Western Europe

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In Brittany, near the coastal city of Carnac in the northwest of France are nearly 3,000 standing stones erected approximately 4,500 years ago. Like its namesake in Egypt, Carnac was once a major focal point for Celtic power and influence. Similar to Tara in Ireland, it was a spiritual center for religious observations, tribal gatherings and astronomical observations. Several ancient pagan stones in Brittany have had Christian crosses added to them. The cathedral at Chartres is rich with mysterious imagery and sacred geometry, said to be clues to the deepest secrets of the universe. A sacred forest once stood on the hilltop where the cathedral was built, and a well behind the cathedral is believed to have been used by ancient Druids.  Rennes-Le-Chateau, in Languedoc, France is the scene of many mysteries linked to the DaVinci Code, Mary Magdalene, the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar and the treasures of the Temple of Solomon.

Another place associated with Templar mysteries is the island of Malta in the Mediterranean. Here you will find Earth's oldest buildings made by humans. There are 23 temple complexes among dozens of archaeological sites on Malta and her sister island, Gozo. One of the best known is the Mnajdra [pronounced NIE-dra] complex, built in the shape of the Great Goddess. It pre-dates the the Great Pyramid by about 1,000 years.

Delphi was the navel of the world to the ancient Greeks. A sanctuary of the Earth Goddess, Gaia, was later dedicated to Apollo. Here the Sacred Oracle, a priestess would, enter a trance and offer her advice. Near the Temple of Apollo (left) is the Castilian Spring, where pilgrims would cleanse themselves before consulting the Oracle.

On the southwest coast of the island of Cyprus is The Rock of Aphrodite, where the Greek goddess of love (based on an earlier Earth goddess) is said to have been born. On Crete is the Cave of Zeus on Mount Ida, which is believed to have been used to worship the Mother Goddess before its association with Zeus.

There is an impressive megalithic site in Portugal at Almendras, with 95 large stones arranged in a double oval.  In Montserrat, Spain, the Monastery of the Black Madonna was built on a pre-Christian sacred mountain. A major pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, an estimated 60,000 pilgrims now visit the monastery each year.

Ephesus in Turkey is noted for its Temple of Artemis, the moon goddess, which as the greatest of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  Fragments of its ruins may still be seen. The legendary Amazons once lived on this site, according to legend. 

At first a place for Pagan worship, the Externesteine sacred rocks in Germany became a Christian pilgrimage site which gradually faded into obscurity until the 1920s, when they became linked with Teutonic myths that were later advanced by the Nazis.

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