Her Dreams Are Carved in Crystal: The Thirteen Moons of Callanish and the Sacred Echoes of the Sleeping Goddess
Updated: Dec 12, 2024
Welcome to Stone Temple Gardening where we dig deep to cultivate new understandings of the distant past! A big thank you to Lubi Lykan for allowing me to use her magnificent photos of Callanish. She is a very talented artist apart from her photography and you can see her wonderful wedding dresses, embroidery and couture here. Today's blog is about one of my favourite places. Callanish Stone Circle in Scotland.
Please leave a comment if you enjoy this article.
Callanish: Moon Temple
Amidst the shifting skies and rippling moors of the Isle of Lewis, the Callanish Stones rise like ancient vertebrae, thrust into the green skin of the land as if the earth herself had willed them into being. These enigmatic monoliths, weathered by eons of Atlantic tempests, form a singular arrangement often described as cruciform. Yet to reduce their form to mere geometry is to miss the living poetry of their presence. Callanish I, at its heart, is more than stone and symmetry; it is a map of myth, a mirror held up to the land and sky, reflecting mysteries only the patient observer might see.
Here, at this cosmic crossroads where sea, sky, and imagination converge, the stones seem to murmur with an unspoken dialogue. Who am I? What do you see? Am I just a shape? Their placement aligns not only with celestial rhythms but also with the undulating profile of the horizon. A celestial choreography that is not merely an abstract alignment but is intimately tied to the very earth on which they stand.
The Earth's Dreamscape
The Callanish Stones are perched on Cnoc an Tursa, a north-south aligned low promontory that juts into the tranquil waters of Loch Roag, creating a natural stage for the celestial and terrestrial drama that unfolds around her. This striking location, whose name translates to "Hill of the Standing Stones," offers a commanding vantage point over the surrounding landscape.
To the west, the rugged hills of Great Bernera rise, while on the horizon, the silhouette of the hills recline with a distinctive profile. The promontory’s narrowness and elevation seem to isolate the site, heightening its sense of sacredness and separation from the everyday world.
This choice of location was no coincidence; it reflects the Neolithic builders' profound understanding of the land’s contours and their alignment with celestial events. Cnoc an Tursa serves as both a platform for ritual observance of the heavens and a bridge between worlds, its position uniting the rhythms of the changing weather and stars with the permanence of the earth. This union of sky and soil finds further expression in the meticulous design of the stones themselves.
Rhythms of Stone and Sky
The Callanish Stones are arranged in an intricate and captivating pattern, reflecting deliberate design and purpose. At its heart lies an elliptical central circle, anchored by a commanding 3.5-metre-tall monolith. From this focal point, stone rows radiate outward like the limbs of an ancient figure, embodying both structure and symbolism.
To the north, a double row of stones forms an avenue stretching over 80 metres, its uneven heights evoking a sense of movement and ceremony, perhaps guiding participants or observers along a ritual path. Three additional stone rows extend from the circle, each differing in length and composition, hinting at connections to the central focus of the site, possibly representing links to broader cosmological or cultural ideas.
Later, a 6.4-metre chambered tomb was added to this timeless landscape, embedding further layers of history and human interaction. Over millennia, these stones have not only endured the elements but also stood as silent witnesses to the evolution of human thought, culture, and ritual.
Echoes of Ritual and Time
For centuries after the Neolithic era, Callanish lay hidden beneath the encroaching embrace of peat, its grandeur swallowed by time’s steady accumulation. Only the tops of its stones breached the surface, like the crowns of ancient giants drowned in a green and earthen sea, hinting at the mysteries buried below. This concealment however preserved the site until Sir James Matheson, in the 19th century, undertook to excavate it, revealing its full magnificence by clearing away two metres of peat, as if pulling back the curtain on a grand stage.
