Dancing Dragons in London: Spiritual Stonehenge

For the last week of our adventures together, our professor, Miriam, organized a trip for us to all go to Stonehenge.

The bus trip to Amesbury took about an hour. The drive there is beautiful as it takes you through the rolling, sheep-filled green hills of the English countryside.

Once you arrive, you have the option of walking a mile from the visitor’s center to reach the stones or take the tram. It was a very chilly and windy day, so we were definitely taking the shuttle.

Once we finally made it to the stones, we all had mixed reactions. My first reaction was noticing how unbelievably small they were! When I imagined them in my head, I always figured that they would monstrously tower over me, but I was surprised to see that they were large, but not quite as large as I thought.

Then the mysterious nature of the stones finally hit me and I found myself questioning why they were there at all and why so many people travel so far to see them.  The stones are arranged in an obscure way and the nature of the two circles and the formations intrigues every visitor.

Finally came the pure awe for the monument in front of me. As I continued to walk around the perimeter of the stone circle, I was humbled not by their size and grandeur, but by their historical presence. The fact that I had the privilege to stand before one of the Seven Wonders of the World was moving in and of itself.

The most interesting element about the stones is that they are set up in a way such that the sun hits the very center of the circle at the Summer and Winter Solstices. The stones are a site for many Pagan spiritual practices, so the stones hold much religious significance to many people.

The stones can be spiritual for almost all, however, as they possess so much history and mystery in their structure. Even in the frigid wind, the stones were definitely a sight to see.

On the drive home, the tour bus driver took us right past Windsor Castle, the Queen’s usual residence. Windsor castle is so large and beautiful and topped of the day perfectly!