You have probably heard from all the academics that because the Henge builders and the Celts were separated by hundreds of years there was no interaction between the Druids and the Henge.
Celtic Druidism was a religion of the Oak and according to most historians their ceremonies' were held in sacred groves. There is no evidence they ever used the circles much less the Henge in any of their religious practice.
While this is undoubtedly true, this proves nothing. I don't know of a single person that was there to confirm their theory. Unfortunately there's no one to disprove it either.
I believe they not only used the Henges but the Circles as well in the practice of their religion. No doubt they preferred a natural surrounding like an Oak Grove, a natural lake or cave for most of their religious ceremonies but to think they would completely discount these points of power seems unrealistic to me.
Their takeover of the British Iles didn't happen over night, so they had years to find out the purpose of the Henge. As for the stone circles they had lived with them for years in Europe, before entering Britain. This line of thinking still doesn't prove they ever used the circles much less the Henge but it does raise the possibility that they did. Its purpose was not unknown to them and both people revered their ancestors.
Does it matter to me that my ancestors might not have used the Henge and I do. Not in the least, I just wanted to put before you a different perspective. A little something to think about before you discount my ancient connection to the Henge, as a few Henge purists have suggested.
I didn't claim the Henge by ancestral right, it claimed me. It haunted me until I built one. Now it influences my life almost daily. When things are bad I run to it as a child would their mother. When times are good I just enjoy it being there.
To think the Druids thought the Henge was just another pile of rocks is truly absurd. Today people come from all over the world to see the Henge and thousands gather before dawn for the Solstice. I doubt any of them have a drop of ancient British blood but still they are drawn to that place. Remember the old adage "build it and they will come" and they have come for thousands of years. Not only to Stone Henge but the stone circles as well, that dot the landscape of Europe and the Middle East.
We don't use them now but we are still drawn to them. Even though we're unsure of their original purpose.
Most archaeologists and I believe they were used as observatories to calculate the passing of time. That was an undoable part of their function but when you stand in one you realize there is more to them. They are much more than just an ancient clock, they are a point of power.
Anyone that has visited an ancient site will tell you there is something unexplainable about them. They speak to everyone on some level and to the gifted the call of the ancestors can be very powerful.
A few years ago my wife and I went to Cancun Mexico on vacation or holiday and while we were there we took a side trip to Chunyaxch'e, one of the great cities of the Mayan civilization. I walked the ball court, climbed the snake pyramid and stood on the edge of the sacrificial aquifer. It was a very inspiring experience.
Would I use that place to practice my faith. Probably not. This in no way diminishes the power you feel as you walk this ancient city.
Why I would not chose any of these sites is their practice of human sacrifice. It was a major part of their religion.
While I can feel their power, it doesn't speak to me. I would not feel comfortable performing any ritual in a place that took so many of what I revere most, Human life.
I understand the reasoning they must have used, that the ultimate sacrifice would give the ultimate gain. But understanding something and accepting it are two very different things.
Human sacrifice was a part of many ancient religions but this practice, in my opinion brought down the old Gods . To sacrifice your own kind is to spite the eye of your Creator, and yes, I believe in a Creator. To believe in the oneness of everything is to believe in a Creator. If we all evolved on our own there is no oneness.
By now you must have thought I've lost my train of thought and I'm ranting about things that have nothing to do with Druids and their use of the Henge. What I'm trying to show you is that two philosophically opposed religions would never use the sacred places of the other. They would raze them to their foundations, to build their own place of worship on the foundation of the old.
But this did not exist in Europe at that time or today. At that time they were all Pagans, today they are Christians.
Before we go any further we must deal with the fact that the Druids supposedly practiced human sacrifice and how I reconcile my feelings about the two, Druids versus the Mayan, first I'm neither. I also don't subscribe to any ancient religion.
What records we have of human sacrifice mostly come from Caesar's accounts of his campaign in Gale and they seemed to pertain more to capital punishment than sacrifice.
While the Henge has no historical evidence it was ever used as a sacrificial site, to the contrary it was built to honor their ancestors.
The Druids undoubtedly used the wild places for most of their ceremonies. It seems inconceivable to me they would not use what the ancient Brit's left them, to honor their ancestors.
It all comes down to the ultimate truth, no one knows and probably never will.
What I know is the Henge gives me peace and power, while the other gives me power and pause, for I sense the dark side in these places.
More than likely none of my ancestors ever worshiped at Stone Henge, but they did worship at the circles. They in all probability didn't know of its existence but I do.
Thomas