a settled, agricultural culture and bringing their knowledge with them. The landscape was very different then. The last vestiges of the ice had pulled back, the landscape regrown, and it must have been a very fertile time. But, as nomads, they must have needed to know where these sites were, earmarking them for future habitation. They would have returned to these sites, year after year, their connection to the forces of nature petitioned, just as we pray/manifest now. Although the predominant energy I have always picked up at these places has been one of gratitude. They honoured the land. They honoured what it gave them. They took nothing for granted. And it is this energy that is readily available at working and active sites.

Over time, the energies they built expanded into the surrounding landscape and were eventually joined to other sites. A uniting of the tribes. Then new cultures came in, adding their knowledge and life evolved.

Henges and Stone circles.

Henges are circular banked enclosures with a focus on yearly celebrations and fertility rituals. These eventually evolved to become stone circles, often built on underground sources of water, or as a focus for solar rituals.

Hillforts.

Hillforts, before they became fortified settlements, were large fertility sites and would have housed an entire village. Their focus too was on grain, both growing and storing. They were experienced as sites of the Great Mother, and until the horse people came from the Steppes, were places of abundance and safety. Nearly every hillfort we have visited had an earlier Bronze Age settlement site beneath it which was enlarged over time, so these sites were ancient, even to the people who lived there.

Banjo Enclosures.

Often energetically connected to Hillforts are the smaller Banjo enclosures. These are small farms, but with a focus on energy and of ‘holding’ sacred energies. A small group of people worked these farms, either a family or a small tribal group. Some are quite large, but not as large as the bigger hillforts.

Burial Mounds.

Burial mounds come in different sizes, and designs, but so far, we have found that every one of them is a place of ceremony and sacredness, often built on and marking a ‘point’ in the sacred landscape, such as a cross-over of energy lines kept alive by the rituals carried out there.

All of these places are places where you can contact both the energy of the people who created them, and where you can connect with the knowledge held in them. The information is held as a template, each one layered on top of another, like a stacks of CDs, and is layered over time, changing the atmosphere around them. The knowledge is both a historical record and a record of the energies they guard. These records are designed to re-balance and nurture the landscape, influencing future generations of people.

Everything of a sacred nature, buildings, stone circles, burials mounds, etc, has an energetic blueprint, a plan of its energies and intention. It starts out as a point in time and space and gradually evolves into a large site of power and connection. Much like Christian sacred sites grow from their humble wooden chapels to become great edifices of stone. The place begins as a thoughtform, created by those who hold it sacred, and eventually that energy becomes physicalised by successive generations as they follow the intuitive promptings of the previously anchored energies.

Some sites are destined to remain small, and unobtrusive, while others become huge, affecting whole areas of the landscape. But all are connected, and all are part of an overall Motherboard, ensuring the fertility of the land and the balance of nature.

At specific points of high energy in the cycle of the year, often marked by astrological observations, the sites were collectively energised, thereby reinforcing the original intention for the site: to ensure the people’s survival. The planet’s energy body needs to be kept flowing and healthy, and both sacred ceremony and intention, through collective imagining does that. A healthy energy body is a healthy body and the ancestors knew that well.

The earth was perceived to be a Mother, a giver of abundance and in those terms, each site had its own particular function in the landscape. Some sites were celebrated in Spring, when the sun energises the seeds and makes the Winter Goddess, young again.

Other sites, such as Uffington, celebrated the Mayday energies, a time for human fertility, ensuring a good harvest; ‘Mother’ sites, such as Fosbury Hillfort, the Itchen Banjo and Danebury, etc., hold the energies of the Fecund Mother, holding her human children in her sacred womb.

Other sites, Long Barrows, celebrate the ancestors and the journey into the void, the Crone. Returning to the void of creation. They are the burial place of the sacred families, whose bones anchor the energies of death and rebirth.

Every site has its function and celebrations, not one of empty ritual, but that of energy-work, renewing the land for the future stability of the tribes.

Other energy points were created and ‘held’ by a person who, in life, had been a wielder of Spiritual power. That power was in her bones, in her physical body, and it was this energy that was placed in sacred burial places or Barrow burials. As long as the barrow and its inhabitant were honoured the energy flowed. Barrows too were part of the overall blueprint, each barrow fulfilling its own function and guarded by the energy of the person buried inside it.

You can also see this belief in early Christianity as ‘relics’. The bones, or possessions of the ‘Saint’ still hold its original owner’s saintly energy. Every church or chapel had its own relics, even if, in later years, they were not actually the real saint’s bones, but people still believed in them.

Some sites were destined to be lived in, to be holders of sacred life, but others, such as stone circles, were designed to be places of power, ritual and creation. The circles were gateways, allowing energy to flow in or flow out, places considered to be the Divine Womb, where the sun fertilised the seeds of the Mother.

They had other uses too, of course, but in terms of energy work in the landscape, I am focusing on this purpose. Circles like Avebury were used as a clearer of local energies. They acted like giant demanifesters, clearing old energies and allowing them to be renewed. Energies, thoughtforms no longer valid, negative human emotions, are all pulled into the void to be transformed and birthed anew. A good place for ‘letting go’ if you tune into that aspect of the circle. It makes me think of giant snakes eating and destroying, with its body, the negative or outmoded creations of others.

Avebury started life in much the same way as other sacred circles: as a home, a simple wooden structure. Perhaps the person who inhabited the house created the initial energies which ultimately, over hundreds of years, became the Avebury Complex. This is how many of them began. The person creates the necessary thoughtforms, anchors the layers of energy over years, and the people who come after him or her, continue the creation of the anchored blueprint. Even today, this is how sites evolve. You only have to look at how Findhorn began, to get an idea of what I mean. Who knows what Findhorn will become in a few hundred years.

So you see how these massive complexes can have had very humble beginnings. A small family of people who have brought their sacred knowldege with them and who anchor the foundations of very important sites for generations of people into the future. Thousands of years later, and we are learning how to access this energy and renew the sacred work that our ancestors did. Bringing back the balance, anchoring the new seed ideas and changing our ways of life so that future generations can survive and thrive.

This is a very brief explanation, as there are probably books worth of information needed to explain all of this, but I hope it gives you a flavour of how sites began, so that when you tune into one, you carry this knowledge with you.