earth alchemy: aligning your home with nature's energies

Earth AlchemyAligning Your Home with Nature’s Energy

By Dominique Susani and Anne Z. Parker

Illustrat ions by Alexis Susani

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© Anne Parker & Dominique Susani 2011

The right of Anne Parker and Dominique Susani to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance

with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

First published by Findhorn Press 2011

ISBN 978-1-84409-567-4

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Contents

Table of Illustrations 7

Preface 13

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Art of the Master Builders 17

Chapter 2 The Earth and its Environment 25

Chapter 3 The Human and the Ability to Sense Energies 33

Chapter 4 Water 43

Chapter 5 Fault lines 55

Chapter 6 The Nets 69

Chapter 7 Analysis of Terrain 77

Chapter 8 Vortexes, Chimneys, and Other Forms 85

Chapter 9 Earth Acupuncture 107

Chapter 10 The Art of Stones 125

Chapter 11 Trees 135

Chapter 12 Conclusion 155

Bibliography 158


Preface

In the 1970s, I lived in the central desert of Australia, in an Aboriginal com-munity, where I worked as a community development officer. Out there,in the red dust and vast spaces, I was living in the Aboriginal world—a world governed by the Dreamtime and the indigenous people’s greatmastery of the living earth and its ways, a knowledge that is embedded inwhat are known as the Aboriginal “songlines.”

“Songlines,” also called Dreaming tracks by Australian Aboriginal peo-ples, are paths across the land that mark the route followed by “creator-be-ings” during the Dreaming. With this knowledge a person is able tonavigate across the land by repeating the words of the songs, which describethe location of landmarks, waterholes, and other natural phenomena. Bysinging the songs in the appropriate sequence, they can navigate vast dis-tances. In essence this is an embodied way of internalizing a map of theentire landscape in which they live. I suspect that the songs are not meremnemonic devices, but that they mirror the natural harmonics of the land.They may also follow natural energy patterns or lines of the land as well,although this has not been specifically documented.

I was deeply moved to discover that the “songlines” are not mere dryaccounts of long-lost practices from anthropological texts; they are livingspiritual practices held by present-day Aboriginal people carried out thoughthe telling of legends, enactment of ceremonies, singing of songs and walk-ing of the lines. Through their knowledge of the songlines, my Aboriginalfriends had an intimate, reciprocal relationship with their land that ledthem to respect and feel a responsibility to care for their places. I admiredthem and longed to have such a living practice of relationship to the earthin my lineage and in my modern world back home in the United States.


At that time it seemed that no such thing existed, and even if it had, it mustcertainly have been irretrievably lost.

Years later, an email popped up in my inbox one day, mentioning a train-ing in my town by a Frenchman who was said to know about the Europeantradition of earth energies. I would have hit the delete button, thinking thatsounded “flakey” but for the fact that the friend who had sent it to me is atrained scientist with a Ph.D. I thought, If she is recommending this, I mightas well take a look.

Not long afterward, I found myself at this training. As I walked in I wasthinking, What was I thinking? This could all be quite bogus. But my fellowstudents reassured me. They included high school geometry teachers, uni-versity professors, people from the School of Mines in Golden, Colorado,trained Feng Shui experts, and other plausible people.

Relieved to be in such a reasonable group, I settled down to listen to ourlecturer, Dominique Susani. Dominique launched into his topic with awonderful mixture of humor, logic, and practical exercises. Within 15 min-utes, I had what I later described to friends as a smile hanging off my faceabout 40 miles long. I felt ecstatic to find that I was from a living lineageof relationship to the earth and that a few people from my European her-itage still understood the old ways; in fact, they were developing and testingthem, so that they could once more take their place in our cultural dis-course.

At one point, we stepped outside to try our hands at what, for me, wasmy first dowsing experience. I felt scrambled, strange, and irreversibly al-tered by that first wobbly experience. The closest metaphor I can offer isthat it was as if I had hooked up my ponytail to the living fabric of life, likethe character Jake being trained in the fictional Na’vi community in themovie Avatar. It is not that I had not devoted myself to caring for the earththroughout my entire adult career, that I had not deeply loved the lands Ihave lived in, nor been unaware of the insights of the traditional peoples Ihave studied with and learned from, nor even lack profound spiritual ex-perience; it was that something of a new order had opened in me. Sincethat first experience I have studied with Dominique in the European tra-dition, and this book is the fruit of that learning and collaboration. TheEuropean tradition focuses on the natural energies within the land, the

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patterns and lines, and how they affect the human body, among other waysof attending to our profound relationship with the earth and the cosmos.

