GUEMES ISLAND STONE CIRCLE
 

 The construction of stone circles is an ancient tradition. People of many cultures have used natural or shaped stones, arranged in a circle, to designate a sacred precinct. The circle itself symbolizes the cycle of life and death, the turning of the year's seasons, the mystery of the horizon, the opening of the womb. And while we may now regard the old stone circles with awe and curiosity, we really don't know exactly what purposes their builders had in mind. 

They probably made stone circles for many reasons beyond our knowledge, but we can't deny that the functions they now serve include a connection to our past, and a sense that some monumental design was at work. This particular circle is intended to mark a specific space as being dedicated to a specific idea. It is a monument to fallen friends.

Going through the process of assembling this stone circle has taught me a few things. First are the ritual aspects of finding a center, marking out a radius and circumference, and locating compass points. Performing the ritual itself leads one to an intuition of a sense of purpose. 

Then there is the making of petroglyphs. Reducing a three dimensional image to a simple groove in the stone surface requires an abstraction, or severe simplification, of a picture to an icon. Each of the carved slabs in the circle represents a specie or genus of fellow beings. 

This collection of stones, the circle, the portal, and the petroglyphs within, is a memorial to threatened and endangered plants and animals. This circle is one of many I hope to assemble, and it is dedicated specifically to the pacific yew tree. The yew is a native conifer of north america, who depends on the shelter of old growth forests to reproduce and grow. As the old communities of fir, hemlock, and cedar are slaughtered, the yew are trampled and killed, and because they have no commercial value, are not replanted. They cannot recover in clearcuts. This specie is not listed by any government agency, but it is endangered nonetheless. 

The other beings honored in this circle, bison and the associated tall grass prairies, salmon, coral, and spotted owl, are also depicted in petroglyphs, on upright slabs that I brought from the earlier stone circle on Reservation Road.  The trilithon east portal also has been moved here, but the other boulders in the ring are local Guemes Island erratics.  The circle is 45 feet across, and located due north of sacred Mt Erie, 6 miles away.
 

In the center is a granite boulder with a shallow basin carved in the upper side, in the bottom of which is a woman's face, to represent mother earth's presence, smiling up at us. Her positive energy is all that can balance the negative force that has caused all these extinctions. She reassures us that life indeed goes on. Around this stone I make circular fires to celebrate the sun holy days, solstices and equinoxes. 

You are welcome to visit this stone circle, and use it for your own meditation, or worship, or celebration.   It is a part of Madrona Art Center, on Guemes Island Road, just north of Anderson’s General Store.  If you are interested in building similar stoneworks, please call or email me, and I am happy to assist in any way I can.

These petroglyphs on the upright granite slabs acknowledge some of the threatened and endangered fellow beings that have become victims of our vanity. There are thousands more.

Stone Circle @ Stone Bard