 The Geo GroupFinding Places of Power: Dowsing Earth Energies Introduction Ley Lines Water Lines Ley-Line Power Centers Dowsing IntroductionThe most potent ancient monuments around the world have one thing in common: the presence of Earth energies (i.e.,underground water, ley lines, and ley-line power centers), which have the power to alter and uplift human consciousness. Dowsing is the intuitional practice or technique for locating these Earth energies. Everything on Earth is in transformation and change, flowing, growing, blowing, falling and rising. Many of these systems, such as rivers, wind, weather and tides are easily seen. Some are invisible to us because our senses can pick up only limited ranges of vibrations and radiations. For example, we can see color, but not X-rays. We can hear sounds, but only if they are loud enough and only if they are within our hearing range. Many of these invisible spectrums can be detected and "seen" by the extension of our sense via various technologies: films, amplifiers, readouts, scopes, transducers, etc. In the future new spectrums will be discovered, as the technologies to detect them are developed. Until technologies are developed to reliably detect the presence of underground water and Earth energies, we must rely on the sensitivity of our bodies and the intuition of our minds to guide us in the right directions. The human body is the best "receiver" on Earth. We can detect many things that machines and technologies cannot, especially in the areas of emotion, feelings and consciousness. Two subtle energy systems on the frontiers of human perception, the electromagnetic fields of underground water streams and ley lines, are beginning to be recognized, studied and used today. These Earth energies are important because ancient monuments such as stone circles, as well as cathedrals and all kinds of historic sacred spaces, are invariably situated on centers of Earth energies. Ley LinesAlong with water lines, ley lines are found at most ancient monuments and sacred places. The honor of the rediscovery of the ley-line system belongs to Alfred Watkins. His basic postulate is that ancient monument sites align in straight lines. Many ancient sites found on British ordinance maps can actually be connected to form an incredible coincidence of interconnecting lines. A shortcoming of this particular definition of ley lines is that many "ley hunters" have assumed that just because three or more sites are aligned, they are therefore automatically on a ley line. This simply is not true. Alignment does not determine the presence of a ley line, although it can act as supporting evidence for one. The ley-line system exists as an independent circuitry with the capacity to affect consciousness. Ley lines are part of the Earth's energy system. Monuments serve to reveal or mark the network, making the sites more special by connecting and networking them together. Ley, as a word, is akin to leoht (light illumination) and Middle English lea meaning "pasture land, a meadow which is open to the sun and therefore, at times, drenched with light." This connection of the word ley with light is significant on several levels. Physically, the clearing of tracks through the forest lights the way and marks the "ley of the land." The word ley is related to ley, lee and lay. This etymological sequence describes a sort of cosmic roadway system upon which people traveled in pre-Renaissance times. First, lines were delineated by cleared hilltop notches (ley), then woodland through which the ley line passed was cleared (lay), and then the fields which domesticated the landscape were cleared (lee) with the names ley, lay, and lee applying to each stage of ley landscape development. Visualize mounded tree groves on ley lines and a grove of trees on the ley lightway, filled with sacred cosmic light. Imagine standing on a hilltop at dusk, seeing an aura of lighted lines passing through earthworks and stone circles, with darkened groves of trees glowing with soft light. A magical mystery tour! Ley lines and light are very closely related. Ley lines are cosmic forces originating outside of the Earth. They penetrate and leave the Earth vertically at nodes. The penetrating nodes are called power centers. As illustrated above, when entering, ley lines continue to a point 265 feet below the surface of the Earth. At this point, it makes a 90 degree right-angle turn and travels in a perfectly straight line as seen from a "birds-eye view" and in an undulating motion as seen from the side, but always maintaining a depth of 265 feet, relative to the surface of the Earth. The average length of a ley line is twenty to thirty miles, although the length can vary from only a few feet to thousands of miles. The width of the line varies, but the average is 5-1/2 feet, the width of the Roman road. The horizontally traveling ley line exits the Earth by again turning 90 degrees and passing straight through the center of the Earth and coming out the other side. What Do Ley Lines Feel Like?Like water lines, a vertical field extends up from the ley line through homes and buildings. The nature of this field is yang or energetic. A person who sits or lies over a ley line for an extended time will tend to be hyperactive. This can work to advantage in healing or in situations where extra energy is useful, but if someone is already very energetic, the ley line may cause an unhealthy situation. And if the ley line is negative, the negative aspects of extra energy will be manifest in tension, anxiety, and neurosis. Here are some comments from people talking about what standing over a ley line feels like to them:
Water LinesBeneath the Earth's surface is a network of running water. This primary water system originates deep inside the Earth as steam that, as it is forced upward under pressure, condenses, becoming pure liquid water. As shown in the illustration below, the water travels upward in a vertical shaft called a "pipe" until its flow is stopped by an obstruction. This point is called a dome of water because the water is, in effect, domed up. If fissures or cracks in the Earth are connected to the pipe, the pressure of the water pushes the water into the cracks, which then become what we call underground streams, or water lines, which can then travel for great distances under the Earth's surface. Their course through the ground is generally winding and non-linear. An artesian well or water spring is formed when a water line flows on its own power out from the surface of the Earth. It is common practice to dig or drill a hole down to the water line to find a water source. Thousands of well drillers are in this business. There is a difference between ground water and the primary water system described above. Ground water is part of the above-ground hydrological cycle involving evaporation, cloud formation, rain, rivers, oceans and the underground water table. Primary water is a totally below-ground hydrological cycle and therefore is not affected by drought. Primary water is found at most ancient monuments and temples. Usually, there is a water dome or even a well or a spring at the center of the monument. A water spring, the place where water is available for use from the surface, is a natural spot for building a sacred place. By marking the site, or distinguishing it from other places, the monument becomes "holy ground." The close relationship of water lines and springs with ancient monuments was established by M. Louis Merle and Reginald Allender Smith in the 1930s. Both these men were dowsers, or diviners of water; they could locate underground streams and springs without using scientific instruments. Merle established that ancient monuments were situated over the crossing of underground streams. Smith went further to say that springs are constantly present at the centers of stone circles and earthworks. This discovery indicated that the selection of sites for ancient monuments was not arbitrary, but a conscious decision based upon the presence of underground water. Smith's work inspired Guy Underwood to spend many years investigating the connection between ancient monuments and underground water. In his book entitled The Pattern of the Past, Underwood identifies a principle of Nature "which is unknown to, or unidentified by science." Many animals are not only affected by water lines, but can instinctively perceive and use them. We, as humans, are also affected, but less naturally and need artificial assistance to perceive them. Using a forked stick or dowsing rod, when we are over a water line our muscles tense slightly, causing an almost imperceptible reflex movement in the arms and hands, which cause the stick to move and indicate the presence of water. What Do Water Lines Feel Like?As water flows through underground streams, it creates a subtle electromagnetic field, several feet wide, that rises vertically above the water line, even through multiple floors and stories. This vertical planar field of electromagnetic energy affects people physically, mentally and spiritually. Here are some comments from people talking about what standing over a water line feels like to them:
It's one thing to experience the effect of a water line by standing over it for a short time. It's another thing to work or sleep over a water line. A water line has a yin, or passive field, associated with it. Being on a water line will tend to slow you down and make you feel lazy or apathetic. People who work at desks over water lines often have problems getting enough energy to get work done or even to get started. Water lines can have serious negative effects when the water line is polluted physically or psychically. Negative water lines not only create a place of passivity, but can be detrimental to one's physical and mental health. I consider negative water lines to be one of the world's major causes of disease. The negative effects of water lines and how to cure them are explained further in the section on Geopathic Survey Service. Power CentersAt every point where ley lines enter the Earth (inshoots) and at approximately 70% of the nodes where ley lines leave the Earth (outshoots), there is a water spring. The ley-line inshoot or outshoot and accompanying water spring are the universal prerequisites for power centers. It is not just the water spring as suggested by Underwood or the ley line as suggested by Watkins, but the union of the two that determines the site selection of monuments. Ley lines and water lines have fundamental similarities and differences. They both form a network of force fields over our planet and seem to affect human behavior, although in different ways. Ley lines originate from outside the Earth, while water springs originate from inside the Earth. Ley lines travel in straight tracks with 90-degree turns, while water lines are non-linear and circuitous. The power of ancient monument sites lies in the interaction of the telluric Earth field of water lines with the cosmic solar field of ley lines. Their combination creates a synergetic, holistic field which is greater than either of the two energies taken separately. This fusion of the fundamental components of the Universe, yang and yin, is the source of all matter, energy and consciousness. The power center radiates a universal energy that affects consciousness and can also be influenced and changed by consciousness. In fact, as silt becomes sedimentary rock over time, strong human emotions experienced over time at a power center create layers of consciousness that future visitors can feel and experience. For example, here is a short story about my visit to an underground chamber, located in central Vermont. In the late seventies, I belonged to a group called the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA), which studies the historic and prehistoric past of New England. There are many interesting stone and earth monuments all over New England that NEARA helps locate, preserve and study. One summer day, I drove to the top of a mountain in central Vermont. At the top, I parked and started walking around. I get a certain feeling at power centers and I was picking up on this feeling as I found a standing stone and a recumbent stone with Iberian Ogam inscriptions believed to have been written by European Celts 3000 years ago. So much for Columbus "discovering" America. At