Holy Wells and Stone Circles

So, here you find yourself, back on my page to see what I have to talk about today.  What interesting facts or bit of history do I have do share? Well, today I am going to tell you about The Stone circles and the Holy Wells of Ireland.

Lets start with the Holy Wells-

Almost every part of Ireland has at least one Holy Well. Places usually associated with local Saints or Gods/Goddess's and who's water is believed by many to have healing properties. There are over 3000 of them in Ireland. Some wells are still tended to carefully by local people, with flowers and nice planting surrounding them, some have statues close by and have had access improved with steps or cleared pathways.  Others are hidden away and overgrown.

The Pre-Christian belief that drinking from or bathing in the water associated with Gods or Goddesses would confer gifts of wisdom or healing meld almost seamless with the Christian belief of healing bestowed by Saints.  With the coming of Christianity to Ireland the old Pagan wells, rather than being abandoned, were gradually given new significance in line with new belief, probably with the support of pragmatic missionaries. There is still a belief in many places that the water from a holy well will keep a person healthy, with some people traveling regularly to fill bottles with the water. The reality is that the water is usually contaminated, and should be drunk with great care if at all.

And now for the Stone Circles-

In simple terms stone circles are just that.........rings of standing stones. The world's best known stone circle is Stonehenge, but Irish stone circles tend to be smaller and composed of smaller stones. They are found most often in the North of Ireland, around Tyrone especially, and in the Cork-Kerry region, though there are scattered examples elsewhere. Most have a similar layout, with a larger gap between two of the stones,often two larger stones, forming an entrance, opposite which there is an "axial" stone, often smaller than the others, sometimes flat rather than standing.

What were they used for?  Most are believed to have been built between 3000 and 1500 BC for a purpose which is not entirely clear. Occasionally bodies have been found during excavations, though not often enough to suggest that they were burial grounds. Most authorities agree however that they may have had a ritual or religious function. If you stand at the entrance of many stone Circle facing the axial stone, you will be looking directly at the place of either the rising or setting sun at one of the solstices or equinoxes, leading to another theory that they were some sort of astronomical observatories.

Well there you have it! That is some interesting information on the Holy Wells and Stone Circles of Ireland. I am really looking forward to visiting St. Brigid Well while we are in Ireland. She was originally a Pagan Goddess who was then converted to a Christian Saint.  And I am also sure that we will get to see a few Stone Circles. I really want to stand in the middle of those stones and just soak up the energy.  I have a feeling that Ireland is going to leave a HUGE impression on me. Not only physically,but emotionally and spiritually. I am really looking forward to sharing my experience with you all while I am over there. I really hope that you are all enjoying reading this. I do wish that you would leave me a message or to so that I know who is following this and how your liking it!

Slan ( Gaelic for Goodbye)