Earth Energies (Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown)

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Earth Energies

MYSTERIES OF THE

UNKNOWN

Mm£,

Energies

By the Editors of Time-Life Books TIME-LIFE BOOKS, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

CONTENTS Essay

Curious Circles in the Grain 6

CHAPTER

1

The Earth's Elusive

Spirit

16

Essay

Land of the Gods

Living in the 39

CHAPTER

Earth, Air, Fire,

2

and Wafer

50

Essay

The Venerable Power of Trees 77

CHAPTER

A Green and

3

Leafy

Realm

88

Essay

The Art of Feng Shui 113

CHAPTER

4

Toward a New World-View 118

Acknowledgments 138

Bibliography 138

Picture Credits 139

Index 140

by airborne crop watchers, these circles appeared in 1987 in a wheatfield near Winterboume first reported

Stoke, in Wiltshire. One observer said the counterclockwise swirl of the largest, ringed circle-

which measured eightythree feet across— was so pronounced that "you could visualize it spinning. " The field is located three miles southwest

ofStonehenge; investigators claim that nearly 95 percent of England's known crop circles lie within thirty miles of the ancient monoliths.

B5r y' «

Curious Circles in the Grain pon circles,

one

pilot said

he nearly

fell

first

seeing the strange crop

out of his plane. The circles

most puzzling phenomenon of the era, appearing literally overnight throughout the world and proliferating almost exponentially: two or three a year in the 1970s, growing to 750 by the end of 1990, five hundred of them in that year alone. Within the circles, flattened grain plants remained alive and unbroken— as if the stalks were softened, bent to the ground in swirling patterns, then rehardened. Many have been surrounded by concentric rings or have been part of increasingly intricate designs. Investigators have pondered myriad theoretical causes (page 20)— from herds of crazed hedgehogs trampling in circles to UFOs touching down unobserved. A few crop circles have proved to be hoaxes. But most, including these photographed in the southern English counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire, have seemed a mute, living testimony to what we have yet to learn about our planet and its sometimes mysterious energies. The tramline-like tracks in the pictures are tractor paths made by farmers.

became

the

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This triad of crop circles

was found at southern Hampshire's Corhampton Downs farm in

1988— the

third time in

four years that circles had appeared on the farm. Repeat occurrences are not unusual, but the circles rarely form in

exactly the same configurations each time. In this instance, the barley with-

each circle was flattened into patterns of seven concentric rings; then certain plants apparently righted themin

I

selves, forming forty-

eight spokes radiating

I

from the circle's

center.

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UDLE

These Jive symmetrically placed circles appeared

1987 near the village of Upton Scudamore in

in

Wiltshire.

Ofparticular

note to one crop circle investigator was the unusually high incidence of UFO sightings reported near the village. It has been suggested that this cluster could be the imprint of an alien spaceship come to earth, with the largest circle representing the body of the craft and the four smaller circles its landing gear.

'<*

r>*

Researchers at another 1987 crop circle, this one

near the village of South Wonston in Hampshire, inspect the swirl offlattened plants at the center

of the circle. Measuring about fifty feet in diame-

.

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ter, the circle was first reported by a boy bicycling home along a nearby highway. Although the rape crop planted in the

field is brittle

and snaps

stemmed

easily, few

of

the plants within the circle had been broken.

*t

/

i

I

In 1988, a fanner harvesting his wheat near Clatford,

Hampshire,

discovered the two ringed circles pictured here. The fanner, whose handiwork is apparent in the

denuded section offield at the left of the photograph, invited crop circle researchers to take a look before he destroyed

the evidence. Some observers have suggested that the circle at top, surrounded by one ring that is intersected by four

smaller

circles,

resem-

bles the shape of a traditional Celtic cross.

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CHAPTER

1

The Earth's Elusive Spirit

idging by the tumbled and half-buried remains of crude stone houses dis-

covered

in the part of

Northern Ireland that

Neolithic farmers from the

was once

called

mainland of Europe probably

County Tyrone,

settled in Ireland as

long ago as 4700 BC. Within a thousand years they were erecting shrines to their deities

and

raising massive

earthwork burial mounds. And by approxi-

mately 3500 BC, they had succeeded

masterpiece— a complex

in building a

mounds

of extraordinary multichambered funerary

not far from the city of Drogheda in

at

Bend on the Boyne,

There, along a wide curve of the

Eire.

immense man-made hillocks command a view of the valley that surrounds them. Their domain is strewn with other, smaller barrows, as well as numerous standing stones, called menhirs, and circles of ancient mega-

river,

three

liths-all of

them testimony

to the valley's long history as a sacred ground.

The greatest of the monuments has been compared to the ruins reaction

it

elicits

from

some

visitors

at

Many

visitors.

shape of the monument, which chaic structure;

is

is

the

mound

called

Newgrange, which

Stonehenge because of the profound first-time observers are struck

queerly

modern looking

even say that

it

restored in recent years;

from a distance, looking as this wall, the gently

sion.

A

it

such an

ar-

bears an uncanny resem-

blance to a flying saucer. The stone face of one side of the fully

for

by the

mound has been

gleams with bright white quartz and shines

if it

might be the body of a spacecraft. Above

rounded, grassy top of the

hill

completes the

UFO

illu-

small doorway located at the center of the wall gives entrance to a

narrow, sixty-two-foot-long passage, which leads to a large interior chamber that the

is

topped by a corbeled stone

ceiling.

main chamber. Above the entrance

opening that

is

shaped

like a

Three smaller rooms surround

to the

mound, a second, smaller

transom window admits

light to the

outer end

of the passageway.

So old are the ruins

at

Newgrange

or ceremonial practices that once

that precise details of the religious

were carried out there are well-nigh im-

possible to discover. Archaeologists agree, however, that the

almost certainly a bustle of activity during the winter day, precisely at

dawn, the rays of the

rising

sun align

mound was

solstice. For

on

that

to penetrate the entire

length of the

passageway and illuminate the rear wall of the

great chamber. There, they

fall

upon stone

that

is

covered

with distinctive spiral-shaped carvings. These symbols— in addition to being lovely to look

at-have

attracted the at-

tention of anthropologists as well as historians because of their

appearance

in

many

other megalithic sites across the

mound must have

earth and stone to produce such a vast

many months, perhaps

involved

army of

years, of

work by

laborers. And, in the preliterate era in

a virtual

which New-

grange was constructed -a time characterized chiefly by the advent of agriculture,

and otherwise by rather modest achievements-it was a prodigious accomplishment to

north of Europe and from Spain in the south to Scotland.

have predicted exact

The exact meaning of the

spirals

builders succeeded in doing. Perhaps equally impressive

termine, but the carvings

seem

cult of the Great

has proved to

difficult to

de-

be associated with the

Mother, or Mother Goddess. This archetyp-

was

success

their

al figure

of myth has turned up in one form or another in

clearly the

every primitive culture throughout the world. The

ple they

goddess

is

nurturer of It

did not take

any great leap of the imagination

historians to suppose that

some

stice,

faithful

local

on the morning of the winter

their

sage or religious leader probably led the

the buried remains of

ancestors, they observed the great

moment

of renew-

With offerings and recitations, the community celebrated

the astonishing its

for

gift

of rebirth as the sun once again began

slow passage toward summer and held forth the promise

of a

new growing

How

terribly

moment must

have seemed to warrant such an enor

mous

construction project. The basic

design of Newgrange

is

not par

ticularly complicated, but its

execution had to require an extraordinary effort. Simply

moving the necessary

of people

building.

ly

this

who

What

is

cared deeply about the temalso clear

is

that the ancient

awe the cosmic energies they monument and that they identified closein

with those powers.

Although the Newgrange design emplifies

one of the

is

rather simple,

who

ex-

erected the

great stone circles and turned massive boulders

create natural spires

it

central obsessions of the prehistoric

megalith builders in Europe. The people

on end

were preoccupied with the need

to

to en-

sure the continued fecundity of the earth. They believed that the energies contained in nature

and

were of a sacred

that those energies derived from a literal

gether of heaven and earth.

season.

important that

engineering a lasting network of un-

in

farmers of Ireland held

sol-

from the farms around Newgrange into the central

chamber of the mound. There, among

al.

work

were

honored with

all life.

mound

derground passageways and chambers. Newgrange was

virtually

celebrated for her central role as the source and

celestial alignments, as the

One

of the most

origin

coming

common

to-

sym-

bols of this union revealed in the world's myths of creation

is

the shaft of the

ciple penetrating

the

mound

and

male

fixing in place

of the female princi-

ple. Precisely

such an image

was given form

at

grange, where the is

prin-

Newmound

penetrated by a stone

Early morning light finds its way to the usually dark tomb chamber of the megalithic cathedral called Newgrange, as it has every December 2 1 for the past 4,000 years. The Irish monument's precise alignment with the sun during the winter solstice suggests a ritual purpose. Historians believe that the monument builders had hopes of infusing the spirits of the dead with a renewing energy

passageway and the earth

recharged every year with

is

which people attempted

light

and power emanating from the heavens.

human

before and after the Neolithic era, the sense of identification

ganizing

forces inherent in the earth.

was never

stitutionalized of these

was

there

limited strictly to concern about the planet's re-

just as sure a

kind life

tradition

sense that animals, plants, and es-

tific

one another and with human-

lesser beings, but they

biological machines.

It

was

were

far

all

human was extended

now

geomantic systems

is

the Chinese

A more recent and up-to-date scienaddresses many of the same concerns is

is

have concluded

scientists

seriously threatened as a habitat for

human

and forgotten knowledge of

earlier

the viewpoints

life,

not to suggest that

thrown

as well to geological

many

off their scientific

biologists or meteorologists

ways

commune

to

with the

have

spirits

regarded as purely inanimate objects,

tivists

and some devotees of the so-called New Age

many

philos-

but in centuries past they were often thought of as some-

ophies have done precisely

how

community have become so alarmed by what they take

being conscious

versed with, cajoled, prayed

came from ^shared

life

spirits to

be con-

and offered thanks. They more obviously living creato humanity by a commonly

is

who

cient

Greek deity

to

to

globe—

an oddly antiquarian outlook on

new hypothesis, called Gaia, after an anwho embodied the tradition of the Mother

Goddess, holds that the entire planet

direct interaction with the

little

have gravitated

the planet. Their

hopelessly foreign to the majority

normally have very

in the scientific

the gradual increase of temperatures around the that they

of people today, especially to urban dwellers

But

thinning of the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere and

force.

uch an outlook

that.

be warning signs of global catastrophe— in particular, the

to,

the earth, as did the

and were thus linked

.tures,

They were

entities.

is

of trees and mountains— although a few environmental ac-

such as stones, mountains, caverns, and brooks.

features,

These things are

of the oldest and most in-

times have seemed newly important and compelling. This

cul-

deep-rooted sense of being partners on the earth

tures, this

with things not

One

shui.

discipline that

that the earth

living

many

In

spirit.

offeng

for or-

settlements so as not to interfere with the

As a growing number of

more than mere

believed, in fact, that

things possessed a sort of conscious

with the forces

the branch of study called ecology.

a mutually transactional world. These other forms of

in

were

live

be expressed as principles of

to

with the well-being of the earth exemplified at Newgrange

pecially trees interacted with

and

geomancy. People have long established guidelines

lationship with the sun. For people living close to the land,

:;;:

came

of the earth's spirit

Judging by the archaeological evidence of civilizations

to explore

is

a living organism.

I

Proponents of the

natural world. But the ancient sensibility of living with the earth, rather than merely on

reared altogether.

To

this day, for

it,

has never

the earth in this

new

theory hope that by conceptualizing

manner they may

find a

way

off the path to

environmental calamity.

example, the Navajo

Indians of the American Southwest consider themselves to

be neither more nor less important than a sagebrush or a puff of wind.

The various

esteemed

ture are

itself is

regarded as a

spirit

special areas

strongly

this spirit

is

to

and the preservation of hu-

depend on a return

at least

hope

to

an

earlier world-view,

in the fact that the traditional

has already proved wonderfully durable.

living, nurtur-

outlook

In the fifteenth

century, alchemist Basilius Valentinus gave expression to living entity

emerged or was

were thought of as sacred

places.

And

ideas that might just as easily have been the musings of

with an un-

or energy has circulated far and wide.

where

life is

there

mother.

The view of the earth as a changing

the Gaia theorists are correct

man

and things of na-

Navajo belief as "holy

in traditional

people," and the earth ing, long-suffering

plants, animals,

If

felt

the

The

philosophers

most

ways

earth ited

in

19

is

in

ancient Egypt or Neolithic Europe. "The

not a dead body," Valentinus wrote, "but

by a

spirit that is its life

and

is

inhab-

soul. All created things,

Science Takes Aim af an Old Observed in fields worldwide, most often in rural Britain (pages 6-15), crop circles like the one below

still

the rise of popular interest in

phenomenon. To date, perhaps

the

The Mowing - Devil

await a

\ Or,

definitive explanation. In

and Puzzling Phenomenon

Strange

NEWS

work of

the devil.

More

re-

cently, other speculators

have

Hartfordflejna »

Trge Relation of

a

{hire.

Farmer,

who

blamed outer-space visitors— a theory that has drawn little support even from UFO research organizations.

Theories linking the mysterious swirls to field animals, birds, or

unknown

plant vi-

Bargain!

most one

is

developed by British meteorologist Terence Meaden. According to his "plasma

oue of

1678, the broadsheet at right

suggested the circles were the

the

plausible explanation

\

vortex" theory, rotating mass-

es of positively charged

air,

created by winds flowing over hills,

can twist crops into any

of the reported circle patterns

Bri-TT!r!f303LLnm

(right).

Meaden's theory might

also account for the glowing lights

and

tingling sensations

reported by

some observers

ruses have fared no better,

near recently formed

because such organic causes

Even the plasma vortex theory, however, fails to explain all. Yet to be addressed

fail

to explain the sharply

defined edges of the crop forms.

And human hoax-

is

circles.

the vexing question of

how

though probably responsible in a few cases- is an unlikely

a vortex— acting in a few brief

explanation for the hundreds

break plant stems that snap

of crop circles reported before

like carrots in

>*A

<:i'2*u

seconds— could bend but not

human

hands.

T

••

Any crop circle theory must account for the varied formations (above) observed in Britain, France, Canada, and a number of other countries. To some, symbols like the cross at bottom left suggest hoaxers at work.

The orientation of the flattened grain may vary as much as the shapes it forms. Twisted clockwise, counterclockwise, or in a giant (bottom, second from left), the grain may also radiate from the center or He in two opposing directions (bottom, right).

S

minerals included, draw their

had performed her work and

strength from the earth

tired

spirit is life,

and

stars, all

it

it

This

spirit.

shelters in

it

some

its

in the

forebears

myths

come

to

brings

all life

many

In

life

good

kind and bountiful.

their

hymn was more

was

because away.

is

to China, Africa,

is

One

on

noted

of the best

ing,

mer

first

to

come

but Gaia

made

its

became her equal

was

hills,

and the

ties

Thou^

said to address

it

may have been

was marked by am-

that the earth

mother

storytellers

such as Hesiod and Ho-

By the time the goddess

rei.

•

that succeeding

of their newly acquired subjects by killing off or deni-

of the goddess lithic

and Homer,

been shunted

off into lesser roles.

times,

was once anything

but subservient.

In

role

Neo-

most societies envisioned the earth as female.

