The ancient stone circle builders employed advanced geometry, had intimate knowledge of astronomy, and were skilled as engineers. They could set out projects to an accuracy of one in a thousand (only an experienced surveyor with good equipment is likely to attain that accuracy, even today), and they could transport and erect blocks of stone weighing up to three hundred tons. They also knew of, and used the famous 3:4:5 right-angled triangle (also the 5:12:13, the 8:15:17, and the 12:35:37 right-angled triangles) in the setting out of ellipses, two thousand years before Pythagoras!

Megalithic Man had an accurate solar calendar, and had set up a series of lunar observatories that could accurately observe the intricate 18.61 yearly cycle of the moon. He knew of the moon’s “wobble” and could thereby predict eclipses, a massively complicated procedure even for modern man. He divided his year into sixteen parts, the cusps of which coincide with the Solstices, the Equinoxes, and the four fire festivals (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, and Lammas) at the cross-quarters.

Gone is the popular belief of our stone-age ancestors as painted blue, half-naked savages wielding large clubs. The people who dreamt up and created such beautiful and scientifically advanced stone structures were very intelligent, inspired and capable. Their physique was similar to ours, including their brain volume. I personally believe that they were in many ways superior to modern-day humanity, as there is evidence to suggest a long period of peace spanning the millennia during which these megalithic temples were built and used.

The motives behind their construction can only be guessed at. We can be sure that it included: science, observing celestial and terrestrial natural cycles, the prediction of astronomical phenomena, community gatherings, education, the understanding of and working with earth energies (Geomancy), healing and spiritual practices. I believe that most stone circles are “Dream Temples”, places where the simple act of entering the space triggers off an experience of the Dream worlds. By entering a stone circle gently, respectfully, and by keeping an open mind, one is sometimes transported into magical realms which can generate wonderful, magical experiences, or provide profound teachings.

We will never fully understand the megalithic culture from a scientific point of view, as too much of the physical evidence is now gone. We can, however, visit some of these sites and spend time there. It is possible, by being quiet and keeping an open mind, to receive certain feelings and impressions, and to intuit a little of how life was then. A special atmosphere often hovers over these old sites which causes particular symptoms to appear, such as a sense of magic and mystery, thoughts of God or the sacred, a heightened sensitivity, a dreaminess like slow motion, tingles on the skin, and suchlike. Sometimes intuitions and inspirations will arise in the visitor’s consciousness like waking dreams, inspiring him to spontaneously burst into song, dance, and perform random expressions of healing, or creativity.

They are spaces of magic and mystery, often built in places of incredible beauty, where the sky meets the earth, or at the centre of a gigantic spinning wheel of energy at the top of the world. What beauty, what power!

For further reading on ‘Stone Circles’ please explore the suns in the sky above!