The sun and the moon - the most important celestial bodies

 The sun and the moon, as the two most powerful celestial bodies that influence our existence, have always fascinated man. When he reached a certain level of mental development, this fascination took on an artistic and, at a much later stage, also an abstract and theoretical form. Astrological reflections on the influence of the Sun on the fate of boys who have just been born and of the Moon on the fate of girls probably fall into this category.

It turns out, however, that these two celestial bodies may have inspired the creation of several huge prehistoric buildings, scattered over different regions of Europe. Some of these structures served spiritual purposes in times even more ancient than those remembered by the Egyptian pyramids.

According to the opinion of researchers involved in the history of these sites and the analysis of the development of human societies, the prehistoric works of human hands left behind testify to major social and civilisational changes. A careful analysis of the climatic data suggests that these changes of a social nature, lasting from our perspective for a very long time, several centuries, were associated with the end of the last ice age. The extinction of large animals - a constant source of food - forced the people of the time to make a gradual transition from a hunter's lifestyle to a sedentary existence and learning to farm. This change in civilisation and society did not happen overnight, but was a long-term process spanning millennia. When people finally decided to stay with farming, they felt this change not only on a non-physical level, but also on a mental level. What does this actually mean? Agriculture forced a more monotonous, not to say boring, lifestyle. Our ancestors longed for the mobility and adrenaline provided by hunting really big game, such as mammoths. This was the only life they knew; they had functioned in this way for millennia. The change in their way of life, forced by circumstances, turned their earlier nomadic life into a memory, then into a legend, and finally into the basis of their beliefs. At the same time, it is most likely that they associated their former and forever lost way of life with the influence of the Moon. This is suggested by research on the untouched by modern civilisation Bushmen tribes of the Kalahari Desert. In their stories, myths and beliefs there is a constant theme of great hunting and references to the lunar calendar and a lifestyle centred around it. In the Bushmen tribes, who can be seen as the last living examples of an ancient way of life, there is equality, with a subtle indication of the importance of the role of women. This leads one to conclude that constantly moving communities living from hunting also linked women with lunar influences. The shift to a sedentary life dependent on farming caused a shift in emphasis. The sun with its life-giving energy and the strength of the male element became more important, simply the male physical prowess required for the hard work of harvesting.

The seasonality of agricultural work meant that when the land rested, people did not really see how to channel their excess energy. Simply put - they had no work for themselves. This made them yearn all the more for the more varied, exciting lifestyle of their ancestors, which had meanwhile become the basis of their beliefs. So it was decided that this former nomadic mode should somehow be immortalised, commemorated. Various communities have, indeed, with a great deal of time and effort, constructed remarkable burial sites for their loved ones, which were later an inspiration for Celtic culture. These include Newgrange, 'irl. Dún Fhearghusa - one of the largest corridor tombs erected by man (...) Even more surprising and astonishing are the megalithic cult sites of the old and new order. The best known, though not the only site of its kind, is Stonehenge (few know that it is 'younger' than the Newgrange structure by some 700 years). The generally known thesis is that Stonehenge was intended to be a site to specifically celebrate the summer solstice, with the winter solstice a close second.

Meanwhile, new theories suggest that this mysterious monument from the ancient past may have had a dual role as a place of worship of both the Sun and the Moon. The Sun symbolised a new era (a new way of life), while the Moon symbolised a memory of old times. People were attached to this memory the more they realised that the past was gone forever. The clever positioning of the huge stone blocks used to build Stonehenge had a significant, spectacular effect. During the winter solstice, the Moon would appear to those gathered in such a way that it was in a "window" of stone blocks just above the space occupied by the Sun. For those gathered, this was a symbolic sign that the Moon was towering over the Sun - if only for a moment. It meant that despite the dramatic changes they had experienced, 'their' beliefs had not lost their power. This provided a sense of security and reassurance for the future.