Astronomy Henge Stone

Stonehenge is a famous English stone circle associated with things such as druids, ancient computers and even a gate system to other dimensions and worlds. It’s not the only stone circle in the world, however. The world is full of other similar circles, some with one astronomy henge stone, others with many. In fact the word henge is an old English word that’s part of the Stonehenge name. Oddly, henge doesn’t mean circle or even stone, it means hang. It refers to the Stonehenge site specifically as horizontal stones were hung around the circle by placing them on top of vertical stone pillars. The name eventually came to denote a variety of similar sites, generally populated by some sort of stone formation within an earthen circle. But a henge only refers to stones set within an earthen circle. Without the earthen circle, either raised or dropped to be lower than the surrounding ground, it isn’t a henge, but rather a stone circle.

All of these stone henges have some astronomical purpose, even though they’re considered burial grounds or sites for sacrifices. It’s sometimes argued whether or not these stone formations were built for astronomy first, but there’s no doubt of building skill and scientific know how that went into erecting them. Astronomy aspects often have to do with seasonal shifts in the sun or moon, or phases of the sun during certain important times – spring harvest for example. This might include the sun being viewable through a tiny window at sunrise from a point at the center of a circle. Stonehenge has an amazing array of astronomical measures built into the circle. It’s not important if they were the design for the site or an afterthought. They’re still amazing.

A lesser known but no less spectacular henge is the Avebury Henge located in Wiltshire. It encloses an entire town, Avebury, and is surrounded by a host of smaller stone circles. It is believed that this henge had astronomical purposes as many of its stones, now mostly fallen, had positions that corresponded with key phenomenon. But it also had a relationship to ancestral and gender worship as the stones come in two main types – tall, slender stones and short, squat stones – that may have represented female and male archetypes. A number of people disagree, claiming the stones were simply selected for their general look, with nothing to do with men or women or ancestors.

Some may think it would be cool to steal an astronomy henge stone to use in their home. Not only would you never be able to lift them, they aren’t really important when taken away from their setting. Try painting an image of one instead.