The 20th century brought Callanish into sharper focus, thanks to the meticulous work of archaeologist Patrick Ashmore. Radiocarbon dating placed the origins of this sacred site around 5000 BP, a pivotal era in the British Isles when communities were reshaping their relationship with the land through monumental architecture. Beneath the central monolith, the ground revealed a layered history: charred fragments of human bone, shards of pottery, and the later Bronze Age burial chamber. Dating to roughly 4500 BP, it was constructed long after the site's original purpose had begun to shift, its presence suggesting a continued reverence for Callanish as a place of transition and transformation.
The Bronze Age burial chamber itself held echoes of continuity and change. Its contents—cremated remains mingled with grave goods—point to evolving rituals, where the living sought to commune with their ancestors or the divine through fire and ash. This adaptation mirrors patterns seen at other ceremonial sites like Newgrange in Ireland and Gavrinis in France, where earlier Neolithic structures were reinterpreted and reused by later cultures. See my detailed post here.
The site’s evolution tells a story as organic as the land itself. Archaeological evidence suggests that Callanish began not in stone but in earth and wood, with an embankment and timber posts marking a possible early Neolithic dwelling that mirrors the foundation of the World Heritage site of Avebury (see my post here for more detail).
Over time, these ephemeral materials gave way to enduring stone. This transition was mirrored at sites like Stonehenge and the Ness of Brodgar, signifying a profound shift in how early communities anchored themselves monumentally within the landscape. It was an act of defiance against time and decay, a statement of permanence and spiritual intent that would echo through millennia.
Theories about this transformation highlight a deepening connection over time between the people and the cosmos. Some researchers suggest that as the community’s understanding of celestial cycles grew, so too did the need for monuments that would endure as lasting instruments of ritual and observance. Archaeologist Mike Parker-Pearson sees wood as symbolising the living and stone the ancestors. Perhaps this symbology was present here when the old was memorialised by the young in stone?
The later Bronze Age burial chamber signified not only a change in the site's use but also an unbroken thread of veneration, with Callanish continuing to serve as a liminal space—where the living, the dead, and the heavens converged. This convergence of worlds invites us into a realm of speculation, where the stones themselves might speak of cosmic origins.
Mea Culpa
At this juncture, dear reader, I must be honest with you. I could, of course, lace this essay with endless caveats, reminding you at every turn that much of what follows ventures into the realm of speculation. But rather than adopting the arid tone of academic conservatism—so often preoccupied with guarding reputations and tethered to the rigid frameworks of professional research—I’ll offer my mea culpa now and be done with it. What you are about to read, is a narrative unashamedly infused with credulity, an invitation to explore possibilities rather than certainties. You, dear reader, are perfectly capable of forming your own conclusions about the efficacy of my arguments. My role is simply to offer another lens—one grounded in observable and scientific facts but softened by the discursive freedom to imagine. After all, isn’t that what these ancient monuments ask of us? To see not just what is there, but what might have been? What visions might you conjure standing before these ancient stones, feeling the weight of history and the pull of the cosmos? I encourage you to visit, see, hear feel and imagine. Debate and challenge my ideas here as the whole point of science is not to remain static, but to move forward, and it is this spirit that I will proceed.
The Moon's Silent Dance
To the south of Callanish, a majestic line of mountains graces the horizon, crowned by the towering presence of Mt. Clisham. Looking at this vista from the centre of Callanish, let your imagination wander, and the landscape transforms: the contours of a reclining figure emerge—head, breasts, belly, and knees—stretching languidly across the moors. Known in English as Sleeping Beauty, the ancient Gaelic whispers her true name, Cailleach na Mointeach, the Old Woman of the Moors. She runs left of the largest hill in the picture below. Her nose is easily seen.
