Places of Power

Places of Power - 1/5

"Could you write something on shamanism?" asked my editor, who is always a cheerful soul when it comes to inventing new projects, "it's for those pagans who have bought the Rollright Stones. They could do with a bit of support." This set me thinking. Recalling the Rollright Stones was easy, but I simply couldn't think of a way of fitting shamanism into the picture. I remembered our visit to the site, a few years ago, in the dusk of a long summer day. I had heard of the Rollright Stones, but what I had heard had not prepared me for the actual event. When you've seen places like Stonehenge, Avebury, or the stone avenues of Menec in Brittany you may develop the idea that people who build megalith sanctuaries like to do this in a large size. This is understandable, as most people represent important ideas in a big form, and to most people of the prehistoric days, religion seems to have been an important issue indeed. Rollright was a surprise. The stone-circle seemed so small that it felt comfortable. There was a friendly atmosphere to it, a sensation that reminded me less of a church or sanctuary but of a living room. Yes, there are megalith structures incorporating small megaliths! What the builders of Rollright had achieved was not just a miniature, however. The stones of the circle had that special appeal which you can sense in small but exquisite works of art. Each stone was very much alive-a good indication that plenty of people were coming there and keeping up the sentience, but also unique in a way that you may understand when you go there for a peaceful evening. We said hello to the place, explored the range of bizarre rocks, walked around the circle for a while and finally used the opportunity for a little seething, as you may have read in Seidways. During the trance, I was amazed how easily the place responded. The ground seemed to ripple and vibrate, waves seemed to run through the supposedly solid earth and out of the strangely shaped stones, faces and forms of animals appeared.

This was a highly subjective impression, of course. It does not matter much whether the stones actually house animal spirits, or whether the builders of Rollright had this effect in mind when they built the circle. They might just as well have thought of them as little people, as gnomes, dwarves, as place guardians or whatever. In another mood the stones might have given an entirely different impression, and indeed this is one of their best points. Looking at bizarre stones, such as the ones at Rollright, you can discover lots of hidden meanings, the stones being a Rorschach ink-blot mirror of yourself. Few arts are as subjective as the art of communication with places of power. If you like subjectivity, and want to treat your own subjectivity to some interesting experiences, here are some hints on how to get going, and what to do when you get there.


	Places of Power - 1/5 "Could you write something on shamanism?" asked my editor, who is always a cheerful soul when it comes to inventing new projects, "it's for those pagans who have bought the Rollright Stones. They could do with a bit of support." This set me thinking. Recalling the Rollright Stones was easy, but I simply couldn't think of a way of fitting shamanism into the picture. I remembered our visit to the site, a few years ago, in the dusk of a long summer day. I had heard of the Rollright Stones, but what I had heard had not prepared me for the actual event. When you've seen places like Stonehenge, Avebury, or the stone avenues of Menec in Brittany you may develop the idea that people who build megalith sanctuaries like to do this in a large size. This is understandable, as most people represent important ideas in a big form, and to most people of the prehistoric days, religion seems to have been an important issue indeed. Rollright was a surprise. The stone-circle seemed so small that it felt comfortable. There was a friendly atmosphere to it, a sensation that reminded me less of a church or sanctuary but of a living room. Yes, there are megalith structures incorporating small megaliths! What the builders of Rollright had achieved was not just a miniature, however. The stones of the circle had that special appeal which you can sense in small but exquisite works of art. Each stone was very much alive-a good indication that plenty of people were coming there and keeping up the sentience, but also unique in a way that you may understand when you go there for a peaceful evening. We said hello to the place, explored the range of bizarre rocks, walked around the circle for a while and finally used the opportunity for a little seething, as you may have read in Seidways. During the trance, I was amazed how easily the place responded. The ground seemed to ripple and vibrate, waves seemed to run through the supposedly solid earth and out of the strangely shaped stones, faces and forms of animals appeared. This was a highly subjective impression, of course. It does not matter much whether the stones actually house animal spirits, or whether the builders of Rollright had this effect in mind when they built the circle. They might just as well have thought of them as little people, as gnomes, dwarves, as place guardians or whatever. In another mood the stones might have given an entirely different impression, and indeed this is one of their best points. Looking at bizarre stones, such as the ones at Rollright, you can discover lots of hidden meanings, the stones being a Rorschach ink-blot mirror of yourself. Few arts are as subjective as the art of communication with places of power. If you like subjectivity, and want to treat your own subjectivity to some interesting experiences, here are some hints on how to get going, and what to do when you get there.