Silbury Hill, nr Avebury, June 25:

The Ancients Speak! 

To derive meaning from this very succinct and simply beautiful crop circle, we must take into consideration the voices of the ancient Britons as they are represented in the glyphs around the great circle, the design of the circle itself and last but not at all least, the wonderful Silbury Hill before which the formation is laid. 

Around this formation, a message is written in the ancient Druid hieratic alphabet, Ogham or, Beth-Luis-Nuin.  The letters we find around the outside of the formation represent, from the top of the photograph as seen in the aerial shots page clockwise:

M, R, I, C, E, of our Roman alphabet.  The tradition of Ogham assigns each letter the name of a tree or plant or natural elements. “The old Druids had a very special relationship with nature. They saw that human life was but a small fragment of a much larger pattern, and the shape of life rhythms could be worked out by the careful observation of, and the strict adherence to, an annual cycle.” (Murray 6) 

“The cycles of time were connected to the ‘Tree’ alphabet in another and more direct way–by the 13 months of the Celtic calendar being named after 13 of the 25 letter names…. 

The Tree alphabet was in use until about AD700, or perhaps a little later, hidden in the monasteries of the early Celtic, or Culdee, church. The use of this alphabet was symbolic and not used for speech or writing in the modern sense of the words. Instead, each letter had a host of ideas and thoughts centered around it relating to Celtic cosmology and philosophy.” (Murray 7-8)  

In this message we have, starting from the top going clockwise:

The idea related to ‘muin’, the vine, is one of prophecy, openness to intuitive faculties to receive truthful realities. It is related to the month of August and the ancient festival of Fire, of Lugnassadh or Lammas. It is a symbol for letting go of restricting and repressive ways. 

’Ruis’, the elder, evokes ‘the end in the beginning and the beginning in the end’, and reminds us of regeneration and rebirth. It is associated with Samhain and the end of October. 

’Ioho’, the yew, in ancient days planted in cemeteries, represents great ages, rebirth and reincarnation. 

When we look at this letter as if the base is near the large circle, we see it is ‘coll’, the hazel. This letter is related to intuition and the wisdom of the salmon, the Celtic animal totem of great wisdom. It is associated with the month of July. 

This letter ‘eadad’, the poplar, helps rebirth and prevents illness. “It is also concerned with finding the spiritual strength and endurance to face the harsh realities that life presents to us, often unexpectedly, or over a long, wearing period of time.” (Murray 60) 

So, surrounding this formation is an ancient written language giving us messages about: rebirth & regeneration (ioho, ruis), future (muin), wisdom (coll) and protection (eadad), and some references to the summer months of July and August and then the last harvest month, October. 

The circle aspect of this formation includes what could be seen as a labrys or double axe and an hourglass shape. 

The double axe is a symbol of the sacred union of the sky god and earth goddess; it is related to thunder and lightning; the sun; fire. The Cretan double axe is presumed to symbolize sovereignty and the power and presence of the deity, as it is also seen in Celtic tradition. 

The labrys was a practical tool and weapon, but became a ceremonial symbol for the chieftain and the deity.  

The hourglass shape is found among alchemical symbols as well as being a familiar symbol in Europe for the hourglass, and meaning hour or time. The hourglass in this formation at Silbury Hill seems to indicate some passing of time, with the smaller patch of laid crop slipping through to the lower compartment. So, something has begun!                                                    

“Silbury Hill is the largest man made mound in Europe.  It is a massive artificial mound with a flattened top that is around 100 feet across. It is approximately 130 feet (40 m.) high, with a base circumference of 1640 feet. It is composed of over 12 million cubic feet (339,600 cubic m.) of chalk and earth and covers over 5 acres (2 ha).

It was built in three stages and over a period of probably about 30 or 40 years. The first began in 2600 BCE, which makes it contemporary with the megaliths at Avebury and also with the pyramids in Egypt.

Silbury Hill was completed 1,000 years before the last arrangement of the boulders at Stonehenge.” (thewhitegoddess) 

Although there is no real certainty as to what this magnificent Hill was made for or even used for, there has been folkloric association of the Silbury Hill with the White Goddess over the ages. And who could She be? Perhaps the actual Earth Herself as She presents Herself in that region–as white chalk hills? The quartz fragments laid into the surface did make it quite a beacon at night in particular during a full moon. The crop circle, when seen as a topographical map, could be a diagram of the actual hill, with its three rings of construction.

The crop circle concentric rings could represent the three levels seen in the construction diagram. 

At the Silbury Hill formation, in front of what could be considered a great earthly representation of the Goddess, we find references to time in the hourglass shape and in three of the Ogham glyphs. We see the double axe, referring to the sovereignty of the Deities of sky and earth. We are given the Ogham symbols for wisdom, intuition and protection from ill. Also, three Ogham glyphs reference the concepts of rebirth and regeneration. 

Under the auspices of the Goddess, sustainer of Nature, are we being urged to accept some kind of new way of being that develops over time? If we listen to the wisdom of our intuition and hearts, and use our spiritual sense to guide us through these difficult times of change, then will we be protected and assisted in developing a new life on Earth?  

It seems the circlemakers are trying to tell us something along that line! 

Michelle Jennings 

Sources: 

L’ABCdaire des Celtes. Flammarion. Paris. 2001.

Cooper, J.C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. Thames   & Hudson. London. 1978.

Liungman, Carl G. Dictionary of Symbols. W.W Norton & Co. New York. 1991.

Murray, Colin & Liz. The Celtic Tree Oracle: A System of Divination. Stoddart   Publishing Co. Toronto. 1988.

Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects.  Castle Books. Edison. NJ. 1988. 

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/articles/history/silbury_hill.asp 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silbury_Hill

http://www.zazzle.ca/knotwork_labrys_stickers-217095020987820735