the center of this cosmic place is a beautifully preserved underground chamber called Calendar II because it is oriented to the midwinter sunrise. If you sit inside the chamber and look out the entranceway on the morning of the winter solstice, December 21, the sun will rise in the center of the entrance. Analysis by archeoastronomer Byron Dix shows that the chamber was also used in lunar observations and eclipse prediction. This is only one of many such sites found all over New England. This chamber, like most other such chambers, is located over an underground water spring and a ley-line power center. As I entered the chamber, I felt a palatable presence in the air, an increase in energy density, an intensity of experience. It came to me that this chamber was specially designed to evoke these kinds of feelings and experiences. The overhead lintel stones weigh approximately three tons each. I couldn't stay in the chamber for more than five minutes. The "volume" of the energy in this place was too high for my tastes and sensitivity. Monuments harbor the potential for universal creative power that can be directed for the progress of humanity. In India, such spots are called tantrapieds, places for liberation and enlightenment. These sacred places have a very spiritual vibration, facilitating deep meditation and contemplation. When a person stands on a water line, ley line or power center, the field of the water line affects the person and their own field, or aura. Just like the heat waves we can see rising off a highway on a hot summer day, there is a similar, semi-visible emanation all around our body which, under special conditions, can be seen as a field of light three to twenty-four inches or more silhouetted around our body. You may have seen someone's aura as a faint light or glow around their head, especially when they are next to a light-colored wall. So far we have discussed three kinds of Earth energies: water lines; ley lines; and ley-line power centers, with yin, yang and balanced (yang-yin) fields. There are other kinds of Earth energies that also affect us. One example of such a power center is at kivas in the Southwest United States. When visiting Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, I stood in the area where a kiva, now ruined, had been. I could feel power and a yin, telluric force field. The kiva was a sort of magnetic center into which energies were drawn from the surrounding countryside, and then drawn upward into a concentrated vortex. This feeling of power as sensed by our consciousness and body is the key thing to seek at any sacred place -- it is the effect of the field on our consciousness that really counts, not the name, technicalities or details. When you visit ancient monuments or sacred places of any kind, be aware of and experience your level of consciousness. Feel how you change in mood, what kinds of thoughts you have and what "comes to mind." If you have negative feelings or don't feel a place is safe or "right," avoid it. Ancient monuments are a blessing because they elegantly mark power centers. In many parts of the world, all you have to do is find a megalithic monument, mound or ceremonial place and you've found an important power center. But what if you want to find a power center and there isn't a monument or ancient place near you? Or what if you are interested in analyzing power centers to find out how they work or how the patterns of Earth energy are manifested? Well, unfortunately there are no commercial Earth energy meters (yet) on the market. Currently, there are two ways to find power centers. One is just to be able to feel them, naturally. I have one friend who can just walk to a power center and say "here it is." People like this, though, are quite rare. The other way to find power centers and Earth energies is through the technique of dowsing. DowsingDowsing (deuten, to declare, douse, to plunge) refers to techniques for finding water or other things by using a dowsing instrument, such as a dowsing rod. The use of the dowsing rod, a Y-shaped forked stick or rod used to find water and hidden objects is probably as old as humankind. The dowsing rod is still is used commercially by many well-drillers and contractors who have to dig around underground pipes and lines. A good dowser/well-driller can find good, pure water 95% of the time. Dowsing is searching for anything by projecting an intent of what is desired and receiving confirmation or non-confirmation feedback through the body, usually by the movements of a dowsing instrument. It is a form of clairvoyance, the ability to see at any given moment what is happening elsewhere. Our senses are really more powerful than we think. Because our physical and psychological apparatus is designed to satisfy our desires, they realize their potential only to the extent we utilize them. Divining is a close synonym of dowsing and gets to the root of what dowsing is all about. Divining comes from the word divinus meaning "of, or by, or for a god, the gods, also inspired by them." Hence, divining is a spiritual practice -- the success of which rests on a divine state of mind. There are many books on the history of dowsing, the exploits of successful dowsers and the many uses and applications of the dowsing technique. I call dowsing a technique, rather than a science, because technology is proven by results and nothing else. Science requires theory, explanation and proof. Needless to say, proof of dowsing in the academic world is slow in coming. Why? Primarily because dowsing is not a physics problem, where the people performing the experiment can be virtually excluded from affecting the results. Dowsing can't work without a person. The circumstances and people that the dowser is operating with have a definite influence on the results. Dowsing is simply a natural tool that enables you to amplify what you are already perceiving, but simply have not bothered to pay attention to before. It is a handle on the abstract world of feeling, intuition and the sacred. Dowsing is a very important technique for anyone working with sacred or haunted spaces. Dowsing can be used to:
Revised February 14, 2000 |