The connection between the earth and a human mother's

womb

direct

and even present

seems

and by a host of other archaeological discoveries, the

familiar

who would

It

As made clear by the ruins of Newgrange, however,

as places for the gestation of seeds

too obvious to ignore. In

in

humans through orades, Gaia

faded into the background as a

to take

rather than invented by them.

the goddesses had

sea.

logic within her do-

and thus began the

stones of Zeus and the ma: the affairs of mortals.

to

be

Greek theology was dominated by warlike male gods, and

hot union with Uranus, she brought s,

and

grating the earlier deities. By the day of Hesiod

cover her on every side. Then

imposed a certain

forth her children the Titai

that she

liefs

offspring continued to haunt the world,

main And then, from

life

failed to

supplant the ideas of their predecessors or squelch the be-

things tolerable by bringing about a counter-

vailing order that

that

The poet went on

to give

is

all

blessed in

generations and conquering dynasties routinely attempt to

body

earth, bore out of her

Gaia gave birth to the mountains, the

Chaos and

it

familiar to scholars of mythology.

into be-

things, including night, death,

the starry heavens, called Uranus. These to

feeds

men

formed -changes that had come about through a process

Greek mythology, Chaos was

and were great enough

"who

reached Greece, her image had been drastically trans-

and next came the wide-bosomed Gaia. From Chaos

and uncertainty. But Gaia, the

all

Queen, are

the Greek view of the goddess

myth was inherited by

ac-

photo of the earth and the ad-

emerged many troublesome

mythology: "Thine

bivalence, the reason

monition "Honor Thy Mother." In

in

If

the Greek Gaia, the goddess of the

their cars with a

O

however,

back from mortal men."

pay her homage today when they display bumper

stickers

by thee,

positive,

ponder a feature of the earth that has never

and the

movement. Environmental

...

their children, blessed in their crops."

body, and

accountable for both the pain and the

From Scandinavia

of the deities

own

world exists

in the

of the oldest myths of creation, a female deity

earth adopted by the ecology tivists

it

A Homeric

told of the earth, the

it

mother of us

but that also insisted on taking

Americas, myths of such a goddess abound.

known

that

terms with

to the earth directly out of her

in living.

him

to

she represented were not always

on a planet that

ever thereafter she

seemed

that helped his

irony for these ancient races

bestowed

It

both the goddess and the world

existence on earth. The crowning

that they lived

rather unkindly thoughts

about Gaia.

womb." The alchemist's words reflect a message handed down to him

known

chronicler of these deeds, harbored

gives nourishment to

the living things

re-

field.

Hesiod, the earliest

nourished by the

is

from the

principle

She

was

leolithic era.

22

fact,

seems

that this feminine

much earlier, during the museums are replete with tiny

well established

The world's

it

was apparently Pafig-

These two Neolithic artifacts reflect the ancient preoccupation with the powers of the Mother Goddess. The 4,300-year-old Maltese figurine at left is headless but certainly not sexless. Its belly-cradling arms and abundant proportions clearly bespeak fertility. The steadfast and colossally pregnant figure at right is from Turkey and dates from about 2000 BC. Childlike faces on its belly

account for its exaggerated girth.

seem

urines from that long-ago time that the importance of the goddess.

Venus of

relics is the

A

to

demonstrate

cultures.

The most famous of these

lieve

Up

Willendorf.

4 3/8 -inch statuette carved out of stone, the

Venus

To

this day, for

until that time,

nant. In

many

has accentuated breasts and hips that leave no doubt she

was thought

was

dwelled

a symbol of

that she

was

fertility.

Scholars argue over the likelihood

many

also the image of a deity, but

own

are con-

little

room

masks.

women, and some

artwork of

In the

this period,

of

masks generally

"becoming"

deities,

if

suggests that by 7000

only for the sake of

BC

the earth as a goddess

ritual.

at the very latest, the

mother world

Evidence

times.

into

words

dian holy

man Smohalla

tury. Railing

against the

settled in his native country,

"a sin to

wound

mother by working the earth?

of

Am

my mother?

at agriculture.

to take a knife

I

But then,

when

again into her bosom. You the stones

Must

bones' Then

I

I

.

.

You ask me

I

die,

me

she

to dig

it

will

me

to cut the grass

was

crop the hair of

of the earth, her flesh the

for

me

soil,

and her

womb

of

part of the

Eliade,

who who

who

arrived

swamps, and caves, delivered

to their

storks, frogs, fish,

and other animals, has

sur-

to help

women who

human

it

are seeking to con-

was

fairy tales or

procreation. "The reality

among Europeans

is

a mistake to dis-

naive explanations not so simple," he

of today there lingers an

obscure feeling of mystical unity with the native earth; and this is try

not just a secular sentiment of love for one's coun-

or for the ancestors buried for generations around the

village churches."

and the corn and

Eliade believed that

men and women was

I

mother were the rocks

embedded

in the

psyches of

a profound conviction that

same way

human

all life

that trees,

flowers, or streams arise from the earth. This deep-seated

hair the vegetation.

was expressing

in the

become

some languages, he noted, means "earth-born." More-

ultimately springs from the soil -in the

the bones of his

Parallels to the ideas he

rivers, grottoes,

wrote. "Even

my moth

To Smohalla,

actually

miss such ideas as simple

up and take away

dare

to

from the earth have had almost

directly

ceive children. Eliade insisted that

to dig in

how

be underground,

all

legends are beliefs involving special rocks or springs that

into the breast

white men. But

past in an une-

Rumanian scholar Mircea

"man"

have the power

can never again enter into her body and be

them, to get rich

for

mothers by

common

not gather

two-

vived in twentieth-century superstitions. Related to these

In-

mutilate her flesh so as to get at her

born again. You ask sell

tell

.

and plunge

it

just

we know.

word

from

who had

Smohalla asserted that

or cut, to tear or scratch our

its

over, a great deal of folklore regarding babies

is still

their feelings of at-

the Europeans

name

to

universal distribution. In

at the close of the nineteenth cen-

ways of

to

whence they emerged

emerged

the

No one ever put

earth,

it

myths of many Native Amer-

and the Zuni,

thology, observed that stories of human beings

nour-

tachment to the land more passionately than the Sioux

this century,

The

evident in the goddess myths that have survived into our

own

in the creation

great

thought.

The potency of the concept of earth as mother

considered preg-

wrote extensively on the history of religion and my-

ishment, power, and protection dominated religious and artistic

And

worship of

birth,

is

Europe well into

ground along with or as part of the earth's

humanity were said

signi-

had become nearly universal. And

and the female body as the source of

Polish peasants be-

volved, embryonic state. The bodies and souls of

period of perhaps five millennia, the analogy between

the earth

seems, the earth

humanity spent a considerable part of

realistic de-

them are wearing

wearers were impersonating or shamanistically

fied that the

for a

These carvings are

for skepticism.

pictions of pregnant

many

that the souls of children yet to be born

in the

spirit.

it

rural areas of

ican tribes— the Navajo

vinced she was, and a slightly later class of figurines leaves

example,

a sin to turn over the soil before the end of March.

it

instinctual

are founu in other

knowledge, which he described as a "cosmo-

biological experience," gave people 24

an overriding sense

-

The Enduring My§iique of fhe Pyramids

Thousands of years

after their

con-

Karl Drbal invented a cardboard pyra-

struction in the Egyptian desert, the

mid

pyramids continue to inspire legends of mysterious energies trapped in stone. Although none of the wonders attributed to them has been substantiated, the pyramids have shown that— at the very least— they have extraordinary powers in firing the imagination. Long an important symbol for members of the Society of Freemasons, a pyramid was incorporated into the Great Seal of the United States by eighteenth-century Masonic patriots. The image still appears on the back of

to Drbal, blades stored in his container

the one-dollar

bill.

y"j s*—'

/

to

Swanson.

\

azine that she slept with a miniature

<

pyramid under her bed. Swanson claimed that the pyramid had such an effect that she generally awoke tingling "with every cell in

Researchers

The

)

Angeles

\

augmenting the powers of prayer. power have not always borne out the enthusi1986 experiment tested the ability of pyramids to improve the quality of wine: A astic claims. In Lille, France, a

/\ \

\

f

quantity of wine

was

divided in half

and one group of bottles was kept

^/

^

J *A

The wines were then judged by a panel of experts who rated them on a scale of 1 to 4, and the pyramid-enhanced vintages edged out the ordinary ones

i

^^ ^f^->, ^ ll \ / (f (

went a process of mummification. He

j

/

claimed to have used a small

by Bovis's

___=;

*^v

C

J

to preserve snakes,

\

^-~—~Jv ^»<

.

.^

."'':

experiments, Czech radio engineer

_

—

-=~

^

by a score of 2.43 to 2.24. But this success was mitigated in a second trial, when the wines from the pyramid lost by a margin of 2.49 to 2.56.

—

=-

_^^^^^S^^^^^^^B

k .i

25

for

several days in a Plexiglas pyramid.

V,

died inside the Great Fyramid under-

lizards. Inspired

Los

firm, theorized that the struc-

Objective tests of pyramid

I

Antoine Bovis visited Egypt and be-

and

E.S.P. Laboratory, a private

tures served as "geometrical amplifi-

\

shape. In the 1940s, French occultist

frogs,

similar

ers,"

intrigued by the pyramid

wooden pyramid

made

subjects meditated in hollow pyramids.

^

later revised

that stray cats that

my body."

in California

assertions following tests in which

By the time 1925 had come and

came convinced

she told Time mag-

S

gone, students of the paranormal had

become

In 1973,

f

In the 1800s, British

1874— an estimate 1914, 1920, and 1925.

later

ported by American movie star Gloria

led to predictions of the world's

in

indefinitely.

j

fy

an ancient unit of length they called the pyramid inch. Calculations based on this abandoned system of measure-

end

According

Equally beneficial effects were re-

i

Egyptologists discovered references to

ment

would stay sharp

(

j

for storing razor blades.

"-.'».'

given a perfect ear of corn, referred to as

of being rooted to the place of their birth. In

infant

Eliade's opinion, the claims of this intimate

"mother corn." To the Hopi,

this ear

sense of belonging were far stronger than

symbol of the Great Mother;

it

any possible demands of nationality or even family.

Among

be buried

other things,

in their

it

made people

it

have thought

own

provisioned with supplies for an

axis,

ing,

species,

whose

ble event,

is

it

Perhaps what

bound

a practice of sacrificing pregnant

And

is

most

Central America and in parts of ancient India. In

tell-

were

some

cultures, the

good mother

it

earth

was believed to represent I

entirely likely that humanity's intimate

sense of identification with the powers of the earth

may have been inherited by the earliest representatives of our own species, Homo sapiens. [reat many customs and folk beliefs

justice or

stemmed from

primal sense of connection and

There was

from the related concept of human mothers serving

one long-

social con-

science

Among some

.

standing tra-

among

tribes in the outlying regions of Australia, Africa,

dition

China, and South America,

Slavic peasants,

it

is still

considered ad-

visable for mothers to give birth directly

ground A variation on to place her birth,

this

newborn on

theme

is

on the

so as to recognize the baby's true parentage.

ifter its birth.

As

for instance, to call

upon the earth as a witness

for the mot!

the earth immediately following

the Hopi Indians today, a child

is

part of the

not

sows

to Tellus, or

a few cultures, the observances were

man. This was apparently the case among the Aztecs of

Joseph Campbell's suppositions are correct, then

as surrogates for the mother earth.

in

taken to an extreme and the sacrificial offerings were hu-

If

this

necessary to offer sacrifices to the goddess

such as an earthquake or a drought. The Romans

in the fetal position.

seems

different cultures

and the

the fact that the skeletons

frequently discovered

Many

on an east-

afterlife,

carefully oriented

presumably because the sun was reborn

however,

spiritual

the land or o f smoothing things over before or after a terri-

made

that path every day.

its

sapiens neanderthalen-

Terra Mater.

on

meet

of the earth in hopes of assuring the continued fecundity of

75,000 BC. Neanderthal graves were frequently

west

to

misbehavior of their children, and the Great Mother was

never considered an exception.

time on earth lasted from perhaps 200,000 to

tombs were usually

then completed by

is

dawn

and

as a spiritual

find-

a distant ancestor to our

sis,

integral part of her life

its

not merely a

Mothers, of course, will occasionally grow angry at the

womb

Campbell cited as evidence certain

Homo

is

father, the sun.

men and women

the concept of burial as a return to the

ings in the graves of

an

The naming ceremony

guide.

believed that one of the very earliest abstract

ideas entertained by prehistoric

for rebirth.

is

of corn

valued by the recipient throughout

taking the infant outside at

Another great student of myth, the popular

was

is

long to

homeland.

American scholar and commentator Joseph Campbell,

is

named

until

disputes relating to land or property.

its

Among

litigant

twenty

naming ceremony,

in all legal

point of view with a dirt clod

head, the allegations were

the

26

If

a

solemnized an oath by stating his

on top of

deemed

his

incontest-

able. Similarly, certain African tribes relied to

avenge

all

upon

breaches of morality. They believed,

rock ledges and groves of trees. Mountains have attracted

the earth for

exam-

which

their share of attention,

understandable, perhaps,

is

was deeply offended by the spilling of human blood and would demand a sacrifice on the part of the offender as a means of atonement. A village official who was specifically devoted to such matters

Calvary-the place outside Jerusalem where Jesus was

would assess the penalty, which might involve the

crucified— was the topmost point of a cosmic mountain and

ple, that

the very spirit of the earth

a goat or some other domestic wounded person or the family of

The

ing in such adjudications. the angry

mother

since they give the appearance of connecting the land and the sky.

killing of

there

the site of

junction of major biblical events, because the cross of Jesus

sole concern

was

man been held sacred by some

have also been special places

in

feel that

he was born

every part of the

burial.

is

known

ple of Nepal,

who

It

presented a neat con-

on top of the very grave of the

redeem. And the peak that Westerners

to

Mount Everest and view as a

conquered

cultures,

they were in tune with the energy or

birth

Christ could be planted

to pacify

world that were singled out because they seemed to help people

and

animal. Interestingly, the

earth.

the entire planet has

Adam's

revered as places where the

earth. For Christians, Golgotha, or

a murder victim got noth-

call If

Many peaks have been

heavens recharge the

as

physical challenge to be

Chomo-Lungma

cherish

it

to the native peo-

as the mother mountain

of the universe.

A common

spirit

among many

trait

sacred places

is

that

of the earth. Like Newgrange, these locations were thought

they are set off by clearly marked boundaries that distin-

of as places where the powers of heaven and earth inter-

guish the holy ground from the profane. In the view of Mir-

mingled, and for that reason, they were held to be sacred.

cea Eliade,

came

to

be

known

as places where godly

transmitted to humankind.

It

was through

wisdom was

the

coming

that people learned to feed

many

all

lievers to

to-

life.

The

rituals celebrated

presume

It

mys-

allowed be-

that the

coming

together of the divine and the mortal,

which had consecrated the

themselves and ensure their ac-

the necessities of

essential to the

tique of a sacred ground.

gether of the divine and the mortal, or so the story went,

cess to

emphasis on putting bounds between the

two spheres was

Quite often, these sites took on additional significance as they

this

on

place,

was

holy grounds re-created the process by which such

knowledge was acquired.

was not

site in the first

a one-time event but

instead an ongoing circumstance

that continually filled the place with

Sacred places run the gamut from locations of ex-

special power. Certain Indian tribes of

traordinary natural splendor to rather ordinary sites such as

North and South America have had a longstanding custom of returning to the sites that tion to origin. in

be

were deemed by

tradi-

their ancestors' places of

They would make

hopes of restoring

this

journey

by

their vitality

tapping the primal source of existence.

As Eliade interpreted the •\

.

holy place of the Indians

|

exhaustible source of

practice, the

became "an

in-

power and sacred-

ness and enabled man, simply by entering

Two bronze Etruscan statuettes from the fourth and fifth centuries BC depict a priest and a plowman, both of whom had roles to play in the planning for a new city. The priest was instrumental in determining a propitious site and conducting rituals to placate the

spirits

of the

The plowman contributed by digging a trench where the walls of the city would be built. Offerings were then placed in the furrow earth.

to bring the city into

27

harmony with

the earth.

Clothing shed by pilgrims in a symbolic act of casting off their old selves litters the slopes below Tibet's Mount Kailas. Long a fixture in Sanskrit literature, Kailas is sacred to Buddhists and Hindus alike. "One walk around Kailas washes away the sins of a life, " a Western believer once explained. He added that by circling the mountain 108 times, one could achieve nirvana in this life.

to

it,

have a share

power, to hold communion with

in the

the overall effect of the place

the sacredness."

most

In

tive state of

human

and

folklore,

hallowed

beings but are

somehow

religious traditions

places are not chosen by

revealed to them. Sometimes the holy ground

for

example,

is

a sacred site for

desert of central Tunisia.

known when a

It

some

With people going selves into the chasm,

Hamma,

was

sects, located in the

made

said to have

is

El

pointed

sixteenth-century Muslim ascetic stopped

end of

thrust the

his

walking stick into the

When he awoke

soft

man

took

tripod,

ground ad-

he should remain

the place to pursue his spiritual fulfillment.

have cropped up

tales to

some

in Christian lore

bit

more

active searching

havior. Apparently,

some

and has sometimes revolved animal be-

holy sites were determined by

beast

was

diately

it

might

for several days.

eventually hunted down,

and the scene of the

for

many

that

seemed

to

decades, a lone

which the sages had devised

to protect her during

The Greeks believed

that the

pneuma, wafting up out of

Even

was none

in the later

pneuma and

in

the at

the

other than the Mother God-

years of the oracle,

when

the spe-

cial

powers of the place were reevaluated and

the

male god Apollo, there remained a sacred precinct near

the

main temple

that

was

attributed to

given over to veneration of the

earth goddess. In Christian times, the oracle at Delphi

was

set

and numerous attempts have been made

the

years to explain

was sacrificed immewas thereafter consid-

partially

it

offering

And so

site.

