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Tidying up offerings
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Re: Sort it out for gawd's sake
May 23, 2010, 07:35
Precisely! Tying bits of crisp packets to a tree, or dumping a plastic toy, empty bottle or broken mug is far from sensitive to the site. And if it's just some old crap you don't want any more, it's hardly a sacrifice.

The last few times I've been to wells with popular cloutie trees have resulted in carrier bags being filled with cack to dispose of sensibly. I know cloutie trees do actually have a history and tradition, which has been talked about many times before, but people don't actually seem to realise why they're tying things to the tree! Empty sanitary towel packaging, crisp packets, condoms and doll's heads don't, from the many books I've read on wells and their folklore, quite fit with the respectful and reverential purpose the offerings were originally intended.

I believe it's been discussed here previously, also, that leaving offerings at megalithic sites is apparently a relatively recent thing.

A topic that came out of this some way back was when some utter numbskull was burying crystals at ancient sites in the belief he was saving the world, or somesuch nonsense. He couldn't see what was wrong wit it. One person's reasonable behaviour is another person's brainless idiocy.

I, personally, don't have a problem with the leaving of offerings per se (straw dollies and other biodegradeable offerings with some thought attached can be quite a pleasant addition, on some occasions!) but then any sane, sensible and courteous person would know what was reasonable, wouldn't they?

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