SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Ancient Sacred Sites

The conclusion of the Silent Eye’s extended workshop to Orkney. A visit to the neighbouring island of Rousay. A sad disappointment and a wonderful surprise. (1500 words, a twelve-minute read) (Above: a modern reconstruction of a Neolithic farmer felling a tree with a hand-made stone axe) For our final day, we were off to the Island of Rousay.. I’ve written, elsewhere, about what it’s … Read More The City and the Stars (9-end) : the most peaceful place in the world

December 8, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Consciousness

The City and the Stars (8) : Longships

by Steve Tanham

The traditional picture of the Vikings – looting, marauding, raping invaders – may not be entirely true of their time on Orkney, though they did rule this gentle archipelago with an iron fist for five hundred years… (1300 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: the glory of St Magnus (Viking) Cathedral, Kirkwall) History can be complex. Patterns of events that fit in one situation may … Read More The City and the Stars (8) : Longships

December 3, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (7) : the Standing Stones of Stenness

by Steve Tanham

The Standing Stones of Stenness are reduced in importance compared with their former status. But 5,000 years ago, they were the stone circle for the Ness of Brodgar spiritual city. Only later, in the period culminating in the deliberate act of self-destruction of the Ness of Brodgar structures, were these stones eclipsed as the ‘guide to the heavens’… (1300 words, a twelve-minute read) The … Read More The City and the Stars (7) : the Standing Stones of Stenness

December 1, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (6) : the twice-chosen

by Steve Tanham

To build something so sophisticated, so designed, as the Maeshowe Chambered ‘tomb’, would have required enormous dedication from the people of Orkney. Seen alongside the emerging splendour of the Ness of Brodgar ‘spiritual city’, you get a flavour of the total commitment of these ancient people to their task… (1500 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: The long passageway that leads into and out of … Read More The City and the Stars (6) : the twice-chosen

November 26, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (5) : ‘Structure 10’ Pyramid

by Steve Tanham

The more the Orkney archeologists uncover, the more it is certain that the settlement on the Ness of Brodgar was the hub of a dynamically influential and spiritual society, 5000 years ago… For example, what’s this pyramid…. yes, that’s right, pyramid? (1700 words, a fifteen-minute read) (Above: Illustration of Structure 10 by Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen and Jimmy John Antonsen) That can’t be right, … Read More The City and the Stars (5) : ‘Structure 10’ Pyramid

November 24, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (4) : The Ring of Brodgar

by Steve Tanham

You look at the landscape around you… This magnificent place, where the natural features are as spectacular as the Neolithic discoveries, lies between two lochs surrounded by a natural amphitheatre. You are encircled on all sides by the hills and the monuments that make up the heart of Orkney’s Neolithic World Heritage Site. Welcome to the Ring of Brodgar, in the valley of the … Read More The City and the Stars (4) : The Ring of Brodgar

November 19, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (3) : The City on the Ness

by Steve Tanham

A ten-minute journey from Stromness, on Orkney, lies an ‘isthmus’ which recent excavations have shown to contain one of the richest archeological concentrations in the world… It is nothing less than an ancient spiritual city, lost to time until the early years of this century. (1200 words, a ten-minute read) An ‘isthmus’ is defined as ‘a narrow strip of land with sea on either … Read More The City and the Stars (3) : The City on the Ness

November 17, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Astrology, Consciousness, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (2) : The Houses of Skara Brae

by Steve Tanham

Skara Brae’s modern story began in 1850 when a violent sea-storm tore off the layers of grass, sand and soil that had covered what appeared to be two ancient and completely intact Neolithic houses. For 4,000 years, they had been lost to history, having been mysteriously abandoned. (1000 words, a ten-minute read) The local landowner at the time was William Watt, who lived at … Read More The City and the Stars (2) : The Houses of Skara Brae

November 12, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Astrology, Consciousness, guided mystical walks, mystical travel, Neolithic, Photography

The City and the Stars (1)

by Steve Tanham

With the Pictish Trail weekend a long car journey and a boat ride behind us, we had awakened in Stromness to the early morning of an overcast Orkney day – The excavated and intact Neolithic village of Skara Brae was a few short miles away… (1300 words, a ten-minute read) We had not expected to be here at all. Visiting Orkney for the second … Read More The City and the Stars (1)

November 5, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (9) : Dunrobin Castle

by Steve Tanham

The beautiful vision of the ‘fairytale’ Dunrobin Castle, seen here from across the bay during our visit to Portmahomack, had tantalised us with the reported splendour of its architecture and gardens. Now, we had arrived at the gateway of its estate. (1800 words, a twelve minute read) (Above: Dunrobin Castle through a long lens…) Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses … Read More Two journeys, one destination (9) : Dunrobin Castle

November 3, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Helmsdale : haven of the far north

by Steve Tanham

Not far south of John O’ Groats – the most northerly point of the British Isles – lies a beautiful fishing village with a vibrant present and a fascinating history (A twelve minute read, 1500 words) (Above: Helmsdale’s modern outer harbour. It has two…) We’ve finally caught up with ourselves – this twin-telling of the central and incidental places on the Silent Eye’s Pictish … Read More Helmsdale : haven of the far north

October 29, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (8) : the thousand-year fingers

by Steve Tanham

Despite the world of the Picts being so far away in time, there was one man who reached back and ‘touched’ their minds with a language they shared… Art (A ten minute read, 1300 words) (Above: George Bain) He looked, once again, at the beautiful rendering of belief and life and…. everything. Once more, he was swept away by a sense of identity with … Read More Two journeys, one destination (8) : the thousand-year fingers