When

vermin. In other cases, an animal such as a bull

wander where

hopes of harnessing the powers

revealed knowledge

signs as seemingly trivial as the absence of insects or

loose to

in

least— that the ultimate source of both the

rise

dess.

in

that Delphi

chasm. They were also convinced -in the early days

of that faith's most cherished shrines.

around portents that have been discovered

soon became obvious

the form of a vapor, or

in

The discovery of other sacred places has depended on a

it

threatening to hurl them-

prophecies that emerged from Delphi were transmitted

Comparable

and have given

mad and

spells of divine possession.

the next morning, he

this as a sign that

orator Cicero de-

prophetess took her position by a specially designed bronze

discovered that the stick had taken root and sprouted buds.

The holy

a gentle, medita-

a potentially dangerous place. Priestesses were ap-

be haunting the

itself

there to rest for the night. Before going to sleep, the hermit

jacent to a spring.

was not Roman

the

scribed as a "furor."

discovered

is

through the intercession of a saint or a hermit.

mind but what

its

influence.

into disuse,

fell

in the intervening

Many people have

at least

accepted the original explanation of the Greeks,

which attributed the oracle's power

to natural exhalations

ered to be special or hallowed ground. The most famous

of fumes from the earth set free by heavy rains or minor

an animal was the great Hellen-

earthquakes. The great Scottish anthropologist and mythol-

..holyr^ace ever revealed by

:5^&$?p6-at -

ogist Sir

Delphi.

S^y
first

came

oracle.

to

When

to discover the

powers

in the

would approach the edge to investigate,

of the oracle at Delphi, Plutarch

all

the world like people possessed"

and

and attempting

"prophesy the future." Although Delphi would become

nowned

as a wellspring of predictive powers,

it

seems

as to say that

fit

seat for a sanctu-

compared

its

attenuating

fortunes to the exhaustion of a silver or copper mine. Cicero,

on the other hand, would have none of

that:

"You

might think that they were talking of wine or pickles, which

fJi^^oo, reportedly experienced strange reactions, acting "for

far

above Delphi and the deep glen below

ary and oracle of earth." In an effort to explain the decline

of the ravine, they would bleat and leap about

The curious shepherds went over

cliffs

might naturally mark out the spot as a

chasm

be the seat of the famous Delphic the flocks

James Frazer would only go so

the "frowning

ccording to the chronicler Diodorus Siculus, goats

go

to

off with time; but

what length of time can wear out a

power divine?"

re-

Once

that

29

revealed, by whatever means, sacred places

were generally distinguished from

In times of trouble, during

their

outbreaks

surroundings by

of disease or threats of invasion, people

Delphi

enacted a

some sort of enclosure. was given its temple; Newgrange was protected by its mound; Stonehenge and many other sites were set apart figurby

atively

ritual in

which they walked the

perimeters of their walls and thus rein-

voked the protective powers of the

their great circles of stones. In

ers.

barri-

Such procedures were commonplace

addition to symbolizing the continuing

during the Middle Ages in Europe and In-

presence of a divine force, such enclo-

dia as well.

seem

sures that

preparations before approaching

the holy ground. There culiar

elsewhere

observe certain

to

was always

a pe-

to

Moses:

"Come

is

The swirls on this old English omphalos stone symbolize the earth 's

site. In this re-

carried

In a

ceremony

their local clergy in a pro-

doing so, they reassert the belief that God

somehow

has

serpentine energies.

specially blessed their land

and can be counted on

not nigh higher,

whereon thou

habitants. But the tradition

holy ground." Removing shoes or washing feet

ceremony

two examples of modern carry-overs

outside a temple are

is

cession around the parish boundaries. By

put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place

standest

Europe.

in

accompany

ers

gard, Mircea Eliade recalled the Lord's

words

similar tradition

called the "beating of bounds," parishion-

sense of danger associated with ex-

posing oneself to a sacred

A

out to this day in parts of England and

have served as a warning

was necessary

it

ritual

to

to the

is

to protect its in-

clearly a holdover from the

carried out by their forebears to ritually lay claim

powers of the

earth.

of the ritual "gestures of approach," as Eliade called them.

sense of the power or danger inherent to a sa-

The

cred place

may have been

it

or

is

In Eliade's

"if

it

cred boulder or high priests performed a ritual at the center

human

new human

monu-

of a shrine, they

They were

establishment

is

to

be

new

real, the

with the

this,

of the universe.'

historians believe,

center of the sacred

was by

site,

and

it

bit

One way

is

of walls

as important as their val

sive fortifications. Walls divided the areas in

same

effect.

cosmic order by bargaining

of the earth and the sky.

One

scholar defined

ble

and

habitats

and

activities into

invisible world." At

of such measures

was

harmony with

one time,

the visi-

belief in the necessity

nearly universal, and vestiges of

practices that arose in those times survive to this day, most-

was

ly in

the form of religious ritual

and

folklore.

defen-

According to the old view, any change that was im-

some sem-

posed upon the natural landscape could be expected to have serious repercussions. Even small transgressions,

areas in

such as carelessly situating a building or a well, could lead

blance of the cosmic order established from still

less the

which human

organization had been imposed on the land and

which chaos

of doing

entirely possible that in utility

trying to sustain the

spirits

"human

building a wall around the

ancient times the presumed magical

considered every

"

were seeking more or

such mediation, or geomancy, as the attempt to put

dwelling

town must be projected by means of the construction

ritual into the 'center

over the forc-

on many of the same ceremo-

view, every

he wrote,

their control

es endeavored to redirect the influences of a prominent sa-

At

treated as a sort of mystical re-creation of the world. "If to last,"

impose

settle-

cities.

trappings that had sprung up around the holy

ments.

was

to take

early civilizations tried to

which the peoples of

in

es of nature. Throughout the ancient world, whenever sag-

around

point in history, the construction of

ments began

many ways

some

practice of building walls

nial

Walls were only one of

related to the ancient

th<

reigned

to

30

unforeseen and-quite possibly-unpleasant conse-

"Oyez, oyez, the glove is up," proclaims the town crier, opening an English country fair in medieval fashion. He carries a glove-topped omphalos pole, symbolic of a sanctuary for peaceful trade.

I

<\ %FY4

I

A

I an

-

Iy

*sry

quences.

A much-needed water

supply might suddenly go

might mysteriously go barren over the

dry, or a pasture

course of a winter. For the farmers of the British

common

down through

practice

deep furrows marking the boundaries of the under the

The custom seems

cultivation.

same impulse

around

fields that

was

of the place and

are occasional breaks in these ancient ditches

where the

no

readily ap-

plows

for

Some scholars have suggested that the gaps may have been intended to serve as passageways for the spirit of the earth, allowing it to move unimpeded across parent reason.

trace of the Another mancy can be seen

influence of primitive geo-

in the care that ancient build-

ers took to orient their shrines ative to the points of the

and domiciles

to hold significant cosmological

were associated with the corresponding

quadrants of the night sky (and thus were linked to astro-

many

logical portents as well). In

societies, there

were

mythological guardians assigned to each quadrant of it

became

the task of these care-

takers to protect the earth. In the

Hebrew

tradi-

tion, for

example, the angels Michael, Raphael,

Gabriel,

and Phanuel were assigned the

sponsibility of upholding the throne of

re-

God

and, with him, the central pillar of the uni-

was Each quadrant was

verse. In Icelandic lore, the entire island

divided into four sections.

made up

of three subdivisions, and the seat

of government, which Althing,

was

was known

as the

situated at a fabled geomantic

center of the land.

An archaic ritual is carried on in Saint Michael's parish of Oxford, England, as robed university faculty and students begin a ceremonial perambulation called the beating of bounds. Originally, the rite

These clearly

in

some

cases, the

reflect the old beliefs in the

was performed

nity's mystical

lin>.

invaders, either p.

serve a

commu

\efetae against '

>j

spiritual.

impor-

tance of having a center and of carefully orienting the structure relative to that center.

churches

is

The basic plan

in

many

old

a circle or a square set out around a central

marked by

was taken from

a stone called the omphalos. This term

the Greek

word

for

"navel" and carries

connotations of birth and beginnings.

The idea of an omphalos predated by many centuries the building of medieval churches in England,

conveyed several

different

The omphalos was,

first

and

meanings throughout

divine.

As such,

closely related to the idea of creation

attempt on the part of the tie

itself to

has

it

history.

of all, a permanent, immobile point

tween the human and the

rel-

compass. The four

cardinal directions— north, south, east, and

west-were long believed

and

pagan temples. And

on the earth's surface that would serve as a

the landscape.

the heavens,

structures.

point

lifted their

old churches

and towns.

England were constructed on

in rural

were

recent times, archaeologists have noted that there

implications and

Many

the shapes of their buildings

Christian architects preserved the floor plans of the earlier

its fertility.

farmers appear to have

geomancy planned

the center that practitioners of

the remains of

have sprung from

spirit

was always from

plow

The furrow not only expressed

ownership but magically "fixed" the

In

it

to

that induced people to place enclosures

their sacred places.

thereby ensured

to

Isles,

Ages

the Middle

It

the sources of

link beit

was

and was an

human community to life and energy. An

omphalos also marked a building as a sanctu-

ary— a place of peace and organization. stone, but tree.

it

could also be a

Whatever

its

pillar,

chaos.

wooden

was

usually a

pole, or

even a

form, the omphalos conveyed the stability

of a culture and the order that It

a

It

was more than

a

humans had wrought

mere

out of

act of anger, therefore,

when Charlemagne chopped down the Saxons' omphalos pole, which was known to that people as the Irminsul. The conqueror was delivering an unambiguous sign that the old order was gone forever. For centuries, geomantic principles such as building

around centers and aligning

were

at the heart of all city

to the points of the

compass

planning as people came togeth-

er in ever-larger settlements. The Egyptian hieroglyph signi-

marked by different

its

diversity, the quarters of the Ideal City

Egyptian belief

many

were

from one to the next. Ideas very similar to

seem

to

this

have sprung up independently

in

parts of the world. Four-part designs are the funda-

mental planning schemes

for cities as diverse

as Teotihua-

can, Baghdad, Winchester, Washington, D.C., and Beijing. In the

Chinese

capital, the

emperor was ensconced

at the

center in the Forbidden City, site of the omphalos. Beyond the royal enclave

surrounded by the

was

the secular

city,

civilized provinces

which

in turn

and beyond

was

that the

areas as yet entirely untamed.

equal parts.

The peculiarly Chinese form of geomancy known as

to represent the Egyptian belief that a city

feng shui that helped give shape to Beijing has had a pro-

fying the Ideal City

The symbol came

was a microcosm of the earth, which in turn was a microcosm of the entire universe. And just as the earth was

was a

circle divided in four

found and durable impact on China. Feng shui embodies a

complex melange of traditions.

It

religious, philosophical,

and mystical

incorporates astrology, analogy, ancestor wor-

ship, esoteric

symbols such as the White Tiger and the

Green Dragon, and some highly practical procedures

town planning and community hygiene, as well as to the elusive "breath" of nature,

as ch 7, or

qi.

which

is

for

attention

also referred to

Winding a sinuous path across mountains and valleys, the Great Wail of China a testament to the efficacy offeng shui, the ancient Chinese art of bringing human

(left) is

structures into

harmony with

their natural surroundings.

Feng shui principles also were invoked in planning the Bank of China's seventy-story skyscraper in Hong Kong (below). The building is shielded from the influences of its urban surroundings by sloping glass walls

and by pools and leafy groves

at its base.

Over the centuries, feng shui enabled the people of China to ensure that their

empire, which

was and

is

the

opened

in the

technological progress;

it

impediment

was

And

it

is

to accept

dampened

rant's physical layout

recommendations Kao agreed

innovations such as railroads

specific

improving the

for

building,

whole— feng

gan

been an enormous

recent years, a retired Chinese-

crew

since,

to

at the center of the

and within weeks business be-

to improve. Mr. K's, as the place

called,

to China.

to hire a construction

new doorway

people are convinced that — on the

In

and issued

building's feng shui. At Lin Yun's behest,

their readiness

build a

boon

a prac-

The professor imme-

diately set about analyzing the restau-

for

and modern highways. But numerous shui has

he arranged

Hong Kong, who was

titioner of feng shui.

preserving the natural shape of the land

has sometimes

this despite enthusiastic re-

by Lin Yun, a Chinese language

scholar from

certainly true

concern of the Chinese people

extremely slow

at first

to attract. In frustration,

for a visit

nation's Cultural Revolution

of the late 1960s.

build— and

aged

to

particularly

backward thinking during the

decried as

Communist that the

to

restaurant in February

was

views from the few customers Kao man-

the observance of feng

shui has represented an

new

a

1983, business

most visually pleasing. There have

when

the propri-

and around Washington, DC. When Kao

world, has also always remained one of

been times

is

etor of several successful businesses in

one of the

most highly populated landscapes

who

taurateur johnny Kao,

is

has done a thriving trade ever

and Johnny Kao now

insists that a

American medical doctor, whose west-

feng shui consultation be part of the plan-

ernized training had led him to eschew

ning process for

all

that

even vaguely smacked of supersti-

tion,

undertook a serious study of the

ditional art of

to advise his California

to

improve

adjustments ings.

Kao's experience

their luck

planners,

how

by making minor

traction lies

tory as

"It

works," was

he could say. He was not alone terest in this traditional art.

peror,

agency

is

the Board of Rites.

currently enjoying a substantial revival in the United States

and Western Europe.

One

an

more

official

their teachings

all

self-professed beneficiary of the old magic

who have

in

city

taken at-

feng shui's long his-

"science" in China. For

were

consulted as a matter of public policy and

in his in-

Feng shui

architects

several centuries, feng shui experts

the source of the

magic's efficacy, the doctor admitted that

he did not have a clue.

and

up the study of Oriental geomancy, the

to their physical surround-

When asked about

an example of

the benefit of individuals. For the growing

clinic

neighbors on

is

band of Western environmentalists,

a steadfast propo-

nent of feng shui and established a

his business ventures.

the application of feng shui principles for

tra-

Chinese geomancy. He

wound up becoming

all

to is

35

in

The sole

established a governmental

what was then Peking responsibility of this

ensure that the feng shui perspective was

count

res-

who

were promoted by the em-

in all

public-works projects.

called

body was

taken into ac-

Ley lines mapped by Alfred Watkins (inset) include one that leads to Saint Peter's Church in Hereford, England. Believed by some to follow the earth's lines offorce, the leys cross the sites of several Christian churches built over the ruins of pagan temples.

The Chinese geomancy

is

not, for the

acterized by exotic prescripts or beliefs.

mundane

with the

plant trees, offices (see

the earth

how

It

most

that guided funerary practices

part, char-

has more to do

to design livable interiors for

By the time of the Sung dynasty, which lasted from

homes and

Chinese

to

960

is

seem

to

its

revealed

when

would

be a generally upbeat and hopeful philosophy, but

make

in building

homes, laying out

into the countryside

have a direct

effect

is

named

Ernest Eitel wrote a book

that brought the Chinese

intimate part of daily

Sung dynasty.

Its

upon the whole of

that the Chinese looked

became

as a thousand years ago, dur-

much

hands should be fashioned

in

shapes of dragons and

one of the most potent of the to

has long been held true that invisible forces giving

shape

and

rise

an individual's fortunes was the continuing influence of

fall

ideas-they were

fluence over the land

from

proper sites for the burial of ancestors. Once such sites

mancers expected

were

spiritual

served for

in

conducting the actual burials.

It

was

to

be ob-

heads pointing

male

to the north

-a

Where such

institution-

and were exercised as a matter of custom

in funerals.