Every 18.6 years when the Full Moon reaches its southernmost extreme, a miracle of nature takes place when viewed from Callanish. This most auspicious lunation performs a celestial ballet with the distant horizon. It rises and rolls along the slumbering silhouette of the Sleeping Beauty as if sanctifying the Old Woman of the Hills divinity through cosmic spectacle. Yet, the spectacle transcends this initial dance; the Moon disappears then re-emerges, its luminous presence framed by the dramatic valley of Glen Langadale, painting a fleeting tableau of ethereal beauty. The builders of Callanish harnessed this natural magic by aligning the site so this Moon when viewed from the avenue ascends into the circle of the stones, bringing the Moon Goddess down from heaven into the earth. What is more, if a figure is standing there, they become silhouetted by the Moon and seem transformed into the Goddess herself personified. This is cosmic theatre on the grand scale
Margaret R. Curtis, a co-discoverer of this ancient knowledge and guide to its mysteries, shares her experience of this celestial spectacle. "We saw this rare and spectacular event in June 1987 with friends from across the world. None of us will ever forget the beauty of that calm, clear summer night. Even after years of scientific study, we had never anticipated the wonder and drama of the event itself."
At the heart of this spectacle, the Moon, in its journey towards its most extreme position, seems to pause, its light a silver thread weaving through the stones. Margaret recounts the miraculous finale: "The most awe-inspiring moment of all was when the Moon reappeared inside the circle. For three minutes, never revealing more than half of its orb in the narrow gap between the stones. The Moon was captured in an artificial frame of megaliths, and the cold grey pillars of stone were bathed in a golden glow."
This divine light stretched down the avenue, capturing all in its embrace. "Like a lighthouse beam, the Moonlight stretched down along the avenue towards us and caught us in its light." Here, within this luminescent corridor, a figure emerged, small at first, encapsulated by the honeyed glow of the Moon. "Next, a tiny human figure appeared, fitting inside the honey-coloured Moon, then gradually grew, shattering one's sense of scale, until twice the size of the Moon."
This visual alchemy, where the human and the celestial intertwine, must have rendered the figure both majestic and solitary within the sacred circle as the Moon rose from the horizon. Envision the grandeur of this spectacle in the distant past, where the power to evoke awe was harnessed through a performance of a mystical marvel, summoning the Goddess into the circle, with the priest enshrined by her might and splendour! Can you picture yourself there, witnessing this celestial drama unfold, feeling the ancient energy converge with the Moon's light? What would you feel at witnessing this rare and wonderous event?
Harmonic Horizons: The Ancient Symphony of Sky and Soil
Although the above spectacle dominates the narrative of the stones, almost as an afterthought, other calendrical alignments are built into Callanish. Like many other sites in the neolithic, dates important to measure the annual ebb and flow of the year and seasons are present here. Two notched stones in the circle create a natural “viewfinder,” perfectly aligned to catch the midsummer sunrise at the Summer Solstice. Elsewhere, the east-west line of stones invites you to witness the balance of light and dark at the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, as the sun sights precisely through another pair of standing stones. These ancient alignments, although mere sketches compared with the lunar masterpiece painted here, underline the deep communion with the heavens and an enduring bond between the earth and sky.
Frozen Moonlight: Form and Symbolism in the Stones of Callanish
The anthropomorphic elegance of the Callanish Stones bear witness to the shared skills and wisdom that once travelled across the ancient landscapes of Neolithic Britain and Ireland. Here, in the heart of the Outer Hebrides, the builders employed the very essence of their world, the Lewisian gneiss, a rock whose three billion years lineage traces back to the dawn of time itself. This stone, with its ancient veins of quartz and hornblende crystals gleaming in shades of white, red, and purple, serves not just as a material but as a canvas for spiritual artistry. Each stone has its own remarkable form, texture and power, including shapes that are anthropomorphic, skeletal, heart shaped, phallic and flame-like. Some swirl and writhe with crystals of different colours, others stand like bone bleached ribs. The site’s most famous researcher Margeret Curtis claimed she could trace figures with horns within the crystals. A remarkable display of stone forms that spark and impress the imagination and spirit as well as the eye.
The gneiss, under the ever-changing light, from dawn's first kiss to dusk's long shadows, transforms into something otherworldly. Quartz, embedded within, holds a magic all its own; its surface can catch the light and throw it back in glinting flashes. Quartz has some piezoelectric properties that must have seemed like magic, emitting light when struck and is found at many sites in some form. For the peoples of the Neolithic, it must have seemed as if the stones themselves were alive with the fire of creation. These crystals, akin to the glittering quartz splinters at Gavrinis in far-off Brittany, would have imbued Callanish with a mystical aura, where the boundary between earth and sky, between day and night, seemed to blur. Here, the stones are not mere markers of time but participants in a mystic ritual, their very substance chosen not just for durability but for its ability to converse with the heavens and shine with the lights of sanctity.
