B
Beryl M
Guest
Stories From Stones
An excerpt from a book published by Algora Publishing. Available now from all bookshops and on-line retailers
The folklore of stones is fascinating for its timeless tale of mystery and fantasy and implausible possibilities. In this chapter various sacred stone sites will be presented with each site’s lore and history explored. Perhaps one of the most famous of these sites is that of the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, England.
The Rollright Stones The Rollright Stones form a perfect stone circle located on a prehistoric track way on an Oxfordshire ridge. One hundred four feet in diameter, this stone circle was created and utilized from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. (1) Originally consisting of 80, shoulder-to-shoulder standing stones, the Rollright stone circle was probably built as an “unequivocal astronomical sightline”, according to researcher Aubrey Burl. (2) Located in an area of many other ancient stone groupings, the Rollrights have many legends attached to them, including one that says that witches or faeries cast a spell over the site so that no one may get an accurate count of the stones. Mark Turner tells us “indeed it is said: The man will never live who shall count the stones three times and find the number the same each time.” In fact authoritative books list the number of stones at 60, 72 or 80. (3) There are other legends involving witches as well. One name given to the Rollrights is “The Whispering Knights”. It is said that a king and his troops were turned to stone by a witch and traitors who were following the royal band were also transformed—it is the traitor stones that have been given the “Whispering Knights” name. Other stones in the circle are called the King Stone and the King’s Men. In the legend the witch turns herself into an elder tree. It is true that witches have used the stone circle for rituals at least from Tudor times and probably into the 21st century.
Researcher Cheryl Straffon believes that this story is indicative of the ancient practice of kingship arising from the land and the goddess of that land. The witch was in reality the Goddess of nature and she refused to grant the power to rule to the king—turning him instead to stone. When the witch turned herself into the elder tree she once again became the Goddess of nature. The elder was sacred to the Celts. The elder that was present at the Rollrights was ritually “bled” on Midsummer Eve until the 1700’s and, according to Straffon, “at the climax of this bleeding ritual, the King Stone was supposed to move its head.” (4)
Another legend tells of a miller who took one of the stones to dam a stream for his waterwheel. Much to his dismay the water drained away every evening from the dam. While the miller had to use three horses to acquire the stone he only needed one to return it. The story says that witches had placed a spell on the stones. (5)
Stories of dancing Faeries that frequent or live under the stone circle are also told but one thing is still certain, people continue to leave offerings of coins and flowers at the stones and others have chipped pieces from the King Stone in the belief that they may be used as powerful amulets. Other legends speak of young women who were rumored to touch the King stone with their breasts at midnight to ensure fertility; the Whispering Knights were visited by girls and young women who could hear the stones whispering the name of their future husbands to them. The stones were also visited by infertile women who would rub the stones with their bare breasts during the full moon seeking the powers of fertility. This bit of sympathetic magic was used to get the attention of the spirits of the dead who “must have been expected to assist the purposes of the rites, or even to incarnate themselves in the children born as a result of barren women resorting to these stones.” (6) The link between the ancestors and megaliths is a strong and eternal one. The stones are also said to dance at certain times and the King Stone, along with the Whispering Knights, have been said to walk down to the nearby stream at night to drink. (7)
That there is some unusual power source at the Rollrights has been documented through the years by the Dragon Project which found that the Rollrights, like all other stone circle arrangements in England and Wales, are located within a mile of existing fault lines. (8) Magnetic anomalies and photographic oddities have also been recorded at this site. An unusual “cloud” effect has been seen in infrared photographs taken at the Rollrights, which was not visible to the photographers and which has not been explained. (9)
One explanation for the construction of the Rollright stone circle is that it was used for the observance of the Divine Marriage—that is the celestial movements that occur during certain times of the year (normally the solstices) wherein the standing stones of certain stone circles cast a long, phallic shadow into the entryway of the circle representing the vulva, thus the copulation of the Gods. (10)
The Merry Maidens stone circle is located in a field near the B3315 roadway four miles southwest of Penzance in Cornwall, England. It was restored in 1860 and is one of the most perfectly circular stone circles surviving into the present age. The circle is 78 feet in diameter and composed of nineteen stones spaced twelve feet apart. Two additional standing stones, called the Pipers, are located one-quarter of a mile away. These two stones are 13 and 15 feet in height as compared to the Merry Maiden stones, which are about four feet in height.
