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What does a standing stone do?

Raised in 2021, the Bull Stone stands at Sweetwood Temenos, a pagan land sanctuary in southwestern Witchconsin's legendary Driftless Area. Born in the bed of an inland ocean, old before dinosaurs walked the Earth, the six-foot, one ton slab of karst limestone is the standing stone that I know best.

So what does the Bull Stone do?

Its long axis aligns with the Sun, pointing to the places on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets on the day of the Winter Solstice.

Its short axis aligns with Earth: with both a notch on the southern horizon, some two miles distant, where two ridges come together and, to the north, with the sanctuary's Grand Circle.

What does a standing stone do? Easily told.

A Tale of Avebury

In the days of King Ethelred the Unready, a priest was sent to the village of Avebury in Wiltshire to build a church. This priest's name was Willibrord.

Now, this village stands within the great henge of Avebury, the world's largest stone circle. Though the villagers were Christians of a sort, they were not sanguine about Willibrord's project.

“The Stones won't like it,” they said.

(Th' Stons wont lahk't was what they actually said. Willibrord was a foreigner, a Frisian, and often found these English stubborn, and difficult to understand.)

“Nonsense,” he said. “These old pagan stones should all be thrown down, anyway. They are mere, dumb earthfast stones; they have no true power.”

He picked out a fine spot for his new church at the crossing of the two roads that meet at the center of the Stones. Since the villagers refused him even the slightest assistance, he was forced to bring in workers from elsewhere, at great expense.

But day after day, their work proved fruitless. Each morning, newly-arrived at the site, they would find the work of the previous day cast down.

“The Stones don't like it,” said the villagers.

“This is the work of demons,” said Willibrord.

The outlander priest prayed every prayer in the prayerbook, and sprinkled holy water by the gallon, all to no avail. Day after day, the builders' work was nightly undone. For more than a year, this went on.

Finally, priest Willibrord conceded defeat. Today, when you visit the Great Henge of Avebury, 5000 years old and more, you will see there also the 1000-year old Saxon church of St. James where it now stands, just outside those old pagan Stones and their monumental ditch.

All over Christendom, tales are told of churches that stand where they do because demons cast down the original walls.

Here, said the standing stone.

Now, said the standing stone.

Here now, said the standing stone.

Me, said the standing stone.

You, said the standing stone.

We, said the standing stone.

Stand, said the standing stone.

Circle, said the standing stone.

Dance, said the standing stone.

American Menhir

At Sweetwood Sanctuary in southwestern Wisconsin, a circle of pagans stand hand-in-hand around the Bull Stone, silent.

Silent pagans. Fancy that.

Silent, maybe, to listen.

Silent, maybe, for not-knowing.

Silent, maybe, from awe.

Nothing is more awesome than the real.

In the general way of things, stones don't stand on end. Thus, when you come across one that does, your ears automatically perk up. You know that this stone is different because someone wanted it that way, and was willing to go to the hard work of making it so.

Individual standing stones, of course, can mean many things. (All standing stones are local.) I well mind, while driving around Britain with folks from our sister-daughter coven, crossing the border into Scotland.

In the States, of course, there would have been a big sign: Welcome to Scotland.

But this, of course, was Scotland. The border was marked by a great, strapping standing stone instead.

Personally, I like the old way better.

What does a standing stone mean?

A standing stone means:

At solar noon, the people gather at the feasting-ground.

The Story

An elder tells the story of the moving and raising of the Bull Stone.

(Why is it called the Bull Stone? Because there's a golden bull buried beneath it.)

(Why is it only six feet tall, and why did you move it by hand? Because, though we hope and plan that it will be only the first of many standing stones to come, we wanted this first among them to come from the Land itself, and for it to be moved and raised in the old way.)

(What is the purpose of the Stone? The Stone marks the point on the horizon where the Sun sets at the Winter Solstice. Its purpose is to make the Great Rite with the Land, and so ensure fertility in crop, herd, and tribe.)

(The Stone was raised by men; is this, then, a Men's Shrine? No, it's a Shrine of the Great Rite, the most sacred offering an act of love.)

Procession

Horns sound. Led by libation bearers, the people process down the hill and through the woods to the Bull Stone.

Circumambulation

The people circle the Stone three times, moving always to the right.

Mass Anointing

Oil-bearers pour fine oil into the hands of the people. The people crowd in and anoint the Stone, then one another.

Crowning

The Wreath-Bearer, a young girl, is lifted to crown the Stone with a wreath of leaves and flowers.

Horns sound.

Call it unexpected affirmation.

A warlock friend of mine was driving through Ames, Iowa the other day. Amusingly, his route took him along Stange Road.

Locally pronounced stang, Stange (in two syllables) is originally a Norwegian surname; in this case, presumably the name of some City Father of days gone by.

But of course stang is also the name that witches give to the furca or forked pole that represents the Horned God. So you can't help but feel that there's something special—or amusing, at least—about driving down “Stang” Road.

Then he came to the intersection with Thirteenth Street.

“Meet me at the corner of Thirteenth and Stang.” Sounds like a line from a bad Witch novel, probably by some hack like Steve Posch.

I don't know how you go about moving standing stones where you live.

Here's what we do around here.

In these things, of course, it's always best to start in a sacred way.

Before the day's work begins, we gather around the stone. We lay out the eventual foundation offerings on the foot of the longstone. Then we pass around a horn of beer, and everyone takes a sip.

The rest of the beer we pour out over the stone.

Then we pack up the foundation offerings, and the day's work begins.