The integration of local materials was not merely practical but symbolically potent. The shimmering surfaces of the Callanish stones creating a visual link between the earthly and the divine. These luminous properties likely played a role in rituals, especially under Moon or firelight.
Echoes of Eternity: Unraveling the Veil of Time at Callanish
As we continue to peer through the veils of antiquity and tread the corridors of the past, it is obvious that the Callanish Stones began their silent vigil on the Isle of Lewis so far back in the cradle of time that their meaning and purpose has been lost to the contemporary observer. However, for those who look deeper a new story unfolds.
To see clearly we must first get past obscuring distractions placed in our way by modern worldviews. It is my contention that most of those who have speculated on Callanish’s shape have misunderstood the symbology of the site.
Landscape and Legend: The Sleeping Beauty's Cosmic Embrace
The arial view of Callanish reveals its singular construction which I argue is connected to its singular lunar function. Rather than being merely a geometric Celtic cross (as all modern commentators describe it), the stones were meticulously arranged into a pattern that—when compared with the undulating landscape of the Sleeping Beauty in the Bernera hills—mirrors her human form, linking the site’s form to the spectacle within the landscape. This interpretation, I believe, aligns more closely with how the site would have been experienced in its time, and is less burdened by the biases of modern aerial perspectives and the enticements of nationalistic interpretations.
Celtic Cross
Shadows of the Past: Beyond the Cross, the True Form Emerges
The modern tendency to view Callanish as resembling the so-called “Celtic Cross” strikes me as a projection onto the site, shaped more by 19th-century romanticism and contemporary cultural narratives than by the original Neolithic intent. The aerial view, which reveals a cross-like form resembling the “Celtic” symbol, is a perspective that the builders themselves would never have had. For those standing among the stones or viewing them from afar in the surrounding landscape, no obvious cross is apparent. Instead, the site’s arrangement invites movement, interaction, and alignment with the natural world—the hills, the sky, and the distant horizons—rather than rigidly echoing any particular geometric shape.
Moreover, the association with a “Celtic” symbol is a distinctly modern invention. The idea of the "Celtic Cross" as a symbol of ancient identity and heritage emerged during the 19th-century Celtic Revival, when romantic nationalism sought to create a sense of continuity between ancient monuments and contemporary cultural identity. In the case of Callanish, the resemblance to a cross seems more coincidental than intentional. The high crosses of early medieval Ireland and Britain, often cited as antecedents to this supposed connection, were themselves Christian symbols developed long after with no connection to the Neolithic period, and the
modern conception of this form has little bearing on the original purposes or meanings of sites like Callanish.
A Stylised Image From Newgrange Tomb Takes Centre Stage In This Celtic Nations Flag.
Identities Woven From Time: The Embrace of Nationalism and History
It is also worth considering how modern national narratives have shaped interpretations of Callanish. As a Scottish site, it has been drawn into broader efforts to root modern Scotland in deep and tangible national history, to claim its archeology as an ancient root of a new identity. While there is nothing inherently wrong with celebrating the ancient past, such interpretations often reflect more about contemporary desires for ideological inventions of community and imagined historical continuities than about the intentions of the Neolithic builders.
Viewed from the ground, as it would have been in antiquity, Callanish does not present a cross-like form but instead integrates seamlessly with the contours of the surrounding landscape. This alignment suggests a more fluid and organic connection to human and natural forms. Close your eyes and imagine the landscape as it might have been seen by those who built and revered these stones; how does the Sleeping Beauty shape your perception of this sacred site?