According to legend nineteen girls were caught dancing one Sabbath day and turned to stone, the two standing stones were the two pipers who accompanied their dancing and were turned to stone as well. This story probably did not originate until Puritans spread it in the 1600’s as an example of the consequences of not obeying the Sabbath, however such stories are common in folklore with similar stories told in Native American mythology (i.e. the story of Standing Rock).
A more mundane legend says that the Saxon King Athelstan erected the Pipers in the 10th century CE to commemorate the conquest of Cornwall. The two standing stones marked the signing of the treaty between Athelstan and the Cornish ruler, Howel. (11) This legend is probably closer to the truth. The stone circle however is thousands of years older.
Boscawen-un
Located four miles west of Penzance lay the stone circle of Boscawen-un. Like the Merry Maiden’s stone circle Boscawen-un is also comprised of 19 stones. It also has a standing stone in the center, which appears to purposefully lean to provide a sundial effect as the sun moves across the sky. One stone in the southwest is pure quartz and current lore is that anyone suffering from any ailments may find relief by touching the stone or laying the afflicted part on its surface. When I visited this circle a few years ago evidence that it was still being used for contemporary Pagan rituals was observed—mostly in the form of ashes located at the base of the center stone. Michell noted that this circle is still used by Britain’s bards and augers as one of their three main assembly points. (12)
There are several circles In the Land’s End area of Cornwall with the same number of stones and the question begs to ask, were they constructed by the same group of people under the same religious or civil leader? In Welsh, according to Burl (13), “’Beisgowan’ was one of the three great gorsaddau of Britain, and may have been the moot or judicial assembly-place of West Wales down to AD 926.” Eighteenth century scholar William Stuckeley stated that this circle was the first to be built in Britain by the proto-Christian Tyrian Hercules. There has never been any proof of this however.
A nearby outcrop of stones reportedly has a huge imprint of a foot left by one of the old Cornish giants. The atmosphere here is one of sadness rather than of the light and mischievous air of the Merry Maidens. It is a beautiful spot with an old, probably ancient, path leading to the stones through the sometimes-heavy gorse ground cover. It is perhaps the isolated feeling you get when standing in the ancient circle that creates the feeling of sadness or perhaps it comes from the knowledge that the people who built this sacred site and their old ways are no longer.
An excerpt from a book published by Algora Publishing. Available now from all bookshops and on-line retailers
The folklore of stones is fascinating for its timeless tale of mystery and fantasy and implausible possibilities. In this chapter various sacred stone sites will be presented with each site’s lore and history explored. Perhaps one of the most famous of these sites is that of the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, England.
The Rollright Stones The Rollright Stones form a perfect stone circle located on a prehistoric track way on an Oxfordshire ridge. One hundred four feet in diameter, this stone circle was created and utilized from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. (1) Originally consisting of 80, shoulder-to-shoulder standing stones, the Rollright stone circle was probably built as an “unequivocal astronomical sightline”, according to researcher Aubrey Burl. (2) Located in an area of many other ancient stone groupings, the Rollrights have many legends attached to them, including one that says that witches or faeries cast a spell over the site so that no one may get an accurate count of the stones. Mark Turner tells us “indeed it is said: The man will never live who shall count the stones three times and find the number the same each time.” In fact authoritative books list the number of stones at 60, 72 or 80. (3) There are other legends involving witches as well. One name given to the Rollrights is “The Whispering Knights”. It is said that a king and his troops were turned to stone by a witch and traitors who were following the royal band were also transformed—it is the traitor stones that have been given the “Whispering Knights” name. Other stones in the circle are called the King Stone and the King’s Men. In the legend the witch turns herself into an elder tree. It is true that witches have used the stone circle for rituals at least from Tudor times and probably into the 21st century.