For example, during the

marked by scholarship and

AD

Han dynasty, an era centi,

ntrol

that

and

mal flow of

And

qi,

codified,

and

is

to

power and

produce the

is

to the teachings of this

a distinct difficulty in trying to in-

mainstream Western perspective, should be explainable

the rules

for

36

opti-

most Westerners

and the cosmic

breath with a scientific understanding of nature.

that ex-

outward

the ever-present spirit of the earth.

tegrate concepts such as the earthly qi

was

or

lines crossed, the geo-

therein lies the problem for

system. There

220, the principles of feng shui

were systematically collected and

lines of force

to find places of particular

who have been exposed became

in the

resonance.

The

direction associated with the

Before long, such considerations

tended from 207 BC to

and emitting

ultimate goal of feng shui

principle.

alized

their extremities.

the practice,

example, to lay the bodies of the deceased with their

everywhere

more than mere symbols

living geological beings, exerting their in-

the Chinese already attached great importance to finding

were detailed prescriptions

it

human

of their own. The

life

tigers discernible

of the land were

that person's ancestors. Centuries before the birth of Christ,

located, there

this idealistic vision,

response to the forms and

ancestor worship.

it

their country as

forces of nature. In the eyes of the geomancers, moreover,

further,

the natural landscapes took on a

China,

had

affected

It

the goal that everything set in place by

however, to one of the most ancient of Chinese practicesIn

China.

The influence of feng shui had become so pervasive

on the fortunes of

roots stretch back

to the at-

and flower arranging.

believed to have emerged as a full-blown little

geomancy

life in

one great sacred landscape. Within

methodology perhaps as ing the

By the nineteenth century,

everything from funerals and weddings to road construction

people

the local population

Feng shui

overall order of

tention of people in the Western world, the philosophy

and carving roads

cities,

a British missionary

become an

laws at the root of

their discipline. In their view, the decisions that

natural objects.

in

on feng shui

feng shui devotees are also quick to point out that there are risks involved in ignoring the natural

on the

nature and sought meaning in the numerical proportions

women

perfection. This

were several discernible branches of feng

of which emphasized subtle concerns about the

natural landscape. Others focused

hands of human be-

on the part of ordinary men and

required to bring nature to

126, there

1

some

twofold breath and searched for mythological shapes in the

and sky were created by the great forces of the

ings. Daily activity

to

shui,

tradition,

two breaths— by the yin and yang, the inhalation and the exhalation, the male and female principles-but the work of creation can be completed only by the

to the dwell-

ings of the living as well.

decisions of day-to-day living-where to

pages 113-117). According

were extended

in

all

From

the

forces or energies

terms of the laws of physics. But

admirers of feng shui,

this is

not a great concern. For

mXSi

nm&GcH

wind and water,

that

do indeed lend themselves

ley lines

to descrip-

tion by scientists. Yet there are other influences,

some

new

For nearly two decades, the process of charting

them, there are certain forces, such as the eroding power of

was

a passionate pursuit for scattered groups of

and hobbyists. They corresponded,

freethinking historians

just

as potent in giving shape to the land, that are not so easily

held meetings, and even formed an international alliance of

And every form of power or energy

sorts, called the

from the traditional feng shui perspective,

explained.

that affects the earth

must be

they identified ran for

many ways,

the art of feng shui

is

analogous

practice of acupuncture, a system that arose from the

basic tenets

and values.

pists actively interfere

ergy through the

result,

to the

same

sites of earlier

human body

an

in

effort to bring for

them

body of the

not

into

ot natural electrical

lines

or traders,

practical people

unknown.

In

paths or roads.

crust of the earth -has

been attached

who have

who

people

was

earth's energy

by a Welsh businessman named

Alfred Watkins.

Watkins was an amateur student of history and an av-

number

of

but

somehow sense

particularly strong.

England and Wales, he arrived at the conclusion that

in the

Roman landmarks

had been purposely aligned

discovered in

rows

dead

borrowing the old Saxon term

name for a

has

led,

its

among

many

or a

implications too important to

ig-

to

astronomers and historians search energy, trying to puzzle out the

S(

For

and Alfred Watkins's theory

planet takes- literally -a

some

sites.

of course very difficult to prove,

lor signs of the elusive

the 1920s had arrived at similai conclu

in

situ-

other things, to a renewed interest

cleared strip of land. Apparently, several other Europeans of

siasm

where

other sites -investigators ranging from

dowsers and psychics

"ley" to his

which wa

hand by the majority of historians- was greeted with

the places

They may have

sacred places of the past. At the great shrines of the

Avebury, and

straight

meadow,

It

is

modern-

European megalith builders-at Newgrange, Stonehenge,

in the British Isles

that ran

across the countryside. He applied the

many

supporters find

its

nore.

finding

was

Such a hypothesis

years traveling through the outlying regions of western

ot the pre

engineer

monuments were much

closely attuned to the forces of nature than

ated their structures on such high-energy

explorei of ancient sites. After spending a

to

studied the subject hold

constructed prehistoric

day builders and could

id

wandering merchants

earth's natural telluric energy. According to this theory, the

cred by cultures long since vanished The idea of ley lines in 1921

to

the view that Watkins's tracks actually trace the channels of

to the theory of ley

more

proposed

this

others crossed precipitous terrain where

very ancient times and connecting the sites once held sa-

first

agreement on

would never have attempted

Nowadays, some

coursing through the

These are hypothetical tracks or paths dating from

lines

many

to

is

in

It

and could have been of use

tions

energy-a kind

were

was pointed out that while some of the ran between more or less obvious destina-

and acupuncture are mostly foreign

current that

ley enthusiasts

all

issue.

land.

recent years, a comparable notion of telluric

that the ley lines sim-

ply

achieving the

the Western perspective, they are not entirely

was

Alfredmarked the trading routes of early times, but

Although the mystical currents of energy that are so integral to feng shui

pagan temples. Watkins's theory

acupuncture, doctors or thera-

In

except that the harmony occurs within a build-

ing or over the

miles and passed through eight

more presumed holy places— through burial mounds, monoliths, sacred groves, and old churches built on the

with the flow of various sorts of en-

harmony. Feng shui provides guidelines

same

many

of the lines

or

treated as a whole. In

Some

Old Straight Track Club.

nthu-

hemes of

the

quarters.

the ancients for harnessing the earth's forces.

many others,

the search for contact with the spirit of the

magic power

up the physical world 38

more down-to-earth form, as they elements that make

in the individual

Living in (he land of flie

Gods

itraditionally, the American Indian never even considers the notion "that he is independent of the earth, that he can be severed from it and remain whole," wrote N. Scott Momaday, himself a Kiowa. "The earth is sacred. ... It is a living entity ... he is bound to the earth forever in his spirit." When Native Americans speak of the sacred earth, they mean more than just soil and rocks. Their concept of the hallowed land includes plants, animals, the sky with its sun and stars, as well as weather phenomena. In this world-view, humans must not disturb the balance of the elements or disorder will result.

And

yet there

than even

this

is

more

to the Indian belief in the earth's

power

age-old message. Native Americans have long held

certain places to be especially holy, suffused with a mystical, spir-

power. The Hopi Indians say these spots are energized by a spirit named Palongawhoya beating on a drum; the vibrations of his drumbeats surface most noticeably at the holy itually tangible

One area

San Francisco Peaks, revered by both Hopi and Navajo, was revealed in a geological study to have a physically tangible special energy: an exceptionally strong telluric places.

in Arizona's

current, the electrical flow through the earth's surface generated

by the planet's magnetic field. A possible explanation is that rocks in the area have unusually low electrical resistance. Nowhere are Native American sacred places more spectacular than in the Southwest. There the lives and souls of the region's Indians have long been intricately connected to formidably beautiful landmarks like the ones on the following pages.

39

Wind-Carved

Towers of ftie

Navajo

Spiri(§

B

Fecause its towering wind-carved buttes resem-

man-made

ble

structures,

European- Americans

named

this stark

and

Monument Valley. The Navajo, who have known it longer and beautiful place

far

more

intimately, call

Land of Room Enough and Time Enough. it

In their tradition,

the

vast expanse of flatlands

and tall stone formations, which straddles the UtahArizona border,

unpopulated

is

not the

territory

it

appears. The Navajo say that

each of the buttes

occupied by

its

own

is

dis-

tinct spirit and that the whole valley is sacred ground. Navajo shamans still say prayers and leave

offerings at the formations

of particular spirits they

wish to appease or whose assistance they seek.

40

41

The Hying Rock Thai Rescued an

Indian Tribe

fl dark volcano-spewed mass worn into its present shape by winds,

Mexico's Ship Rock

New was

named by EuropeanAmericans for its resemso

blance to a sailing vesse

But the Navajo

call

the

1,400-foot formation Tse

bit'a'i-rock with wings.

They say their ancestors once sought refuge from attacking enemies atop the rock, which at that time

was from

located its

When

some

distance

present position.

the Indians prayed

for deliverance, declare the

Navajo, the rock suddenly

sprouted wings and flew across the sky, carrying the tribe to safety at the

place where

it

now

stands.

Sacral Lair of flic

Spider Woman

Soaring 800 feet above the floor of Arizona's Can-

yon de

Chelly, Spider

Rock— the formation

at far

right— is considered by the

home of Woman. They say

Hopi to be the Spider

she helped create them

and assisted

their emergence into the fourth

world, the last existence

before an

Armageddon-

like

purging that will lead

to a

new

cycle of worlds.

The Navajo call the prominence at left in this picture Speaking Rock because of

its

mouthlike

They sometimes threaten misbehaving cleft.

children that Speaking

names Woman, who snatch them away and

Rock

will tell their

to Spider will

leave them

on top of Spi-

der Rock forever.

43

The Waler§

an Enchanted

oi

Canyon

Hlavasu Canyon, with cascading

falls

its

and lush

vegetation, provides a startling contrast to the rest of the arid

Grand

Canyon. The Havasupai Indians,

who

trace their

ancestry to the clairvoyant

shamans of the Colorado River Yuman, have inhabcentu-

ited this oasis for ries,

using the water to

irrigate their little

patches

of vegetables and

fruits.

They consider the canyon, and especially the springs that feed the creek and falls,

ly

to be sacred, regular-

making

offerings of

tobacco, peaches, or corn.

The Havasupai say

that

the canyon walls used to

close in and crush anyone

passing through. tells

One

who went

into the

canyon

looking for reeds to

arrows.

began they

story

of two young boys

When

to close

make

the canyon

on them,

wedged two long

juniper logs

between the

walls- which, the Havasupai claim, have been held

open ever

since.

e-

w®

^ mA .i-ttit

Jfif-

Bringing Turquoise to ftielaos Fount of LUe

I he

frigid,

turquoise water

of Blue Lake, high in

Mexico's

north.

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

is

believed by the

Taos Indians to be the source of all life and the final resting

place for their

souls. In 1906, the lake

and surrounding lands were taken from the tribe by the U.S. government and made part of Carson National Forest. In 1971,

decades of disruption and desecration, the sacred lake and 48,000 acres of wilderness were returned to Taos Pueblo ownership -and by some after

accounts

An

just in time.

Indian legend says that

if

the Taos people should

"someday be forced

to

leave their homes, or

they should by their

if

own

accord give up their pueblo

and

their land,

then

the world will end/' Each :he Indians

make

pilgrimages to the lake, tossing in bits of precious

turquoise as offerings to the sacred

N^

j* k

n

*

\

M

The Rainbow Bridge Thai Turned fo Stone

Rainbow

Bridge, at 309

feet the highest natural

arch

in

the world,

the focus of a

became

whole

reli-

The Navajo say the bridge was formed when a gion.

spirit

heard the prayer of

another supernatural being,

who was

trapped by a

He hurled down a rainbow, and as the flood.

threatened across

spirit

raced

to safety,

it

it

turned to stone beneath his feet

For centuries,

adherents of the Rainbow religion trekked to the

make offerings when the Glen Canyon Dam made bridge to

and

pray. But

the once remote site easily

accessible by boat,

came

it

be-

too crowded with

tourists for the

Navajo

worshipers, and the practice

faded away-although

the faith

may

still

exist.

48

A Window at toe Center of

toe World

Ihis stone formation with a hole in

its

center

was

Tseghahodzani— perforated rock— by the

called

Navajo. But

its

location

near Winslow, Arizona,

was known as

Ni"alnii'gi

(earth's center).

A

spring

beneath the rock was one of four sources of water used in the waterway ceremony, performed to secure abundant rain. In 1936, the federal

government chose this site for its Navajo Central Agency. The bureaucrats noting that apart from constructing a radio station,

ing,

administration build-

employee residences,

and a golf course, "nothing further was done to alter the native

continued to Ni "alnii'gi.

scenery" —

call

When

ajo objected, the

was Window

nity

the place the Nav-

commu-

rechristened

Rock.

/>r

49

CHAPTER 2

and Water

Earth, Air, Fire,

hen

psychiatrist Carl Jung

ished friend

was

a rock.

was growing up

most cher-

in Switzerland, his

The seven-year-old Jung, who along with Sigmund

Freud would eventually help establish the practice of psychoanalysis, dis-

covered an agreeable spot on a particular boulder

home and

whiled away the hours there,

in the

garden of his family

childhood reveries.

lost in

A

lonely,

introspective youngster, he developed such a strong affinity for this place for

"my

stone," as he called

it

would sometimes

affectionately— that he

have a hard time remembering whether he was the person

was

boulder or he

A few wooden

years

the boulder himself

while

later,

ruler into the

still

in

and someone was

sitting

on the

on him.

sitting

grade school, Jung carved the end of a

shape of a human

He then found a smooth,

figure.

oblong black stone that had washed up on a bank of the Rhine, and he painted

man,

with secret symbols and bundled

it

an old pencil box.

into

place he

was forbidden

he would

slip

up

to

In

it,

together with the

little

boyish fashion, he hid the box in the attic—

go— and

told

no one of

his secret. Occasionally,

and he came

to the attic to visit the toys,

to equate the

painted stone with his well-loved boulder in the garden. Even

could not be near his hidden treasures, he isfaction in simply

carved

felt

when he

a deep and inexplicable sat-

remembering them. Their memory,

it

seems, helped him

cope with the anxieties of a troubled childhood. In his

autobiography, published more than seventy years

recalled the solace he derived from the

little

wooden man and

later,

Jung

the magic

all difficult situations," he wrote, "whenever had done somewrong or my feelings had been hurt ... thought of my carefully bedded-down and wrapped-up manikin and his smooth, prettily colored

stone. "In

1

thing

I

stone." Only bols, did

much

later,

as an adult doing research on the

power of sym-

he learn that Australian Aborigines and other primitive peoples

kept similar "soul stones," or churingas, as their secret talismans. With this in

mind, Jung developed a theory that the figure he had carved as a boy had

served him as a kaabir, which that the

is

a sort of personal deity.

He also guessed

stom he had taken from the river had infused his handmade, per-

»nal deity

with a spark of the cosmic

life

force.

Jung's childhood fixation on his rock, his kaabir, and

would

his painted stone

He came

greatly influence his later theories.

human

to believe that all

were connected by a or spiritus

collective

mundi— that

beings, living

unconscious-a world

spirit,

arose from the earth. Rocks, water,

and other physical components of the earth were,

trees,

communicate with the world

For Jung, his

spirit.

an

thy for the things of nature reflected

the earth's

life

He believed

force.

in

own empa-

instinctual sensitiv-

that

all

people were

capable of such feelings, and he considered them an important part of the

miss the mark.

All of the

der suitable conditions of heat and pressure, assume forms

corresponding to the Aristotelian elements. ple, usually exists it

like

the

air.

Iron, for

exam-

as a solid-not unlike the soil of the earth.

can also become a molten

But

liquid like

water or a gas

Moreover, locked into every atom of iron

fire.

therefore, Aristotle's four basic elements

and the

sky. Later religions

worshiped

different

physical states that iron

endured and prompted a succession of theories about the

fire,

structure of earth

and

its

explanations of this sort

parts.

was

One

of the

most enduring

put forth in the fourth century

the Greek philosopher Aristotle. All matter, he de-

clared with finality,

was composed

four basic elements: earth,

air, fire,

know that themselves made up

Today, scientists

ments are

nitely smaller building

structures.

and water.

Aristotle's ele

of

blocks called

atoms, which arrange themselves

complex

of varying proportions of

They

al-

so realize that each individ-

atom comprises

dizzying variety of sub-

a

infi-

More

In a sense,

all

other materials in na-

important, the special significance of earth,

and water was taken as gospel

scientists, philosophers,

can

sum up all the can assume, and they sum up as

well the range of possibilities for ture.

an

is

be thought of as the rough equivalent of

gods, but interest in the forces that had shaped the planet

ual

elements known to modern science can, un-

human

these matters. The earliest

in

it

the workings of nature.

worshiped earth deities- most often characterized

of the land

in

interpreted broadly enough, in fact,

provides a sort of intuitively pleasing explanation for

still

that energy

as female— who regulated the visible and invisible workings

BC by

If it is

elements—

2,000 years— did not entirely

for nearly

enormous amount of nuclear energy, and

is

on Jung's views

societies

psychic makeup.

