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Stones Rising 2008

The Challenge of the Western Gate

Imagine …
A tribe working together to do what seems impossible
A tribe overcoming every obstacle placed in its way
A tribe who sacrifices to protect its members
A tribe whose diverse paths merge into a united spiritual vocation
A tribe that will raise the Western Gate of the Stone Circle… a feat worthy of a story to pass through the generations.

Imagine being part of this tribe, whose achievements will live on in stories told to children… and grandchildren… for generations.

This... is your reality.

Stones Rising 2008 is a six-day challenge of the mind, body, and spirit, as the Tribe comes together once again for its greatest purpose: to Raise the Stones that stand as symbols of the legacy we leave, from now until the seventh generation.

The task before us is daunting: two Stones, which will comprise the Western Gate of the Stone Circle. One is nothing less than the largest Stone ever moved to the Circle. We'll need everyone - every song, every prayer, every hand on the ropes, if we hope to see the Father Stone stand upright!

"One thing arises from all things, and all things arise from one thing." - Heraclitus

Help create the event! Join the SR Event Planning thread on our forum; people who gather together to envision, design and create the event and its major ceremonials. If you are not yet a forum member please do consider becoming involved.

A Modern History: A Challenge to the Tribe

The legends of old are powerful things. Even in an age of modern technology, computerized graphics and media in every part of our lives, it is the stories of old that we (and even Hollywood) come back to for inspiration. The hero that confronts his own fear and, in doing so, saves the kingdom. The princess who refuses to conform to the expectations of her people and rules them with unrivaled passion and grace. The outcast child who finds a hidden treasure and grows up as he finds use for the magic. These are the stories that recall us to days of yore, firesides and the magic of the bard's art.

The story of Four Quarters is an epic all its own. Dedication, passion, sheer stubbornness, and a little ancient, megalithic magic. As a Tribe, we've raised 37 Stones; several hundred tons of the bones of the earth stand upright, put there by sweat, blood, dreams and tears.

The task before us in 2008 is daunting. Two stones, which will comprise the Western Gate of the Stone Circle. One stone in particular is nothing less than the largest stone ever moved in the circle. We'll need everyone - every song, every prayer, every hand on the ropes, if we hope to see the Father Stone upright.

Now the Tribe looks to you. Your ancestors are watching you, whispering encouragement in the wind. The children of the seventh generation are smiling and dreaming of what it must have been like, in the year 2008, when the inner ring was just half finished. As the sun sets, an elder calls them together, repeating a story that has been passed down through the generations.
Our story. Your story.

This is the legacy we leave, from now until the seventh generation: we will Raise the Stones, whatever challenges we face!

A gathering of Ceremonial Traditions
from the World’s Earth Religions.

    Stones Rising has grown beyond a gathering and into a tradition...
of people, family and tribe.
Gathered every year to raise the Standing Stones in Ceremonial Circle.

    Something new is happening here, something old, something profound. A lasting gift from our hearts to the great-grandchildren of those whose great-grandparents have yet to be born. The Seventh Generation.
    A time when you can make your own Commitment to the Circle
and create your own Pathway of Service and Sacrifice.

    Walking the Labyrinth, The Pathways of Service, The Procession of The Stones, The Creation of the Witness Arbors, The Vigils of Stones Eve, The Feast of the Corn Mother, The Ceremony of Commitments, The Rising, The Feast of the Standing Stones, The Circle of Consecration.

         Six days of Sacrifice, Ceremony and Celebration.
          Our Creation of an InterFaith Sanctuary.
          A Work of Years... Stone by Stone.

   
          Our Ancestors knew and experienced life as an ebb and flow of living energy. A proper time of expansion and growth into that which is outside of ourselves; and a proper time for drawing within amid hardship...   to reaffirm and nurture the center.
          When in times of difficulty and travail, it was seen as wise to journey within and return to the center, to take stock of oneself and offer Sacrifice for those things most important to us... our Family, however that may be defined.
          And to then provide for the protection of that which sustains our Families through the time of contraction and need. To make Ceremony for the Land, to protect and sustain that which protects and sustains our Family. So that the promise of return might be kept.
          And in making this journey of Service to the Center, and Ceremony for the Land, we will then have cause to Celebrate the Blessings we still enjoy... and to make our Giveaway. So that the gifts of Family and Land can in turn become our own gifts and best hopes for Tribe, Nation and the World.
          This is Stones Rising.

At the Center of Four Quarters

Trees that grow layered up the mountainside,
      stand clear and bright against the sky
There’s a bite in the wind as the evening falls,
      drifting softly down the farmhouse walls.

    Springtime the pilgrims will come back to the Land,
bringing strength of numbers to what Landskeeper began
    and we’ll all stand together and we’ll raise another Stone
to the Seventh Generation and the children yet unknown.

