SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Neolithic

October 21, 2021 + #Silenti, Consciousness, English Lake District, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Journey of the hero, Mystery Schools, Mystical ritual drama, myths and spirituality, Neolithic, Silent Eye Workshops

Emerging from the Mist…

by Steve Tanham

There’s a certain amount of ‘fighting back’ in this. The long period of Covid restrictions, followed by a summer in which we all got a taste of gentle freedom again; the sad death of the ‘third musketeer’, Sue Vincent, in March of this year; the inability to hold our regular workshops in the mystical landscapes of Britain… But then there were positive things: learning … Read More Emerging from the Mist…

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)

July 11, 2019 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Highlands of Scotland, landscapes, Magic, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Mystical ritual drama, myths and spirituality, Neolithic, Pentagram, Scotland, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 7, Final) – Face to Face with Macbeth

by Steve Tanham

We were standing in the car park near Drumin Castle. Dean was using the visitor map of the Glenlivet Estate to describe the day ahead. We were to begin by exploring an ancient and little visited stone circle on the nearby slope above the river Livet – The Doune of Dalmore. After this we would cross the river to the nearby ruin of Drumin … Read More Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 7, Final) – Face to Face with Macbeth

July 9, 2019 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Highlands of Scotland, landscapes, Magic, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Mystical ritual drama, myths and spirituality, Neolithic, Pentagram, Scotland, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 6) Beyond the Blasted Heath

by Steve Tanham

We were all tired; it had been a wonderful day, and the weather had been kind – which is not always assured in Scotland… The brain tends to switch off, which is no bad thing when you are in a ‘holding’ group and the whole idea is to engage a different (deeper, gentler, non-analytical) layer of consciousness. The path was very straight and shaded … Read More Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 6) Beyond the Blasted Heath

July 4, 2019 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Highlands of Scotland, landscapes, Magic, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Mystical ritual drama, myths and spirituality, Neolithic, Pentagram, Scotland, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 5) Stone in the Sky

by Steve Tanham

You can’t miss Sueno’s stone. It sits on its own plateau, just off the old main road between Findhorn and Forres; now bypassed. You see its ‘hangar’ first, then realise that this glass and steel monolith contains something special… Sueno’s stone was thought to be named after Swenson Forkbeard, but this is disputed. There is also a folk-link to King Duffus, whose castle we … Read More Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 5) Stone in the Sky

June 29, 2019 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Highlands of Scotland, landscapes, Magic, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Mystical ritual drama, myths and spirituality, Neolithic, Pentagram, Scotland, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 4) Sea and Stone

by Steve Tanham

I didn’t want to leave Burghead, not even for Findhorn; a place I’d wanted to visit for a long time. Burghead had filled me (many of us, I think) with a sense of ancient mystery and that dreadful knowledge that the centre of the Pict civilisation had likely perished in the Viking raids of the 9th century, when the ‘fort’ was sacked and burned. … Read More Three Days of the Oyster-Catcher (Part 4) Sea and Stone