Dominique, his teachers, and colleagues have collected what is knownabout earth energies and sacred geometry in Europe and are reviving themas a living practice. This information comes from a rural tradition that haskept some of it intact and in use, modern research that is measuring theancient sites once again, direct body experience, sacred stones, and the land.This knowledge was suppressed and lost over the last 1,700 years in Eu-rope. The resulting disconnected relationship with the earth then spreadto the colonies and the New World, with sad and destructive results for in-digenous peoples who had maintained their reciprocal relationship withland and life.

The revival of this European wisdom tradition comes at a time whenwe desperately need to repair and recover a collective sense of the reciprocalrelationship with land that engenders respect and responsibility in caringfor our places. It is an honor to share it with you.

—Anne Z. Parker, Ph.D.Boulder, Colorado, 2011

PREFACE 15


Chapter 1

Introduction to the Art of the Master Builders

We humans are deeply sensitive to the energies of the earth and the cosmos.When circumstances are aligned or harmonious we feel them and are af-fected by them. Our ancestors had deep and abiding reverence for naturalplaces and sacred sites that had been unchanged by human activity andunderstood their profound energetic and healing qualities.

In ancient cultures, as today in indigenous traditions, buildings, too,were built with this sense of harmony with life. Centuries, even millennia,following their construction, a megalithic circle, an ancient temple, or anearly church generates a feeling of awe and inspiration that somehoweludes us in modern buildings. This book welcomes you to learn and re-member this ancient art.

All cultures have a long history of knowing how to build in harmonywith the environment. In Europe—the specific tradition we will be ad-dressing in this book—the knowledge and artistry of master builders wereresponsible for shaping great public buildings, such as cathedrals, over mil-lennia. People working in the European tradition sought to connectHeaven and Earth by observing sacred principles that joined earth energieswith the celestial alignments of the sun, moon, and stars. The understand-ing about how to work with earth energies also found its expression in per-sonal dwellings and communal structures, where it was seen as a way ofaligning humans, in both daily life and at sacred sites, with the living earth.Awareness of their knowledge of the celestial alignments has resurfacedthrough recent work in the field of archeoastronomy that has revealed the


incredible knowledge of astronomy and the land in the megalithic periodin Europe (and around the world). The construction of megaliths, greatstone structures including standing stones, stone circles, dolmen and othergreat monuments took place in Europe primarily during the Neolithic pe-riod, but actually extended from the late Mesolithic period through the Ne-olithic and continuing in to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, thuscovering a time span of some 4000+ years from at least 5500 BCE (BC) to1200 BCE (BC) in western Europe.

From what remains of the work of early master builders, we sense notsimply a technology or set of skills but a living practice of alignment withthe living earth and cosmos—steeped in inspiration from and connectionwith all life. This lineage extends over a long period of time, from the an-cients who built the megaliths, through later time periods that includedCeltic cultures and Druidic expressions, up until the period of the buildingof the Gothic cathedrals in the medieval period. The tradition of the masterbuilders was thus practiced for thousands of years in Europe until it wassuppressed in the 16th century. It was finally completely lost to generalpublic discourse in the 18th and 19th centuries, during the Industrial Rev-olution.

In writing this book we, the authors, honor this long tradition and seekto revive it. We have specifically chosen to name this European lineage andknowledge, The Art of the Master Builders. We also often use the term “ge-omancy,” popularized in the West with the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui,to describe the hands-on earth energy work aspect of this art. The Euro-pean tradition is being revived as a living practice because of the dedicatedwork of many people, including those to whom this book is dedicated:Henri Quiquandon and Raymond Montercy.

Like the sacred building traditions of Feng Shui in China and Vastu inIndia, European tradition is a venerable and effective tradition of buildingin harmony with and for life. It has been shaped by a combination of twoinfluences: the lineage of the European sorcerers and sorceresses, whocould detect water sources and other earth energies, and the lineage of thetemple builders of Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East. These influencesare indicative of the long history of insights and understandings that un-derlie the European tradition. Every culture has sensed these energies; thenames, techniques, and emphases on how to work with them are the mainthings that vary, according to the people who have developed them.

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Note: The seemingly scary word “sorcerer” is probably derived fromthe French word sourcier, meaning “one who finds water.” There are manyways within our cultural discourse that we have been complicit in belittlingor distancing ourselves from earth-based knowledge that we can now be-come aware of and reexamine.

