The Crown of Thorns is an ancient Welsh stone circle renamed in Christian times for its resemblance to the crown used to torture Christ in the last stages of his life. One religion laying its own symbolism over the remains of another, in salute to the exquisite cruelties that humans devise.
Walking towards the Neolithic stones, over a land soaked by last night’s rain. We see a runner up ahead; he gets to the stones long before we do and takes a picture with his mobile phone. Then he climbs atop the stones, wobbling on the Crown of Thorns, and takes a selfie, balanced up there held by the wind for another selfie and another.
At the entrance portal somebody has scattered eggshells on either side of the entrance. Is this a symbolic offering by modern pagans, or just picnic remains? Two people arrive with large dogs. We leave the stones and as I look back, the ellipse of their circle seems to make an eye between the sky and the underneath-world.
The dog people move away from the stones, the animals are set free and they run wildly, their shadows sliding down the hill before them.
Why do we love dogs? Companionship, loyalty, positivity – we crave these things but aren’t very good at giving them to one another as humans. Nature doesn’t mess up nurture, but humans lost their common touch for social nurture a long time ago, in exchange for social control. Perhaps dogs are the closest we come to our ancient group selves.
Why do we hate wolves? We don’t like aggression and things we don’t control. We punish the wolves for daring to remain themselves, rather than serving as our avatars.
