Hi, I’m Morgan, and I have been lucky enough to
attend my
first
midsummer sunrise at
I’m
22 now, and my last visit was around a decade ago, not for mid-summer’s day,
but
an ordinary summertime visit, complete with hoardes
of tourists
and
ropes to keep people a long way from the stones.
I arrived before the sun set on Monday evening, I
was stunned by the number of
people
arriving, in almost every manner. Some came by foot or bicycle, some in cars
and
camper vans, almost everyone seemed to radiate an eager anticipation for the
night
and dawn ahead.
As I entered the solstice car-park, I was reminded
by the rows of vehicles on the hill, of other festival camp-sites of my past –
but, this being my first visit to the Henge at this
time of year, I had no memory of past events at the stones to compare this
year’s wonderful experience with – I expect if I had been before I would have
been even more impressed, so many people being happy and peaceful, only a few
being less than they should have been.
The number of people attending was estimated to be
at least twenty-one thousand – that’s a lot of people
in a fairly small space. I am thankful to all the helpful people stewarding, guiding and aiding the lost and confused, at some points I
became both in my wanderings around the site, searching for specific people,
and not finding them… In the glare of the violet and blue-white flood-lamps one part of the circle looks quite alike to the
others, the glorious symmetry of the site a pleasure to behold, but it does
make for an easy way to get disoriented.
The sun had set, and light was fading in the
evening air, the stones were eerily
highlighted in the lamplight, and the nigh on full moon rose through a ruddy
haze.
Some planets and stars were clearly visible, even
past the lights, Venus chased the
sun
down below the horizon, and Jupiter rode high overhead.
People strolled up the field over toward the stones
– seeing them rising from the dark
as
ghostly forms, and all around the wandering spirits gathered. Some folk had
brought drums, others sang, and some went straight to the centre of the circle
to dance and sway to the rhythms of the sounds, the rhythms of the crowd
reflecting like ripples in a pool.
I found my worries had left me, what remained was
that expectant feel,
and
a sense of peace.
Before I arrived at the stones, I had worried about
the crush of crowds,
the possibility of fights breaking out, or worse,
but the stones seemed to actively balance out any negative behaviour in the
throngs around them, there were a few fools who clambered onto several stones,
but eventually they came down again, after some disapproving boos from the
crowd, and some cheers, from those who seemed determined to egg the climbers on
to stunts of leaping from one stone onto a great arched trilithon.
There was much cheering, shrieking
and dancing all around, but many people found islands of peace in the
excitement, to talk, think, meditate and dream. It amazed me that peace was
easy to find in the wild merriment, but there were plenty of people all about
making quiet wild merriment, instead of the energetic, frantic kind.
Nora Morris Sandie
I sought people to interview, but, alas, the
minidisk machine played up instead of recording down… So
I shall describe the people I met to you. I met a lovely German couple, who I
chatted and sang with throughout the night.
The misty valleys just before dawn, and the pinkening Sky aglow.
That’s
another thing that amazed me, the hours between sunset and sunrise flew by, it
seemed that no sooner had the light faded from the west than the fingers of
dawn were beginning to tickle the eastern clouds. This German couple taught me
some new songs and chants, and we sang together to ones we all knew.
What a mix of people – all colours, races, religions and
philosophies, not to mention fashion and lifestyle choices. So many, and all so
hard to categorise, the witches and druids seemed to have been mainly attending
in plain clothes, very few were robed and obvious. There were young folk with braided and
dreadlocked hair, there were tiny babes in arms, and giggling toddlers running
free, there were the older people mostly away from the partying in the centre,
so many people mixing and making friends, gaining fellowship through
celebrating together.
There was plenty of music and song, acoustic
instruments only, but there was no need to amplify, 21 thousand people’s
voices, drums, whistles and horns is louder to the mind’s ear than any amount
of decibels.
As the night went on, there were calls for the
floodlights to go off, which were granted once the dawn light was enough to see
by. Arthur
Pendragon was in the lead of the only Druidic activity
that I witnessed, a torchlit procession with a woven
figure, but this procession seemed to vanish just before sun-up. I found out
later that he and his Warband had gone on to bless
the polystyrene replica of Stonehenge, prior to use by re-enactors for channel
5. I had
searched for Arthur before and after the procession, but a five second glimpse
was all I achieved in regard to seeing the Warband’s
King. I had
wished to interview him, but instead spoke about him to a woman who has known
him well for around 11 years. Opinions of him everywhere are varied, but he
seems to know how to make an impact…
Only 8 arrests were made,
for minor drug offences and drunken conduct, I wonder what became of they who
climbed the stones…
I met people from
I have no idea what proportion of people there feel
the same way as I do, but even the wildly partying youngsters seemed to sense
the special atmosphere that pervaded the night, and the last high thrust of the
sun to the sky before his falling, I cannot adequately describe the night, dawn
or my feelings or thoughts –
I can only suggest to the receptive, go, be there,
do it, if you wish.
Again and again I say it, I cannot describe what
transcended words, only let you hear in my voice and my chosen words what I
felt and saw, tell
you of the people there… I was so happy to be somewhere that to be a pagan was
quite ordinary, to be amongst magic-makers, to feel the ebb and flow of the
energies around the site, both from the people and the magical mystic megaliths
themselves.
I hope you have received a glimpse of what
occurred, a spark of the midsummer sun.
BACK TO THE MAIN STONEHENGE PAGES