Nearly finished my stone circle now, just the finishing touches to do, and already folk can feel it, when open, from about 70ft away. I have made a few sacred places for folk in their gardens, so I thought I would write a 'how to' thread.
STEP ONE.
Respect: The first step for me was putting my intention out there to the devic energies of the garden, asking/explaining that I wanted to build them a sacred spot, that I could use also, for meditation, magic, and chillin. The spot was chosen.
STEP TWO.
Clearance:The spot I chose was covered in nettles, brambles etc, so with many apologies to the fayes of the plants there, out came the strimmer, and lawn mower. 1 week later after 3 mows and about 4 strims the patch was ready. I was extremely remorseful about a frog that got strimmed and decided to halt work for a week out of respect for him, and to give any other wildlife the chance to vacate. Then came the pulling up of large plant roots and levelling of the surface.
STEP THREE.
Marking out: Armed with a piece of string, a pole and twelve stakes of the wooden variety and my gardening sheath knife I set about finding the approximate centre of the proposed circle. A compass is a good idea here, but as I knew the dividing neighbours fence runs exactly N/S I didn't need one. With the pole stuck in the centre, I tied one end of the string around it, tied a knot in the other end of the string to mark the distance and after loosening the soil with my knife, stuck in the N/S/E/W stakes equidistant from the centre pole. As my circle was to have twelve stones around a central one, I thought of a clock face with the N/S/E/W representing 12/6/3/9, and using string and knot placed the other 8 stakes, checking they were opposite their counterparts by sighting through the pole in the centre. I then heaped earth around the bottom of the stakes to raise the stones a bit.
STEP FOUR.
Crystals: I chose the five crystals I was going to bury in the circle. JET for the North/Earth; JASPER for the South/Fire; AMYTHIST for the East/Air; MOONSTONE for the West/Water and QUARTZ for the Centre/Spirit. The jet was a gift from the Crystal man shop in Glastonbury which went really well with the ambience I was creating for the circle. Next I cleansed the crystals in salt water. I often put salt water in my bath for spiritual cleansing and so that night I had a candle lit sea salt bath with the crystals in it too! This sounds a bit weird but felt exactly right, as it kind of connected me with the crystals on a personal level. All good!
STEP FIVE.
Ceremonial crystal placing: As I pulled out the N/S/E/W and centre stakes and dropped the relevant crystals into the holes, I dedicated each one to the appropriate devic types. To the Gnomes of the North, the Salamanders of the South, the Sylphs of the East, the Undines of the West and to the spirit of all things in the centre.
STEP SIX.
Consecration: A friend of mine who lives, dresses, paints,teaches and honours all things fairy came for a visit. She very kindly blessed the circle and threw a few pink rose petals in it as an offering of love and peace. It was now ready for the stones.
STEP SEVEN.
Stones: The stones I chose was from the remains of an old boundary dry stone wall that in time had come to be covered in earth grass and foliage, that ran across my garden near to the circle. I had previously dug these up to level that part of the garden and they had been stacked against the wood shed for some time. These stones were appropriate as they had been buried in the garden for decades and so would already contain the energy of the place. I asked spirit to help me choose the stone to replace each stake, and so, under their guidance the stones were placed. Taking care not to dig up the crystals as I dug the foundation hole for those four through the mounds of earth i had piled around the stakes. The centre stones top was to lay level with the grass surface so no mound there!
STEP EIGHT.
Activation: This was decided one afternoon whilst sat in the garden,looking and thinking about the circle. I thought 'tonight'.
Later that evening I came out with a hawks feather and several little pots of stuff and started on the energetic attunement. I put the small pot of earth against the North stone. The dedication went something like...''I offer this Earth in respect and love to the Guardians and Gnomes of the North quarter and ask that they protect and keep sanctified this circle....etc. I did this on the other three compass point stones,with the feather, pot of water and pot with a candle in, returning and standing on the central stone each time. Then I took a piece of my own spirit and placed it in offerance to the centre stone. Then put a protective energetic shield around, above and below the circle.
STEP NINE.
Seeding: The next day I sprinkled everthing in grass seed for the second time. I originally did this after creating the mounds around the stakes. I asked everybody not to enter the circle as grass seed was growing. It was a way also of keeping the energy through the building of the circle 'uncontaminated'. After the sprinkling and raking and watering of the seed, I asked the faye to nourish and aid its growth.
FINISHED. Yay I now have a very energetic sacred place to chill. lol.
Love and Light, Tim