Faerie Lore and Legends

by Thomas Baurley, Archaeologist and Folklorist

Stone Circles can be found worldwide but are most notorious in the British, Irish, and Scottish landscapes. Stones can be small, medium, and large, often dug into the ground as deep as they rise above the ground. A Stone Circle is a circular ring of stones, often with a defined entrance between two stones, with arrangements often related to the path of the rising and setting sun or the moon at sacred times of the year or in geographic alignment with other sites, hills, and circles.

Uragh Stone Circle and Famine Cottage, County Kerry, Ireland

Generally, however, stone circles are believed to be used by ancient peoples for magic, ritual, religion, astronomy, burials, and gatherings. Some have been used as tombs. In all reality, most of them do not know the true purpose as most stone circles belong to past people who did not leave behind written explanations or histories. Some stones have been inscribed with symbols, Ogham, and inscriptions. Much of what has been written about stone circles is from antiquarians, mystics, anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and religious zealots. Generally, they are believed to have been used for multiple purposes – most commonly thought were religious or ceremonial, burials, and community gatherings.

Many stone circles have been recorded to possess lunar and solar alignments or astrological mapping. Some have called them solar and lunar observatories used by the ancients. Often, they are primarily a circular geometry with usually an empty center. Though altar, sacrificial, or standing stones are found in the center of many. Stones in Britain, Scotland, and Ireland have been recorded and estimated to have been erected roughly 3000-2500 B.C.E. (Before the common era) during the Middle Neolithic (3700-2500 B.C.E.). Others are dated to the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age.

They were abundantly built in coastal and lowland areas, especially in the northern part of what is now known as the United Kingdom. Stonehenge and Avebury are the most famous European stone circles, built around 3100 BCE. There have been recorded over 1303 stone circles in Ireland, Brittany, and Britain. Largest numbers were found in Scotland at 508 sites, 316 in England, 187 in Ireland, 156 in Northern Ireland, 81 in Wales, 49 in Brittany, and 6 in the Channel Islands.

The oldest stone circle, however, is the Gobekli Tepe in Anatolia, Turkey, estimated to be approximately 9,000-12,000 years old. In Europe, stone circles are often attributed to having been built by Druids. There is faint realism there; however, although celebrants of Druidic religions have built many stone circles (even modern ones), the most notorious historic circles are pre-Celtic and pre-Druid. Still, they may have been taken over through time by those of the Druid faith. Many modern-day Pagans claim them as their spiritual centers, as many are tied to the Equinoxes and Solstices. Outside of modern recreated stone circles like Maryhill Stonehenge, there does exist indigenous stone circles even in the United States – such as the Ellis Hollow Stone Circle in Ithaca, New York, which is located in a nature preserve, consisting of 13 standing stones arranged in a circle about 30′ in diameter. It is believed to have been placed there by people from the Late Woodland period around 1000 B.C.E.

Mythology and Folklore
In British and Irish folklore and legend, stone circles are notorious for being the haunt of faeries. Some say they are remnants of people turned to stone for dancing during the Equinoxes, Solstices, or Sabbaths. Burial mounds at, in, or near them are believed to be entrances to the Otherworld or the Land of the Fae. Most stone circles, especially in Europe, have supernatural tales associated with them, ranging from sightings of beings varying from Druids, Witches, Banshees, Hobs, Giants, boggarts, leprechauns, spectral figures, and phantom black doors on the moors.

Many artifacts have been found associated with stone circles from religious, ceremonial, habitation, and/or burial. Prehistoric lithics, flints, and stone weapons are often found around these circles. In European lore, these lithics were often called Elf Shot and believed to have been made by Elves that were fired at humans in the past.

References:

• Ancient Ireland 2024 Uragh Stone Circle And Lake Of Gleninchaquin. Ancient Ireland Tourism. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://www.ancientirelandtourism.com/uragh-stone-circle-and-lake-of-gleninchaquin/
• Bretgaunt 2021 Dancing stones and peeing giants: the folklore of ancient sites in Derbyshire. BUXTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://buxtonmuseumandartgallery.wordpress.com/2021/12/10/dancing-stones-and-peeing-giants-the-folklore-of-ancient-sites-in-derbyshire/#:~:text=Stone%20circles%20and%20standing%20stones%20were%20often%20the%20haunt%20of,otherworld%20and%20the%20fairy%20kingdom.
• Burgoyne, Mindie 2023 Drawn to the Mystery of Ireland’s Stone Circles. Website referenced 3/28/2024 at https://travelhag.com/stone-circles/
• 2011 Uragh Stone Circle on the Beara Peninsula – Enchanting. Thin Places Mystical Tours. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://thinplacestour.com/uragh-stone-circle/
• Byron, Susan 2024 Uragh Stone Circle. Ireland’s Hidden Gems. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/uragh-stone-circle.html
• Clarice 2021 Uragh Stone Circle: Magical Ireland. Nourishing Ireland. website referenced 3/28/24 at https://nourishingireland.com/uragh-stone-circle-magical-ireland/
• Hannon, Ed 2020 Uragh Stone Circle, Kerry, Ireland. Visions of the Past. website referenced 3/28/24 at https://visionsofthepastblog.com/2020/07/22/uragh-stone-circle-kerry-ireland/
• Irish Archaeology 2024 Uragh Stone Circle. website referenced 3/28/24 at https://irisharchaeology.org/uragh-stone-circle/
• Megalithic 2024 Uragh NE – Stone Circle in Ireland (Republic of) in Co. Kerry. The Megalithic Portal. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=3528
• Larson, Celeste 2022 Reflections from Uragh Stone Circle, Ireland. Mage by Moonlight. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://magebymoonlight.com/uragh-stone-circle/
• Tripadvisor 2024 Uragh Stone Circle. Trip Advisor. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g4045372-d8787688-Reviews-Uragh_Stone_Circle-Tuosist_County_Kerry.html
• Unknown 2024 Uragh Stone Circle. Megalithic Ireland. Website referenced 3/28/24 at http://www.megalithicireland.com/Uragh%20Stone%20Circle.html
• Wikipedia 2024 Uragh Stone Circle. Wikipedia. Website referenced 3/28/24 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uragh_Stone_Circle

Garden of the Gods

1805 N 30th Street (at Gateway Rd)
* Manitou / Colorado Springs, Colorado * 719.634.6666 * http://www.gardenofgods.com/ * http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=545 * Originally first published May 9, 2009, by Thomas Baurley

Garden of the Gods is a unique natural geological park that is located in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs … and is a Registered National Natural Landmark. It’s open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the summer and 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the winter. The park boasts over a million visitors a year or more.

History and Mythology

Where the Great Plains grasslands meet the low-lying pinon-juniper woodlands of the American Southwest at the base of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains a geological upheaval occurred along the Trans-Rocky Mountain Fault system creating these spectacular features over a million years ago. Horizontal ancient beds of sandstone, limestone, and conglomerates were pushed and tilted vertically when the tectonic plates pushed together. Glaciations, wind, and water erosion shaped the features over hundreds of thousands of years.

This geologic feature was seen as sacred grounds by the original inhabitants of the area, potentially visited and used for spirituality possibly over 3,000 years ago to the present. As early as 1330 B.C.E. evidence of human occupation has been found from petroglyphs, fire rings, pottery, and stone tools have been left behind. The Ute Indians claim that their people always had lived where Garden of the Gods Park now stands and their people were created there and around Manitou.

The Kiowa, Apache, Shoshone, Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Arapaho also claim their peoples visited or lived here. It was known as a pivotal crossroads and meeting place for many indigenous peoples and nomadic tribes gathered together for peace. Rivaling tribes were said to even have laid down their weapons before entering the shadows of the sandstone features.

Two sets of petroglyphs were found here – the first hidden in a crevice on the east side of South Gateway Rock depicting a circular shield-like figure divided into four parts with a rain cloud terrace image, a Thunderbird image, zigzag lines, and an image of wheat or corn and a faint flower-like image with a dozen dots forming a semi-circle over its top which some experts said was done recently in the last 100 years copying Indian designs from a book. The other petroglyph is pecking in the rock discovered in the 1980s and estimated to date to 1500 C.E. most likely a Ute Indian design potentially depicting a deer, a third of a buffalo head, and maybe a stone tool seemingly telling a story.

Alleged Native American legends of the site have been told, their authenticity is unknown. Marion E. Gridley wrote in “Indian Legends of American Scenes” telling a tale about a great flood that covered all the mountains nearby Pikes Peak. As the waters receded, the Great Spirit petrified the carcasses of all animals killed by the flood into sandstone rolling them down into this valley as evidence of the Great Flood.