The notion of building in harmony with earth energies may seem likesomething from the far past that we do not encounter in our ordinary livestoday. Yet, even today, Europeans are literally surrounded by stone circlesand buildings that were constructed according to these principles. For ex-ample, when we think of England, Stonehenge naturally springs to mind.This very elaborate sacred stone structure is known around the world.

Less well-known, however, are the thousands of other stone circles, dol-mens, and standing stones still found all over the rest of the British Islesand Europe, from northern Scotland to northern Italy, and from Spain toGermany. Even though many such structures have been destroyed, count-less others remain for us to experience. The parish churches or town cathe-drals (which were built on top of megalithic sites) in every town and villageof western Europe represent places of harmony, which play a role in thedaily lives of people in Europe to the present.

In former European colonies like the United States, many of the oldestchurches in the country were built according to these old ways. Americanexamples include Spanish Colonial missionary churches, such as SanMiguel Mission, popularly known as the “Oldest Church in the UnitedStates,” which was the first church to be built in Santa Fe, New Mexico,between 1610 and 1628, the series of Spanish missions that was built byFather Junipero Serra in California in the 1700s, as well as countless ex-amples throughout Latin America, such Sierra Gorda in Mexico. Even themuch newer National Cathedral in Washington, DC was built accordingto the old tradition.

In the United States and other countries that were colonized by Euro-peans, we must remember that the energetic and healing sites on theselands have been cared for and kept intact whenever possible by the indige-nous peoples who have known and guarded them for millennia. Thesepeople sometimes built on powerful sites, but most often they chose to leaveand revere them as they are. It is essential, and in fact a key to a healingpathway to the future, that newer immigrants such as those of us from Eu-

INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF THE MASTER BUILDERS 19


rope, support the first peoples in their deep and abiding commitment toprotecting sacred sites, the health of the land, and the balance of life.

In this book, we focus on learning how to read the earth energies in ourcities, towns, and villages in order to create harmonious living in our dailylives. This means paying attention to earth energies wherever we are. Theknowledge you will gain by reading this book can help realign your rela-tionship with the earth and is a pathway to natural harmony, beauty, andhealing. This book lays the groundwork for you to apply this ancientknowledge of earth energies to the built environment. Central to thisknowledge is the need for human beings to develop a deep and abidingreverence for the land. Unless we respect and directly communicate withthe earth, we cannot possibly achieve harmony in our daily lives and ourbuildings.

We have inherited a vast number of great and local healing placesthroughout the world that we must look after with great care. This bookwill introduce you to the preliminary practices that underlie the Europeantradition. It focuses specifically on sensing earth energies that activate sacred architecture. Cosmic alignments used in building design generatenaturally arising mandalas (healing energetic patterns) when placed ontop of such earth energies thus joining the cosmic energies with the earth energies.

To begin our training in this art we need to set the context for our un-derstanding of the earth and its energies in the language of the Europeantradition. Thus, in the next several chapters we explore the earth and itsenvironment, and the human body and its ability to sense energies. Fol-lowing this we learn how to detect water, fault lines, and the nets. Then,based on these primary techniques, we explore their application in subse-quent chapters on the analysis of terrain, the forms, earth acupuncture, theart of placement of stones, and healing and working with trees.

This book offers a series of techniques that will allow you to work withearth energies and have a vibrant felt experience. Working with earth en-ergies makes this tradition a living practice rather than a theory or simpleset of formulas. While the emphasis is on gaining the skills for the harmo-nious alignment and placement of buildings, it is also ultimately about appreciating the natural energies of the earth. It is a path of integration

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and fulfillment of human purpose under the tutelage of the earth and thecosmos.

The exercises we outline here give you the opportunity to experienceearth energies and harmonious alignment so that you can apply this knowl-edge in your life. Note that this book is a description of felt experiences;therefore, simply reading it will give you access only to the ideas behindthe work, whereas engaging in the exercises will give you access to the directinsights upon which this tradition is based. You could think of this as anal-ogous to reading a book about how to dance the tango. While reading itcould be interesting, only the actual experience of dancing will reveal toyou the purpose of the instructions and the sheer joy of the dance.

It is also important to know that it can take some time to develop yourpractice of sensing earth energies. It is necessary to let your body, particu-larly the endocrine system, become attuned to this work. Again, as in theanalogy of learning to dance, this work develops over time and becomesever more easy and fun to do. If you practice the skills presented here oversome time you can arrive at feeling grounded in the basic skills.

In the metaphor of learning the tango, one or two lessons rarely makesfor expert tango dancers, while sustained practice brings skill into embod-iment. This is equally true with learning to work with earth energies. Wehope that this book sets you on a path of discovery and ongoing learningin this embodied art of sensing earth energies.