The Grounded Vision: Seeing Callanish with Ancient Eyes
By focusing on the lived experience of the site and its broader cosmological context, we can begin to move away from modern interpretations and appreciate the complex interplay of stone, land, and sky that makes Callanish so enduringly mysterious. My view is that Callanish is connected to a cult of the Goddess and the female power of the Full Moon that the site fully embraces. It speaks of a deep cosmic connection, as if the ancients sought to hold the mysteries of earthly existence and the cosmic after-life within their outstretched arms. The figure is headless when viewed from above (which it never was) but has legs, arms and a body visible on the ground. The central circle, an array of thirteen stones and a possible symbolic womb, was set against the backdrop of the ever-changing sky, with a bleached bone monolith at its heart standing tall like a child of the stars, a beacon for the celestial narratives to unfold.
Revelation: The Stone Goddess Sleeps
I spent a wonderful few weeks at Callanish some years ago in a bungalow very close to Callanish II. Sat in the dining room everyday ruminating after a languid lunch or delicious dinner, I could see Callanish III on the ridge through the East window and Callanish I from the West. I spent many hours watching the weather chase itself over the bay and gambol on the hills. One afternoon a few days in, I began to notice something extraordinary about the view of Callanish I, something I had never heard of despite many years interest and research on this site. When viewed from here, near Callanish II, the promontory and the Callanish stones upon it sketched a profile that echoes a woman reclining against the horizon. The headland itself transforms into a living sculpture: a headdress of craggy rock shapes her hair and crown, a small nose thrust forward. The circle gave the impression of a swelling abdomen by aligning perfectly with the belly, while the twin avenue “legs” tapered gracefully as one from this angle. This anthropomorphic tableau struck me as a strange accident—in a flash of realisation I saw it as a deliberate fusion of landscape and cosmology, a depiction of the Old Woman of the Moors sketched onto the Hebridean wilderness like an ancient glyph. Imagine how I felt, things began to make sense as the mists of time parted to reveal new vistas of inspiration. Were there any connections to femininity or childbirth hitherto unlooked for within the site itself? I knew about the connection to the Old Woman of the Moors, the Moon and the lunar standstill spectacle. Could there be other clues to its symbolism?
The Full Moon rose like a chalice of the night,
Brimmed with the quiet nectar of dreams,
Spilling its secrets like a poet's ink
Across the sky's dark parchment...
Extract from the poem "Callanish" by the author.
Thirteen Stones and 13 Moons
The Moon, with its silvery glow and ever-changing face, has long mesmerised humanity, weaving its light into the fabric of night and culture. Its connection to the number 13—a rhythm woven into the natural world—reflects its approximately 13 orbits around Earth each year. For ancient societies, these cycles were more than celestial phenomena; they were guiding forces shaping calendars, rituals, agriculture, and life itself. In cultures like the Maya or Native American tribes, the 13-month lunar year underscored themes of fertility, renewal, and the cycles of existence.
Echoes of the Feminine
This rhythm of 13 parallels the menstrual cycles of women, deepening the feminine symbolism associated with the Callanish Stones. Here, the circle of 13 standing stones resonates with the Moon's orbits and the approximately 13 menstrual cycles in a year. The alignment of lunar phases, each lasting about 29.5 days, with biological rhythms forms a powerful synchrony celebrated across cultures. At Callanish, the symbolism is palpable, as the stones amplify the Moon's connection to fertility, renewal, and creation—forces intimately tied to the feminine.
The shimmering gneiss stones, threaded with crystals evoking the Moon’s glow, seem purposefully chosen to embody this lunar essence. This interplay of form, material, and celestial rhythm suggests that the monument was not merely an astronomical observatory but a sacred space, honouring the cycles of the Moon and their resonance with life’s mysteries.
Celestial Harmonies
This profound relationship between the Moon, the number 13, and the rhythms of life is reflected in the Callanish Stones. Encircled by 13 standing stones, the towering central monolith seems to embody this lunar harmony—a petrified symbol of the connection between the cosmic and the earthly. The stones stand like midwives to life’s mysteries, their veined surfaces shimmering under the Moonlight, invoking a sense of awe and transformation.
