An Important Pilgrimage

A Major Milestone, A Major Lunar Standstill & Summer Solstice with the Stones

At the proverbial last minute, I was flying over the ocean on a pilgrimage to the Outer Hebrides. I would meet 28 fellow skywatchers from Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and the Philippines on a quest to experience the “moon walking on the land” across “Cailleach na Mounteach” or “The Old Woman of the Moors” during the current once-in-18.6 years Major Lunar Standstill season.

As others have done for thousands of years, we would gather amidst the ancient standing stone circles of Calanais (“Callanish”) on the Isle of Lewis to witness and celebrate the full moon at its rare southern extreme during the Summer Solstice. Clans holding deep roots to these thick moors welcomed those of us traversing many miles for the festivity of engaging with the sky and the land and each other. We would feast and sing and dance and reflect and share our offerings among the massive monuments built as stone-age clocks and symbols of our deep connection to the cosmos.

As in many places around the world, thousands of monuments have been discovered all over the British Isles; and current fields of study attempt from different angles to answer the question, “why?” The field of Archaeo-astronomy looks for clues that these monuments may align with astronomical events; events of which the people of ancient times would have been very aware and would have seen to be of utmost importance to their way of life … as it always is but these days “there’s an app for that.” Before phones and apps and clocks and watches, ingenious humans (we suppose) constructed many ways of marking the cyclic patterns of their timekeepers, the Moon, Sun and other heavenly bodies. Just as today and for good reason, much effort is spent on keeping up with the passage of time and ancient time technology included monuments, like stone circles, built on the land to help perceive and commemorate cyclic astronomical events and our deep connection to earth and sky.

The ”Callanish Complex,” now a World Heritage Site, is comprised of over 20 stone circles, stone rows, burial cairns, and single standing stones in the Calanais region alone.

Uncovering these ancient sites in the Scottish moors is certainly no small feat. Over thousands of years, the heavy, dense blanket peat overtakes everything in its path and one can only imagine what lies underneath. In 1857, the tips of a few stones were peeping out of the bog when the island’s landowner, Sir James Matheson, started digging. By removing nearly two meters of peat, he uncovered a magnificent circle of 13 stones surrounding a nearly 5-meter-high monolith and four stone rows radiating in each direction from the circle. These 3-billion year old, metamorphic rock, Lewisian gneiss (“nice”) stones were erected nearly 5,000 years ago and predate England’s famous Stonehenge as well as the commonly believed date of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids!

For me, it was a moving and emotional experience to be in the presence of these magnificent stones and to feel the massive energy and activities of so many people from all over the world for thousands of years; so many events, festivals, ceremonies, gatherings; so many cycles, seasons, beginnings, endings. I felt the strength and fortitude one would need to live on this dense land and to travel distances to gather for important astronomical events.

Just as we had done.

Ceremonies at Callenish III

Not merely an inconsequential vacation or a get-away-from-it-all kind of journey, each of us brought our own purpose and meaning for making our way to this sacred land. As someone who takes great effort in creating a beautifully peaceful home environment free from the bombardment of nefarious “high-tech” frequencies (especially concentrated in transportation hubs), and in taking in good food and air and water, and in avoiding surveillence tech, propaganda, others’ unstable energies, airports, planes, fumes, radiation and microwave signals, emerging from my (literal) bubble and submitting my body and mind to this completely different world was a huge consideration. I swear, even though travel seems easier and more convenient (shorter) these days, I’m not sure the trip across the Atlantic in an Ice Age ship would’ve been much worse!

(Travel is much different than it was even just a few years ago! So much radiation and frequency fuckery takes a real toll! The re-entry has been rough … must learn how to travel in the astral realms instead! “Lol”)

And … it was all worth it because I had another very important purpose for this journey. After the serendipitous introduction to Shamanic Astrology in November 2022 (read more ...) and meeting the founder and my personal mentor and teacher (Daniel Giamario) in Oracle, AZ in April of 2023, I’ve been on an accelerated fast-track of discovering my Current Life Purpose, adhering to my path, and aligning with choices that support my focus … all in less than 2 years! Diving fast and deep into this transformational paradigm was like finally getting a solid way of amalgamating all of the interests and yearnings I’d explored over many years.

Even though travel is a big endeavor for me, it’s as if the stones of Callanish pulled me to experience my own milestone in this auspicious place and to be with my mentor and fellow “seed people” (What are "seed people?"). As we all stood in the midst of the Triple Goddess stones of “Callanish III” with “The Old Woman of the Moors” (Cailleach) lying in reception, I’m very proud to announce that I graduated as a Foundationally Certified Shamanic Astrologer! A very happy achievement and extremely special place and company!

(Daniel's review of our trip ...)

The 8 days in Scotland included all-night solstice celebrations awaiting the full moon’s walk on the land; visits to at least 5 of the “Callanish Complex” sites; meaningful graduation and Inner Sacred Marriage ceremonies at Callenish III; visits to seemingly tropical but chilly beaches including an Iron Age house and village; fantastic chef-prepared Scottish feasts and accommodations at the Doune Breas hotel; a quick tour of architectural wonders of Edinburgh … and more!

I’ll be writing more about:

• the unique Inner Sacred Marriage process,

• the Lunar Standstill phenomenon;

• archao-astronomical and sacred sites around the world;

• old architecture like these buildings in Edinburgh …

Edinburgh power stations ;)

If you’d like to know more about the Shamanic Astrology paradigm™ and what I’ve been passionately studying click here. And if you’d like to experience a transformative reading with me click here to read more or contact me directly at lizzie@lizziemoon.com.