As the Summer Solstice of this year was not long ago, I thought it is a good time to share with you a few of the pictures I took during last years Solstice at Stonehenge.
Few of you which perhaps know me & read my entries, you have learned that I used to live in England for several years. One of the things on my “bucket list” of the UK, was attending at least a Solstice or Equinox at Stonehenge. In all the years there, it was never possible as life & work was taking over in those days, and a journey there was not possible in all those years.
In my last week in the UK, it happened that I remembered that the Solstice was the very next day, and asked one of my friends if he was up to drive there & attend the Stonehenge Summer Solstice Ceremony.
The friend agreed & we jumped in the car to catch the sunset & the next sunrise. Driving there we visited the nearby city but that story will be for a different entry.
This rainbow cloud was present for an unusual period of time on our journey.
Heading close to the site, miles of cars, on both lanes, were driving with less than 5 miles per hour, pedestrians & bicyclists were waving & shouting directions instructions on both ends. It was pure madness… My friend decided to take the normal route to the entrance of the Stonehenge site, despite my instinct which was guiding me the other way, somehow knowing that the official entrance will be closed for the event. As the Solstices & Equinoxes, are the only days when one can actually get close to the stones, touch them & be in the actual circle. Therefore my intuition & logic told me that the Visitor center will be closed.
And so it was… to the surprise of my friend. On the road back, there were many cars parked on the edge of the road even if signs were placed saying that it is illegal and one will have their car taken away… I saw few spots where we could park between the infinite line of “illegaly” parked vehicles… I told my friend that we could do the same thing as there is no was way that all the cars will be taken away as it was an infinite row of cars & the council won’t be able to replace them nor pay the fuel for the recovery platforms nor the employees to do that job. It is the second time when my friend did not agree with me & chose to drive back & take the route of the black triangle.
The sunset was very close, I did not risk to be stuck in the car on the road back with 1 mile per hour… therefore I jumped off the car, walked through the field & made it to the site.
Yet until we talked & organised our reunion we were still driving opposite directions from the site… My friend had no internet as the mobile plan was not payed… so I decided that I would call every 30 mins to see how many miles he managed to make & eventually park his car.. for me at least it was a nice walk after the jump out of the car.:)
I Collected some flowers from the edge of the road & carried on walking.
And here it starts! Let’s see the clash of the pagan rites & their rituals. I bet it will be quite of a show.
Exploring human nature & nature is one my dearest passions. I do not merely believe in God as supreme force, I know he exists. Life is magical, and I embrace with detachment everyone & bless their paths.
You might find this entry a bit soaked in humour with a slight touch of irony. Yet I know God has the best sense of humour while animating us in his cosmic joke which usually turns sacred funny and ironic, isn’t it?
Not sure why everyone was facing the stones as it’s all about the sun, and the sunset was quite close, perhaps they would turn towards the sun soon.
Let’s explore more.
Oooohhh LaLa! Who do we have here!?! Now this is an encounter, as in the last years he refused to come up & attend due to taxation. If interested you can find videos online about that.
Spotted the most emblematic & important presence in the whole scene of the Stonehenge. The modern day figure Arthur Pendragon, known as King Arthur, who identifies as a druid & chieftain, actively involved in pagan rituals & legal battles concerning Stonehenge. He adopted the name & & persona of King Arthur…and of course he is not the legendary King Arthur of Camelot.
He is a prominent voice for druids & their rights to access & practice at Stonehenge.
As spotting him, I could not pick up on his special / magical skills… I theredore have not interacted with him… I let his aura shine bright while he was practicing & repeating his great speech guarded by his wife.
Not sure if he was arranging his crown or whether he was channeling some beings from other realms which perhaps were late for the ceremony. 🙂
After the sunset, the sky turned very beautiful. This was my favourite part. By the way… I was quite lucky since there was a full moon as well. Quite epic… isn’t it?
Here comes some pictures of the attendees of the Summer Solstice 2024
Best spot for seeing the live show. Popcorn on it way.
It’s not unusual to see women all over the UK, from the high streets to events and in most random places wearing their house dressing gown. It’s quite of a trend of not caring, just put your dressing gown on & go where you want to. The quickest way.
This young fellow came from America to satisfy his curiosity when it comes to the magical tribe gathering around the holy stones.
The pixies were very much into the American dude. They offered some spiritual services such as guiding him into the multiverses of the UK realm. As you can see, the American God came off the holy stone and asked them what other services they provided, such as tarot reading. :)
This two were not impressed at all that their pixies left in order to guide the American god. :)
I hung around this one for a while as the fire’s heat was quite pleasant. The Druid was bragging about how old & ancient he is and that the British Government should give him a special pension & make him an honourable member of the society at least at the same level as the war veterans, as he was attending & won various spiritual wars which kept the country safe.
Back to the main ring, where many peculiar happenings were manifested… this one was performing an odd dance ritual coming up and down the holy rocks.
After being a bit fed up with all the “rituals” I started walking around in order to see some innocence. Then I spotted these two which were playing “THE PORTAL”. They made me smile.
I carried on walking when I was pushed by this one… she was in a hurry to make it to the center of the holy formation.
Had to climb a tiny rock in order to give her the room she needed. 🙂
Some were more chilled…
The night is soon over… sunrise soon.
Here comes the sun.
Can you see the faces on these two rocks? I can. :)
I will end this one here, perhaps I will come back with a part 2, as I have loads of pictures & videos from this event. It was a very colourful experience sprinkled with many peculiar textures and tastes… it was overall funny to see how serious everyone is… and the battle between the tribes. Despite the fact that it is a gathering for everyone no matter what their beliefs… it was a chaos… literally… and when it comes to the sound & background… it was hard to tolerate during the peaks… as everyone is planning their song… every tribe is drumming their drums… a bit more of a competition of who is louder and stronger… rare were the moments when the sound was at peace & one… and if it happened for few second it was only by chance…
Hope you enjoyed the journey & did not get bothered by my sense of humor.
With Love,
Iulia Qiparosa
Until next time, all the magic and all the cool events be by your side in order to capture magical subjects in your pictures. All the best!