When Fearn and I acquired Dreamland, we envisioned a stone circle on the flat area surrounding the fire pit. Stone circles are my passion and have the property of focusing the sacred on the landscape. Stone temples are the major way I work with the spirit of the Earth:
I couldn’t wait until it was built! Other things took priority: having a comfortable living space was first on the list of things to do. Finally, in the summer of 2011, we started work on the Dragon Temple. We collected the first three stones from the Standing Stone Perennial Farm in South Royalton. The first stone to enter the ground (during Druid Camp 2011) was the Sirius stone, a tall thin megalith, aligned to the rising point of Sirius, the twinkling star on the Eastern horizon. Sirius has been recognized by many cultures, including the Egyptian, as the goddess or creatrix of magic, healing and the magical child. A suitable foundation for the sacred space at Dreamland.
The South, and the West stones were next. In order to ascertain their exact position, we had to find the circle’s orientation to True North. To do this we marked the alignment of the center of the sacred space, the fire pit, to the North Star, also known as Polaris, on the ground. With this alignment all others were easily worked out.
The winter of 2011/12 stopped any more activity on the stones. Over that period Fearn and I became clear that we needed to complete the Dragon Temple for the Winter Solstice 2012, and so, as soon as the weather became warm enough, we continued construction. At each stone-raising session, a group of enthusiastic, intrepid stone people assembled and lent their energy to the project.
The following are the names of the individual stones, in the order they were raised, and their alignments:
Sirius – Sirius Star
South – True South
West – True West
Dumpling – the top of Dumpling Hill, on which Dreamland nestles
Turtle Island – the Spiritual Center of N. America
East – Sunrise position at Equinox
Coyote – Washington DC
Summer Solstice – Sunrise position at Midsummer sunrise
Singing Stone – Sunrise position at Lughnasadh and Beltaine
Elfstone – The main gate at Dreamland and the Fairy Kingdom
Dancer – The front door of our house, welcome, abundance
Buddha – Igatpuri, India, place the Buddha found enlightenment
North – Polaris, North Star.
Fearn and I have so much gratitude to the people who turned up, in all weathers, to create our sacred space, and others who helped us with their time and energy in one way or another… especially those who lent us their precious equipment such as trucks, trailers, and essential tools to get the job done. We couldn’t have done it without you.
The final stones found their resting (standing) place on the weekend of 13-14th October. We performed the inauguration ceremony on the Sunday, when 80 people made a powerful circle at sunset and sang the stones awake. The Dragon Temple is dedicated to Oneness, Awareness, and the Healing of All Beings.
The stones are celebrating their birth, are now on-line, and the dragons are very happy!
