The Xaghra Circle – the sacred site where this essence vibration was received – is in such a precarious state that you can only access with a private guide from Heritage Malta (Malta’s national agency for museums, conservation and cultural heritage). I had read about it during my first visit to the island and once home, the site kept calling out to me for over two years. I had no other choice than to book another trip to Malta and a private guide too.
Complex of burial caves
The Xaghra Circle (pronounced as Ziahra) is an underground cemetery. In fact, it is a complex of burial caves dating from several periods between 4,100 and 2,500 BCE. It is located on the Xaghra Plateau on the Maltese island of Gozo, just 400 metres to the southwest of the majestic, neolithic Ggantija Temples* (3,600 – 2,500 BCE). The Xaghra Circle is believed to have belonged to the community that built and used these temples. The site set the stage for impressive burial ceremonies with specific rituals, sights, sounds and smells.
Its stone circle was quickly destroyed
When archaeologists discovered the importance of this spot in the beginning of the 19th century, the ground was summoned of the farmers using it and excavated. Unfortunately, the friable nature of the rock forming the roof resulted in a major collapse, reducing the entire site to the large hollow cavity visible today. The plot was returned to the farmers once the excavation was complete. However, they were concerned that this agricultural land could be reclaimed by scientists in the future, so it was decided to get rid of the site’s landmarks. What was left of the stone circle was quickly destroyed.
The site came to the attention of the public in 1965 when a housing estate was due to be developed there. Thankfully a successful campaign prevented the destruction of this ancient cemetery. Archaeologists excavated the site again between 1987 and 1994 and found more grave goods such as ceramics, tools, ornaments and miniature statuettes as well as a large concentration of human remains.
A rusty padlock
Our tour guide walks us through a little alley bordered by regular houses to a plot of rough land, arid like everywhere on Gozo and Malta. The rusty padlock on the simple unsightly fence is hard to open, it must be rarely used. And there it is: the site of the Xaghra Circle. Our untrained eyes see mainly an open pit. The friendly lady walks us around at ground level, pointing at the different caves as she recounts the story we had already found in books on Maltese heritage.
Many generations of the Ggantija community were buried here. Actually, the site was in use long before the neolithic temples were built. According to finds, the first burials date back between 4,100 – 3,700 BCE. Natural caves were first used and then later on, other chambers were cut out of the surrounding rock. The tombs were sealed with stone slabs, as was common in the Mediterranean, just like when, about 4,000 years later, Jesus’ body was laid to rest in nowadays Israel.
When the time comes to fulfil our special request of 30 minutes of silence on site, our guide waits patiently in the shade. Now the Xaghra Circle can fully reveal why it was calling.
The sacredness of life
No matter how little is left of its original beauty, the site still vibrates with the feelings and energy of its mission and usage for thousands of years. Standing above the two oldest natural caves, I tap into an enormous, almost overwhelming sensation of sweetness. The purest love for life.
A vision reveals that the deceased were carried here in full celebration. Gratitude for what they had meant to their community fills the air that I breathe. In those days, it was survival of the fittest, life was short and many children died. Every life was experienced as a gift from the Divine, hence utterly precious. Being alive was sacred. The surviving relatives and group members carried their loved ones to their resting places with so much pure and sweet love, that it still hangs in the air today.
Who remembers?
The sacredness of life is barely remembered in the Western world. We have become cogs in a society focused on economic gain at the cost of our health and thus of life. Resourcing silence, peace of heart, and sweet tangible love are hard to find. In the treadmill of modern existence, many of us have forgotten that we are not only part of nature, but also embody nature. Yet in the West too, each life remains a gift of the Divine. But who remembers? Who lives life as a sacred gift? Who experiences themselves as a sacred being?
How often do you celebrate your life, apart from maybe your birthday?
How often do you celebrate your Divinity?
The essence vibration that was gifted at the Xaghra Circle, is here to remind you of your sacredness, your Divinity.
Every one of us is a Divine gift, with a unique message to the world.
The Xaghra Circle essence vibration contains the spirit of life and invites you to celebrate your existence everywhere and at all times.
The time has come to cast off the grip of self-doubt or self-shame.
Low self-esteem is based on the false assumption that we are not good enough, lacking somehow.
No matter how unloved or unseen you may feel in this lifetime, know you are born worthy, infused with an essence of pure light.
The time has come to stop fearing the immense power of your inner light.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.**
The time has come to break the shackles of the past and release all forms of self-sabotage.
Stand fully in your power so you can share your unique gifts with the world.
The Essence Vibration from the Xaghra Circle invites us to reconnect with the sacredness of life and to celebrate our Divinity, day in day out.
Hence its name, Celebration of Life.
Harriët Kroon
Click here for a 5-minute video experience of the Xaghra Circle site. Now and then the camera focuses on some covered megaliths that resemble the above ground altars at Ggantija.
** This sentence was inspired by Marianne Williamson’s poem on our deepest fear:
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine,
as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.’
Marianne Williamson
From: ‘A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles,’ 1989.
The poem above was read by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech in 1994.
