Located inside the corner of Ellis Hollow Road and Turkey Hill Road adjacent to the Foundation of Light’s historic one-room schoolhouse, The Ellis Hollow Stone Circle is a unique monolithic monument. The Stone Circle was very important to our founders, who were students of Earth Mysteries, geomancy, and dowsing, and the Stones continue to mean many things to many people.
Such circles can be found the world over and are symbols of wholeness. They focus the Earth’s telluric energies, and they were often created to align with particular astronomical events. For the Foundation of Light’s Stone Circle, dawn on Summer Solstice morning has special significance (see below); however, throughout the year we hold various kinds of events here that many participants find to increase meditative clarity, peacefulness, healing, and the joy of being alive. The individual stones are themselves beautiful and speak directly to the landscape where they are now located, having all been quarried or found locally and moved into their present positions. Human time might seem to rush by noisily, but these Stones embody millions of years of stability and will exist long after we are gone.
The Circle was designed and originally created by Chuck Pettis, Mike Sweeney, and the Cosmic Monument Study Group of the Foundation of Light in 1977. At that time, within a ring of recumbent boulders a tall upright stone was installed in the center so that the Summer Solstice sunrise could be sighted directly above it. Although that stone fell due to natural causes in 2023, the Foundation of Light continues to mark the year’s longest day with a dawn ceremony and fire at the Circle: free and open to all, attendees are asked to arrive in silence no later than 5:15 a.m. on Summer Solstice morning. This year's ceremony is on Friday, June 20th.
On September 6, 1997, six new upright stones were planted in the Circle on a day that happened to be Princess Diana’s funeral and one day after the passing of Mother Teresa. As Lydia Pettis, who headed the community effort, wrote, “We came together at the circle mourning their loss, but choosing to celebrate the spirit and power of two very different embodiments of the Divine Mother.” We who were there often share stories of the many magical moments related to this occasion.
[More information about the projects in 1977 and 1997 can be found at https://earthsanctuary.org/geopathic-survey/ellis-hollow-stone-circle]
The year 2023 marked the Foundation of Light’s 50th anniversary, and two important, unforeseen things happened to the Stone Circle. During the winter, one of the upright stones cracked at its base and fell over, outside of the perimeter. Sensing the significance of this disruption at this time, Peter Fortunato, who has stewarded the Circle for many years, dowsed for a replacement stone at the nearby quarry, and installed it on April 11. But this wasn’t all that was in store for us: On April 22, Earth Day, a severe windstorm brought down half of the huge, old maple tree that overlooks the Circle; shockingly, beneath all the heavy branches, the central megalith was broken off at its base. In a span of only two days, the debris was removed and the spire-stone repositioned on the ground outside the Circle. It still points to the spot on the horizon where the sun rises on Summer Solstice morning.
There is much more that might be related about our Stone Circle, such as information about the geomantic currents called lei lines and water lines that can be dowsed and felt here. Some people believe the Stones hold memories, and that they can be consulted as if they are wise elders. If you’re interested in such things, share your interest with members of the Foundation of Light.
The Ellis Hollow Stone Circle can easily be visited in person so that you might discover something of why our ancestors created so many megalithic monuments in so many places on the Earth. Our Circle is accessible daily during daylight hours, and we ask only that you come in peace to experience the possibilities it presents. Consult the online FOL calendar and social media pages for scheduled community events.