Of course there were gods too. And some of the ancient cultures didn't really worship a god or a goddess but instead focused their energy on the earth itself, living and flowing with the magic of the seasons, the warmth of the sun and dark of the night. Certain areas of the earth were also believed to be endowed with more power and energy than others.
Many of the sites have long since vanished. Medieval Christians desecrated some of the ancient temples and dismantled many of the stone rings of which Stonehenge is the most famous. Others fell victim to thousands of years of disuse and wear and tear of the natural elements. While archaeologists have been painstakingly excavating prehistoric areas, and while the curious have always poked around, a renewed interest in the ancient religions has brought a whole new breed of tourists.
Call it part of the new age, but just as hordes come to see the earth where apparitions of Mary are said to appear, others come to experience the energy and healing quality of the earth's power centers. These are places where ancient wisdom once flourished, where the goddess walked and blessed, and whose mystery, in many cases, still remains unearthed. Hundreds of sacred sites exist all over Europe--here is just a sampling:
Stonehenge--the best known of the stone circles, located about 80 miles from London near the town of Amesbury, this massive circle of stone still remains somewhat of a mystery after hundreds of years of study. Believed to now be about half of its original size, Stonehenge is presumed to have been used as a Druid temple or an astronomical observatory. Work on building Stonehenge began about 2800 BC.
Avebury Stone Circle--located 20 miles north of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, this stone ring circles an entire village and is believed to have been a prehistoric locus of earth energies.
Glastonbury--is considered by many to be England's premier place of power. According to legend, this is the site of the Holy Grail, of both King Arthur's and St. Patrick's burial sites, and is the entrance to the underworld in Pagan lore.
Carnac--located in the province of Brittany, France, the site is characterized by rows of erect stones, which may have one time served as an observatory. Carnac may have also once been the center of an ancient cattle cult, as an annual blessing of local herds is held in this spot today.
