The Great Stone Circle is the largest of three modern stone circles at Kinstone. It was designed and raised by Kristine Beck in 2011 with the help of Ivan McBeth and a crew with a crane, backhoe, skid steer, slings, levels, shovels and rakes. It is a circle measuring 81.6 feet in diameter (30 megalithic yards, 1 megalithic yard = 2.72 feet or 82.96 cm). There are nineteen (19) megaliths (i.e. huge stones) standing in the ring that forms the outer circle. There are nineteen (19) small boulders that form an inner ring called the Sitting Stones. There are three deeply set standing stones in the center of the circle called the Trinity. Nineteen is an auspicious number. In numerology it symbolizes wisdom, spirituality and new beginnings. In general, it symbolizes the spiritual nature of a place. Kinstone is a sacred space that is dedicated to family, relationships and interconnections with generations that have gone before us and those that will come after us. The Great Stone Circle is one of the largest privately owned stone circles in the world.
The stones in the circle are a mix of Carnelian, Charcoal, Rockville White, Rockville Beige, Autumn Brown, Mesabi Black, and Rainbow granite – as named by Coldspring Granite Company, Coldspring, MN. Four stones mark the cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West. Two stones frame the Summer Solstice Sunrise and two frame the Winter Solstice Sunrise. One marks the Winter Solstice Sunset line as well as the Summer Solstice Sunrise line. Ten of the stones represent Kristine and her siblings. The inner circle of boulders, called the Sitting Stones, offer a place for those that wish to sit in the Circle. The three center stones, called the Trinity, represent the God or the Source. We are all part of the Source and the Great Stone Circle at Kinstone is a monument to our connections.
Starting with the North Stone (Castor) and going clockwise around the circle, these are the stones as Kristine named them at the quarries: Castor; Twenty-Two; Cave; Gandalf the Grey; Betelgeuse (the East Stone); Curved Monolith; Pollux; Obelisk 2; Human Figure; Zeus (the South Stone); Triangle Square; Moby Dick; Obelisk; Mountain Mist; Artemis (the West Stone); Sister Stone; The Red Dragon; Wavy 3; and Mountain Sister.
Many of the stones in the circle are siblings with another stone; i.e. they are stones that are separate parts of what was once a single larger stone. This is true of Mountain Mist and Mountain Sister; Obelisk and Obelisk 2; Eternity (a.k.a. Wavy 2) and Wavy 3; Gandalf the Grey and The Watcher (below the Labyrinth near Purple Crystal); Castor and Pollux; and Beauty (a.k.a. Autumn Brown 1 in the center) is a sister stone to Autumn Brown 2 which is the recumbent column in the Borderlands that represents the Mississippi River.
The North Star Energy Stone is the flat, fish-shaped, Rainbow granite slab of stone lying in the inner circle between the Trinity and the North Stone (a.k.a. Castor). This stone represents a place where one can sit or lie down in the energy of the North Star. It is a place where the North Star can be found to be shining (day or night – whether visible or not) directly above the tip of the North Stone. This feature was a suggestion of Ivan McBeth, the stone circle builder who helped Kristine raise this circle. Great care was taken to ensure the alignment was correct. [Fun fact: during construction, a couple of days after we had set the North Stone, we checked the alignment of this stone with Polaris as seen from the center of the circle on a crisp and clear starry night – it was not right! So, we actually moved the North Stone to the right about 16 inches – a major operation but very much worth it!]
Eternity, Beauty, and Illumination are the three center stones in Kinstone Circle. They were originally called Wavy 2 (Rockville White granite), Autumn Brown 1 (Autumn Brown granite), and Ke-Mesabi (Mesabi Black granite). It is an interesting fact that these stones, which seem to be only about three to four feet tall, are really over 14 feet, 12 feet, and 7 feet tall respectively. The bulk of these stones is buried in the earth. This was a design decision that was unexpected and unplanned but that turned out perfectly! These stones were originally planned to stand tall like the other stones in the circle. After seeing the circle nearly complete, Kristine decided she would not want to stand tall stones in the center that would obscure the view from one side of the circle to the other. Ivan McBeth suggested that we set them in the earth very deep to get them well below eye level. Just like an iceberg of which only the tip is visible; so it is with these special stones – their real mass and power are below the surface. Metaphorically, the most powerful things of this world are invisible. Additionally, these three have come to symbolize that old saying “as above, so below” as these stones are mirror images of the stones in the outer ring.
