Standing Stones, Stone Circles and Ley Lines


by David R. Cowan
Standing stones and circles, henges, cup-marked stones and dolmens have intrigued us for generations, but until recently, there has been  little real evidence of their  purpose.

       Twenty-five years ago, I watched a programme on “Tomorrow's World” on the use of divining rods, and, to my absolute amazement, discovered for myself that they really did work. This was to give me an insight into the mysterious energies from standing stones and circles, although I had to walk well over three thousand miles, following the sinuous waves of natural telluric energy (ley lines) which standing stones and other artefacts of the megalithic culture emit - little wonder that archaeologists cannot understand them! (Recently, Vincent Reddish, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and Director of the Edinburgh Observatory, 1975-1980, has researched this energy and believes it is a spin torsion field, caused by the rotation of the Earth, Sun, and Moon - see Link Page).

    Particularly interested in the standing stones and circles in my area (Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland), I tuned in to one particular standing stone, and, with ever growing astonishment, followed the waves of energy it emitted across the country. It became increasingly obvious that this was the secret of the ancients - they used this natural telluric energy, focusing it in certain places, for their own purposes.

      Eventually, I decided to map the patterns of energy around an ancient cup-marked stone  in The Sma’ Glen, north of Crieff. This, as it happened, was the key to the whole system of a very large area. Pecked out of the living rock, or on free-standing boulders like this one, carved on walls of sandstone rock like the beautiful engravings at Mauchline, Ayrshire, and Ormaig in Argyllshire, cup-marks have been discovered world-wide and have over one hundred theories as to their purpose.

      This knowledge can be found in my book “Ley Lines and Earth Energies”  recently reprinted by David Hatcher Childress in California.
    There is no way of knowing just what implications this recovered knowledge has for our future. Judging by the amount of energy our ancestors put into building the megalithic monuments around the world the recovery of this knowledge will be “monumental”.

The following pictures are key points in a typical straight ley line across Scotland:
 
Praying Hands of Mary, Glen Lyon
(Above). This is “The Praying Hands Mary" from the west,  -  a key point  on a ley line in Glen Lyon. Behind this split stone lies the stone circles of Fortingall, and beyond, Croftmoraig stone circle in Tayside.
    The line extends westwards, over the summit of this hill (below) and through Meggernie  Castle with its ghost of half of a woman.

  Praying Hands of Mary from the East

(Above): "The Praying Hands of Mary" from the east. The ley line passes through and around this split stone, over the summit of the hill in the background and on to Meggernie Castle, with its strange story of the ghost of half of a woman, and through many old burial-grounds to the source - the volcanic island of Staffa. Again we see the use of volcanic anomalies, which are powerful emitters of spin torsion fields which were used to construct the ley line system.
Praying Hands of Mary from the south
Above: The Praying Hands of Mary from the South

CUP-MARKED MEGALITHS - THE KEY TO THE LEY SYSTEM

The cup-marked stone shown below, in the Sma' Glen, near Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, is situated in a large man-made concave-shaped amphitheatre in the hills, and has a prominent dumb-bell shaped cup-mark  on its surface.
Cup-marked boulder at Foulford Inn, Crieff
 

STRUCTURE OF THIS CUP-MARK LEY
Fig. 1 (below). This is an illustration of the energy emitted by the cup-marked stone at Foulford Inn. A spiral of energy is emitted from the stone, travels in a dog leg (not shewn) to a low cairn (top of illustration), then returns to the opposite side of the stone forming a circuit, a type of ley line. This is the skeleton of the energies this stone emits depicted in the cup-marked petroglyph (inset right) as a badly worn "S" shape. The arrow above the stone points to it location.
Fouldford Inn stone, circuit 
Notice the cup-marked stone is placed exactly above a major fault on the Highland Boundary Fault Zone (see illustration above). This powerful fault, where the North of Scotland pushes against the rest of the United Kingdom, supplies this important cup-marked stone with its microwave energy. Perhaps the Spin Torsion Field Effect already mentioned is also involved. It must be more powerful here as it passes through the planet and weak points such as geological faults.

