Although little evidence remains from which we can discern the original purpose of Long Meg and her Daughters, there is a general consensus that the monument and indeed all of the great Neolithic stone circles of northern Europe, are most-likely to have functioned as sacred spaces wherein elaborate ceremonies could be performed for a multitude of reasons. You can imagine that rites of passage such as births, deaths, marriages and anniversaries were conducted, along with ceremonies to celebrate the turning of the seasons, to commemorate the ancestors, and to predict astronomical events in the calendar. This was particularly important for the early farming communities who lived in such places, who perhaps relied upon significant alignments for key activities in the agricultural year. Larger public monuments such as Long Meg and her Daughters, which could comfortably host hundreds of people, may also have served as a social-cohesive, perhaps with tribes gathering from far and wide, strengthening community bonds, establishing trading links and renewing local alliances.
Nowadays many people who visit Long Meg and her Daughters, feel a spiritual connection to the site. If you spend some time there and allow yourself to tune-in to the landscape and the power of the stones, you may very well experience a sense of awe and serenity, seldom felt in the rat-race of the modern age. If you’re lucky enough to visit on the Winter solstice and witness the alignment of the sunset, casting its long shadow from the outlying monolith of Long Meg herself across the entrance to the centre of the stone circle, it can feel deeply profound on a spiritual level. Indeed, this connection to the land, enhanced or concentrated through the stone circle can be beneficial on many levels. All modern ‘earth-based’ spiritual groups, regard Long Meg and her Daughters as a sacred place, gifted to us by our ancestors and feel a deep-rooted responsibility to protect it.