The Museum of Witchcraft

Stone Circles and Sacred Sites

In and around this area many locations are considered sacred by witches. Ancient man has marked some of these sites by erecting monuments such as stone circles, standing stones, tumuli, fogous, or by marking rock faces with ritual symbols. Many of the sacred sites have no monuments or markers but are equally important. A grove of ancient oaks, the meeting point of two streams, a cave, a quiet glade in an ancient forest: these are the places for Witches to honour nature and work their magic.

Some witches meet in groups or covens to celebrate the festivals but many work quietly on their own.

Some sites are more suitable for a particular seasonal celebration or specific forms of magic. A witch may, for example, choose to celebrate Beltane (May 1st) in the traditional manner by climbing a sacred hill and lighting a fire. The same witch could well choose an ancient long barrow or fogou to conduct a Samhain (October 31st) ritual.

Many of the monuments throughout Britain are aligned to mark the rising or setting Sun at a festival: "A prehistoric observer standing in the Stannon Stone Circle on Bodmin Moor could have observed the Sun rising over the massive Logan Stone on Roughtor at the festival of Lughnasad (Lammas)"

(Tintagel and the Arthurian Mythos, Paul Broadhurst, 1999)

The Summer Solstice alignment of Stonehenge is well known.

Note: In recent years there has been some damage caused to sacred sites by well meaning celebrants lighting fires leaving rubbish or inappropriate offerings. We ask that visitors to these special places treat them with respect. Remove any rubbish left by less caring visitors and leave only appropriate thoughts and magic.

"Let the place change you, don't change the place"