January 15, 2007
Stonehenge Aotearoa
On the way back from an awesome wedding, we stopped in at Stonehenge Aotearoa, outside of Carterton. It is not an exact replica of Stonehenge. It is a stone circle, it is a similar size and look, but it is designed to be a functioning astronomical device for its geographical location.
The henge itself is somewhat underwhelming to view. To get the real effect one would have to stay overnight, preferably at a solstice. But the overwhelming part was the information encoded in it. We were treated to a brilliant two hour exposition from Richard Hall – One Who Knows, and combines that knowledge with passion and a real ability to communicate – encompassing astronomy, Maori, Egyptian and Bablyonian symbolism and stories, the functioning of ancient civilisations, the importance of mapping time, what the stars used to mean to people and how they were used, the original symbolism of the zodiac, what words used to mean, the bizarre and awesome acoustic properties of stone circles, history and a whole bunch more. Utterly fascinating and totally worth the trip.
As a random aside, apparently most astrological star charts in use are a thousand years out of date. By the analemma at Stonehenge Aotearoa, I am actually a Libra.
Filed by billy at 11:10 am under new zealand
3 Comments
Stoner.
Are the zodiac months still proportional then? The world would be a better place if leo only lasted for a week and Virgo was doubled.
My understanding would be that thry are disproportionate; the sun appears to move through the sky faster at certain points in the year, and its presence in the sun signs is affected by that.