Aristotle's theory of the four

a great deal of historical evidence that sheds

There light

human

and quarks. Yet which held sway

enabled humankind to

his view, the points of contact that

ity to

and dead,

atomic particles with odd names such as protons, leptons,

for

and common

many

people

air,

centuries by alike.

And

in

the course of that time, each of the four Aristotelian ele-

ments came energy or

to

be seen as a manifestation of the earth's

spirit.

None

of the other three elements has been the object of quite so

much

reverence and superstition as

has the earth. Primitive societies worshiped mother earth not only as a

fecund provider and nurturer

whose powers were observable in natural things but also as a living spirit in-

habiting specific earthly

From

locations.

the beginning, rocks of

looked upon as favored resting places for the earth. Consequently, rocks large

with

all

spirit

of the

even

living things,

to

differ-

and everlasting.

wept nor

It

prise. Gradually,

urban complexes were established

locations that had

begun as purely

over to the fact that the center-marking stones were

human imagination. For the who make up approximately

millions of

often placed beneath the earth in caves. Caverns, rock

one-fifth of

sures,

Mecca

mountains,

is in fact

a mete-

represented a darker side of those

spent remains of an asteroid that flamed through

Even before people learned

holds that the stone

was

was given by

gods and

Allah to Abra-

Muslims. Islamic tradition also

all

part of the

now

rests,

framed

Muslims

toward Mecca and the Ka'ba every devout follower of

on a pilgrimage, or

hajj.

all

countless

over the globe turn

to pray, but

Muhammad

it

is

the

dream of

to journey to

The culmination of a

shelter.

wee

earth goddess

to

lore that

touch or kiss the black stone According to the

surrounds the great

worn smooth by have kissed

it,

as

thirteen centuries

relic,

its

Muhammad

is

said to have

who

suggests that ing

it

marks not only the center of

beyond

their usefulness as ready-

from ancient times

gateways

made

to a

lower kingdom

to this

in

which the

her home.

an old legend passed along by

ago

the eyes of Muslims,

far

religions,

Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, partly because of

done some

The black stone has become the Islamic omphalos:

Many

The Apache Indians of Arizona regard as sacred the

surface has been

the lips of the millions of believers

to

rivals for

have perpetuated the belief that the subterranean

one of the two million or so pilgrims who is

animals that were their

to

were invested with a mystical

vaults

year

caves played an

when Homo sapiens developed

day,

Mecca each

to their

shelter within the earth. But

importance that went

walk

names

to give

human development. They were home generations of early humanoids who learned

seven times around the Ka'ba, and the ambition of every visit

energies, caves

forces centered in

a spiritual awareness, caves

made

Mecca

hajj is to

fertile

same

in

evict the fierce four-legged

in

southeastern corner of the Ka'ba.

Five times each day,

grandeur, were viewed

to establish patterns of worship,

important role

house of worship

first

dedicated to a single God. The treasure

fis-

mythol-

the underworld.

atmosphere thousands of years ago. The Islamic

religion teaches that the stone

in

car-

force of the earth. While

life

in their distant sunlit

as natural symbols of the earth's

Saudi Arabia. Eight

in

and grottoes have always been associated

ogy and folklore with the

no object on earth

is

diameter, the sacred black stone

silver, in the

religious sites. In

cases, therefore, sacred stones served as the seeds of ur-

a smallish black rock enshrined in

a sanctuary called the Ka'ba at

ham, the patriarch of

in

some

ries

more sacred than

the earth's

complex of tem-

have exercised great power

the world's population, there

orite, the

germinated

The analogy between omphalos stones and seeds

Muslims

in

first cities

civilization.

particular stones

over the

inches

of early societies, the

expanded and attracted more and more secular enter-

bled.

Some

Mecca goes well

ban

flesh

not: solid, unyielding,

table

in

was everything and-to all appearances-immuwas utterly reliable, and it neither

so elementally as rock. Stone

was

one

ticular cult or religion flourished, its central

ples

be of the earth

human

the

from sanctuaries built at the site of an omphalos. As a par-

and sand were part of the earth's

dirt

were never considered

number

In a

ent races and cultures. Trees and plants, animals and other

inventory, but they

like

beyond their function as religious or ceremonial landmarks.

and small were invested

magic powers by the people of many

sorts of

tance of omphalos stones

kinds were

all

down

cave

In

the

let

world but also the gate of heaven The historical impor-

is

somewhere

their forebears.

in that hilly terrain is

to the interior of the earth.

pass.

And

to this

snake that

will

the winds spewing up from

the underworld through this hole are 52

a cave lead-

The entrance

said to be guarded by a nine-headed

no human being

The story

presumed

to

be the

Seeking to placate the of Lake Barombi Mb ° u> Cameroon, members of a secret Bantu soaety prepare an offering of chicken blood spirits

Many villagers attribute

/M water-related troubles-including the pen odic spread of deadly lake-water gases-to the

anger ofMammy

Water

"spirit living in the lake

who

erected the great stone monoliths

cause of the severe dust storms that bedevil the Indian

cient builders

lands from time to time.

worked with rock because

Early Greek sites in

Many

hand-or so

in or

near caves, whose dark depths

reinforced the impression of a holy

and powerful

place.

But

One

seems

it

henge, at

descent to confront the earth goddess

in

Stonehenge

shells

at Eleusis, not far

from the great

of Athens. This ancient settlement the

renowned Eleusinian

was

writers as

they were

ergies of the underworld

At the heart of the

men and women. Beginning

and

in the sixth

is

stratum of stone eroded,

this

for the

filled If

with

tion that the slabs

to mortal

the builders

were

The immense

century BC, the

circles of

throughout

addition to marking the center of the universe and

ing

human

beings

come

to

in

and mortal realms in

terms with their place

and

is likely

it

that

them

to use in their temples.

stand mute on the Salisbury Plain, attest to the

Similar but smaller stone structures are scattered

and wonder.

have performed many other roles

still

tools,

stones that the Druids erected, and

source of

the divine

fairly straight

were imbued with a special power, and right to put

strength of this conviction.

where

and

awe by the great blocks that nature was a certain logic to the assump-

omphalos at Eleusis came to embody for the Greeks their most profound feeling for the earth as the the

coincide, stones

split

so, there

And

staking out the places

it

stoneworkers of old to achieve with

that

In

which

was part of the seabed. In some of much harder rock formed over

Eleusinian mysteries flourished for nearly a thousand years.

all fertility

Plain in

mostly chalk, a soft limestone

rudimentary bone and stone

had formed.

to bring together the en-

and the regions known

situated

is

been impossible

rites cele-

called the Plutonion,

far be-

edges and faces. The shapes of these slabs would have

goddess of agriculture and

fruitfulness.

reasons that went

cracked to form giant angular blocks with

Roman

their

was a cave, an omphalos stone that was said

for

of the remains of countless tiny seashells. The

and as

brated at Eleusis were performed in honor of Demeter, the

Eleusinian sanctuary

instead.

were deposited as sediment during the thousands of

the chalk,

mysteries, which were

Homer, Plutarch, and Sophocles. The

monument

reasoning goes— the

were chosen

places, however, a layer

city

the site of

described by such luminous Greek and

many

other parts of Britain and France. Brittany

northern France, where the Celtic people lived several

millennia ago,

is littered

with almost 5,000 such megaliths.

Some of them are solitary upright spires called menhirsthe name is a combination of the old Breton words men

helpin the

world. The giant upright slabs of rock at Stonehenge and

meaning "stone" and

other megalithic sites

dence that the menhirs were very carefully situated

in Britain

and France were

originally

enormous astronomical tools for predicting the and fall equinoxes. They helped ancient peoples

parts of

spring

mark

the

when

the sun

changes of the seasons and

changed course

The argument

is

the

sometimes put

,

of megalith

moments

tat

hir

meaning "long." There

is

evi-

to

achieve particular spiritual or mystical goals. Another type is

vertical stones

on word

thehea\

ii:

at

clear that the great slabs of rock used in Stone-

years in which the plain

of the most important religious centers for the

Greeks was

this line of

least,

composed

her cave at Tro-

phonious could never hope to smile again.

One

the only material they had

The underpinning of the great Salisbury

ligious site near

Boeotia.

was

yond mere convenience.

was established at Trophonious, an old reMount Helicon in the Greek district of According to legend, anyone who made the dread-

influential oracle

ful

it

aluminum, or concrete been ready

builders would have probably chosen one of them

of the oracles, including the famous one at

were enshrined

Had

available.

which oracles allegedly passed along the wisdom of

the gods. Delphi,

and Roman settlements grew up around

steel,

the an-

burial

54

the dolmen, which consists of

two or more

crossed by a horizontal slab. Dol

is

the Bret-

The dolmens apparently served as places and were intended not only to protect the for "table."

According to Polynesian tradition, the spiral tattoos on the face of this Maori tribesman will ensure him safe passage to the world of the dead. After death, the islanders believe, a fearsome hag eats the spirals and thereby frees the soul from the body. If she finds no such tattoos, she will eat the eyeballs instead.

V

•y 56

Framed by a rectangle of boulders on a field of white stones, this austere shrine in Takihara, Japan, is intended to bring

Shinto worshipers closer to their dead and to the nature gods they call kami. In Shinto belief, the kami include all manner of natural things and phenomena, ranging from the sun and the moon to animals and plants, thunder, winds, earthquakes, and ordinary rocks.

physical remains but also to provide shelter for the souls

of the departed.

Many

secrets

still

haunt Brittany's ancient dolmens,

which date back thousands of years before the Christian era began, but there

is

nothing dated about the practice of

planting vertical stones for spiritual purposes. Less than a

few hours' drive from the celebrated megalithic ruins Carnac stretches the coast of Normandy. There,

in

at

gleaming

rows, stand forests of stark crosses marking the tombs of

thousands of soldiers

who

lost their lives

during the Allied

invasion of France in 1944. Like the enduring Celtic dol-

mens

of Brittany, these

modern tombstones were

shaped from stone. They were intended guardians of the

spirits

of people

lovingly

to stand forever as

whose bodies had been

returned to earth.

Stones with alleged special powers have been put to

more prosaic uses as were believed Britain,

to

well.

Rocks with natural holes

be magical

in

many

in

them

different cultures. In

such stones or pebbles were known variously as

hag stones, witch stones, and mare stones. A holed rock suspended over a bed was believed from witchcraft and to ward

and night sweats. door,

it

was

tied to a

If

to protect

off nightmares,

the stone

the front

believed to keep evil spirits out of the house;

door key,

it

worked together with

and boulders marked by natural

in

to larger rocks

holes. In the French village

of Fouvent-le-Haut, parents pass their

through the opening

the iron in the

luck.

Even stronger magic was attributed

newborn babies

such a stone, and they believe that

the ritual ensures happiness for the children

against evil spells.

Some

womb,

and guards

of the early inhabitants of India

looked upon stones with holes

the

owners

rheumatism,

was hung behind

key to provide a powerful antidote to bad

yoni, or

its

in

them as symbols of

the

of the world. In their view, the act of passing

body through such a hole was

like a

prayer for regener-

ation according to a great feminine principle. In Cornwall,

England, the so-called Crick or Creeping Stone ated with

more down-to-earth concerns.

back pains believed that they could cure 57

was

associ-

Sufferers with

their

lumbago

if

mend

themselves. Supporters of

they crawled nine times through the hole in this stone, al-

the internal organs to

ways with

view speak of clay as the "living earth" and believe that

their faces to the sun.

Stones have also been associated with

many

regions of the world.

Women

in

power

fertility in

Even

southern India, for

is

in

derived from the living planet that

is its

this its

source.

small amounts, they claim, clay retains the potent

example, believed that they could induce conception by

healing energy imparted to

rubbing against certain holy stones that they associated

earth as a whole.

by the magnetic force of the

it

with their ancestors. Anthropologists have noted similar practices occurring

And

among

To

Australian Aborigines, California

New Guinea and

as late as the 1880s-at the height of the supposedly

curatives had to do with the shapes of the earth's conti-

strip to the buff

nents.

ception, this bizarre ritual

was

carried out in the

company

pharmacopoeia of

place for such

Taken

mundane

internally or

folk

curatives as clay,

way

physical complaints.

worms,

entery,

been prescribed It

has factored

The

In

vitamin

and other minerals

rolled into tiny balls, baked,

mous

the

ologist

were circulated extensively

scientist

was

willing to

named

Alfred

gener called

this

word meaning

And

This

was

go out on a limb

1912 a

in

clay continues to attract proponents

apart.

that

all

the earth's

a vast supercontinent.

and he suggested

ern physicians They believe that

theory of "continental

known

to

German meteor-

enormous body of land Pangaea,

"all earth,"

riod of millions of years, the

among modern Westthe substance somehow

in

Wegener proposed

landmasses were once joined

the fa-

Europe.

in

fossils.

two hemispheres may have once been continuous, but

defend such a radical idea. Then

pills

writings

fact.

question hung unanswered for more than 300

no reputable

essential

eleventh-century Arab "prince of doctors," Avicenna,

whose

together as neatly

tantalizing evidence that the continents located in

and gulped down

among them

fit

have similar rock formations and

The effectiveness of using clay as a medicine was widely proclaimed by early physicians,

the shape of South

ered that the eastern and western hemispheres

treatment of dys-

widely scattered areas of the world

today, clay containing iron is

in the

if

years. In the nineteenth century, scientists discov-

wide range of

ulcers, constipation, cholera, carbuncles,

burns, and arthritis

to health

for a

two continents

of explaining this curious

combi-

nation with other ingredients such as lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard, clay has

produce reasonably accu-

as the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Bacon, of course, had no

mud, and sand. in

to

and placed against an outline of

tilted slightly

the African coast, the

fertil-

medicine has long found a

used as a poultice, sometimes

advanced

puzzling observation. He noticed thai

America was

addition to stones promoting good health and

In

sufficiently

the art of cartography had

maps, the English philosopher Francis Bacon made a

rate

of the couple's relatives.

the

As long ago as 1620, when

become

and dash around a reputedly enchanted

stone near Carnac in northwestern France. To ensure con-

like

one of the most perplexing

enigmas regarding the planet that provides these natural

and the peoples of

prudish Victorian era -childless husbands and wives would

ity,

the scientists of earlier times,

Madagascar.

Indians,

We-

a Greek

that over a pe-

continents had drifted

Most geologists dismissed out of hand Wegener's drift."

In part,

they demurred be-

functions as a strong positive element in flushing from the

cause Wegener was a meteorologist rather than one of their

body

own

there

toxic is

elements that emit negath

e radiations

a paucity of clear scientific

these claims, there

seems

to

does have certain therapeutic

be

little

effects.

idence

Although support of

in

doubt that the

mud

catal

.

I

in

movement

his theory right

helping

up

to ac-

Wegener clung

to

in 1930.

And over

would accumulate

to vindi-

to the time of his

the next thirty years, evidence 68

mechanism

of landmasses.

Despite criticism and even ridicule,

Us modern champi-

ons assert that clay acts as a stimulant or

But they also could see no feasible

count for such a

death

Among

cate his confidence in the theory.

made during that a

was

that period

glow

the discoveries

the astonishing realization

mountain range 46,000 miles long runs mid-ocean

showed

collected by research ships, meanwhile,

ocean bottom

whistling, or screeching.

scientists

some

than

the continents.

Hess and oth-

came

known

be

to

more,

as plate tectonics. According to

for

be-

may

major tremor the ground

may be

it

As

rises

it

and

Some

have proposed

biblical scholars

posed of slightly

of the Red Sea that enabled

in turn,

are

hardened

than the rest of the earth's

embedded formed out of magma,

after

corks

in the plates.

The

ma

cape

plates,

or molten rock, that has

may have been caused by

that continuously circulate through the mantle, the

plates

move ponderously away

sulfur released during

from the ridge, carrying the

fires

One

plates collide, the

edge of one section

driven beneath the edge of the other and into the mantle of the earth.

