When I saw the first pictures of this formation I immediately thought "hoax". The construction seemed to point to a manmade formation simply by the fact that it was easy to break down into fixed patterns that would have been not too difficult to replicate on the ground in the dark. However after reading Charles Mallett's description of a formation created on a night of continuous rain, yet not exhibiting any sign of mud on the lay, I began to think I might have been hasty in my initial assumption. Anyone who has been into a field of young barley will know how thin and delicate the plants are. A damp, muddy field is going to mean them getting crushed into the ground and covered in wet earth, especially by people armed with planks of wood walking around in the dark and wet.
Furthermore when I read Steve Alexander and Karen Douglas’s description of the formation, and the correlation between elements from it and the earlier double triangle at Lockeridge, my hasty initial reaction took a further battering. This is not to say I’m 100% convinced, there is still doubt in my mind, but I do take a lot of convincing sometimes.

What we have here is not a star but a pentagram. In this supposedly Christian country this symbol of course conjures up images of black magic, witches and Satan. Viewed the other way up the pentagram is the sign of the Goat of Mendes, a symbol with just as evil connotations. Quite why the circlemakers gave the symbol a "base" to sit on I can’t work out. Did they want us to view it that way up? If anything the Goddess Pentagram is slightly less evil to many eyes than the Goat of Mendes. Were they concerned about anyone connected with the crop circle phenomenon being branded as Satanists by the moronic British press?
The idea of the pentagram having anything to do with Satanism or black magic is of course a load of rubbish. Both were invented in the Middle Ages by the Church of Rome as an excuse for witch burnings, and any self-respecting witch will tell that whilst The Craft can be used for both good and bad magic, any blackness is in the heart of the witch. Whilst being associated with Wicca, or The Craft, the pentagram goes back a lot further in time. Along with the Goat of Mendes they can both be traced back to the earliest versions of the Old Testament and are associated with the lineage down from Cain.
The Goddess Pentagram has five points, representing Spirit, Water, Fire, Earth and Air. All of these, (the spirit of single of the whole, the rain, the heat of the sun, the earth and of the wind) are all necessary to produce a successful harvest, just as we need them to flourish and grow. We are the same as the crops of the fields, we come from the earth and one day will return to it.
Has this formation been created as a reference to the Goddess? We are at the time of year when she has breathed life back into the land, the crops are starting to grow in the fields, the young animals have been born, and the heat of the Sun can be felt on your face. (British weather permitting of course).
The more I think about it the more I see that this formation could be working on two levels. Firstly a symbol recognisable to most people, and if they follow the pagan path one that has deep meaning. Then of the triangles that hark back to an earlier formation and require deeper thought if their message is to be resolved. Are we being shown recognisable symbols to attract our attention? Is another element of the message going to appear as time progresses? And what should be look for?

© Neill Wood - June 2000

References
Bloodline of the Holy Grail - Laurence Gardner - Element Books 1996
Genesis of the Grail Kings - Laurence Gardner - Element Books 1999
Principles of Wicca - Vivianne Crowley - Thorsons 1997