Standing Stones

These are a few more images of local stones - these are my comfort stones, the ones I see daily that reassure and give pleasure - I greet them and wonder about them.

They are strong stones.  These two are close-by on opposite sides of the road, the holed one reminds me of the Men-an-Tol stone circle in Cornwall.

Only because of the hole, and of course it is a standing stone!  There were many traditional rituals at the Men-an-Tol, distinguished by its strangely pierced central stone (the name means stone with a hole in Cornish).  Holed stones are found in many parts of the British Isles as well as in other countries of the world; together with holy wells they have retained the ideas and customs associated with them more tenaciously than any other type of ancient sites.

Image from Stones of England

Traditional rituals at Mên-an-Tol (centuries ago known also as Devil's Eye) involved passing naked children three times through the holed stone and then drawing them along the grass three times in an easterly direction. This was thought to cure scrofula (a form of tuberculosis) and rickets. Adults seeking relief from rheumatism, spine troubles or ague were advised to crawl through the hole nine times against the sun. The holed stone also had prophetic qualities.

Perhaps my local stone is not a Devil's Eye, or at least if it is, not many youngsters have been squeezed through and perhaps other cures were used for rheumatism!