Stonehenge on the morning of the solstice with New Age, neo-Pagan, hippie revelers and a few scientists welcoming the Sun (AP)
LONDON (AP) — A damp overcast morning has failed to deter thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice.
Around 18,000 neo-pagans, new agers, and curious visitors gathered Tuesday in heavy rain to watch the Sun rise over the ancient stone circle on the Salisbury Plain about 80 miles (130 km) southwest of London.
The celebrations are a modern twist on solstice celebrations that were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar.
Police say the event was good natured, but 20 people were arrested for drug and public disorder offenses.
Stonehenge was built in three [major] phases [and lots of tweaking] between 3000 B.C. and 1600 B.C. It is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions with over 850,000 visitors a year. More
Spiritual healing in Crestone, Colorado
ChicagoTribune.com
For thousands of years, the high, arid San Luis Valley has spawned tales of the strange and the fantastic. Later inhabitants noted a peculiar energy attributed to a combination of wind, 8,000-foot altitude, and an enormous aquifer beneath the highest high desert outside of Tibet. Some went further, claiming hidden UFO [i.e., Deep Underground Military] bases and mysterious portals where aliens enter and exit our world. All the while, the largest alpine valley on Earth became a magnet for eccentrics, dreamers, and seekers. Native Americans called it the Bloodless Valley, setting aside their weapons as they made vision quests up sacred Blanca Peak, the great sentinel of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains whose bony spine winds dramatically from southern Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico.