Vincent Bridges

Even in North Carolina, the predawn hours in late December are bitterly cold. A full moon hangs low in the southwest, as if waiting for its appointment with the earth’s shadow. The air is crisp and clear; a faint whiff of wood smoke from the sweat lodge fire sweetens the breeze from the east. The earth seems hushed, as if the animals and the plants, the devas and the landscape-angels are holding their breaths in anticipation. Through the chill, a tangible sense of hope can be felt rising up from the ground.

The People are coming! The quiver runs through the woods. The old raccoon chatters nervously and the wood sprites dance with a wreath of swirling leaves. The People are coming up the hill, a slow solemn procession walking reverently in the bright cold darkness. They pass through the rainbow gate and enter the earth temple, forming two concentric circles among the stones. They are here–as the animals and the spirits know–to attempt something almost forgotten, something that must be remembered if our planet, the planet that belongs to all of us, is to survive …

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By Reverend Vincent Bridges

All too often, our theoretical discussions of Geomancy leave the impression that this is something best left to professionals. However, by being a little observant anyone can become a solid, practical geomancer. You don’t even need to dowse or know how to read a map. Just keep your eyes open on your next walk in the woods and try these simple experiments and observations.

First, walk a few yards off the path into the woods. Roughly face east and just relax. Feel the forest around you. Turn slowly to the north, your left, and stop when you see one of the following: 1) a tree with multiple trunks 2) a clump of unusually twisted trees or 3) a tree with an unnatural growth pattern of any kind.

If you turn about a quarter to the left before seeing one of the above, you are in an energy-rich geomantic area. Turning less than a quarter is very energy-rich. Half-way is normal energy patterning and three-quarters suggests that the area is energy-poor. These are rough estimates, but reliable as a guide. Continue through a complete turn, noting the above in each quadrant.

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by DARLENE, Sacred Artist and Steward of the Land

In 1997, I created this black and white photo montage and called it “Earth Mother.” I wanted to show our relationship with the planet and chose a human fetus growing from within a rock as a visual metaphor.

Geometrically, the human is the natural choice to be caretaker of the land because his geometry is sympathetic with that of the earth. The shape of man’s body is that of five, with head and four limbs. The earth grid geometry is that of an icosa-dodecahedron which also has a direct relationship to the pentagram. Based upon the phi ratio, pentagrams are the most sharable of geometries. Whereas four represents stability, five is a dynamic number. Fractally, it connects the earth with man.

But what happens when the nature’s best choice for the role of caretaker forgets, then denies his geometry? As modern man forgets he is a part of live’s rhythm, inexplicably tied to the health of the planet, he alientates himself. Feeling separate and separated, man feels free to mine and denude the earth of its natural resources. In the process of modern industrialization, the life-sustaining energy grid of the earth is disrupted to a point where maintaining balance is no longer possible. The earth’s self-sustainable regions become smaller and smaller pockets. Modern man has been paying a terrible price. The fractionation of the earth directly reflects the fragmentation of modern man.

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