A local geologist in this area has mapped out most of the geological faults and discontinuities (where different types of rock butt against each other), and it is obvious that most of the stone circles, pre-Reformation burial-grounds, one Templar building and even some old castles are placed directly above such geologically weak areas where the Spin Torsion Field Effect must be stronger. The few sites which do not conform to this theory probably also have geological anomalies beneath them which have yet to be  discovered. It will probably be purely co-incidence, but there is also a vitrified fort nearby which is also on the HBF.

The STFE may also explain why our ancestors aligned some alignments to the Sun or Moon at certain times of the year. Imagine the Moon trickling down the side of a distant mountain, supplying  a ley line with an additional input of energy.  

To the bottom left of the illustration above  is shown one of many thousands of microwaves which run along the Highland Boundary Fault. Oddly, all of these waves focus into this stone, then out again from the other side.

This stone sits in a large circular depression in the hills. This is used to initiate and form the circular cup-mark ley.volcanic dyke, bennybeg

This is a volcanic dyke, comprised of dolerite. On a nearby parallel dyke sits an ancient burial-ground belonging to the Drummonds. Their ancient castle was also built on top of this dyke a few miles away.
All of the ancient burial-grounds in the Crieff area are situated on top of volcanic anomalies.


THE PURPOSE OF STONE CIRCLES
Below: the energy from the Foulford Inn stone travels anti-clockwise outside the dumb-bell shaped ley above, which acts as a former, then north-west to a standing stone at Stonefield Farm,  then to a small cave, possibly man-made, then on to The Druids Cave, definitely man-made, and further north-west to Fingals Swordcut, near Ardeonaig, a natural chasm which acts as a waveguide, (below), and on to

Fingals Swordcut

Machuim stone circle where it is changed into two circuits around Ben Lawers, through The Praying Hands of Mary in Glen Lyon, then back to the Druids Cave and anti-clockwise to the Foulford Inn stone.
Dumb-bell ley 
To enlarge upon this, look at the illustration above. This form of energy is attracted to, and centres itself upon, bodies of water, like Loch Tay to the north-east of the cup-marked stone and Loch na Lairaige to the north-west of Machuim stone circle (circle shewn in red).
    It also prefers to contour hills, like Ben Lawers, and to complete this circuit in such a hillly district, the designers had to use (or build?) Loch na Lairaige and Lochan Craig na Mhadaidh at the top of the two hill passes (to the east and west of Ben Lawers) to attract the cup-mark leys up and over the hills. (Loch na Lairaige is now a large reservoir). There are many such lochs and smaller lochans at the summit of hill passes on these circuits - is it possible that at least ome of them were also man-made as part of ley line engineering? - entirely possible given their known abilities.


Above: an enlargement of the circuit around Ben Lawers, showing how the stone circle at Machuim (in red) warps one incoming cup-mark ley into two circuits, which are attracted up and over the hills by two lochs (lakes). This is one of the most important functions of stone circles.
    Below: Showing how the cup-mark ley spirals out from both the Foulford Inn cup-marked stone and Machuim stone circle.

IMPORTANT: NOTICE THAT ANCIENT BURIAL-GROUNDS ARE PLACED AT THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THIS CUP-MARK LEY WHERE THE WAVES ARE CLOSEST - THE "WORKING EDGE".
THESE BURIAL-GROUNDS ARE ALSO ON GEOLOGICAL FAULTS
    The Druids Cave, Glen Almond
Above: The Druid's Cave. This 18 foot high collection of boulders is the focal point of the telluric system, which covers much of Scotland and part of the north of England. The circular energy ley entering this possibly man-made cave has its wavelength and frequency altered by the clever use of the resonant qualities of the cave, giving the ley some extremely unusual and very interesting characteristics unknown to mainstream science.
        Another special quality of this still-working cup-mark ley is that it seeks out cavities - empty oil drums, caves, ravines, houses, castles, pools in rivers, even animal skulls, and especially important, the graves in the ancient burial-grounds positioned at the perimiter of the cup-mark ley - the newer the grave the better the attraction. Older graves are compacted down, making them less attractive to this energy. Hence, perhaps, the ancient Scottish tradition that the last person, the "guardian spirit" to be buried there has to keep watch over the others.
         The main intention of the ley system must have been to help their dead into the next life, or perhaps a a form of feng shui, to give good health and success to those left behind. They obviously believed in the survival of the human spirit, and the brilliant design and construction of this small portion of the ley system shows how important they believed this was.


WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF STRAIGHT LEYS?

Cup-marked standing stone, Kilmartin

STRAIGHT LEY LINES
Left: this standing stone at Kilmartin, Argyllshire, also has cup-marks on its surface and shows just one of the many waves of energy it emits to form part of a straight energy ley. The wavelength from standing stones is around 5-6 ft., and is a standing wave, different from cup-mark leys which are about 20 ft. wavelength and have a cycle time of almost two minutes.


Above: straight ley lines from the Rocking Stone of Glen Tarken, and some standing stones like  The Bhacain (below), The Chieftain and stone circles act like "magnetic bottles", helping to form the circuits.The main or primary ley is emitted from the volcanic caldera of St. Kilda (top left, above) and passes through Machuim stone circle, the Druids Cave and Balfarg stone circle, before travelling to the North of England and on, perhaps to a volcano in Italy.

Standing stones, St. Fillans

Above: A possible four-stone circle in garden at St. Fillans. Now in a rough line, it must have been landscaped in the recent past.
Standing stone, Bhacain, Glen Almond
Perhaps you will now begin to understand the colossal amount of energy and sophistication which went into this beautiful, elegant system, using natural landmarks and earth energies focused by standing stones and circles, working in a way which no-one has been able to understand up to now.

OTHER CIRCUITS FORMING CUP-MARK LEYS
Outside the dumb-bell circuits shown above are other circuits, each looking less like a dumb-bell. These encounter other stone circles at Killin, Kenmore, etc., and are then projected across country to form other separate circuits of energy all of them with standing stones and burial grounds at the perimiter, the "working edge" of the cup-mark leys.

 The picture to the left shows the dumb-bell shaped petroglyph and some other cup-marks on the Foulford Inn stone, depicting a few of the associated energy circuits. Refer to the picture and illustration below for the complete map of the cup-mark circuits.
  




Also refer to the illustration of the dumb-bell circuit above which shows the similarity between the circuit and this engraving.

Top of cup-marked stone at Foulford Inn
Above: the cup-marks on the Foulford Inn stone. Dumb-bell cup-mark shewn below centre to the right.
  Left: Illustration of cup-marks on stone, plan view. These can now be shewn to be circuits of telluric energy focused through ancient burial-grounds from the north of Scotland to the north of England.
The reason that Scotland is so prolific in Megalithic monuments is very likely because it has so many gelogical faults and anomalies which give these circuits their power.
  
clach na tiompan, gunsight 
Above, right: The Foulford Inn stone (centre of this illustration) is powered in many different ways, apart from the energy provided by the Highland Boundary Fault. Here, a ley line has been constructed between Clach-na-Tiompan stone circle to the left of the illustration, and a giant monolith, (extreme right), with two smaller standing stones to focus the energy, through the Foulford Inn stone.
clach na tiompan

Clach-na-Tiompan means the stone of the musical instrument, probably a timpan or drum, which may mean that drumming was used in ancient ceremonies at the nearby  hollow burial-cairn.

Above: The the remains of Clach-na-Tiompan stone circle
  Serpent or Crocodile of St. Fillans
 
Above: The Serpent stone, near St. Fillans, Lochearnhead, Perthshire, (it represents the sinuous, weaving nature of earth energies), another of the key elements in the ley line system in Perthshire. This rock, perhap fortuitously fallen from the cliff face above and probably at least partially carved by man, has a form of ley line running down its length towards the nearby Dundurn Church and graveyard . . .
A cup-marked stone at Dundurn Burial Ground
. . . and through this strangely carved stone, which has two deep cup-marks carved into it, where visitors can leave coins for good luck. The cup-marks, however, have a much more intriguing and very ancient purpose linked to focusing telluric energy through the remains of St. Fillan, the leper.

 Again we see the prehistoric preoccupation of focusing natural earth energies through the remains of the dead. - especially important and benevolent people.