The gargantuan force of such

cause the continental crust to wrinkle

mountain range, and

it

a collision

in the

usually results in

phenomenon

and

form of a

man

more

Terra firma, the

for

it

1966,

Romans

is

Few

called

it.

And when something

seemingly secure begins to behave the experience

to inspire.

offered

in

so

area

373, the Ro-

how mice and snakes had

days before an earthquake struck. And

site

some

in

of several

critical fault lines, California

has

other recent evidence of animal sensitivity to

tremors. James Berkland

granted than the solidity of the earth.

minutes,

Parkfield, California.

The

things

in the

AD

two days before a quake, rattlesnakes invaded the

town of

that resides in the earth.

is likely

and even ants and bees

naturalist Aelian described

fled a city five

Anyone who has ever experienced a major earthquake can are taken

can sense them before they oc-

hours, or days prior to an earthquake. In

of earthquakes -perhaps the most extraordi-

attest to the feeling of panic

that animals

is

birds, frogs, fish,

an enormous

this brings about the violent

nary manifestation of the energy

an earthquake and ignited by hearth

strange behavior of dogs, cats, horses, cattle, elephants,

buildup of pressure. The pressure can then only be equalized by a release of energy,

amounts of natural gas and

thousands of years, observers have described the

cur. For

may

in Scripture

Sodom and Gomorrah

of the persistent bits of folklore surrounding

earthquakes

is

large

of

some people

or lightning.

continents along with them.

When two

cities

an earth-

the Israelites to es-

and brimstone" credited

with destroying the corrupt

mag-

Moses and

that

for the parting

their captivity in Egypt. In a similar vein,

believe that the "fire

oozing up from the underlying mantle of the

earth at the mid-ocean ridge. Energized by currents of

ten feet or

generating seismic sound waves that rever-

quake might actually have been responsible

crust, "float" like

vibrate like the

falls

twenty "plates," or crustal sections. The continents, comlighter materials

But

line.

berate in the atmosphere.

some

Hess's scenario, the earth's upper layer consists of

of these noises are probably

accompany earthquakes. They

of the sounds that

skin of a giant kettledrum.

ers pulled all the evidence together in a compelling theory

that

Some

grating,

have proposed a much stranger explanation

lieve that in a

In the 1960s, Princeton geologist Harry

of hearing disturbing

caused by the rending of stone along the fracture

that the

much younger

volcanic in origin and

is

tell

sounds such as loud groans, explosions, rumbling,

Samples of the seafloor

ridge.

blue flames hovering over the land, or giant

overhead. They

fireballs flying

like a giant

scar along the bottom of the world's oceans. Geologists call this feature the

in the sky,

who relies on

is

a geologist in the San Francisco

highly unusual data to back up his earth-

quake predictions: He tracks the number of missing pets

an unexpected way,

that are reported in the classified advertisments of local

profoundly unsettling.

Other phenomena associated with earthquakes some-

newspapers. Berkland

is

convinced that animals respond

times contribute to the overriding sense of gloom or fore-

currents generated in the earth's electromagnetic

boding. Survivors occasionally report seeing an aurora-like

his view,

59

changes

in that field

to

field. In

are triggered by erratic pres-

To calm tremors in the earth above, a nature god subdues a giant catfish before a kimonoed audience of smaller fish in this old Japanese print. Modem studies have revealed that catfish swim erratically just before an earthquake, perhaps because they sense minute disturbances in the earth's electromagnetic field.

sures along a fault line in the days leading up to a quake,

and these are enough

wander

off

and get

to upset

lost.

animals to the point that they

By monitoring the flow of

lost ani-

mals, Berkland hopes to detect any significant increases that might signal

earthquake

activity.

James Berkland also keeps an eye on the

tidal

patterns

along the California coast. He believes that the enormous

energy released by the pounding of waves on the shoreline

may

contribute to the unstable condition that exists along

the fault lines. there

is

When

an upswing

his

in the

two indicators coincide -when number of missing pets and ab-

normally high tides- Berkland ble

is

will predict that

seismic trou-

brewing.

Many

and

scientists dispute Berkland's theories,

his

unconventional techniques have caused controversy. Yet

he

insists that

over a period of fifteen years during the

1970s and 1980s his predictions of earthquakes were accurate 75 percent of the time. Perhaps the most impressive verification of his theory

tumn of

1989,

when

was seen

incided with especially high tide:

ea during the

week

the au-

he Pacific

coastlines Berkland predicted that a

quake would occur

in

a high incidence ol lost pets co-

in the

San Fran,

i

A

,rth .

following October 14

Ik

to his

Once deemed the cause of earthquakes, dragons now serve as quake de-

while baseball fans the world over

second-century Chinese seismograph. When a tremor jars the device, a rod tips toward the quake's point of origin;

World Series game, the Loma

Pri-

eta fault near the city of Santa Cruz shifted dramatically, resulting in

earthquake that

opens the jaw of the dragon nearer the epicenter and releases a ball into the mouth of a waitthis

an

killed sixty-seven

people and caused widespread property damage.

ing toad. In China, earthquakes are thought to presage political upheav-

al—a

17,

were awaiting the beginning of a

of a

tectors in this replica

warning, on October

There are several possible explanations for the reputed ability of

belief eerily rein-

forced in 1976, when a

animals to detect changing cur-

devastating quake struck six weeks before the

rents in the earth's electromagnetic field. In

death of Mao Zedong.

and

the brains of bees

pi-

geons, for example, there are trace quantities of magnetite, a magnetic ore, that apparently acts as a kind of internal

as they

fly.

Another

compass

possibility

is

in

helping them navigate

that animals

have some

type of sensory device, not yet understood by biologists, that allows

them

to detect the clouds of electrically

ions that are believed to flow to

away from

charged

the earth prior

an earthquake.

Some

researchers believe that

mals can respond

humans

as well as ani-

to this sort of electromagnetic

energy un-

der certain conditions. Scientist James Beal contends that variations in the earth's magnetic field can trigger respons-

es in the nervous systems of certain people ularly sensitive to

are partic-

such anomalies because of quirks

body chemistry. Beal suggests

shamans of the

who

past

in their

and

that the religious leaders

may have been unknowingly respondmade their decisions about

ing to such input as they

where

to situate

A

temples and omphalos stones.

British archaeologist

named

Francis Hitching

has offered an alternative explanation sitivity to

for

human

sen-

the forces hidden within the earth.

He

points out that certain kinds of rock, particularly crystals

such as quartz, are piezoelectric -that

they give off a measurable

when

electrical

is,

charge

they are subjected to pressure. Hitching

ments pile

man

after this

climbed onto the chimney, the whole

down climber was

of rocks collapsed and Luckily, the other

was

but LaChapelle

simple, or the result of

may

some

later,

was

She wondered

LaChapelle

still

provide the scientific explanation.

considers the

is

possible that they

to

be detected by her body, even

not able to sense the problem at a conscious "is that

tune with the rock and at ease with feel

at

it

rock climbers as rock

if

level.

she

was

"What

one must be

I

in

from a great deal of

it

The others were not as experienced

all.

and they

I,

destabiliz-

may have accumulated

it

climbing to

lat-

the rocks that

If

enough voltage

do know," LaChapelle concluded,

warning

that Hitching's theory

formed the dangerous chimney had been under ing pressures,

if

pure and

instinct,

sort of nonverbal

and she has decided

ter a possibility,

not seriously injured,

utterly mystified.

left

her inability to tackle the chimney

from the rock. Years

the slope.

fell

nothing unusual

felt

until the

slid out."

When

Aristotle declared that air

was one

of the four funda-

mental elements, he did so purely out of respect Without

sential nature:

He had no idea

air,

that air

for its es-

he reasoned, no one could

was

live.

many gases— mainly

a mix of

nitrogen and oxygen, but with minute quantities of argon

and other gases as simply took the

well. Like

most people today,

air for granted:

It

was always

Aristotle

there and

largely unremarkable.

Another way of thinking about the atmosphere, how-

Bathers take the waters at Baia, a Roman spa town north of Naples, in this picture from a thirteenth-century travel guide. Each spring listed in the book supposedly had distinct healing powers. This one, good for the stomach, also "lifted souls and sent away sighs.

ocean of

ever, is as a great

atmosphere's mass notes that quartz types of rock

is

a constituent part of

and therefore

is

extremely

many

traces of

different

common. He

and exposed

to great pressure,

electrical current to

There

is

no

draw

may

clear indication that

human

is

some

anyone has ever been

spell

over mountaineers.

It

may weave

their

All

Approaching a rock formation

known

s

this

ocean of

air is the

subjected to a

more

pounds of pressure per square

inch.

is

its

tides, or

results:

They can

minor ones, such

to cook.

of the

phenomena

that are collectively referred to

a region that

is

known

amount of energy

is

five to ten

miles of the atmosphere,

as the troposphere.

An enormous

gathered, exchanged, and released

Canada.

within this narrow band of the air ocean. Gentle breezes

as a chimney, she

and thunderstorms, the vast sweep of trade winds and the

in

found that she could not bring herself to step onto raise her foot to

bottom of

on which everything

occur within the bottom

a startling experience

peak

level,

as the weather- winds, clouds, storms, rain, and the like —

One veteran mountaineer

that befell her while climbing a challenging

50 miles above sea

fluctuation in this pressure has

minutes

very best climbers often forge an uncanny sense of oneness

named Dolores LaChapelle described

first

as stopped-up ears and three-minute eggs that take five

has long been observed that the

with the rocks they ascend.

the

be serious ones, such as higher

intriguing evidence to

suggest that the tiny electrical currents

lies in

or less constant fifteen

Any

body.

so sensitive to piezoelectric charges as to be able to anticipate earthquakes, but there

latter

have been detected some 18,000 miles above

earth's surface,

give off sufficient

a response from the

it

the earth. At the very

spec-

ulates that quartz crystals, trapped within other rock formations

and water vapor, the

air

existing in the form of clouds. Although 99 percent of the

make

it.

potent

After

the easy

jet

streams

ning, hail, sleet,

first

climber to assume the lead. Mo-

at altitudes of

and snow are

30,000 to 45,000 all

feet, light-

expressions of the ther-

mal, electrical, or rotational energy that flows continuously 62

through the great recycling system of the atmosphere. All

human

of this activity has had a deep effect on the

ways

beings view the world. The intricacies of weather

are a constant source of interest, as

Mark Twain noted

worldwide data-collecting network of sels, airplanes,

day, readings

and ground weather

on temperature, wind,

atmospheric pressure, and

many

satellites,

stations.

ocean vesTwice each

precipitation, humidity,

other weather variables

more than a century ago. Oddly enough, however, most

are received by the National Weather Service headquarters

people today seem to assume that the weather

in

unpredictable

now

as

it

was in Twain's time. come a long way,

science of meteorology has

is

nearly as

now spend

forecasts,

proved.

A

billions of dollars every

typical forty-eight-hour forecast

is

and

fed into

some

of the world's most

powerful computers. The data can then be analyzed by

particularly

the forecasters.

year on weather

and the accuracy of the reports has

D.C.,

In fact, the

during the past thirty years. The United States and other nations

Washington,

steadily im-

now

correct

The science of weather prediction dates from the development

in the

1

700s of various meteorological instru-

ments. The barometer, which measures changes pheric pressure,

was

the

most notable of the new

in

atmos-

tools. For

about 80 percent of the time— a record twice as good as could be claimed in the 1960s. In

tional

making

their predictions, meteorologists for the

Weather Service

in the

Na-

United States depend upon a

Eyes shaded by parasols, women lie buried to their chins in a hot "sand bath" in Beppu, Japan. Each year, millions of tourists visit Beppufor treatments ranging from the sand baths—said to relieve arthritis— to more conventional immersions in mineral springs.

When

thousands of years prior to these developments, however, people relied on less sophisticated methods for determining

whether a day would be teur forecasting

or foul.

fair

And many

methods developed

of the

ferring to short-term fluctuations in the

number

ama-

time are

in that

mate"

still

Some

people, for instance, swear that they can feel

bones when

of hours, days, or weeks.

atmosphere over a

The broader term

"cli-

atmospheric conditions of a region over

refers to the

a long period. Changes in climate that take millions of years

widely observed today.

in their

meteorologists talk about weather, they are re-

rain

coming. This

is

is

to transpire

it

have profoundly affected

more

planet has undergone a

not an unlikely

on

life

earth.

The

or less regular cycle of ice

or illogical claim, because humidity can aggravate certain

ages alternating with warmer interglacial periods. Evidence

physical conditions such as arthritis. Birds figure promi-

from plant

nently in other folkloric forecasting methods. Swallows are

creep across the land indicates that the earth has experi-

swoop

said to will

out a rainstorm together. Geese and

sit

show

other migrating birds

weather than

the tendency to

may be

tems move from west

it,

and moist

air

good indication

on

its

way

in

that there

is

to

be

little

example, the

form Long Island

life

ice.

ice age, a

drop

The exact reason enced by wobbles

the second day of February

One

traditional

water

seem

to

caterpillar's

brown

be. Scientists

have

have much

During the

woolly bears stripes.

fou,

be accurate more

Many

bit,

sun

to

ages periodically gripping the

in the earth's rotation,

influ-

which change the

may be

which cause the planet

Even minor changes

to

variations in the earth's or-

swing farther away from the

in the

amount of

solar energy

reaching the earth are enough to alter climate patterns. Sci-

inter will

ome-

long-range forecasting

for ice

humans

from certain. Glacial cycles are probably

sible contributing factor

ider the fuzzy

n

is far

last

angle at which the sun's rays strike the planet. Another pos-

that particu-

weather predictor that does appear

c

countryfolk swear by

to

in the tropics.

of the Bering Sea created a land

cross from Asia into the Americas.

do with anything other than the weather on

seems

changed the con-

bridge between Siberia and Alaska, allowing

Day turkeys be-

soil

York. In addition to such direct land, glaciers

their

the Thanksgiving

North

This lowered the levels of the seas and

in the level

shadow on

ly

New

reduced the amount of rainfall

that

cows indicate rain or that spiders leave webs when rain is approaching or that dark in

In

on the planet by trapping enormous quanti-

of water in

earth

lar day.

in

on the shape of the

speak a hard winter to come. Nor does the groundhog's

to hold

ice

ways.

reclining

breastbones

to

retreats of glaciers altered the land-

scooped out the basins of the

for

ditions for

less serviceable.

saw

ice.

America,

to

weather-

validity to the old

York City and smothered the

in significant

ties

weather folklore are

Other There seems

New

scape of several continents

effects

is

from the west. bits of

much

Great Lakes and bulldozed vast quantities of sand and

accentuates the

dry air-and fine

Louis and

St.

The advances and

most weather sys-

because of the earth's rota-

to east

through

light filtering

600 million years. At

which lasted three million

land under mile-thick sheets of

holds up well under scientific

it

yellow end of the spectrum. Therefore, a red sky at sunset a

present-day

amateur

tends to reflect the red component of the sun-

air

in the last

years and ended in about 8000 BC, glaciers covered

fair

at night, sailors'

the distillation of centuries of

scrutiny In the northern temperate zone,

Dry

higher in

ages

glaciers as they

of the northern hemisphere. They extended as far south as

weather observation, but

tion.

fly

ice

the height of the last ice age,

in foul.

The popular aphorism "red sky delight"

enced three major

close to the ground before a rain; seagulls

congregate and

and rocks scraped by

fossils

entists believe that the

•

)t

<

M

enormously slow, but steady,

ing of the continents has also had an effect.

As the

nents gradually move, they cause alterations

in the

drift-

conti-

flow of

Energy Points in Red Roch Country For people with psychic powers, writes

New Age world tive

is

lecturer Dick Sutphen, the

dotted with "positive or nega-

power

spot[s]

where a great con-

centration of energy emits from the earth."

He

calls these places vortices

Situated in a region held sacred by

Sedona has inspired a wave of New Age pilgrims. On the occasion of the so-called Harmonic the Yavapai Indians,

Convergence,

for

example,

in

August

1987, five thousand visitors flocked to

Many

of the modern-day

and suggests that they exist in Stonehenge and the Bermuda Triangle. Even more powerful, Sutphen contends, is

the area.

the red-rock country near Sedona,

and

Arizona. There, he and other psychics

with relief from fatigue. Other visitors

have identified four separate vortices: Boynton Canyon (below, left), Cathedral Rock (below, right), Bell Rock, and a site called Airport Mesa, near the

allege a range of paranormal experi-

town's small landing

strip.

town's arts community

is

benefiting

from the vortices. The region's energy, says one gallery owner, "can only be used in a positive way." Those who try to create something negative, he says, "don't stay around. spit

them

.

