What I Discovered at Stonehenge While Drawing

I got a lift I didn't expect...

I always dreamed of visiting Stonehenge in the U.K.—thanks to my sister organizing the trip this summer—that dream came true.

It’s an experience I’ll never forget. Here’s why.

I made it! You can get pretty close but can’t walk up to or through the stones.

If you haven’t been yet, you should plan to go at least once in your life.

Not only is Stonehenge a marvel to behold (it is impressive to think ancient people moved stones of that massive size five thousand years ago), but the energy you feel at the site is surprisingly powerful.

My sister and I are feeling the good Stonehenge energy.

I didn’t expect the site to be only two hours outside London. When my sister, artist Khalilah Birdsong, told me she’d visited several times pretty easily and loved going, I was more relaxed and eager to check it out.

It could just be a simple day trip and not a multi-day adventure. Simple, yes, energy filled—yes and yes! It’s believed Stonehenge was built on a spot where fourteen Ley Lines of energy converge and once was a healing location for ancient people.

The energy hit me like a fist! I knew I was sensitive to my surroundings before, but this site was intense!

You can probably see it in my face in the photo above. I’ve never visited a place that made me feel high, dizzy, and overwhelmed just being there. You can walk around the stones in a circle and stop to take photos in the different spots. And they even show you where the sun shines through during the summer solstice.

Walking past that spot gave off some crazy, intense energy!

I can’t imagine what people feel when it’s an actual solstice.

I smile, thinking, “What is up with all this energy?!”

Most of the three to five thousand people who visit daily walk around the circle a few times, take pictures, and then leave. Khalilah showed me the open grass areas beside it where you can sit and relax. You would think it would be full of people.

Nope. Hardly anyone sits down on the grass.

We ate our packed lunch, admired Stonehenge, and relaxed for over an hour.

The energy was getting too much for me (I felt like I was going to explode), so during that time in the grassy area, I thought about sitting in a meditative pose.

It helped calm me down.

Stop looking at my toes!

Maybe the energy could flow around my body easier in this position, or sitting and breathing helped me get accustomed to it. Either way, I started to calm down.

For a little bit there, I felt like I could float away…

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Sketchbook Drawing Time

Naturally, I packed my sketchbook in case I was brave enough to draw there.

I figured if there were too many people, I could take photos and draw Stonehenge later when I got home. But, since hardly anyone was on the grass—and I already meditated in front of everybody—I might as well draw.

Nice and far away from the crowds.

Drawing directly in pen (you know how much I love doing that) felt best for this sketch, so I picked a stone on top and started drawing my way down and across the page.

It's not precisely accurate, but it looks right enough.

Drawing the overlapping stones was tricky but fun, and I love adding the small details (or detritus) all over them. After more details with a gray brush pen, I was done.

I didn’t have the energy for watercolor.

I spread it out to the next page to capture it all.

As we took the buses and made our way back home, the energy of Stonehenge gradually decreased, and I felt more like myself again. I have mixed feelings about visiting there again. Part of me wants to return with my family, and the other wants nothing to do with all that energy.

I also started coughing up phlegm the day after and spitting out mucus for the next week. Gross! Was this a way the Ley line energy was helping to clear out gunk and cleanse my body?

I want to think so.

The ancient people believed the Stonehenge area was a healing spot and went to all that trouble to build a complex configuration of stones weighing anywhere from 20 to 30 tons over several thousand years. There must be something to it.

Illustration of the three phases of Stonehenge’s original construction.

I discovered at the visitors center the stones were moved one hundred years ago because many had fallen and restored to a configuration historians believed was correct. Even restoration efforts fifty years ago changed the site’s design a bit.

I think the rings of circles idea is most likely accurate, though.

Have you visited Stonehenge before? Share your stories in the comments. I’d love to hear how it affected you and anything you learned about this ancient site.

It’s truly awe-inspiring!

Thanks to Khalilah Birdsong again for taking me on the trip. I enjoyed our sibling adventure to a sacred site.

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