Another important point to consider before you plunge into the text isthe role of science in Western culture. Our cultural and historical construc-tion of modern science has specifically cast out or treated as implausiblethe ancient sciences of Europe. This split is unfortunate. Such a split hasbeen, to some extent, less evident in some other cultural contexts, such asIndia and a variety of indigenous cultures.

Our dualism has cut off those of us with European roots from an im-portant body of useful knowledge, and it has allowed us to engage in in-credibly destructive behavior with regard to the earth. On the other hand:to only value the old ways and reject modern science as cold and techno-logical can be dogmatic. So, too, is rejecting the beauty and profound in-sights of the old ways and clinging exclusively to the narrow yet brilliant



world of modern science. We need the whole spectrum of human knowingto heal and balance our world.

It is inspiring to understand the principles that shaped the ancient build-ings and that continue to affect us when we enter them. It is even more inspiring to gain insight into reapplying them to our modern world. Theemerging language of earth systems science, also called Gaian science, re-inforces the ancient understanding of our inherent co-creative role as partof the fabric of all life. The techniques in this book consciously align uswith all life, not simply because it is a nice idea or because we “should” doit but because we can feel it with every fiber of our being. We know it withour bodies. We enter a journey of learning and remembering that harmonyand alignment.

Fortunately, the scientific work of the last 40-plus years, which includesquantum physics, systems theory, Gaian science, and a wide range of othernew understandings, is assisting us in finding the continuity and connec-tion between old and modern sciences. At times in learning this new ma-terial you may feel caught or confused between the two languages: onebased on modern science and technological measurement and one basedon direct perception and sensing. To address this confusion it may be help-ful to refer to a variety of current work providing evidence of the sensingof subtle energies.

To help bridge the gap in languages of the old ways and modern science,we suggest you read Measuring the Immeasurable: The Scientific Case forSpirituality (Goleman, 2008) and The Biology of Belief: Unleashing thePower of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles (Lipton, 2008). Written in areader-friendly way, these and other similar books are a good starting pointfor understanding the evidence about how the mind and body operate. Theprinciples of geomancy, or sensing earth energies, are primarily physicaland, thus not specifically in the realm of religion or belief, but they are cur-rently outside the area delineated by science as commonly taught at highschool or university.

You should know that the work of sensing earth energies is replicableand testable. Different dowsers may develop different strengths in, for ex-ample, identifying deep wells (which may take significant additional train-ing), working with trees, and so on, but all will find the same basic majorwater and fires lines. Once you have learned and practiced the key tech-

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niques of sensing water and fire lines described in the book, you can setup blind tests, such as the mapping of a house or site, with other experi-enced dowsers in which each person maps alone and then compare maps.

In addition to reading and practicing with this book, you may find itvery helpful to find an experienced dowser with whom to study. You canlearn a lot from a direct experience with another person. While some peoplecan successfully learn skills like carpentry, cooking, and dancing frombooks, most of us benefit from sharing direct experiences with others. Thisbook is dense and is meant to be worked with rather than merely read. Youmay chose to read it through and then go back and slowly train yourself bydoing the exercises to gain familiarity in it, or you may choose to slowlywork through each chapter on the first reading.

The energy work described here is very practical—anyone can learn todo it. It is not connected with any spiritual tradition; it is within the naturalcapacity of the human body. It is this direct sensing with the body that isyour base of verification in this work. While reading this book, we inviteyou to have an open mind and to rely on your own direct senses to deter-mine or recognize what is valuable to you. We hope that this book will beof great benefit to you and all life around you.



Chapter 5

Fault LinesIn the tradition of the master builders, the detection of fault lines is as im-portant as the detection of water lines in working with earth energies. InCeltic tradition, fault lines are referred to as fire lines or Dragon lines. Thisis in contrast with the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, where Dragon linessignify water and Tiger lines signify fault lines. We are all generally awareof the very large fault lines along which the movement of the earth’s crustis evident in the form of earthquakes. At a more subtle level, there aresmaller expressions of the movement of the crust throughout the earth’ssurface. It is these smaller expressions of shift and change in the earth’ssurface that we will be discussing and detecting here.

The sun is our central fire. This force is the most important “cosmicfire” source for us on Earth. We also have a “telluric fire” at the center ofEarth. Diagram 5.1 reminds us of the layers of Earth’s interior, includingthis extremely hot center. In the European tradition, this central moltencore is referred to as “the seed” of the earth. It is composed of crystallizediron and a little nickel. This crystallized core is in essence a large crystal;hence, it is said in the tradition that Earth is a crystal. This core is very hotand under enormous pressure. The next layer is referred to as “the fluidseed.” It is so dense that it is solid, but it still somewhat viscous and thusmore mobile than the inner core or “seed.”