.

.

The red rocks

right out of here."

seekers report that they experience strange physical sensations. Hot hands feet are oft-heard claims,

along

ences: telepathy, automatic writing,

memories of past

lives,

visions, healings,

and UFO

precognition, sightings.

According to some reports, even the

A full moon

rises

behind

the rugged sandstone spires of Cathedral Rock (above), supposedly intensifying the area's

already potent psychic energy. At left, a rock "energy circle" in the shape of an Indian medicine wheel has been put in place by New Age enthusiasts to surround a point in Boynton Canyon that they consider to be the most powerful of Sedona's vortices.

ocean currents that carry the North

and South

Since the

warm

equatorial waters toward

lative at this point, there is the possibility that earth

poles.

age ended 10,000 years ago,

last ice

now

atures a century from

higher on average than the temperatures today. The results

at least

one long period of exceptionally low temperatures has

of such a change

in-

would include devastating heat waves,

terrupted the current interglacial period. In the seventeenth

long droughts, and a rise

century, Europe endured a succession of severely cold win-

last effect

ters

and

chilly

summers

that froze the

the grape harvests in

famine to Russia and as

far east

trend lingered throughout

much

and may have been responsible

failure

and

in the levels

of the oceans. This

would be caused by the expansion of seawater—

which increases

Dutch canals, ruined

France, and brought crop

temper-

could be nearly ten degrees

in

volume as

it

warms— and

a partial melt-

ing of the polar icecaps.

as China. This cooling

of the following century

If

and the atmosphere have come

the air

to

symbolize the

potential dangers lurking in the future, the third Aristotelian

for the devastatingly cold

when Washington's encampment at Valley

winters of the American Revolution,

element— fire— was the one

troops suffered through their brutal

was the lightning bolt down by the gods and the angry threat of the erupting volcano. It was a fierce weapon of war and the final affront closely associated with danger. Fire

Forge and armies trundled cannons across the frozen surface of

cast

Long Island Sound. Climate historians have linked

the prolonged chill of this so-called Little Ice

porary decline

in the

Age

to a

most

that people in past ages

tem-

of the pillaging barbarian conqueror. But

sun's energy output. The dark smudg-

be a positive symbol of comfort and good.

could also

fire It

was

the reas-

es on the solar surface called sunspots,

suring blaze inside the hearth and the chimerical light of the

wax and wane

aurora borealis.

in cycles,

whose numbers were notably absent during much

of this period. Little Ice

Age

is

streams from the enormous

a forbidding reminder that, even

The

during relatively benign periods like the one that

energy

human

all

beings have enjoyed for the

years or so, climate

is

10,000

last

never truly stable. There

strong evidence, for instance, that a small colony

was wiped out by 1500 because of a change fate befalling future

tions in other parts of the world

dawn

burning of coal and

bon dioxide

oil

which hydrogen

fusion in

has

into the earth's

pumped

genera-

stove burner, id

joining of

is

fire

occurring on earth, the

match or

of a

in the

blue spikes of a

combine

bon, and these are the chief ingredients of such

C0 2

particularly well with

climatologists beI

temperatures one degree Fahn.

has raised world I

expect the trend to accelerate

tion of

io-and they

cal

projections

probk

atoms of hydrogen and

fuels as coal, gasoline, natural gas,

ucts as soot

green

come

converted to helium under im-

billions of tons of car-

my

that

the product of a chemical reaction-the rap-

gradual elevation

scientists exploring this

and heat

oxygen with other substances. Oxygen atoms

reaction gives off heat

made by

light

two centuries ago, the

atmosphere. Atmospheric

in tempi.

is

form of

familiar

in the flaring

traps solar heat reflecting back from the earth, causing a

lieve that this so-called

as the sun. Solar

at the center of the star.

The more

in the

cannot be dismissed. Since

of the Industrial Revolution

known

fireball

and nurtures the plants on which

animals ultimately depend. The

kind seen

The prospect of such a

the earth

mense pressure

climate of that region

the

warms

that

from the sun are products of an ongoing process of nuclear

is

established by the Vikings in Greenland during the tenth

century

depends on the vast flow of energy

All life

and

light,

and wood. The chemical along with such byprod-

(unconsumed carbon) and smoke

water vapor, carbon dioxide, and

term

for this

process

is

car-

common

soot).

(a

combina-

The techni-

combustion, a word that carries

connotations of the explosive forces involved.

hty specu-

Learning to control and 66

make use

of

fire

was

as im-

human

portant to the development of

and language.

tion of tools

It

provided protection from pred-

ural sources of this

and made humans better hunters. Among other

ators

hunters learned to set grass

tactics, early

into traps for easy slaughter. Fire

game weapons

the early cave dwellers used to claim their

of the

homes from

able.

of hearth

light

Some caves show

itation for

fires

then

And

lieve that the behavioral routines of

cation :::

fires

the caves

gy and

unpredictable and destructive mountains

liv-

cooking and eating

in

sat

around a campfire and

fire to

priests

magic and

would

help create the appropriate

certainly

mood

monies, and

fire

most austere

religions today. Candles burn

dles of a

Ritual fire

in all

but the altars of

its

way

spun out an elaborate web of mythology

depend upon a sacred flame

state

bottle of brandy. isfied

fire.

She was

whenever she was angry

Hawaii's largest volcano,

was

with these

made

The princess chanted prayers

offerings of silk scarves

According to island gifts,

tradition, Pele

and a

was

sat-

stopping the lava short of the town

and quieting Mauna Kea.

candles

There

nine can-

is

some evidence

prehistoric times

that the

may have gone

to

Hawaiians

living in

even greater lengths

to

human beings as sacrifimay have been adopted in

their volcanoes, offering

cial victims.

Similar practices

Central America, Java, and Africa as well. Given the capa-

were be-

ciousness of volcanoes and their

that flickered inside

The French saw

under the Arc de Triomphe

when

quickly brought to the scene.

into civil affairs as

Rome, the fortunes of the

to light a perpetual flame

The Hawai-

Kea, erupted and threatened to envelop the town of

appease

the temple of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. fit

light

ritually lighting the

has long found

fire.

of the most active volca-

temperamental goddess of

before the lava and

menorah.

well. In imperial

lieved to

have

deceased loved ones. Jews celebrate

Hanukkah by

Pele, their

some

of these

derived from

Hilo in a river of lava, a princess of the royal family

for their cere-

most Christian churches, and Roman Catholics the festival of

Mauna

reli-

on the

continues to play a part

for the souls of their

in the world,

canic activity. In 1881,

must have played

earliest rituals of

Shamans and

gion.

"<6sed

noes

deity associated with

islands contain

name

is

brought on the earthquakes that often accompanied vol-

can appre-

to the telling of ghost stories

humankind's

mytholo-

with her subjects, and simply by stamping her foot, she

ciate the important role that fire in

whose

said to unleash torrents of lava

jited-tqjhe development of language.

nyone who has ever

ians,

around

among the early hunter-gatherers and thus contrib-

^.shivered

Roman

Vulcan, the

communi-

oral

in

folklore.

they have evoked myths about the gods. The

anthropologists be-

must have encouraged

control and, as a result,

Nearly everywhere that volcanoes are found on earth,

the

human hab-

evidence of continuous

50,000 years or more.

groups around

made

human

have maintained a fascination widely reflected

wild animals that might otherwise have occupied them. The

warmth and

awe-inspiring nat-

energy— volcanoes and lightning-have

never been brought under

fires to drive

was one

Two

the energy released by combustion.

society as the inven-

awesome

destructive

power, such drastic methods of pacification are perhaps not entirely surprising.

in

who

commemorate the Allied dead from the two world wars. And in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery, a

count some 600 active peaks and 10,000 dormant or extinct

similar torch burns at the grave of slain President John

ones. These categories must be considered

Worldwide, the scientists

Paris to

Fitzgerald Kennedy. All of

trary,

these ritual uses of

fire,

functional applications in cooking, providing warmth,

ering industry,

pow-

and waging war, are examples of ways

which humans have learned

to domesticate fire

and

somewhat

to return angrily to

lay dormant for centuries until

life. it

Italy's

Mount Vesuvius

blew sky-high

in

AD

ejecting a cloud of volcanic ash that buried Pompeii

in

two other towns

exploit

67

arbi-

however, since supposedly quiescent volcanoes have

been known

along with numerous

study volcanic activity

at its base. After that,

79,

and

Vesuvius erupted

at

least

shut

once a century

down

for the

next thousand years.

for 600 years before exploding again

and the mountain has been active ever

It

in

then 1632,

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was compared with the blasts of two Indonesian volcanoes in the nineteenth century. In 1815, the explosion of Tambora

much ash -an

of the stuff-that into the

it

estimated thirty-eight cubic miles

blackened the sky

for three days. Lifted

atmosphere and carried on the

blocked enough for several

sunlight to

jet

stream, the ash

lower temperatures worldwide

years to come. Farmers

in the

United States suf-

fered frosts in July and remembered 1815 darkly as "the year without a summer." Sixty-eight years after Tambora's mighty detonation, the volcanic island of Krakatau went up in a blast that

tidal

that

wave

accompanied the Krakatau eruption unleashed a that killed 36,000 people

on the nearby islands of

Java and Sumatra.

since.

barely a pop

ejected so

quake

could be heard 2,100 miles away. The earth-

The Indonesian islands are part of a vast land and Pacific

Ocean seabed

in

especially thin or stressed. This

ring of coast-

which the earth's crust

is

weakness allows magma

from the underlying mantle of the earth to break through

in

places to the surface. Volcanoes form a line along the west-

ern rim of the Pacific Ocean, whereas the eastern rim

made up

in part

is

by the fault-ridden and earthquake-prone

coasts of California and Alaska. The volcanically formed

Hawaiian Islands are actually situated tectonic plate, but they are lying over

hot spot, where

magma

through the crust.

in the

middle of a

what geologists

from the mantle has forced

call a

its

way

Wary of the precipice, a Javanese villager dribbles orange soda into the steaming crater of Mount Bromo (below), one of the sixteen active volcanoes on his island. Local residents hope that such gifts which may also include money, flowers, and food (right)— will keep the sleeping mountain god from stirring.

they crater's

During eruptions,

may return

to the

rim with addition-

al offerings, risking their lives to quiet the god.

In the Atlantic, the volcanically hyperactive islands of

Iceland

sit

tween two

atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, along the seam beplates. Icelanders

have capitalized on one of the

only concrete benefits of living

in

a volcanically active re-

gion— geothermal springs warmed by the subterranean heat of volcanoes. They are able to use the heat of these springs to

warm

their

homes and generate

electricity.

New

Zealand, Japan, and a few other nations that are situated

in

volcanically active regions of the Pacific have succeeded in

doing the same.

While Vulcan's earthy fireworks have offered a few

such advantages along with

their

devastation, lightning has cast

its

unmatched capacity

for

share of fear and fascina-

tion without

such compensatory blessings. Lightning usual-

appears

association with thunderstorms, one of the at-

ly

in

mosphere's most profligate outbursts of energy, whose spectacle can be both terrifying and wonderful. Jane Goodall,

the

famous researcher of chimpanzee behavior, has ob-

served wild chimps at the height of a thunderstorm break into

spontaneous displays of hooting, barking, and running.

The violence of thunderstorms undoubtedly evoked a

simi-

humans, and subsequent

trap-

lar

response

in the earliest

pings of civilization have done

little

to repress our fear-

with good reason. Meteorologists estimate that, worldwide, 16 million

thunderstorms occur every year and that there are two to six

thousand such storms

The maximum current 69

in

progress at any given moment.

in a bolt

of lightning

is

about 20,000

The northern lights work their shimmering magic over an Alaskan forest. Like comets, auroras are said to predict fire and bloodshed. Brilliant displays occurred in Britain and the United States just before those countries entered World War II. Arctic Eskimos regard the lights differently: Auroras are the torches of spirits, escorting the dead to paradise.

amperes, but

two

all

of the electrical energy in the estimated

each year

billion bolts that transpire

out of four people

scratch. Although lightning has the

blow the

nails out of a roof,

dictable.

known

has been

It

power

know

Scientists

lights.

to shatter trees or

Circle but occasionally as far south as

dercloud.

The connection between

was

demonstrated

who

Francois D'Alibard,

is

electricity

ment with the

Occasionally

same

is

lightning,

ships or

St.

London or New York.

by high-energy

particles

his

in

far

these collisions

is

expended

and away the most abundant substance on

earth,

water could hardly have been omitted from Aristotle's grand scheme of elements. Like earth,

America

famous experi-

some

a blend of

and

air,

of the atmosphere's basic

two molecules of hydrogen

Bead

in

light.

to

fire,

it

too

components-

one of oxygen. But with

uniform texture and dependable behavior, water has

down from

tionally

been thought of as the purest element of

all.

tradiIn the

seventeenth century, the Belgian alchemist Jan Baptista van

Helmont called water the prima materia, the fundamental

A

will-o'-the-wisp,

Elmo's Fire

that

on the oth-

seems

to

matter that gave rise to

hover

as giver of

many

another ghostly form of

is

on the wings of airplanes

flying

plume of bluish

all

else

on

The view of water in the beliefs of

different cultures.

cipally the salt

It

is

covered by water, prin-

water of oceans. The

covers an area larger than

light that is the visible

earth.

has been a consistent thread

Three-quarters of the globe

sailing

through storms.

life

all

Ocean alone

Pacific

of the planet's landmasses

manifestation of an electrical charge concentrated on a

combined. Of the 3 percent of the planet's water that

point or along the narrow edge of a metal surface.

fresh rather than salty, only a quarter of that

Ball lightning is a truly

Elmo's

charge.

It

Fire,

it

is

mysterious phenomenon. Un-

not attached to

generally manifests

luminous spheres that

itself in

its

liquid form.

point of dis-

ciers

the form of mobile,

travel across the sky or close to the

no more than a u

ther with an explosive

wells, streams, rivers,

sometimes right

destru< tive, but

it

has

ish all the

nds, disappearing ei-

pop or w

silence. al

through solid objects withoul

I

i

It

The

life

Almost sea, but

is

>wn to pass e

The remaining 75 percent

is

amount

locked up

is

is in

in gla-

and the polar icecaps. Nevertheless, the small percent-

age of fresh water that

ground, along telephone wires and fences. Ball lightning usually lasts

its

lightning appears in

which appears on the masts and yards of

like St

is

to break apart into strings of dis-

flashes.

consists of a ball or

As

year.

an ephemeral blue flame

over a swamp.

un-

electricity

lightning will take a form other than

seem

connected

form of

observed a spark jump from the

the clouds to the earth.

er hand,

The energy generated

in the

and

lightning

the familiar jagged streaks crackling

bolts that

trons.

thun-

752 — in France by Thomas-

who performed

kite in that

lights are triggered

generated

hail inside a

base of a metal pole during a thunderstorm, and by Benjamin Franklin,

is

earthly materials in the upper atmosphere, dislodging elec-

that lightning

1

the sky

fire in

streaming from the sun. The particles smash into atoms of

man.

in

has never

These shimmering curtains of evanescent red and

The northern

to tear the clothes off people

by the violent churning of wind, rain, and

first

it

scientists.

blue appear in winter, usually in the vicinity of the Arctic

without harming a hair, and — in at least one case— it has restored the sight of a blind

by

The most spectacular display of

effects are strangely unpre-

its

well documented, but

doubtedly the aurora borealis, also called the northern

by lightning

hit

is

satisfactorily explained

human

sometimes with severe burns but often without a

survive,

of ball lightning

been

wasted. In the

is

United States, lightning claims an average of 400 lives per year. Still, three

ality

on the

all

enough

springs,

and underground reservoirs

to nour-

is

not frozen

fills

planet.

surface water eventually finds

an equal amount must somehow

to the earth.

