Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Holy ground?

Since the construction of Stonehenge is left to speculation, it has become a site of mystery and more notably, spirituality amongst Druids. They believe the site holds healing powers.  Some theologists have suggested it was the ancient Druids themselves who built Stonehenge as a temple.  Others state that the Druids were formed in the late 1700's, thus dispelling previous theology.  Either way, Druids of today can be found gathering around the magnificent structure every year during Summer Solstice.

Little did I know, though, that I would have a Druid encounter of my own. I first noticed him while Britt and I were snapping away at our cameras, as he made his way beside us, barefoot, holding his sandals in his hands.  Knowing that walking barefoot signifies the ground is holy (thanks to the story of Moses and the burning bush), I turned my attention away from Stonehenge to him.


He walked up as close to the partition as he could, knelt down and bowed his head.  30 seconds later he stood up, still facing Stonehenge, with his arms extended downwards, his palms facing the same direction he was, while looking up into the sky. He then turned with his back towards Stonehenge and assumed the same position as before.

As in awe as I was to see Stonehenge itself, I was equally in awe of the ritual I had just seen.  And I ended up catching glimpses of it 3 more times as he made his way around the structure.

1 comment:

ReL said...

That's kind of a neat experience. :-)