The Geo Group

Goddess Worship at the Callanish Stones in Scotland
Margaret Curtis

At Callanish on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, there is a hill range in the form of a woman lying on her back - an earth mother.

Local people call her "Sleeping Beauty" in English or "Cailleach na Mointeach" in Gaelic - which translates as "The Old Woman of the Moors."

Multiple prehistoric stone circles in the area of Callanish in Scotland, dating back 5000 years, were positioned to link the Earth Mother hills and the moon.

The following celestial event happened/happens once a month for a few months every 18.61 years at the major lunar standstill. (Come to Callanish in 2006 to see it yourself!)

	First, the moon rises over the Earth Mother's breast of "the Sleeping Beauty."
	Then the moon passes through the famous Callanish stones about 2-5 hours later.
	While the moon passes through the Callanish stones, if a person stands on the rocky hillock at the higher south end of the site, the moon is dramatically "reborn" with a person silhouetted within it.

Margaret R. Curtis, expert and tour guide of the Callanish area, recounts her experience of this amazing phenomenon. "We saw this rare and spectacular event in June 1987 with friends from across the world. None of us will ever forget the beauty of that calm, clear summer night. Even after years of scientific study, we had never anticipated the wonder and drama of the event itself. The most awe-inspiring moment of all was when the moon reappeared inside the circle."

"For three minutes, never revealing more than half of its orb in the narrow gap. The moon was captured in an artificial frame of megaliths, and the cold gray pillars of stone were bathed in a golden glow.

"Like a lighthouse beam, the moonlight stretched down along the avenue towards us and caught us in its light. Next, a tiny human figure appeared, fitting inside the honey colored moon, then gradually grew, shattering one's sense of scale, until twice the size of the moon. Then the moon vanished and left the person majestic and alone inside the darkened circle.

"Was this the new-born moon god inside the sacred ring of stones reappearing as in prehistoric times, mixing reality and illusion when the person may have been an actor or actress, or a member of the elite, passing on the leadership to a new office bearer? Was this the origin of the legend of 'The Shining One' walking up the avenue?"