Rocking stone of St. Fillans
 
Above: The Rocking Stone of Glen Tarken. This huge boulder, like a facetted diamond in the centre of a number of ley lines, reputedly once rocked in a high wind, possibly to alter their wavelengths (straight ley lines are streams of vertical waves with a wavelength of 5 - 6 ft). Now it is as motionless as the hills themselves.

Standing stone, The Bhacain, Glen Lyon
 
Above: This tiny 2 ft. high standing stone is called the "Bhacain" and is situated in Glen Lyon. Centuries ago, young girls were forced to crawl beneath this stone as a form of contraception before they travelled to the corrupt lowlands for work!
Phadruig Standing Stone
Above: This standing stone is called "Phadruig" (Patrick), close to Balquhidder Church, where the famous outlaw Rob Roy McGregor and his family are buried. It is on a powerful cup-mark ley. When mourners carried their dead to the nearby churchyard, they would rest the coffin on its flat top - coffins were traditionally carried along ley lines ("faery paths") of different types, usually straight paths on straight ley lines, but this time on a circular ley line. Yet again we see the relationship to ley energy and the dead.
The Caillaich and Bodach, Glen Lyon
Left: The little faery house of the Bodach (old man) and Cailleach (old woman) in Glen Lyon, on the wide Praying Hands of Mary ley line (or corridor). This ancient shrine is said to have been built by the ancestors of the MacGregors, thousands of years ago, to give good fortune to the families when they took their cattle into the hills during the summer.
    The stones are very heavy water-worn stones in the shapes of a man and woman. Now they have five children, all carved by the tumultuous stream which runs past their home. The larger one, The Cailleach, has a carved mouth, nose, and eyes. A nice story, but there is some doubt, however, about its authenticity, it may be a post second-world war hoax.Standing Stone, The Chieftain, Loch Rannoch
 
Right: The Chieftain standing stone, Loch Rannoch, on a cup-mark ley, with Schiehallion, the faery hill of the Caledonians, to the left. (It was this shapely hill which prompted Maskelyn the Astronomer Royal, to make an attempt to discover the weight of the Earth).
  This site is reputedly the grave of an ancient warrior, and has a tiny engraving of an axe head on the side away from the camera.

Standing stone, Adamnan, Glen Lyon  
Left: St. Adamnan’s stone, Glen Lyon, from this angle looking like an old man in agony, in Glen Lyon, where the Saint banished the plague. This standing stone has been Christianized with a cross on the face away from the camera.
   It was near the end of my research when I discovered the primary ley line running lengthwise through the dumb-bell shaped telluric circuit and also its probable source - a stone circle on a volcanic island far out in the Atlantic (dead volcanoes, volcanic plugs and features like The Giants Causeway in Ireland and the island of Staffa in Scotland are powerful emitters of natural energy or spin torsion fields which our ancestors used to manufacture their remarkable energy networks).

    This primary ley runs neatly down through the dumb-bell shaped circuit to some stone circles at Fowlis Wester, Perthshire, and on to another stone circle at Balfarg, outside Glenrothes, near the Firth of Forth, and further down to the north of England, before vanishing into the North Sea, to its destination somewhere on the Continent, presumably Italy.

   Future researchers would do well to investigate the relationship of standing stones and circles to geological faults and "places of power".

        There is only one way to recover this ancient knowledge, and that is to tune into the ley system with divining rods and follow the leys from their source/s to their destination/s. This can take many hundreds of miles to give even a glimmer of understanding.

    The subject of ley lines has been ignored by most scientists, generally because of the poor quality of ley research. Perhaps now, some will learn how to use divining rods and use scientific methods to understand them.There is no way of telling how important the recovery of this knowledge may be --

     If the human spirit can survive death (something our scientifically-orientated culture does not really believe in), then the laws of Karma may also be a possibility - if you harm someone in this life you may have to repay in a future incarnation.

      How would your present life change if you believed this, and also that you may be re-incarnated as a Catholic/Protestant/Christian/Muslim, or Jew, or some other religion, race or colour totally foreign to your present beliefs? Would 9/11 and all the other atrocities we have suffered over the past decades/centuries have ever occurred?

This important research and much more is fleshed out in my book “Ley Lines and Earth Energies” which was reprinted by David Hatcher Childress, California, in March, 2004.
--------------------------

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