The second was written by Ford C. Frick saying “… in the nestling ales and on the grassy plains which lie at the foot of the Great White Mountain that points the way to heaven lived the Chosen People. Here they dwelt in happiness together. And above them on the summit of the Mighty Peak where stand the Western Gates of Heaven, dwelt the Manitou. And that the Chosen might know of his love the Manitou did stamp upon the Peak the image of his face that all might see and worship him … but one day as the storm clouds played about the Peak, the image of the Manitou was hid .. and down from the North swept a barbaric tribe of giants, taller than the spruce which grew upon the mountainside and so great that in their stamping strides they shook the earth.

And with the invading host came gruesome beasts – unknown and awful in their mightiness – monstrous beasts that would devour the earth and tread it down … and as the invading hosts came on the Chosen Ones fell to the earth at the first gentle slope of the mountain and prayed to Manitou to aid it. Then came to pass a wondrous miracle, the clouds broke away and sunshine smote the Peak and from the very summit, looking down, appeared the face of Manitou himself. And stern he looked upon the advancing host, and as he looked the giants and beasts turned to stone within their very steps … “

If this site was in Australia or Europe, it would be named castles and fortresses associated with Gods, Deities, Spirits, or Faeries.

Westerners first discovered the features in 1859 by two surveyors who were here to build Old Colorado City. M.S. Beach, one of the surveyors thought it would be a great location for a beer garden. The other surveyor replied to him stating “A Beer Garden? Why this is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it Garden of the Gods”. General William Jackson Palmer who was known for his contributions to building Colorado Springs convinced his colleague Charles Elliot Perkins to buy the 240 acres embracing the features. In 1909 his children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs.

The original family that donated the land to the public required that it would always remain free, and that is what it remains today. Garden of the Gods stands as a great park for hiking, walking, bicycling, rock climbing, picnicking, special events, and weddings … The park has it all … protected as 1,387 scenic acres … and presents itself as a unique tourist/information center, with a theater and gift shop near the entrance. Within are 15 miles of trails ranging in various levels of difficulty from beginner to advance for hiking and exercise.

A historical video greets you at the welcome center and tells the tale that began in the 1870s when the railroads carved westward when General William Jackson Palmer founded the city of Colorado Springs and upon discovering this natural beauty, urged his friend Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of Burlington Railroad, to make his home where the park now stands. He lived there until he finished his railway from Chicago to Colorado Springs. His railroad project wasn’t a success and never made its destination in the springs.

His homestead eventually became his summer home in 1879. He purchased 480 acres and never actualized building on it, leaving the land in its natural state and for the public. When he died in 1907, he made arrangements for the land to be a public park, and this was enacted by his children in 1909 forever as the Garden of the Gods “where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park.” That is exactly what they’ve done …. and it’s a beautiful place to be.
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Shannon Pot and the search for the Salmon of Knowledge

I was becoming intrigued by the Celtic tales of magical fish living in holy wells. My experience at the Pigeon Hole near Cong, on the border between County Galway and County Mayo in Ireland had only served to increase my fascination. There I had meditated and when I opened my eyes had actually seen the magic trout swimming in the water before me (see The Pigeon Hole and the Magic Trout )

My investigations led me deeper and deeper in Celtic mythology until inevitably I came across the most famous of all Celtic fish legends, the tale of the Salmon of Knowledge, said to live in a pool overhung by nine hazel trees who’s nuts carried the source of all wisdom and poetry.

The stories start in mythological times when the fairy folk ruled Ireland, the Tuatha De Danann:

“And they had a well below the sea where the nine hazels of wisdom were growing; that is, the hazels of inspiration and of the knowledge of poetry. And their leaves and their blossoms would break out in the same hour, and would fall on the well in a shower that raised a purple wave. And then the five salmon that were waiting there would eat the nuts, and their colour would come out in the red spots of their skin, and any person that would eat one of those salmon would know all wisdom and all poetry. And there were seven streams of wisdom that sprang from that well and turned back to it again; and the people of many arts have all drank from that well.”

