Before dawn on 21 June a group of 11 people made their way to a meadow in Wiltshire. The journey was made to found and witness the Circle in the West, a new stone momument that will comprise seven ‘circles’ in homage to Stonehenge. The dawn was clearing as Sun was about to break the flat horizon and we were all quieted by the spectacle in front of us while archaeological surveyors plotted the various angles and positions of the sunrise in relation to the centre point of the Circle. The Ox-eye daisies (the day’s eyes) unfurled and stretched in recognition of it.
There was no overt ritual or founding speech. We all were, and the Circle came to be. A great sense of occasion without the need to be vocal or large-gestured. The Circle in the West will give people the best idea yet possible of what Stonehenge looked and felt like when it was ‘first’ built. This in itself happened over a long period of time in about three phases, first c.3,100 BCE a circle of timbers surrounded by a bank and ditch, second c.2,500 BCE the henge is rebuilt in stone using Preseli blue stone from South Wales, and third c. 2,300 BCE after what seems like an abandonment of the site, the henge was expanded to something that resembles its remains today – that is, the re-erection of the blue stones in their current positions and giant sandstone Sarsens from the Marlborough Downs which, among other features, form the unmistakable trilithons. There is also a ring of ‘x and y holes’ which some have posited might have been prepared for a ring of stones that were never erected. The Circle in the West will include these.

The stones for the Circle will come from all over the world and when polished up will represent each of the seven colours of the rainbow (not dyed or tinted, the colour will be the natural hue of the rock so the effect quite subtle but dramatic). The new circle will have polished blue stones from an extant quarry in Preseli. The blue stones are dolorite, an extremely hard rock that is midnight blue (indigo) with small flecks of other colours such as green and grey, quite different to the eroded lichen-covered and pock-marked grey of the stones at Stonehenge today. Other rocks will come from Agra (‘red’ stone also used in the building of Taj Mahal), Norway (blue rocks with large flecks of quartz crystal), Canada (green), Jerusalem sandstone (yellow, also used in the building of Solomon’s Temple) and a ring of amethyst may form the middle ring of purple.

People will not only be able to visit the Circle but there are also plans for a visitor centre that will explain something of the fasination humans have and continue to have with megaliths and stone circles, as well as provide learning and information about the natural environment in which the Circle will exist. The building and planning of the Circle and its visitor centre will hopefully include local people from its adjacent communities, scientists, astrologers, astronomers, archaeologists, natural historians, ecologists, botanists, meglithophiles, healers, Druids, musicians, acousticians, writers, artists, perhaps a hippy or two and anyone with a vested interest in showing what wonders can be made when combining inspiration from the past, a naturally beautiful environment and good minds. Whatever the opinions about the merits of this project (which will not be seeking public funds but rather sustain itself in a not-for-profit manner), I feel it will be a 21st century momument to cherish as much as our old friend that was built over a period of at least 800 years. As I said in response to the announcement of the project, there are no neo-pagan pretentions here for any continuity of tradition or a ‘right’ to worship, neither from Stonehenge fanatics who may seek to replicate the ancient henge momument. The Circle will indeed be a fine co-creation. Thoughts from others at Past Thinking and from Pete Glastonbury.

Equinox orange

As the celestial bull tosses the spinning earth from one of its horns to the other at the moment of the vernal (spring) equinox (this year at 18.26 GMT on 20 March), the Nowruz orange, so still in a bowl of clear water, wobbles. The new year has begun and we will find Spring and all its promises. Enjoy more images of Nowruz, the Zoroastrian and Persian New Year on my flickr set of Nowruz photographs and take away a flavour of how it is celebrated.

As blue skies struggle against the greyest, dampest of weather, I fondly think back to seasonal festivities in late December. Last year I celebrated Yalda, the Persian (and Zoroastrian) festival of the Winter Solstice. An early, thickly fogged morning travelling to Stonehenge with Sheherazad, Tom and Doug was rewarded with one of the most atmospheric experiences of my life. The fog ensured we wouldn’t see the sun rise over the horizon but instead we were treated to walking among the clouds, rubbing shoulders with the giants that are the bluestones and sarsens. You can get a taste of what it was like by looking at our Stonehenge Winter Solstice photos. The new sun did emerge from the clouds fleetingly and I was content to say hello before it went off to show itself to others. In the evening, we celebrated Yalda with the Southampton Persian Society at Yalda Persian Restaurant. Scents of saffron, fluffy, buttery rice, flat breads pleasingly blistered in the cloam oven sprinkled with toasted caraway and sesame seeds, aromatic lamb and hot mint tea permeated all around as we divined the poems of Hafiz, ate, drank and laughed.

You can read my Zoroastrian celebration of Yalda article if you like?