What is it that we do when we “awaken” a sacred site? What, exactly, are we awakening? This is a question whose answer grows within the cells of my body as I live it, a question reawakened after visiting the Serpent Mound in Ohio.
While it is true that all land is sacred, some land has been used in sacred ways over centuries, making it especially attuned to humans and to experiencing spirit in matter and matter as spirit. There are many ways to speak of these places. Some would call these spots portals, or places in which it is easier to access other dimensions—or frequencies— of existence. The Serpent Mound is one of many sacred sites that suggests that humans were once more aware of this energetic interaction with spirit and matter, using this knowledge and awareness to the benefit of all: improving fertility, mitigating the impact of weather and climate, and healing mind and body.
My own first experience of this attunement to earth energy was as a child. My midwestern farming father was what we called a waterwitcher. He dowsed for broken or stopped-up tiles that drained the fields. We had a family friend who was also a waterwitcher. My father used a coat hanger; Bill used a forked willow branch or peach branch and he located wells. Once he had me hold the end of the stick as he dowsed. I felt a sharp, powerful tug on the stick as he walked over the vein of water. He told me that the stick would pull the skin off his hands if he tried to keep it from moving, and after feeling the strength of the tug, I believed him.
Sites like the Serpent Mound and the meadow and tree circles where I live are crucial in remembering our place in the whole. Awakening to the power of our energetic connection to earth is key to finding a balance that can sustain us all into the future.
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