For the people who raised these stones, the interplay of the Moon and the number 13 likely signified more than time’s passage; it embodied the cycles of fertility, birth, and renewal that governed their lives. What symbolic meanings might the number 13 hold for you, knowing its connection to both lunar and human rhythms?
As the Moon governs the tides and marks the cycles of fertility, so Callanish appears to rise and fall with its energies, standing as a bridge between earth and sky, where the boundaries of human existence dissolve into the greater mysteries of the universe. This stone circle, with its lunar geometry, may have served as a sacred space to honour these cycles—a place where the act of creation, from the first stirrings of life to the celestial rhythms that guide it, could be celebrated. In this way, Callanish is not just a monument of stone but a temple of time, offering an eternal hymn to the Moon’s profound role in the circle of life.
The Shining One: Myth, Magic, and the Lore of the Ancestors
Throughout the ages, myths have harboured secrets of forgotten rituals, intertwining threads of truth with symbolic puzzles that stretch across centuries. These tales, entwined with celestial wonders and magical rites, often preserve a kernel of ancient wisdom—hiding profound insights between the lines of surface meaning. Here, within these semantic seams, the meditations and philosophies of the ancients are encoded, their philosophies and worldviews stitched into the warp and weft of legend and lore. These stories are not merely
echoes of life's enigmas; they are secret portals into how our ancestors perceived the cosmos and their role within it.
Mirror of the Heavens
At Callanish, the myth of the Shining One spins a spectral thread through the tapestry of tradition. Old folkloric tongues have long murmured of a radiant figure who graces the sacred avenue just as the cuckoo herald’s midsummer's dawn. Clad in luminous garb, this enigmatic being treads a path where the celestial and terrestrial embrace. Might this figure be a lingering echo of the lunar standstill, the celestial spectacle that marks the Goddess’s visitation every 18.6 years? Here, within the circle's glimmering play of Moon rise and light, the legend of the Shining One could have been born, a vision enshrining the Moon’s journey as a spiritual voyage through the stones, threading the needle of time between earth and sky, past and present. Reflect on a time when you felt a connection to something beyond the everyday; could this be akin to the awe inspired by the Shining One during the lunar standstill at Callanish?
Moonlight Mysteries: Callanish, a Nexus of Eternal Harmony
This myth does not stand alone at Callanish but resonates with similar tales across cultures and landscapes. At Newgrange, the story of Aengus and his eternal abode parallels the winter solstice light that pierces its ancient passage, a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Stonehenge’s legends of Merlin’s sorcery encapsulate narratives of power and healing, while Delphi’s myth of Apollo and Python speaks to the purifying rites and prophetic wisdom that linked its sanctuary to the divine. These myths, aglow with mystery, are more than mere fables—they echo the rituals, celestial alignments, and the quest for cosmic harmony.
The Cuckoo's Call: Echoes of Fertility and Feminine Power
At Callanish, the Shining One legend if nor solar but in sync with the divine god Selene, the Moon, a ghostly figure embodying the deep feminine essence inscribed in the stones. Like the cuckoo's song heralding spring, her melody weaves through the Hebrides. In the language of bird lore, the Cuckoo Call is said to count the years until marriage for the maiden or promising the joy of children. A myth akin to the Moon's own symbolism of the cycle of rebirth. The Cuckoo with her secretive gift of life in foreign nests, mirrors the fertile promise of the lunar phases, a symbol of renewal and the nurturing spirit of the feminine. Could the tale of the Shining One preserve a folk memory of the Moons sacred dance? And is Callanish as a site dedicated to the mysteries of femininity and the Moon?
In the quietude of the Callanish stones, where the far-off hymns of the ancients still echo through the windswept moors, we stand at the confluence of time and eternity. These stones, more than mere markers of an ancient calendar, are the silent keepers of profound mysteries, their forms echoing the cycles of life, the pirouettes of the stars, and the very heartbeat of the earth. They are a map of myth, a mirror held up to both land and sky, revealing secrets to those who pause to listen.
