Beltany Stone Circle

invitation, engagement, and patience

For me, Beltany (Bealtaine) Stone Circle will always carry the energy of invitation. While this photo may not look portray invitation, despite the clouds, the day was beautiful and the energy of the day full of invitation.

The First Invitation: to Donegal

I had planned a few small aspects of my trip and had decided not to go too far north even though I was curious about Donegal. I bought a concert ticket for an artist I like for June 15th on Inishmore thinking it would be a fun diversion from whatever spiritual work I’d be doing.

But after three nudges to go to Donegal, and spending some time feeling into it, in the space between dreaming and waking I saw calendar dates 13th to 18th. I thought I’d better follow this final nudge. I gave up the concert ticket and my hard-to-find hotel room (one of the last ones on the island for that weekend) and planned to go to Donegal.

I couldn’t make the 13th work, but I was able to book an airbnb room near Donegal town from the 14th to the 18th.

The Second Invitation: a new friend

I learned the morning of the day I was to arrive in Donegal that the house I was staying in would be full with other guests and the host’s family. After spending a lot (maybe too much) time by myself, that sounded great to me. When I arrived, the only person home was a kind woman who was about my age, and before long we found we had quite a bit in common. The next morning when I was getting ready for my day’s adventure, I invited her to join me.

Only a few minutes into our drive I learned that she had just arrived back to the airbnb house, where she’d stayed before, and had also given up her plan to go see the same artist on Inishmore that night. (?!) Hmmm… maybe she is the one whose path I was meant to cross? I was appreciating the invitation to engage and connect - something that had been only sparingly available so far on my trip.

She had been to Beltany Stone Circle already, so I asked her how she experienced it before. She said she felt it to be “feminine and inviting.”

The Third Invitation: into the circle

We enjoyed our conversational drive and our brief walk on the wooded stone path up to the sacred site. As soon as we arrived at the entrance and the stone circle was in view, I felt a blast of its energy as if we were in a superhero movie and its radiant force field blasted out to meet us. I stopped, closed my eyes and listened, taking in the powerful energy. I realized this would likely be a place I’d want to collect an essence, so I excused myself to return to the car to grab a bottle and some water.

On my walk back up the path to the circle again, I passed a couple that recognized me from a brief walk I’d taken the day before at Benbulben. We has some sweet, nourishing conversation (the kind that makes you remember the universe is a loving place) before going our separate ways. I was feeling enlivened by the presence of energy at the circle, these kind people, and the possibility of what lay ahead.

As I entered the sacred site, I spoke in my mind and with my heart “I would like to enter your field and allow you to move me.” I have taken to saying things like this as I enter an energetic field, declaring my clear intention and taking a moment to listen. Am I welcome? What’s the response from the field? All was well, so I continued on.

I first walked outside the circle to the edge of the property, where a barbed-wire fence was encircled by a stacked stone fence. I just wanted to feel the whole of the space from another angle. When I began to approach the stone circle, once again I asked to be invited in.

I was drawn to one stone in particular, and sat with it for a while. I felt connected to a grid of cosmic order, a system that multidimensionally was true and made sense. I made a note to check ley lines and planetary alignment later, as tey came to mind. The headache I’d been mostly ignoring started to recede, and I just alternated being and listening, all the while holding the bottle of water to collect the essence of the whole experience.

Having not yet researched this site, I had questions. Were bealtaine fires held here? If so, when? Were all welcome and invited or was the area restricted? Were the gatherings here solely celebratory or did they have other purposes?

This would clearly be a powerful and sensible place to hold community gatherings. Before the evergreen plantation forests were planted which block the view from a few spots, there would have been an incredible 360 degree view.

What is Beltany Stone Circle?

Known as a megalithic site and thought to be constructed in the Bronze Age (1400-800BCE), Beltany Stone Circle is one of history’s mysteries. We do know that two of the stones align with the sunrise at Beltaine (May 1st) when pastoral Celts would honor the season with bonfires. While we may picture the bonfires as simply celebratory, there’s speculation that cattle and livestock were also moved through the fires in a cleansing ritual to purify them of pests and disease for the coming season. Either way, a stone circle like Beltany would have held great significance for the community. It felt to me very much like a place of power and cosmic alignment. (I found this article an interesting read.)

The Final Invitations

There were a few things about the land itself that stood out to me. First of all, there were patches of stinging nettle everywhere in full bloom. It was all throughout and surrounding the circle. Stinging Nettle essence is usually about one’s response to and reception of that which stings, though of course definitions can vary. What invitation was stinging nettle presenting? It felt like it was an invitation to be with the sting, trusting the time would pass and the underlying truth would be revealed.

The thought both my new friend and I had brought forward that morning was what does it take to truly feel at home, grounded and rooted, wherever you are? In this place, at this moment, I experienced the importance of allowing our bodies and systems time to acclimate wherever we are. And, of course, taking one’s shoes off and getting feet on the ground. An invitation in and of itself for connection with the land in both directions, giving and receiving.

This was definitely a place where the land had taken over - and rightfully so after ~3,000 years. Earth had folded itself over stone, rising up in the center of the circle, moving stones and perhaps tumbling them around. Earth seemed to be the most important character in this story, taking care of its needs rather than succumbing to ours. This in itself was an inviting feeling for me. I love when there is no pressure, no expectation, for anyone (including the earth) to act any particular way — when we can just fold ourselves into the order of the earth if we so choose. When we’re not made the center of attention, our needs not given all priority, there’s a kind of freedom to observe, participate, or not. It reminds us as individuals that we have the agency to decide: how do we want to participate? There won’t always be a formal invitation - you’ll have to invite yourself.

Ultimately, the best feeling I experienced during my visit to Beltany Stone Circle was standing with my bare feet on a smaller (~18” wide) round stone near the center of the circle. It wasn’t a large standing stone from the circumference of the circle, but one that had been folded in. It was then that my headache vanished, and I relaxed and took the deepest breath I had all day.

There’s no invitation like this one for me: take your shoes off and connect with the earth, silly. :) No formal invitation will be issued — you just have to remember it’s your prerogative, and it will always help you.

Essence

The Bealtaine Stone Circle essence reminds you of your ever-open invitation to engage with the earth, to welcome yourself to the party, to take responsibility for your own experience, to allow time for life to progress, to step into the circle, and invite someone else to join you. It’s an essence of engagement, participation, and patience. It’s also a reminder to take the time that you need to acclimate to your surroundings, to put your feet on the earth and welcome yourself to the current situation and environment. Adjusting takes time, and your invitation is open.