The Stones of Destiny
Searles 

Thu Jun 24 20:24:23 1999
Here is what I sent out as a pan-Druidic attitude about stone:*p*The Stones of Destiny*p*Druids and Celts believe that stone is an essential part of our being.*br*Stone is to the Earth as our own bones are to us.  Stone is the structure*br*for the shape of our planet, even as our bones are the framework that*br*determine our own appearance. Because of this cosmic analogy, stone is the*br*very foundation of our existence.  The stones of the past are the testimony*br*of our ancestors to us through their headstones, Ogham markers and the*br*anciently inscribed menhirs.  Some stones are the marker stones of heroes*br*and notable relatives, while other stones are the evidence of great deeds*br*accomplished by entire tribes of people.  The stone circles, passage graves*br*and dolmens are the mark of humankind's ingenuity of spirit and mind. By*br*working together in harmony of mind and spirit, the prodigious physical*br*effort was accomplished that gave birth to each of these sites. To Druids*br*and Celts, such locations are as sacred as the Washington Monument, the*br*Arch of Triumph or the Tombs to Unknown Soldiers are to modern society.*br*When we are in their presence we are on hallowed ground as surely as a*br*person who visits the Vietnam Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, or Arlington Cemetery*br*is on hallowed ground.  These stones are like the cathedrals of Notre Dame*br*and Westminster Abbey. Druidic and Celtic cathedrals are the great upright*br*stones from the times of the past. They are living evidence of when gods*br*walked the Earth more frequently and a time when  humanity was not yet far*br*removed from its own creation.  If the stones of sacred places are defiled,*br*then spiritually our very bones and our basis in living is also sullied. To*br*attack or desecrate such places is to abuse and defile our grandparents,*br*our loved ones and our deities.  Such wanton attacks on sacred stones are*br*destructive of respect and self destructive of life.  They should be*br*considered to be an affront to everyone who still seeks the ways of spirit*br*and tradition.*p*Stones are also reservoirs of fate and destiny.  One should not lightly*br*tread upon the ways that have been established by Creation.  To deface a*br*stone that has been formed by deity over millions of years, for a specific*br*purpose, is to challenge the will of the gods, even the will of Creation. *br*One should not lightly alter what has been formed by the very forces that*br*have shaped life for us all.  Some stones are more sacred than others, but*br*all stones are worthy of sacred respect.  To change them or to break them*br*without an understanding of their purpose is to jeopardize the form of that*br*place's destiny.  Such unthinking and chauvinistic misuse of the Earth's*br*gifts to us is how holes appear in the protective ozone layers, how ice*br*caps melt and seas rise and it is also how forests yield to parking lots*br*and air no longer is fresh. This could be the way the world ends, through*br*self destruction and unthinking desecration.*p*The stones are the first step we each must take on our chosen pathways*br*through life.  If we are to choose wisely for ourselves, then we had best*br*listen attentively to their messages.  We had best be open to the voice of*br*the Earth and the will of our own Creation if we long expect to be a*br*harmonious part of life. The stones are a not so silent witness to our own*br*destiny, if we have ears to hear and eyes that see.*p*Searles O'Dubhain*br*An Daire Draíochta, The Summerlands, Inc.*br*