Above “the fluid seed” we find the lower mantle, which consists ofmagma (molten rock) that is moving by the forces of convection and shapedby the effect of heat rising and by the movement of the earth around thesun. The movement of this rotation shapes the patterns and expression ofthe rising molten rock.


Above this mobile zone, we find the crust of the earth, which is verythin in comparison to the other layers below. The crust is expressed in thedenser material on the ocean floors and the lighter material of the conti-nents that rise above the level of the oceans. When there is pressure below,this thin and hardened crustal material cracks and shifts, due to the move-ment of the molten rock below. These shifts and cracks become fault lines,or small fissures in the crust.

Faults are, therefore, zones of rupture and/or overlap of rock massesthat are displaced. They can be present in zones where there are differentmaterials (clay, limestone, sand). The differences in electric potentialamong the materials present produces an effect that causes a disturbancein the rising of thermal neutrons, favoring the passage of gamma rays is-suing from the earth’s radioactive decay (i.e. gaseous elements and miner-als). Because of this, the gamma rays are no longer held in check and rise,provoking ionization of the materials and particles that are found in thefault zone and altering the equilibrium of the fault area. The deeper thefault is located below the earth’s surface, the greater the intensity of therays that rise to the surface.

The effects on the human body from this activity are diverse, but in gen-eral it provokes tearing of electrons in the atoms of our body and disruptionof the DNA. This also provokes dysfunction of the endocrine glands, par-ticularly the pineal and pituitary glands and the regulation of hormonalfunctioning.

In this manner, the internal activity of the earth provokes millions oflittle tears in the crust. Inside these tears the energy of fire circulates. It isbecause they are formed by the heat and the movement of the earth’s fieryinterior that these fault lines is referred to in Celtic tradition as fire lines,or Dragons, as previously mentioned. These energies of fire and water inthe earth were detected and considered to be of central significance by theancients. Modern science has further illuminated their pathways and im-portance.

The surface of the earth is lined with fissures. These can be of differ-ent orders of magnitude. Faults can be made on a local level by the forcesof expansion or compression of the earth’s surface. This means that thegeologic wrinkling, tearing, folding, or thrusting activity in a given spotcreates a situation where the layers of the earth do not correspond (Seediagram 5.3). This situation provokes a mixing of electrical currents.

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FAULT LINES 61

Normandy, France, is one example of such a place.

In many older churches, the altar was placed on a spot where there is abeneficial crossing of underground fire and water lines at different levelsof the underlying strata, in such a way that the fire is below the water. Thisconfiguration is highly energizing and serves to purify the body. If it is pos-sible to go to the center of the altar (go barefoot), you will feel this energyin your feet. It will rise up and clean your energy channels.

Most animals would avoid fire lines; cats, however, as mentioned earlier,are able to transform that energy. Ants can be found on fire lines and appearto use these lines as pathways. Ants in a house are not a good sign, as itcan mean that the whole house needs harmonization. Ants generally leavea house that has been harmonized. Trees growing on fire lines are affected;however, they can often insulate their cancer by growing rounded boles(described by Robert Endross in his book Le rayonnement de la terre et soninfluence sur la vie) over or around it.

The same principles and body locations are activated in sensing firelines as for water lines. Similarly, for this exercise you can use two metalL-shaped dowsing rods. (Again if no professional rods are available youcan use two coat hangers cut so that the section to be held vertically in yourhand is about four inches long and the part that is held parallel to theground is about eight inches long.)

Exerci se 1

While fire lines can be felt anywhere, it is helpful to begin sensing themin an outdoor place on level ground. To sense fire lines, hold your rods atlevel with your hands at the height of your lungs. Note that when detectingwater the bladder is located in the area where there is significant water inthe body, while for fire line detection, the location is near the major expres-sion of air in the body, the lungs.

First set your overall intention: “For the harmony and balance of alllife.” Then set your specific intention: “I will sense and feel the fire lines.”Then drop all thought. You can simply look at something in front of youor listen to the sound of the birds.

Then walk forward holding the rods at the level of your lungs. As youcross the edge of a fire line, your rods will swing either inward or outward.


They will remain like that until you pass over the other side of the fire line,when they will swing back into the neutral forward position.