The myths that have woven themselves around these monoliths, from the astral arabesques of the Moon to the luminous passage of the Shining One speak of a deeper connection to birth and fertility rather than death and the eternity of night so celebrated in the Neolithic tomb.
Conclusion: Between Worlds: The Silent Poetry of Stone and Sky
As we gaze upon these ancient bones thrust into the green skin of the land, we are invited not just to observe but to listen, to feel the pulse of the unseen. The earth's dreamscape, with its sacred geometry of stars, unites us with the cadences of stone and sky, where the stories of earth, the heavens and human spirit converge into a divine symphony of oneness with the universe. As you stand amidst the stones, what echoes of the past do you hear in the wind? What stories do they tell you about our place in this vast, mysterious universe?
These stones are not silent—they sing in silence, a hymn of alignment, of the Moon's dance with the earth, of life's eternal cycles. Underneath their stoic exteriors lies a narrative as complex as the stars they once charted, a testament to the human spirit's quest to understand its place in the grand tapestry of existence.
In this sacred geomantic monument, I find a personal reflection of my own journey. Like the Moon that wanes to wax again, I've experienced my own cycles of growth, loss, and renewal. Standing before Callanish, I am reminded of those moments when the mundane veil lifts, and we touch something greater, something ancient. It's in these moments that we feel the pulse of the cosmos, urging us to look beyond the everyday, to see the poetry etched in the landscape, the rhythm of life mirrored in the sky.
Callanish invites us to ponder the mysteries that our ancestors grappled with, to question, to wonder, and to connect with the legacy they left behind. These stones do not just stand on the Isle of Lewis; they stand within ourselves, a reminder that we too are part of this cosmic dance, our lives echoing the eternal movements of the heavens.
In this quiet communion with the stones, I am moved to reflect on my own existence. I am but a fleeting note in the great music of time, yet through these ancient markers, I feel connected to something vast, timeless. Here, in this dance of shadow and light, of stone and sky, I find a profound peace, an understanding that while I am small, I am also infinite, a part of the universe's endless story.
What about you, dear reader? What echoes of your own journey do you hear in the silent poetry of Callanish? What mysteries do you seek to unravel under the same Moon that has watched over these stones for thousands of years? Here, we are reminded of our connection to the earth, our place in the cosmos, and the enduring human experience that has always sought to understand the unknown through the poetry of earth, stone, and sky.
Alexander Peach December 2024
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Oh yes!!! This is Callanais, Callanish as they say.... but only in dreams can you imagine how timeless it is, nameless, without form or shape.... just a mirror of eternity. Thank you, Alexander for this amazing journey back through time and the marvellous mystery of life and death itself. I am touched by your incredible ability to capture the magickal energy of these stones in words and pictures. Some day, I would love to go back there, not in the dark of night and rain like last time, but in the bright moonlight and stars to guide my prayers of peace and inner supernal delight! Maybe in my next lifetime....
As I was reading the above I felt compelled to chant 'Cailleach na Mointeach', my body went into shivers and pulsing, pins and needles around my mouth and head. The activation after 20 mins is still happening and strong in the base chakra.
I would like to share my story with you...
June/July 2024 I was called by Spirit to travel from New Zealand to the UK and Ireland to do gridwork. I also had ancient ancestral clearings to do solo in Scotland, the Hebrides and Shetland.
Callanish, Rosslyn and Iona were the main ones, here are my experiences...
Rosslyn Chapel I felt the urge to sit down inside in a particular spot which I later found out was a…
This is very interesting. There is a similar landscape intention with the Stones of Stenness, in Orkney. Standing in the centre and looking towards the west, in Winter, there is a similar effect, but of the sun, returning to the womb of a female created by the mountains in hte distance. This time, the mountains in the forefront look like a woman lying on her back, her legs bent, her feet on the floor. Between her raised knees, her breasts, the more distant mountains, are visible. It is as if the sun is entering her body at sunset, which for me is very much connected to the winter solstice fertilty rites. Although to say 'rites' makes it sound like …