Overlooking the vale of Rothersthorpe there is a very special garden being created. In this garden there will be many fruit and nut trees, underplanted with berry fruits and perennial plants.This forest garden will attract wildlife and provide pollen for the farms bees, who will give us wonderful honey. The garden will produce abundant harvests for generations to come.

The idea came to Ant, one of Permorganics founding members, after developing an interest in the ancient Tree Ogham (pronounced oh-am) devised by Celtic tribes in the British Isles around 500bc and used by druids to encode their wisdom. The druids looked to the skies and to their surroundings to gather wisdom and a better understanding of the seasons. They 'talked' at great length to the trees and developed a deep understanding of tree-lore.

Background

Druids had sacred circles usually high up on hilltops where they would gather for ritual and to observe the moon and stars. They devised a system to help guide them through the seasons by studying the sun and moon's phases and their position in the sky. At Winter Solstice (the shortest day/ longest night) the High Priest would go to the centre of the sacred circle and mark the position of the sun as it rose at dawn with a wooden stake by aligning it with another marker on the horizon. Winter Solstice marks the point where the light begins to return and the 'Wheel of the Year' begins to turn once more. This was counted by the druids as the most important day of the cycle.

From this point the high priest would observe the sun & moon positions daily by going to the circle and by using 2 huge rocks, one to represent the sun & one the moon, he would roll them round the circle following their path. He worked out that the moon was at its fullest every 28 days, and this event occurred 13 times, but for one day, where he was back where he started as the sun rose on the 365th day, it aligned exactly to the position of his first wooden stake. (hence the saying; a year and a day) This is how the druids devised their calendar year. They observed the trees during each of the 13 moon phases and dedicated a tree to each moon phase.

How it works

I am still studying the methods described above and may be a bit vague on certain points, but as the project develops, it is hoped the woodhenge at Rothersthorpe will be a close replica of how our ancestors devised this method of keeping track of time. The 13 markers round the grove will be wooden posts made from each of the sacred trees to help us identify the current tree month.

Here's a brief rundown of the information we're using:

The Druid Ogham Year - (Druid = knower of truth / tree) (Ogham = origin of time)

'Ogham' is an ancient divination system used by the ancient Celts & Druids.

The calendar is based on 13 months of 28 days (364 days) + 1 day. Winter Solstice falls on 20th /21st December each year, the day of the 21st is known in the Druid calendar as the 'Day out of Time' (the 365th day)

The 13 sacred trees representing each month in this system are;

Spindle Birch Ash Alder Willow Hawthorn Elder Oak Hazel Apple Rowan Blackthorn & Yew

The Druid's also had 28 trees to represent each day of the month, so a 'Day' was known as a 'Tree'. The 13 'Months' were known as 'Groves' and the Druid year of 13 Groves was called a 'Wood' - The 28 'Wood's were called a 'Forest'

Creating the Circle

The Circle is in its second year and is a work in progress. Hopefully, when the henge is up & running, we will be able to follow the 'Wheel of the Year' by simply standing in the centre of the henge & observing the position of the sun. By using this system, the 8 fire festivals will also be easy to observe.

The henge will not only be used to mark time, 3 energy lines cross in the centre making it an ideal spot for meditation, relaxation, and any rituals or ceremonies, or simply just to go & be still for a while.

The care of the henge has now been passed on to Northampton Pagans.