Researcher Cheryl Straffon believes that this story is indicative of the ancient practice of kingship arising from the land and the goddess of that land. The witch was in reality the Goddess of nature and she refused to grant the power to rule to the king—turning him instead to stone. When the witch turned herself into the elder tree she once again became the Goddess of nature. The elder was sacred to the Celts. The elder that was present at the Rollrights was ritually “bled” on Midsummer Eve until the 1700’s and, according to Straffon, “at the climax of this bleeding ritual, the King Stone was supposed to move its head.” (4)
Another legend tells of a miller who took one of the stones to dam a stream for his waterwheel. Much to his dismay the water drained away every evening from the dam. While the miller had to use three horses to acquire the stone he only needed one to return it. The story says that witches had placed a spell on the stones. (5)
Stories of dancing Faeries that frequent or live under the stone circle are also told but one thing is still certain, people continue to leave offerings of coins and flowers at the stones and others have chipped pieces from the King Stone in the belief that they may be used as powerful amulets. Other legends speak of young women who were rumored to touch the King stone with their breasts at midnight to ensure fertility; the Whispering Knights were visited by girls and young women who could hear the stones whispering the name of their future husbands to them. The stones were also visited by infertile women who would rub the stones with their bare breasts during the full moon seeking the powers of fertility. This bit of sympathetic magic was used to get the attention of the spirits of the dead who “must have been expected to assist the purposes of the rites, or even to incarnate themselves in the children born as a result of barren women resorting to these stones.” (6) The link between the ancestors and megaliths is a strong and eternal one. The stones are also said to dance at certain times and the King Stone, along with the Whispering Knights, have been said to walk down to the nearby stream at night to drink. (7)
That there is some unusual power source at the Rollrights has been documented through the years by the Dragon Project which found that the Rollrights, like all other stone circle arrangements in England and Wales, are located within a mile of existing fault lines. (8) Magnetic anomalies and photographic oddities have also been recorded at this site. An unusual “cloud” effect has been seen in infrared photographs taken at the Rollrights, which was not visible to the photographers and which has not been explained. (9)
One explanation for the construction of the Rollright stone circle is that it was used for the observance of the Divine Marriage—that is the celestial movements that occur during certain times of the year (normally the solstices) wherein the standing stones of certain stone circles cast a long, phallic shadow into the entryway of the circle representing the vulva, thus the copulation of the Gods. (10)
The Merry Maidens stone circle is located in a field near the B3315 roadway four miles southwest of Penzance in Cornwall, England. It was restored in 1860 and is one of the most perfectly circular stone circles surviving into the present age. The circle is 78 feet in diameter and composed of nineteen stones spaced twelve feet apart. Two additional standing stones, called the Pipers, are located one-quarter of a mile away. These two stones are 13 and 15 feet in height as compared to the Merry Maiden stones, which are about four feet in height.
According to legend nineteen girls were caught dancing one Sabbath day and turned to stone, the two standing stones were the two pipers who accompanied their dancing and were turned to stone as well. This story probably did not originate until Puritans spread it in the 1600’s as an example of the consequences of not obeying the Sabbath, however such stories are common in folklore with similar stories told in Native American mythology (i.e. the story of Standing Rock).
A more mundane legend says that the Saxon King Athelstan erected the Pipers in the 10th century CE to commemorate the conquest of Cornwall. The two standing stones marked the signing of the treaty between Athelstan and the Cornish ruler, Howel. (11) This legend is probably closer to the truth. The stone circle however is thousands of years older.
Boscawen-un
Located four miles west of Penzance lay the stone circle of Boscawen-un. Like the Merry Maiden’s stone circle Boscawen-un is also comprised of 19 stones. It also has a standing stone in the center, which appears to purposefully lean to provide a sundial effect as the sun moves across the sky. One stone in the southwest is pure quartz and current lore is that anyone suffering from any ailments may find relief by touching the stone or laying the afflicted part on its surface. When I visited this circle a few years ago evidence that it was still being used for contemporary Pagan rituals was observed—mostly in the form of ashes located at the base of the center stone. Michell noted that this circle is still used by Britain’s bards and augers as one of their three main assembly points. (12)
There are several circles In the Land’s End area of Cornwall with the same number of stones and the question begs to ask, were they constructed by the same group of people under the same religious or civil leader? In Welsh, according to Burl (13), “’Beisgowan’ was one of the three great gorsaddau of Britain, and may have been the moot or judicial assembly-place of West Wales down to AD 926.” Eighteenth century scholar William Stuckeley stated that this circle was the first to be built in Britain by the proto-Christian Tyrian Hercules. There has never been any proof of this however.
A nearby outcrop of stones reportedly has a huge imprint of a foot left by one of the old Cornish giants. The atmosphere here is one of sadness rather than of the light and mischievous air of the Merry Maidens. It is a beautiful spot with an old, probably ancient, path leading to the stones through the sometimes-heavy gorse ground cover. It is perhaps the isolated feeling you get when standing in the ancient circle that creates the feeling of sadness or perhaps it comes from the knowledge that the people who built this sacred site and their old ways are no longer.
