The ancient circle at Stonehenge has stood for thousands of years, a silent observer as the world has changed in ways that no one could have imagined. And yet, in this world of medical miracles and smart phones the stones retain a sense of power, a depth of meaning that is palpable to its modern visitors.
What ancient object or tradition carries depth and power for you?
In Saugerties, NY (Catskill Mountains) there is a work of environmental art called Opus 40. It is the creation of Harvey Fite, a local artist who purchased a closed quarry and over the course of 37 years transformed it into a sculpture that is also a place. Although it is a 20th Century sculpture, it feels like one of these ancient monolithic sites as it seems to take you out of time.
I don’t know if this qualifies as ancient since it’s only a few hundred years old, but I play baroque, folk, and even medieval music on my recorder at times. The pieces are still alive, reborn every time someone plays them.
In Germany, there are bonfires at the solstices. A nearby village will has one every winter, and I plan on attending with my family. I don’t know when this tradition started, but I’m pretty sure it predates Christianity by a considerable amount.
The fire that burns through the night on Solstice night. Up in Washington DC, on the Ellipse, near the National Christmas tree, a Yule fire burns all through the month of December. It is in a deep pit, and logs are carried over to it by forklift. People gather round this fire, and it’s amazing to see how the flames will just humble people into sheer silence, gazing into the golden warmth and light and just meditating on whatever it is fire means to them. When you go to visit this fire at night, its raw elemental power is, well, highlighted all the more – cold and darkness against warmth and light.