Exerci se 2

It takes some time for the endocrine system to get used to feeling a fireline. After you have clearly identified a fire line and can identify where itsedges are, set down the rods and simply walk over it a number of times,closely noticing what occurs in your body as you do. Some people feel it inmost distinctly in their hands, some inside the body in the chest area, orother locations as mentioned in Chapter 5. In this way you will be able todetermine how you sense fire lines.

The same advice about not to do dowsing backward over water linesapplies to fire lines. If you go backward, you risk reversing the polarityaround your body and may experience headaches. Our earlier advice abouttaking an Epsom salts bath after a significant time spent dowsing applieshere as well.

There are various types of faults that you will be able to detect once youare familiar with sensing them. Faults can have different colors. Some peo-ple easily perceive these colors, while others may not—or at least not im-mediately. Some faults are yellow-colored and influence the solar plexus.In general, fault lines affect the stomach area, the pancreas, and the bladder.Others are red and affect the blood, the heart, and the circulatory system.There are also gray-colored fault lines, in all the shades of gray. These faultsare said to be very pernicious, and they can affect the body’s entire immunesystem.

Faults are also the result of the ionic exchange that is created when twomaterials of different qualities and charge encounter each other. These cir-culations of exchange affect the energies expressed on the surface and in-fluence the development of living systems. These circulations becomeunstable systems that specifically circulate natural or artificial electricitybecause they offer the path of least resistance for ionic and electric circula-tion. Electricity always circulates in the zones of least resistance to its pas-sage. Under the earth’s surface, gas and water circulate in these faults.

In addition to their effect on human bodies, fault lines affect trees, aswe can see in the photos showing desiccation (see photos of trees on gray

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FAULT LINES 63

5.5 Photo of an oak on a fire line


Chapter 7

Analysis of Terrain

After you have practiced the skills for sensing water and fault lines, youcan now progress to mapping these earth energies on a piece of land. Oneeffective way to map these lines is to locate either a water line or fire line,then stand within it and set your intention to follow the line. The rods willstay straight and parallel as long as you are following the line. If you veeroff the line, the rods will cross. Mapping terrain for water lines and faultlines is one way to determine the neutral areas that are ideal for homes orother dwelling places. To map terrain and locate building sites, we mustunderstand the entirety of the area and it characteristics.

Geophysical Constants and Traditional Construction

Terrain is characterized by an ensemble of geophysical constants. Theseconstants are dependent on the altitude, the sunshine, or isolation (themeasure of solar energy received on a given surface of the earth in a giventime) patterns, and the local regimes of rainfall, winds, temperature, andsoil. It is clear that certain of these parameters are unavoidable; they arethe essential characteristics of the place and, just as our ancestors did, wemust adapt to them. This is evident when we examine traditional buildingconstruction practices. The orientation of houses is entirely dependent onthe local regime of rainfall and wind, as well as the sunshine and isolationpatterns. In the southwestern France, for example, more than 80 percent


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of houses are oriented east-south east/ south-southwest. This is in order toavoid exposure to the sun directly from the south and to protect from thewind and rain from the West. In addition, these houses—at least those builtby the master builders—were built in dimensions that accord with specificproportions based on the rhythms of the sun and moon of the location,.These proportions are directly linked with the latitude that manifests asthe natural net proportions described in the previous chapter.

All these parameters were integrated into the morphology of the con-struction, and from this, we can get a sense of a typical home in various re-gions of France. In France, people says that they live in a Toulousian house(i.e. a house built in the area of Toulouse), or perhaps Languedocian, orQuercynoise or even Landaise, to speak only of the southwestern region.

Traditional houses were thus adapted to the geoclimatic conditions ofthe location and also to the geology, since it was necessary to build withthe materials that are found in the location, except for very rare exceptions,such as in the building of certain temples and palaces, where people choseto use materials that came from tens or occasionally hundreds of kilometers(miles) away. Such special buildings were built in all the epochs and inmany places; for example, in the building of Stonehenge, blue stones fromhundreds of kilometers away were used. Similarly, in the building of thelabyrinth at Chartres cathedral, black stones were sought from a great dis-tance.

Traditional Choice of Building Placement

In ancient times the choice of location of where to live was essential. Allcivilizations had criteria that permitted people to determine the locationsof their residences. According to Vitruvius, the Romans had the habit ofgrazing sheep for a year on a site before choosing to establish a dwellingplace. At the end of one year, the augury priests opened the stomach of ananimal and accessed or “listened to” the viscera. If the sheep were in goodhealth they would decide to build; however, if the sheep were in a bad state,they changed locations for the building site. This method was relativelysimple and effective, if a bit brutal.


