18 Dec 2004 The Orbs of Yule Illuminated

18 Dec 2004 The Orbs of Yule Illuminated ~ Here we have an indoor shot of Circle’s Yule Tree, in the Barn Temple Room.  In this photo we see Santa; just beyond Santa are community members celebrating Yule Eve on the land.  It is cold outside, that is a given.  There are no end to shrines, sacred sites, sacred spaces, and sacred moments at Circle Sanctuary.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

18 Dec 2004 The Orbs of Yule Illuminated © Nicholas Sea

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 02

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 02 ~ This is another photo of the Sweat Lodge taken from up on the hillside looking down toward the creek at the bottom of the valley.  The sweat lodge is going into its Winter slumber.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 02 © Nicholas Sea

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 01

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 01 ~ Here I am looking down to the Sweat Lodge from up on the path near the restored prairie.  It is plain to see that the season is late Autumn on Circle land in this photo.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

22 Nov 2004 Autumn Sweat Lodge Overlook 01 © Nicholas Sea

22 Nov 2004 Juniper Sentinel Late Autumn

22 Nov 2004 Juniper Sentinel Late Autumn ~ Elsewhere in my photos for Circle Shrine Walk, I mention this Juniper as a location where a stag marked his territory by rubbing the bark off the trunk of this tree.  This is a photo of that same Juniper, younger and smaller.  The various types of evergreens on Circle land are some of my most favorite trees.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

22 Nov 2004 Juniper Sentinel Late Autumn © Nicholas Sea

10 Sep 2004 Creek Side Sweat Lodge Spirit

10 Sep 2004 Creek Side Sweat Lodge Spirit ~ Here is the Sweat Lodge in late Summer.  It is another testament to volunteers who mow the lawns and fields and tend the various shrines and sacred sites on Circle land. This is one of the lodges that I built, which are used for a few years and then built anew.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

10 Sep 2004 Creek Side Sweat Lodge Spirit © Nicholas Sea

04 Sep 2004 Late Summer Ritual Bonfire Quiet

04 Sep 2004 Late Summer Ritual Bonfire Quiet ~ I love being on the land between festivals.  There is much quiet and Nature has full reign. The festival bonfire area has evolved over the years.  When I first started attending gatherings at Circle Sanctuary, this part of the land was not even developed.  It was still but an old fallow farm field.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

04 Sep 2004 Late Summer Ritual Bonfire Quiet © Nicholas Sea

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Steps to Spirit Rock

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Steps to Spirit Rock ~ This is one of the iconic sights at Circle Sanctuary, Spirit Rock near Green Spirit Festival time, early in August.  When I am out at Circle land, I like to take a photo of Spirit Rock from this angle up top.  If one looks carefully at the photos of this location from over the years, one will see many changes.  For example, many of the Red Pines are now gone.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Steps to Spirit Rock © Nicholas Sea

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Circle VW Van

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Circle VW Van ~ Here is the Circle Van nestled in one of its earlier locations.  If there is any doubt as to why the Green Spirit festival is called “Green”, here is an amazing example of Circle lands all green and glowing early in August.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

02 Aug 2004 Green Spirit Circle VW Van © Nicholas Sea

22 May 2004 Circle Barn Entrance Shrine

22 May 2004 Circle Barn Entrance Shrine ~ Pagans have no end of doorway charms and window charms.  Here is a good example of a entrance shrine at the door of the Barn Temple.  There are tub planters on either side of the stairway in.  Here we see a basic Pentacle hex sign, some lovely May thyme, and a bit of extraordinary concrete flooring from one of the old, old outbuildings on the land.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

22 May 2004 Circle Barn Entrance Shrine © Nicholas Sea

22 May 2004 Willow Tree Charm

22 May 2004 Willow Tree Charm ~ I recall when this tree charm was hung on the willow near the creek down by Troll Hole, but I do not recall its prayer.  In many locations on Circle land there are tree charms and prayer ties and prayer flags of many sorts.  The winds take their messages out into the world.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

22 May 2004 Willow Tree Charm © Nicholas Sea

29 Apr 2004 Beltane Bonfire Preparations

29 Apr 2004 Beltane Bonfire Preparations ~ Reed has been building our bonfires for more years than I have fingers and toes.  He and other volunteers clear the brush and downed trees on the land and we have a firewood supply.  On this bonfire pyre, notice that the remnants of evergreen boughs of Yule 2003 are stacked.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

29 Apr 2004 Beltane Bonfire Preparations © Nicholas Sea

29 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Ready

29 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Ready ~ In preparation of Beltane 2004, the white outdoor chairs have been carried from storage by the setup crew and arranged around the Community Bonfire Circle.  Soon we will be together in the chill of an early Spring night, sharing our stories.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

29 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Ready © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment ~ Sometimes I take photos that have a lot of meaning to me in the moment.  In this moment back in 2004, perhaps I was reflecting on the volunteer work involved in maintaining the firewood piles we use for different occasions at Circle.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile ~ Associated with the sweat lodge are several piles of stones.  Different sweat leaders handle the stones in different ways.  Seen here is the pile of spent stones that have accumulated after many sweats.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles ~ I do not recall when the last sweat was held in the old sweat lodge area.  I will sort through my photos and see if I can figure that out.  It wasn’t too much previous to my taking this sequence of photos.  The fire pit and wood piles are fresh enough to imagine that perhaps it was in 2003.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles © Nicholas Sea