Witches and Stone Circles: Caring for the Past

Sep 21, 2011
Jo Harrington

Photo: Vandal Damage, Rollright Stones - Brian Robert Marshall

Pagans of all denominations are drawn to stone circles and other prehistoric sites; and tourism booms at the Sabbats. But are we caring for our heritage?

No-one knows for certain what prompted our ancestors to drag huge chunks of rock, over many miles, then arrange them in patterns and enclosures. One of the most likely explanations for stone circles was that they were meeting places for related communities dotted across the landscape. They might well have been status symbols and calendars too, but their basic function was as a focal point for gatherings. These could have been ceremonial; it could equally have been a market or a place for eligible young people to meet each other. It could have been all of the above.

When Pagans visit these prehistoric constructions now, it can feel like we're continuing a tradition stretching back into antiquity. But unless we're careful, our celebrations are at risk of doing more harm than good.

Witchcraft and the Charge of the Goddess

The great Doreen Valiente wrote the Charge of the Goddess. It's not an ancient text, but it doesn't need to be. It highlights all it means to be a witch and walks us through our ritual meetings. Being Wiccan, this is generally more a guideline than hard and fast rules.

The Charge references the Esbats, but some of the lines are applicable to the eight Sabbats too. We are encouraged to 'assemble in some secret place', where the Goddess is honoured as we 'dance, sing, feast, make music and love'. When Doreen wrote those words, she probably had someone's front room in mind. For the modern witch, in a much more permissive society, then the options are much greater. Why settle for a cramped room in a semi-detached, when there are stone circles in remote locations? Not only are these suitably dramatic backdrops to the Sabbat, but they feel right. They are our cultural and historical heritage.

Janet Farrar: Tealights and our Historical Heritage

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Janet Farrar address a gathering of witches in Glastonbury. She and Gavin Bone were there for the Pagan Federation Conference. She talked about her distress at visiting prehistoric sites on the morning after a Sabbat. Over the years, she had made a point of doing so, because she had found the same scene with depressing regularity. She didn't go to perform a rite in the traditional sense. She went as a responsible High Priestess performing a role that should have been done by counterparts the night before. She went to clean up.

Witchcraft is a nature religion, yet even here it seems that consumerism can replace common sense. Cigarette ends, the remains of incense sticks (joss-sticks), plastic bottles, cans and other litter can be easily picked up. They ruin the aesthetics of the sites, while blackening the reputation of all Pagans within the local communities. Worse still, these rural sites are also home to wildlife and grazing livestock. A bird can choke on a plastic beer-can ring. What might have looked pretty and felt ecstatic the night before was not witchcraft. Nothing in nature benefited from the littering.

But Janet's real ire was reserved for the real or potential damage to the stone circles themselves. Tealights left to burn in nooks, then abandoned, were one of her most common discoveries. Their flames had scorched the rocks, while wax dripped onto the structures. She worried about the metal holders of tealights rusting into the ancient stones or falling to the ground, where their sharp edges cut into the stomachs of creatures accidentally swallowing them. Farmers have also expressed the same concerns about Chinese Lanterns.

Her message was stark. Take the Sabbat to the stone circles, but remember to leave no trace. Our historical heritage cannot withstand the vandalism of irresponsible witches.

How Fire Damage is Sometimes the Cost of Combining Paganism and Stone Circles

The photograph illustrating this article was taken at the Rollright Stones, in Oxfordshire, less than a week after Samhain, in 2007. It shows the damage to one of the stones in this prehistoric circle, due to a fire being lit in front of it. Rollright overlooks an open plain, with wonderful views, but also a tendency to be very exposed to the wind. Presumably those lighting the fire needed a bit of shelter to get it started. There is no evidence that those people were witches, nor any other Pagan, but the timing is a little suspect.

The fire left black, sooty deposits all over the ancient stone. It also caused some of the fragments to flake. Worst of all, it destroyed the rare lichen growing there. The lichen dates from around 1100 CE and some of it is found nowhere else in the world. It had already survived an infamous act of vandalism, in March 2004, when someone threw yellow paint over 70 of the stones. Pagans rallied then, with volunteers guarding the Rollright Stones from further damage and offering a reward of £1,000 in a nationwide search for the vandal.

Stone circles, as well as lone standing megaliths and other prehistoric monuments, tend to be in rural areas. Take care when lighting any fires, even during the major Sabbats, that they don't get out of hand. It is not only our heritage at risk then, but the landscape itself.

What Can Witches do to Protect our Historic Heritage at the Sabbats?

Awareness, and a big rubbish bag to carry litter away, are the best ways in which witches can protect the stone circles. Visiting these sites, particularly at or after the Sabbats, can almost be seen as a duty. Pass on your knowledge to anyone without the common sense to protect our heritage; your clean up operation is probably the best way to honour the nature around us.