Stonehenge

Summer Solstice Celebration

This summer we were driving from Dorset to Southampton to Suffolk. I asked my husband if we could detour through Stonehenge. Well, not exactly THROUGH it, literally, but through the area. It was June 27th- soon after the summer solstice. Saturday, at noon. We heard announcements coming over the loudspeaker asking guests NOT to follow the "Dolmen Grove" into Stonehenge. Then we heard the drums and flutes and I watched the procession walk right past me. (See the video below.)

The group walked into the site playing the instruments, and circled the site once or twice before entering. After that it was hard to see or hear much of anything. The man wearing antlers seemed to be conducting much of the ceremony, and I managed to get some great pictures of him. I was curious about their practices, and looked up their website. (http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/index.htm). According to the website, "Antlers have been worn as head dresses by European Shaman and Native Americans,they can also be found within the oldest religions of India and other indigenous tribes."

I also learned that the group regarded that day, the 27th, as the true solstice day. I later heard someone refer to them all as "barmy" which I didn't like, AT ALL! I think this is THE single greatest problem we face today: lack of compassion, understanding, and a lack of shared faith. These people were not doing anyone any harm. They were celebrating a ritual and a belief important to them. It's amazing how threatened people feel by anything that is different or difficult for them to understand.