In India, where the art of Vastu is practiced, one digs a square hole inwhich one can assess the quality of the terrain as well as the humidity. Fol-lowing this, one places flowers in the four directions and observes how theywither. The direction in which the flowers wither the fastest is consideredto be bad; the direction in which they wither the most slowly is consideredto be the better orientation.

In Europe in the 17th century, it was traditional to call in a sorcerer tofind the location of wells because water was essential for survival. Thesesorcerers also designated the areas in which to construct homes. These an-cient empirical methods were true instruments of the trade that permittedadaptation to local conditions and made corrections to theoretical givens.Over-adherence to theory can generate overly formal or rigid methodology;this could lead to errors that could be detrimental to the health of the in-habitants.

As we have seen in the preceding chapters, geology and its particularexpressions, such as subterranean veins of water, fault lines, and cavities,produce thermal disturbance and electromagnetic affects on the surface. Itwas thus essential to construct homes away from these disturbances inorder to treat the health of the future inhabitants of the house gently. Oncethe main house site has been selected, one can construct the outbuildingsbeside the house; however, these may end up on zones that may containrisky areas. Since the middle of the 20th century, it has become popular inEurope to sell such outbuildings—for example, barns—to be remodeledas homes. These barns seem like good investments to restore since the con-struction of the walls, the use of stones, and the quality of roof constructionare good and well-preserved. However, these barns have often proved tobe unhealthy places since they have been built on riskier areas that do notpromote geobiological health or happiness.

How to Choose Where to Locate a House

Choosing a location for building based solely on socioeconomic factorsis often questionable. Frequently, in our modern society, building locationsare influenced by urban decisions linked to pseudo-needs of the develop-ment of town and villages and construction lobby groups with political and

ANALYSIS OF TERRAIN 79


economical interests. With few exceptions, such as flood zones, criteria thatlink habitability with the health of humans rarely enters the equation. Sowe need to ask, “At what point do we raise the health of people as a concernin our decision-making processes?” Only when someone has serious healthproblems do we raise questions about this important issue. In most cases,we simply find land that is for sale and make our purchasing decisionlargely on the price and general location.

So, how should we do a site visit to assess land and select a building lo-cation?

First we must become informed about the history of the land. Certainterrain is clean, such as in the case of ancient agricultural land or ancientforests. It is essential to avoid terrain that is said to be rehabilitated. In suchcases, it is often terrain that contains discharges of public or private waste.These locations are always pernicious.

It is important to know the geological composition of the land. Claysoils are problematic; they contain a lot of water and, therefore, need sig-nificant work to establish solid foundations. Sometimes it is necessary todrive in pillars several meters (yards) deep to stabilize construction. Manyhouses constructed on clay have walls that crack because the soil materialswells and contracts with varying inputs of water. Limestone and chalkysoils can be good, but they are often filled with fault lines, caves and sub-terranean rivers.We will see later how to analyze them. Granitic terrain isexcellent. Such terrain permits a solid foundation and is adequately healthy.However, granitic terrain has the inconvenience of producing radon, a gasthat has been proven harmful. It is necessary to anticipate and preview cir-culation of air to avoid the accumulation of gases.

Deciding on the place where we wish to build a home is important: weand our families may spend a good part of our lives there. It is often a placewhere our children will grow and find happiness. The first impression ofthe land could be the best. If you are an intuitive person, that is to say hav-ing intelligence of the heart, it is sufficient to simply take a glance to makea judgment. Do not try to find reason to go counter to this intuition becauseyou may run into a catastrophe that will become evident to you a few yearsdown the road. If you like the place, that is the real beginning of researchon it. Look for trees that are leaning to one side as these indicate the zones

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Chapter 10

The Art of Stones

The placement of stones changes the energy of an area, by reversing andharmonizing it. People have used stones for this purpose for thousands ofyears, as is clear from megaliths such as standing stones, stone circles, anddolmens found in different forms all over the world. The use of heavystones in the architecture of sacred buildings such as temples in Greek andHindu tradition was intended for the same purpose. All of these forms—temples and stones—are created with the goal of harmonizing the areathey are placed in. As with the work of sensing water and fire lines, ourpurpose and intention for aligning stones is for the harmony and balanceof all life.

