Meditation on Sacred Sites and Future Mysteries

Halfway between Earth and Stars A Meditation on Sacred Sites and Future Mysteries

At the very earliest appearance of human civilization we observe the presence and importance of geometry. It is clearly evident that geometry was comprehended and utilized by the ancient Master Builders, who, laboring at the dawn of civilization some four and one half millennia ago, bestowed upon the world such masterworks as the megalithic structures of ancient Europe, the Pyramids and temples of Pharaonic Egypt and the stepped Ziggurats of Sumeria. That geometry continued to be employed throughout the centuries from those earliest times until times historically recent is also clearly evident. That it was made use of by cultures far-flung about the globe is evident as well, finding expression in China, Central and South America, in pre-Columbian North America amongst Native Americans, in Africa, SE Asia and Indonesia, Rome and of course in classical Greece and in Europe, from the Megalithic era some 4000 years ago, as stated, and again some 3000 years later, magnificently expressed during the Gothic era of cathedral building.

Two of my favorite places to go in Georgia are the Marian apparition site in Conyers and the Georgia Guidestones in Elberton. What I didn't realize until I had a wonderful conversation with Randall Carlson of Sacred Geometry International (based in Atlanta) is that both sites lie very close to one of the fault lines that diagonally traverses (SW to NE) the northern part of the state. In fact the Guidestones are just south of where the fault line exits the state at its northern border, and the Conyers apparition site sits south of the fault near the halfway point.


The Georgia Guidestones in Elbert County, Georgia

Both sites have interesting geography. The apparition site is located on a visible volcanic drift point, the granite here having hardened into flowing masses that are unmistakable as remnants of when the molten rock poured out of the ground to form the hilly terrain where "The Farm," as the site is known, is located. Elberton is the "Granite Capital of the World" and is home to one of the largest granite quarries in the United States. One of the distinctive aspects of the town itself is the odd incongruity that's visible in a small southern town whose architecture is marked by the ready availability of granite and artisan level workmanship.

Talking to Carlson, I was reminded that fault lines, underground rivers, and other active geological areas are often accompanied by anomalous interactions. Although he didn't mention the fault line running through the aforementioned sites, after our conversation it struck me that it would be interesting to see if there is any correlation. This is what led me to check into the fault lines' locations and discover that, while not exact, the two sites do lie close along the Brevard Fault line.

The significance of such things is a matter that has been more widely appreciated in the U.K., and that plays a part in the concept of psychogeography. When translated over to the U.S., what we often take from this is merely an awareness of the psychological and archetypal factors at play in mapping out the history of urban areas and the inhabited landscape. However, there are geological factors as well, which enhance the process and add additional layers to think about.


Our Loving Mother, a statue at The Farm in Conyers, Georgia, where former nurse Nancy Fowler shared public messages she claimed to have received from the Virgin Mary from 1990 to 1993.

One of the things Carlson pointed out was that sacred geometry in architecture has been used to enhance natural markers and places of geological activity. This connection to the earth is something we have lost in the modern world. When today's architects and building designers look at geologic activity, most often they are concerned with building earthquake-resistant or flood-resistant buildings rather than aligning them to the movement of celestial objects and the natural features of the land. There is a holism to sacred geometry and architecture that unifies all aspects of our experience, and that is truly astounding when you begin to imagine just how many areas are up for consideration in such a pursuit.
? Archaeological evidence of the ancient practice of building spirit ways has survived best in the Americas, as it has experienced less cultural upheaval as the Old World. A brief north-to-south survey shows this. In Ohio, between 150 BC and 500, the Hopewell Indians built geometrical earthworks covering many acres, along with straight linear features which seem to have been ceremonial roadways. In 1995, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 60-mile-long, dead straight Hopewell ritual road connecting earthworks at Newark with the Hopewell necropolis at Chillicothe.

-- Paul Devereux, "Spirit Lines in the Americas"

Paul Devereux has done research into the "straight road" phenomena, which many are familiar with from the famous Nazca lines. His research indicates the possibility that these were built as spirit roads, or roads of the dead, where spirits were thought to travel across the land. Interestingly, they are not confined to the Americas; there is evidence of similar tracks in the U.K., Europe, and Asia as well. Although, as he points out, these markings have become conflated with New Age theories that don't bear the weight of the evidence, what does become evident upon investigation is no less staggering in its implications.

Imagine a society whose focus encompasses fully both the celestial and terrestrial movements of force, whose every action is designed to enhance our interaction with these forces and in turn enhance our interaction with the past (the dead), present (the living), and future (as indicated through a cyclical understanding of time/space). All of this reflected in architectural monuments and achievements which through their mathematical proportions indicate the interweaving of the microcosmic and macrocosmic structures that guide the cycles. The Golden Mean, which is found in the formation of galaxies, sea shells, leaves, and our own anatomy, can also be reflected in our creations.
"Imagine a society whose focus encompasses fully both the celestial and terrestrial movements of force, whose every action is designed to enhance our interaction with these forces and in turn enhance our interaction with the past (the dead), present (the living), and future (as indicated through a cyclical understanding of time/space)."

This same intent can be seen in the messages carved into the Georgia Guidestones. It is also hinted at in the occurrences at the Marian apparition site in Conyers. Both sites embody an interaction of all elements of human existence as focused on a single point in the geographical landscape where we can interact with, and within, this sense of timeless communion with the whole. Both sites draw people to them as if there were some kind of spiritual gravity to their mystery, allowing each visitor to interact with the traces of these potentials in whatever way they are prepared to do so.

My hope is that we come to a point where these interactions become once more an integral part of our culture, so that the mystery inherent in sites such as the Guidestones and The Farm eventually extends to the infinite potential of our expression as a global culture. How wonderful it would be to once again take our rightful place halfway between earth and stars, centered in the nexus of creation from whence all possibilities, past, present and future, merge in an infinite state of becoming. Our ancestors knew of this existence, and someday we may awaken from the dreary sleep that has enveloped us to find that there is nothing primitive in the past, since what has come before is merely the slow budding seed of our future enlightenment.