 
“Knocknashee”, legendary ” Hill of the Faeries”
County Sligo, Ireland
Knocknashee is known as the legendary “Hill of the Faeries” and is one of Ireland’s seven most sacred hills. The name comes from the Irish “knock” (cnoc) meaning “hill” and “shee” meaning “fairy”. Its older name is Mullinabreena or “Fairy Palace”. The hill fort is located near Lavagh, Ballymote, and rises 900 feet high with a flat top, green and lush, with a diameter of a square mile. Oddly, unlike any other hill in the area, it has absolutely no heather. At its base stands the ruins of Court Abbey and its 90 foot high tower that was built in the 15th century by the O’Haras for the Franciscans. This legendary “Hill of the Fairy Mansion or Palace” as “Mullinabreena” or “Knocknashee” is a sacred site for Faeries and those who worship or believe in them being the mythical headquarters or high court of the Fae. Geologically the hill is a 276 m Marilyn located in the Ox Mountains of County Sligo, Ireland with the River Moy at its foot. It consists of a limestone top with shales underlying the lower slopes. The hill is culturally rich with archaeology as it was discovered to be a hilltop fort in 1988 during a Office of Public Works aerial survey of the county with the observbation of the remains of limestone ramparts containing cairns, burial chambers, and hutsites on its top. The fort is 700 meters long and 320 meters wide, enclosed by two earth and stone ramparts covering an area of 53 acres. There are two cairns, the remains of over 30 circular house sites, and two earth/stone ramparts. The hill has a panoramic view of the Connacht plains. The lower exposures of the hill show irregularly bedded limestone with a diverse fauna of colonial and solitary corals, with very well preserved fossils in silica that were deposited some 340 million years ago. Hilltop is covered with a thin peat. A popular play was made in tribute of the hill called “Knocknashee” by the Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan in 2002. A traditional Irish song was also named after the hill called “The Hills of Knocknashee” with “The River Moy so gently flows from there unto the sea. Farewell to you, farewell to all from the hill of Knocknashee”.
Directions: Knocknashee is a table-top plateau 7 kilometres NEN of Tobercurry. From Tobercurry take the N17 north for 5 kilometres to Carrowclare then take a left to a T-Junction then a right about 1/2 kilometre on your left is a farm house ask here for permission to climb the hill. Portal Tombs around Knocknasee: http://www.irishmegaliths.org.uk/sligo.htm

 
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Brú na Bóinne
* aka “Palace of the Boyne” or “Bend of the Boyne” * Knowth/Newgrange, Donore, Co. Meath, Ireland * UNESCO World Heritage Site *

“Bru na Boinne” is the name of a Boyne River Valley section that is home to the World Heritage sites consisting of the Tumulus Sidhe known as “Knowth”, “Dowth”, and “Newgrange”. These monuments are the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe that consist of a complex of neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges, and other prehistoric enclosures dating as early as 35th century B.C.E. (predating the Egyptian pyramids) The Palace is centrally the name for the visitor center that is home to a museum, cafe, interpretive displays, information center, and central shuttle bus location for visitors to get to Knowth and Newgrange. It is located in County Meath near the village of Donore along the south bank of the Boyne River. The large oval stones in the water feature are 330 million-year-old naturally occurring concretions that make the site a geological attraction as well. The Sidhe/Tumulus of Newgrange and Knowth are to the north of the Boyne.

The site covers over 780-hectare acres with over 40 passage graves, prehistoric sites, henge stones, circles, and features as well as substantial Megalithic rock art. Each of the monuments is on a ridge within the river bend, with Knowth and Newgrange containing stones re-used from earlier monuments at the site. The sites were visited repeatedly and re-used during various ages such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval periods adding assortments of artifacts, features, and enclosures to the site throughout the years.   In addition to the famous tombs/tumulus of Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange are also the ceremonial complexes known as Cloghalea Henge, Townleyhall passage grave, Monknewtown henge and ritual pond, and the Newgrange cursus. 

Newgrange stands as the central mound of the Boyne Valley passage grave cemetery. Each of these three main tumulus sites has archaeo-astronomical significance and alignments. Newgrange and Dowth have Winter Solstice solar alignments, and Knowth has an Equinox solar alignment. The complex areas are surrounded on the south, west, and east by the Boyne River, and to the north by the Mattock River.

The River Boyne
The Goddess Boann
A grandiose River in Leinster, Ireland that runs a course of over 112 kilometers (70 miles) passing by the Brú na Bóinne complex and World Heritage site, by the ancient city of Trim, Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara, Navan, the Hill of Slane, Mellifont Abbey, and the medieval city of Drogheda. It starts at Trinity Well in Kildare and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath where it empties into the Irish Sea. The river is abundant with Salmon and trout that hosts much Irish mythology on the passage of knowledge down the river. The river is notorious for its historical, archaeological, and mythological connotations. Ptolemy drew out the river in his mapping of Ireland and he called it ????????? (Bououinda). According to Irish mythology, the river was created by the Goddess Boann and the river is named after her as well as representative of her. It is also the river where Fionn mac Cumhail captured Fiontan, the Salmon of Knowledge. It is also home to the infamous “Battle of the Boyne” which took place near Drogheda in 1690. The archaeological remains of a Viking ship were found in 2006 in the river bed near Drogheda.