       My feet may yet be wandering,
       but my heart has found a home
   At the center of Four Quarters in a ring of Standing Stone.

Time will come to lay my body down
       with the barrowed ancestors.
Let the rooks and the raptors pick my bones
       and let my skull look out upon the Stones.

    Honor the old ways, for it’s they have brought us here;
Listen to the wisdom that is whispered in your ear:

    There is more to being family than breath and blood alone-
We are all one tribe together in a ring of Standing Stone!

        My feet may yet be wandering,
        but my heart has found a home
    At the center of Four Quarters in a ring of Standing Stone.
        My feet may yet be wandering,
        but my heart has found a home
    At the center of Four Quarters in a ring of Standing Stone!

Stones Rising An Introduction
     by Orren Whiddon, 2004


    Even now in our tenth year (2004) it is difficult for me to get my arms around Stones Rising, and with this introduction I can only hope to lift the curtain a little bit for others. Because Stones is not a festival as that concept is commonly understood. We do not offer to entertain you and we offer no message that can be expressed in words.
    For Stones Rising is a community’s exploration of itself and the individual's expression of their own Spiritual sensibilities. You should be here for your own experience of ceremony in the first person, and to share the meaning that you find within your own heart with those around you. For there is great meaning here on the Land, in Ceremony; working with the Stones, the People and with Spirit.
    We offer a tool kit of Ceremony, Set and Setting, from which you can weave your own experience within the context of a functioning Ceremonial Community. And that community of shared experience is a continuum; living, breathing, changing with the years, as we all grow and change in our experience of the Standing Stones and of each other. For no Stones Rising is like the one that came before, and I dare say they will never repeat themselves. There is no beginning and certainly no end to the process, no beginning or end to the Ceremonial Circle. No single Rising can transmit all that is to be learned, as each year becomes an indivisible part of what came before and what will come after. Stones Rising is a community of shared intent and commitment, struggle and achievement that goes far beyond any one person or time.

     It is true that some of us have been privileged to be present when the first Stone was raised, and for some this will be a first time under the Witness Arbors. But it is our hope that no matter when you joined us, you will find that you too stand in the Center of the Circle.
       
    We are honored to stand here with you.

          For our Members this process can begin with The Stone Peoples Intensive beginning the weekend preceding Stones Rising, an Act of Service preparing the Stone Circle and the Land for the People to come.
          For those who have the resources to arrive by Wednesday, we offer two days and nights of preparatory ceremonials and many "Pathways of Service"; ceremonial commitments that you can make and keep in your own Service to the Circle.
          Our major ceremonials begin Friday evening at The Labrynth with "The Dionysian Mysteries" and the torchlight procession of the first Stone into the Stone Circle. They continue through Saturday with the "Long Pull" as the second stone makes its journey up our mountain and into Circle, a stone dedicated to our Land. Sunday Morning begins with "The Feast of the Corn Mother" and "The Ceremony of Commitments" honoring the Pathways of Service made and fullfilled over the previous four days. Then, "The Rising" as the third stone is brought into Circle and all three are raised to join the Standing Stones. Followed by our GiveAways and then "The Feast of the Standing Stones" and rest.
           For those who can only arrive Friday afternoon or later, we hope to provide a full and rich experience during their three day weekend on the Land. A time when you can discover your place in Circle and make your own Commitment of Service.
          The Volunteer Staff of The Starvin' Artist Cafe make a very special Commitment of Service as their own part of this very special Stones Rising. Beginning with The Stones Peoples Intensive continuing with hundreds of Meal Plan meals throughout Stones Rising, they offer their own work, sweat and love in feeding the people. Sunday's "Feast of the Corn Mother" and "The Feast of the Standing Stones" will be prepared and presented to Stones Rising attendees as their gift.

          Four Quarters began fourteen* years ago, and our early years were a struggle. In fact, we survived those hard times because of the gifts that were freely given by those whose lives we touched, often the very food we ate and clothing we wore. Since that time we have grown. Thirty-seven* Stones stand in the hilltop sunlight and much of the Land is now owned by the Sanctuary, in permanent trust made possible by more gifts, freely given. The past few years have been very good to Four Quarters, but we never forget what it was like to live in want.
          It is a time of thanksgiving for what we have been given. But Stones Rising remains for us a giveaway. A giveaway for those whose lives have been touched by these troubling times, and our best wish to offer solace in these times of travail. Because we remember.
(*As of this year)

            For more information about Stones Rising, please review the detailed information contained in the linked pages to your right. Or feel free to call our offices.
     

We invite you to join us as family, taking part in this real community,
Making ceremony together as only the people can.

These are the gifts of
Sacrifice, Ceremony and Celebration;
and they await you, as Blessings of this Land
upon You and Your House...   Stones Rising