Sacred and magical places

The idea of ‘sacred and magical places’ is not without its problems. It is not certain if in ancient Northwest Europe, there was always a clear difference between sacred and profane spaces. Certainly some places are considered sacred or magical by modern pagans and occult practicioners, that may not have been considered so by their original users. Then again, even if our pagan ancestors considered certain places sacred, there have undoubtedly been many magical/sacred places that have been lost to our modern culture. It is clear that the concepts of ‘sacredness’, ‘religion’, ‘ritual’ and ‘magic’ have changed greatly over time. Of course, the lines between these concepts can not always be drawn as black and white as I have typed them down here. On this website I try to stick to places that were (probably) considered sacred and/or magical , in a way, during or since ancient times, but not necessarily our time. I might add strictly modern places too, if there is a good reason to do so.

In ancient Northwest Europe in Pre-Roman times, sacred places appear to have been outside places most of the time. Temples or other inside spaces seem rare or non-existent. However, these open spaces could be marked, for example by walls, hedges or ditches. There are also other structures, such as platforms, lines made of stones, etc. These places with physical borders or barriers, associated with cults and rituals, seem to have come into Northwest Europe from more southern areas that are now known as Celtic areas. Even with these barriers and markings, it can not always be concluded that these spaces were strictly separated from mundane, everyday spaces. This becomes clear when you know that other ritual places that have been found have no clear markings, borders or something similar. As said, our idea of what is sacred or profane may not be the same as several thousands of years ago, if such a distinction can even be clearly made for those times.

Also interesting to keep in mind is the size of a place. This may tell something about whether a places was used by a complete tribe, or by one family or even one individual. For example, a large places with traces of buildings or walls may have been used by many people over a longer period of time. A small offering in a swamp, however, was probably a one time ritual by one or a few individuals.

De Kempen region (border of Netherlands and Belgium)

This paragraph contains some general information about this region. In the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, urn fields were created and remained a ritual focus in the landscape for centuries, mainly for communication with ancestors. Another function of these fields was to mark the territory of the people living in the area. Schuyf remarks that we might even consider that this territory belonged to the ancestors more than the living people (see sources below). Weapons were offered in rivers and swamps (and perhaps other, perishable, items, too).

It’s interesting how around 600 BCE the people move away, but when other people move into the area in the Roman era, they respect the landscape of the former people and even have around half of their burial places next to the old urnfields. It’s only during christianisation and the growth of agriculture that the old urnfields slowly disappear. They are apparently never truly forgotten; in 19th century (and younger) folkloric sources they re-appear as living places for witches, dwarves, giants and even the devil himself.