Carpe Diem # 312, Stonehenge (provided by Managua Gunn)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Thank you all for your kind congratulations for our first anniversary and thank you all for your friendship and participation. Without your friendship and participation Carpe Diem Haiku Kai couldn't exist. This festive anniversary month has started with 'eclipse' yesterday and I have read wonderful haiku on the diversity of meaning and using of 'eclipse'. It makes me proud to see that you all are that enthusiastic to write an every day haiku.
We read in our yesterday post about Myths and Legends around eclipses, wonderful stories as I read also sometimes in your posts accompanied by a haiku on the given prompt. Carpe Diem Haiku Kai isn't a Myth or a Legend, maybe we once will become a Myth or a Legend, but that's not up to us.

Our prompt for today is also known by Myth and Legend. What was it? How did they build it? Is it build by extra-terrestrial life? How old is it? Did they use it for worship? Where people killed there as an offering to the gods to please them?
This circle of big stones speaks to our imagination and to the imagination of scientists, spiritists, wiccan and pagan and modern druids.
Let's go ... go with me to ancient Brittain and watch how they made it and used it ... let's go to Stonehenge (provided by Managua Gunn), our prompt for today.

Stonehenge

To introduce this episode further I have written a haibun inspired on one of the meanings of Stonehenge. Stonehenge was, as some sources say, a place for healing rituals.

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"Go!" She screamed. "Go Coilin, go fetch the druid! Your father has become strangely ill". Coilin looked at his mother and from her to his father. He felt tears behind his eyes as he saw the bewildered eyes, the pain of his father. His whole body shook and his father couldn't stop that. He had torn apart his clothes. Coilin saw the red pussing spots on his body and as he saw his fathers manlyhood he looked away to his mother again. His mother wept and her eyes were red of her tears. She shook her head and whispered a prayer. As she looked up and saw Coilin she once again asked him to fetch the druid.

scream of a crow
around stonehenge's megalithes -
healing ritual

A few minutes later Coilin and the druid of his village stepped into the house. The druid kneeled next to the bed of Coilin's father. With his hands he moved in a specific way over the body, not touching it for real. Sometimes he whispered words which sounded like magical spells.
Coilin looked at his mom. He walked towards her and took her hands. "dad will be ok mom", he whispered. His mom tried to smile, but her smile looked like a grimace.

eyes filled with tears
stained red in white souls of heart -
deadly ill husband

"Your husband is seriously ill Sibeal", the druid said and shook his head. "Very seriously ill". Sibeal screamed and wept with her hands before her face shaking her head. "Is he going to die?" Coilin asked. His voice broken by his tears. The druid looked at him. His bright eyes sppok all Coilin wished for. "We will bring your dad to Stonehenge Colin. I will perform a healing ritual and the gods will give your dad his health back".

seeking for a cure
ancient order of druids
performing rituals

As they arrived at Stonehenge the druid laid Coilin's father on a dolerite altar-stone in the middle. Coilin's father was completely naked on the altar on a thin layer of straw and grass. Around the altar the druid had made four campfires each one in one of the four winds, The campfires were on fire and the smoke smelled of several sacred herbs which the druid had thrown in. It was almost noon as the druid started his ritual.

perfumed fires
enchants the circle of stones -
the cry of pigeons

He chanted a magical and mysterious sounding spell, and his assistents sang with him. The druid fell in a trance and around him a golden aura, like the sun, could be seen. With his hands, not touching the body of Coilin's father, he moved over the body of Coilin's dad. Between the body and the druid's hands one could see a violet or indigo colored light. Coilin's father didn't move. His eyes were closed and you had to look very good to see him breath. He looked like he was asleep.

druids chanting
mystery and magic together
resonates in the air

The ritual took a long time, but after one hour it was finished. The druid fell to earth, the campfires went out. The air was filled with the sweet scent of the magical and mysterious herbs the druid had used in the campfires. The only sounds which were heard were the buzzing of bees and insects, the sweet songs of birds and the rustling of the leaves by the breeze. Deep silence ...

deep silence
only the sound of nature
fills the sky

With a sigh Coilin's father opened his eyes and came up to sit. He looked around him and saw were he was. His body looked normal, no more red pussing spots. "What am I doing in Stonehenge?" he asked himself. "And why am I naked?" Coilin saw his father sitting on the altar and ran to him. "Father!" he cried. "Stonehenge has healed you". His father looked at him and shook his head.

Stonehenge magic
sacred knowledge hidden -
circle filled with mist

(The above video is music composed by Adrian von Ziegler, in December he will provide the musical prompts. This composition is titled "Legend", and is Celtic music)

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I hope you liked this episode and the tale. To me it was fun preparing it for you all and I love to share another haiku on Stonehenge here:

Stonehenge mystery
follows the way of the sun -
built by unknown man

This prompt will stay on 'till October 3rd 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode of Carpe Diem later on today around 7.00 PM (CET). That will be:  Our first Carpe Diem Special by our featured haiku-poet of this month Garry Gay.
!! This episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is now open for your submissions !!