A stone is a crystalline assembly of molecules. The stones used for mega-liths were usually granite, because these stones have crystalline and amor-phous elements. Stones that were used by master builders to serve energeticpurposes were those that have such assemblies of crystalline structureswithin other amorphous material, such as granite. Ancients used thesestones to harmonize an area by bringing the energies of Sky and Earth intoequilibrium. This was necessary because certain terrain was not favorablefor the development of life, for example the development of plants, animals,or humans. Often this was because there were subterranean problems suchas discontinuities in the terrain, water veins, faults, fissures or cracks, orcaves—all the kinds of subterranean energies that can disturb the surfacethat have been spoken about in preceding chapters. The ancients wereaware that when a stone was placed in a certain spot an energetic reactionwas produced.


126 EARTH ALCHEMY

10.2 Telluric and cosmic ends of a stone


People who lived in the Neolithic era, or New Stone Age, about3,000–4,000 years ago, are referred to as the Megalithic peoples. They livedeverywhere on Earth, and thus we find the same techniques of workingwith the stones all over the world, including Korea, China, India, Africa,America, and Europe. These Megalithic peoples had a keen and advancedtype of science of stone. They had an ability or capacity to move stones, butthey also had an ability to make areas harmonious by placing stones andorienting them correctly.

The stones used by master builders had to contain crystals, includingvarious elements, such as sand crystals, mica, and silicon. These tiny crys-tals function like very small batteries and become charged with electro-magnetic energy. The stone acts like an antenna: the taller the stone, thefarther the broadcast, so to speak. The electrical charge generated by thefriction of underground water movement is picked up by the crystals in astone that is placed above it. The stone, acting as an antenna, converts thisenergy.

The electrical field generated by the stone fluctuates over time, however,like shifting flows of water in a stream. This causes the magnetic field gen-erated to vary in intensity. This variation in intensity of charge over timecorresponds to the variations in the size of the field generated. If you lookedat such a stone from above you would see a pulsating field around it (seediagram 10.1), much like the patterns that are generated by a rock throwninto water. This is a good description of how stones work. When you beginto feel it for yourself, as you do the exercise outlined below, you will un-derstand it and feel it directly, as your ancestors did. When you place andalign a stone, you change the magnetic field of the site and harmonize thatarea.

In theory you can place a stone anywhere; however, for it to functionwell it needs some subterranean activity beneath it. You are already familiarwith locating water lines from the earlier exercises. This skill comes intoplay now in the placement of stones because it is primarily water that givesenergy to stones. Water circulates in the soil in two circular patterns, andthis movement generates friction, which, in turn, produces the electricitythat goes up into the stone and charges the tiny batteries within it. Whenthe charge is large enough the magnetic field around the stone pulsates.

THE ART OF STONES 127


Steps to Aligning a Standing Stone

In order to place and properly align a stone we need to know a numberof things about it. This will entail determining four things: (i) What isknown as the North of Form of the stone (its magnetic orientation), (ii)the North of Form of the place, (iii) the telluric end of the stone, and (iv)the cosmic end of the stone.

Drawing on a branch of geology called paleomagnetism, we know thatthe earth’s magnetic field has changed at least 100 times since the historyof the earth began. The earth has kept a record of these changes. The layersof rock have retained the molecules’ magnetic orientation at the time theyformed and cooled. You need to discover and use the magnetic orientationof the rock in order to align it. This magnetic orientation of the stone iscalled the North of Form of the stone.

I’m sure you are aware of the difference between Magnetic North andTrue North; these can be found with the use of your compass and a localtopographic map that will show the declination of magnetic north in yourarea. There is a third north called the North of Form of the place, whichwill also be necessary to locate for proper alignment. Each place on Earthhas a North of Form that is specific to the place. An essential step to align-ing the stone is to locate the North of Form of the place you are workingin. The North of Form is, in essence, the dominant or cumulative internalNorth of Form alignments of the rock formations and earth materials thatunderlie your location.

You will also need to determine the cosmic and telluric ends of the stone.This allows the stone to be properly aligned in the vertical direction, withthe telluric end on the earth and the cosmic end pointing upward.

Each of the features of alignment described here can be determined byfeel. It is easiest to first locate the cosmic and telluric ends of the stone. Thecosmic end will have a pinkish, rose, or violet color (for those who see col-ors), and it will feel warm. The telluric end will have a blue color like burn-ing gas and will feel cool. These hot and cool points can be anywhere on astone. It is helpful to feel a number of different stones to begin to get thefeel of detecting the telluric and cosmic ends. For a standing stone, even asmall one, it will be best to select one in which the telluric and cosmic axisis also the long axis of the stone (see diagram 10.2). You can set the stone

128 EARTH ALCHEMY


earth alchemy: aligning your home with nature's energies

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