More than 2,000 years ago,

way to the way back anonymous

its

find

the

its

author of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes appeared to un-

re-

70

71

A menacing whirlpool,

six feet

marks the convergence of tides and oth-

across at

its

center,

er currents in the Strait of Messina, a channel between Sicily and the Italian mainland. Large enough to swallow small fishing boats, according to local lore, this vortex may have inspired Homer's account of the undersea monster Charybdis, a

terror who sucked ocean waters— and hapless sailors— into her gaping maw.

phantom

derstand this cycle intuitively: "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea rivers

come,

How

is

not

full;

unto the place from whence the

thither they return again."

the cycle actually stayed in balance, however, re-

mained a profound mystery

many centuries. The first philosophers was why the oceans

puzzle for early natural

never overflowed with them.

all

One hypothesis was

for

the world's rivers pouring into that

seawater was driven under-

ground by giant whirlpools before surfacing again as But this only led to a second thorny question:

waters found on earth be fresh

if all

How could

the oceans that

Not

until the late

derstood that rain

is

eighteenth century

answer

the

to

was

it

widely un-

both questions. Sea-

water evaporates into the atmosphere and leaves behind, just as water

is distilled

es in a laboratory retort.

When

again to earth as rain,

it

when

Many observers have

it

boils

its salts

and condens-

the moisture from the seas

replenishes the ground-water

system and eventually reappears ers.

the

were

sources were salty?

their

falls

rivers.

in springs, wells,

and

riv-

likened the everlasting flow of

earth's hydrologic cycle to that of the

human

bloodstream,

which also has no beginning and no end. Most scientists agree that life on earth almost certainly originated in water, perhaps in tidal pools that provided a

warm environment where amino

acids could link together form complex chains of proteins. Such a process may have occurred about 3.6 billion years ago, but another 3.2 billion years would elapse before the amphibians that were to

the

most

the tidal

human hegemony on

distant ancestors of the

ooze

to establish

race crawled from the land.

Ancient peoples looked upon the oceans with a mixture of reverence

and

fear.

The Babylonians, who

along the Tigris and Euphrates country of

rivers, in

what

is

lived

now

the

regarded the ocean as a "home of wisdom" and believed that their sea god, Oannes, stepped forth from Iraq,

the Persian Gulf to bring culture, writing, the

human

race.

The Greeks, on

the ocean as an unpredictable

whose

qualities

th

and tr< were personified by then

and astrology

to

hand, looked on s

adversary, >d,

Posei-

72

73

Raft-bome scientists (opposite) dredge an ancient sinkhole near the Mayan ruins ofChichen Itza in this aerial photograph taken in 1961. Mayan priests hurled living women and children into the pool, beseeching the gods for rain.

don. Every sailor feared the wrath of this capricious

who

deity,

wave of

could with a

winds and crashing waves.

In

Indian lore suspect that

keeping with his destructive

who

also feared as the god

from early missionary accounts of Noah, which then spread

punished

some of the stemmed from an event that actually occurred at the end of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago. Judging by geologic evidence, a natural ice dam from

with earthquakes. Rivers, like the

oceans

to

which they

flow,

symbolized as powerful givers and takers of

life.

all

of the great early civilizations were nourished by rivers, and the people of those cultures worshiped

gods

who

rich

over their farmlands could also be

silt

tive.

So,

spirits

many

cultures

endowed

much

what

is

now

with harmful

story

most dramatically

was many which massive destruction was

cultures, of a great flood in

in the legend,

followed by regeneration. The biblical story of

best-known version of this

tale,

themes contained

mately 2800

to rivers

common

is

account

own

story of

Tigris

some

a flood that rav-

and Euphrates Valley

scholars, based

in

approxi-

myth of Deukalion was, on a devastating

tidal

in

about 1500 BC of a volcano on the Aegean island of Santorin.

may

According to

this theory, Santorin's

wave washed

over the island of Crete and accounted for the sudden col-

have been adapted from a similar legend passed on by the Sumerians. The Greeks had their

oth-

The Sumerian account on which Noah's

wave, or tsunami, that was caused by the explosion

the

but biblical scholars believe

in this scriptural

may have spawned

BC. Similarly, the flood

according to

to

Noah

eastern Washington State.

was based could have stemmed from

aged much of the

The magnitude of the power attributed

that basic

of

er flood tales, too.

as well.

reflected

possible, however, that

Stupendous natural disasters

-

terribly destruc-

their rivers

is

It

melted and emptied the contents of a huge lake across

controlled

the benificent flow of the great streams. Yet the floods that

allowed these civilizations to thrive by distributing nutrient

tribe to tribe.

Native American flood myths

have been Almost

of a

tell

who have studied this aspect of the tales may have drawn heavily

great flood, but scholars

glassy sea into a storm-wracked nightmare of howling

was

North American Indian tribes that also

his trident turn a

nature, Poseidon

There are legends passed down in many

lapse of the

an epochal

Minoan

And with the Minoan inMycenaean civilization came into its own on the

culture there.

fluence suddenly in decline, the

flood: In their version, the

god Zeus becomes disgust-

Littered with latter-day spirit offerings, this holy well in Ireland's

ed with the wicked ways of

County Clare is known for the cure of toothaches, but it is also said improve fertility and promote general good health.

Greek mainland. to

The epic cleansing of

humanity and decides to

the earth

and subsequent

put an end to the mortal

rebirth of

mankind, as por-

realm by causing a mighty deluge.

The Noah

the Greek ion, a

myth

is

figure in

Deukal-

trayed in

many

myths,

echoed on a per-

is

sonal level

son of Prometheus.

of the flood

in the sacra-

ment of baptism. The wor-

Flood stories also find a

shiper

place in the mythologies of

ritual initiation dies

Wales, Lithuania, Norway,

bolically

Iran,

Central America,

Australia,

spirit.

and China.

who

submits to

and

is

Although

it

this

sym-

reborn is

in

associ-

ated mainly with Christian-

74

75

ity,

baptism was also a custom of the ancient Hebrews. The

medical researchers tend to scoff at the reputed curative

pour upon you

powers of mineral waters, a few of these supposed drinking

Old Testament prophet Ezekiel wrote:

"I will

Among

nies in the cult of the alistic

one

the Greeks,

fertility

most sacred ceremo-

of the

goddess Aphrodite was a

bathing of her statue. The practice

was

Mother

ing the Blessed

in

the

Sumerian alphabet, the

ent contexts In the

mean

creation

drop of rain

letter

A

could

on mother earth was

New

Many

It

ers of

make

arable

curative

powers

fire,

though

this

are

who

the earth through

as well, there were holy wells long before the Chris-

ered such springs to be sites

gifts

need, but

it

a fabled fountain of youth.

that of the

upper story

leg-

Spanish con-

some

world

none of the

on a

futile

Over the years Jung made addi-

He

completed the building

finally

Bolligen

wrote,

in

of the largest and pur-

the

power

none of

By the

to rex

appeal

in

up from the m< xie

1

last

addition

in

was an

"represents myself, or

my

was

to

be a kind of maternal

could

doing so, perhaps,

earth's elements to put

Although

planet as a whole. 76

that the

womb

in

house

at

which, as he

become what was, what am and will be." time the building was finished, it had become the

"I

I

lung recalled, "a feeling as In

its

it,

I

psychiatrist's touchstone to his

the process of aging

The use of therapeutic wal

as Jung put

The

From the beginning, Jung understood

de Leon found out to spri

that,

wanted

ego-personality."

search for

The limestone substrate found

the region does in fact support

at Bolligen in

also expressed a facet of himself that he

to represent in stone.

quistador juan Ponce de Leon. At the age of sixty- three, the

earth has lost

stones. In 1923, at the age of forty-

Each room that he added answered a practical domestic

Undoubtedly the most famous of the American

his chagrin,

its

he began construction of a stone house

1955, after the death of his wife.

great explorer set out through Florida

re-

life

same

whooping cough.

est springs in the

as a boy so thoroughly identified with

the north of Switzerland.

reputed ability to cure any ailment from warts to

is

believe they

tions to the building, using stones from a nearby quarry.

of the earth goddess. The

ends regarding curative waters

human

primitive

who

British Isles consid-

were usually given sanction by the Church and revered

for their

felt in

strong for those

still

herself. Al-

the rock he discovered in his family garden, later in

eight,

The pagan inhabitants of the

pow-

affirmed his conviction that he could tap into the energy of

the Greeks, for

health dates back at least 2,500 years. In various parts of

tian era.

mother earth

to

bond was most tangibly

its ties

example, the custom of taking the waters to restore one's

Britain,

of Aristotle's ancient

and the ubiquity of air, humankind's most insep-

Carl Jung,

Among

first

can sense them.

their prayers.

to sacred springs.

salts in

blessings of water, the

bond has always been

societies,

built

Western Europe a longstanding tradition attributes

In

many

elements. Whatever the

over sacred springs so that worshipers could bathe before

embarking upon

sufferers

perhaps significant that the minerals and

is

sediments of the earth itself— the

Mexico, a

Buddhist temples were

and

these curative waters have been leached from the rocks and

her pregnant. Buddhists, too, have long celebrated the purifying effects of water.

salts are natural laxatives,

from anemia can benefit from drinking certain waters that

fertility. In

sufficient to

fairly effective

are high in iron.

water, sperm, conception, or generation.

myth of the Pima Indians of

falling

whose

various differ-

in

By neutralizing stom-

healthful benefits.

example, alkaline waters are

Epsom

tions of

This custom reflects

rain.

the seemingly timeless association of water with

for

treatments against dyspepsia. Waters with high concentra-

ritu-

times of drought, beseech-

send

to

ach acids,

carried over

into Christianity in the veneration of the Virgin Mary,

worshipers washed her icons

some

cures have

clean water and you shall be cleansed."

it

if

I

own

life spirit. "It

gave me,"

were being reborn

in stone."

allowed Jung's

him

in

affinity for

contact with the

one of

spirit

of the

rum

HHHi

The Venerable Power of Trees

*V,

priests sacrificed other

human

Centuries ago in France, pagan

beings to the trees they worshiped.

As recently as the 1800s in Estonia, peasants festooned certain trees with wreaths and made offerings to them so that their cattle might thrive. Even today, Christian and Muslim pilgrims pay homage to an old, gnarled Arabian fig that is located just outside the city of Cairo; they tree,

her

seek cures

from the sacred said to have rested during

for their ailments

under which the Virgin Mary

is

flight to Egypt.

For

many

early peoples, trees— especially those of great size,

beauty, or apparent longevity— came to symbolize the wonders of creation and thus were revered as divine. Forests

were thought

to

be the abodes of gods, and certain trees became associated with particular deities and were ascribed magical powers. As a means of appeasing the gods, worshipers laid offerings before the trees, prayed or meditated in the shelter of their branches, or tied ritual objects to them.

Some

and the bo tree, under have sought enlightenment-

trees— including the Arabian

fig

which Gautama Buddha is said to were sacred by virtue of their association with religious figures. Others were worshiped for their beneficence. In India, for instance, where the cool shade of wide-spreading trees is welcomed, banyans are protected by religious injunction. Examples of venerated trees, including

some revered

for their

medicinal or alleged oracu-

lar powers, appear on the following pages.

$ ;•

is

«

ft

>'

>

I

-

'

A Gnarled Symbol of

Peace

and Redemption

ne of the

v,>.

first

trees ever cultivated,

the long-lived olive

is

imbued with symbolism. According to legend, it sprang into being when

Greek deities Poseidon and Athena were vying for possession of Attica. Aiming to please the other

gods, Poseidon struck the earth with his trident to

produce a horse. But Athena caused an olive tree to it was deemed more valuable gift.

grow, and *<*»

v*'

the

Since ancient times, the tree

has provided

eating and light,

The

fruit for

lamp-

oil for

cooking, and olive tree

prominent

rituals.

was

in the

also

Judeo-

The dove brought

Christian tradition. olive leaf the to

Noah was a

sign of

redemption, and the gar-

den of Gethsemane, where Christ took refuge before his arrest,

was an

olive

grove. Medieval Christians

believed the tree to be a

safeguard against witches,

and the

olive branch has endured as a symbol of peace throughout history.

/

X

&U 35k

;wk

% .

/.'

'

'$&''.

Home (o Vishnu and Dispenser of Prophetic Dreams

here

is

&$k

a

among Hindus that anyone who plants a usebelief

ful

tree attains punya, or

and after death spend 30,000 years in the heaven of Indra, then will achieve nirvana. The banyan, with its bizarre assemblage of aerial roots that grow from its branch"merit,"

will

es

down

is

such a

into the ground, tree.

Considered

the dwelling place of

gods— the Hindu Vishnu was said been born

deity to

have

banyan's shade— the sacred tree symbolizes immortality, love,

in the

and protection. Some

Indian

women

™4m

think the

banyan promotes fertility; aphrodisiacs and medicines are concocted from its parts, and those who sleep beneath

it

are be-

lieved to experience pro-

phetic dreams.

\5

***r

^X

s*me

&A

Providing

Shade for Buddha's Enlightenment

y*

.«*?;

\*&+>s

?*r

Like the banyan, the bo tree

is

believed

by Hindus to shelter their gods;

it

cosmic

also represents the tree Asvattha,

thought to shelter the world.

The bo

tree

is

\1

sa-

cred to Buddhists as well, for

it

was under such

a

Buddha received enlightenment. To followers of Buddhism, the bo tree that

tree

symbolizes creation,

wisdom, and preparation for the afterlife.

the tree

is

Destroying

a sacrilege.

A cutting said to have come from Buddha's bo tree was transplanted to Anuradhapura, Ceylon, in 288 BC and is reputed to be the oldest existing tended tree. In 1948 the bo began to wither, and Bud-

"mm

dhists flocked to resurrect it

with gallons of milk,

poured down tree

was

its

trunk.

duly revived.

The

m

,

An Upside-Down Irec Thai

Bears Many

grow upside

mv&s&L

many down beby

aid to

Gills

cause its skimpy branches resemble roots, the squat

baobab

much

tree thrives in

of Africa and in

parts of Australia.

The

bountiful tree provides fruit for

food, bark for rope

and woven cloth, and medicinal powders for a variety of ailments.

contend the baobab

A

magical:

Some is

drink of water

in which the bark has been soaked is said to bestow

strength. side,

On

some

the darker

Africans be-

lieve that the tree's

white

flowers are inhabited by spirits

who

and

that

anyone

plucks the blossoms

be devoured by a lion. Because the baobab's

will

wood

is

away,

its

soft

and

easily cut

massive trunkwhich can be as much as thirty feet in diameter- is often hollowed to fill with water in the rainy season, enabling foraging tribes to survive on the parched

land during dry months.

Hollowed trunks are also used for shelter.

mV»

HH w

••*

Ek^c

»»•

^

^v^-A ^rv ^fl

r\

^vl<

Jv-

'"^^

^^^»_^»^Yp » V-

r

^^

1

*

.'iJHfe^^Ni^^fe

f^'

^^^^^^Bdfc

%

V^^lI

jHlla

iW

^


1

^^^BU^^^

\ ^J

V 481

jClI*

"

: *'*

v

"*"^8f^

'••';."

v-v*

^ //I

*!&**

s-

_

_ -

i.

1

-?,,:

"**&'

Ancienf Sentinels

Preserved by (he Spirit of (he Owl

Reaching heights of up to 370

feet,

redwoods of California and southern Oregon are the

the tallest trees in the

world. With their cousins, the giant sequoias, they

members

are the surviving

of a family of trees that

may have

originated

more

than 100 million years ago.

To

the Native

tribes

who

American

lived

among

them, the redwoods were sacred, protected by the

'.

-'

•

.

.<„

spirit of the owl. The Indians were reluctant to harm them, using only fallen wood and bark to make

dwellings, canoes, baskets,

and

two redwood

clothing. For

Indian tribes, the fulfilled

a spiritual purpose

as well — to keep peace

between them. According to legend, the Great Spirit

instructed the

bands tain

to

sit

two warring

beside a cer-

redwood and

settle

their differences. This they did, establishing the tree

as a place of honor; thereafter tribe

members

paid

tribute to the tree every

time they passed

it.

CHAPTER

3

A Green and Leafy Realm

ometime

in the

year

AD

63, according to a thirteenth-century chronicle, the

evangelist Joseph of Arimathea sailed with eleven

companions

came

Like other continental travelers of the day, he

Isles.

now known

southwestern England ter of the

Cornish

old tradition

Wearyall

still

Hill

in

according to a centuries-

after his arrival,

thrust his walking stick into the ground. into a

hawthorn

its

origin

The

tree -signifying, say pious

staff blos-

commenta-

faith.

remains a matter of legend, an unusual hawthorn

when

its

likeness

was

included in the seal of Glastonbury

Abbey. Whether or not Joseph planted the

grafted from cuttings of the original tree, are

its

more

was certainly no modern descendants,

thorn

tree, the

ordinary British hawthorn; botanists report that

like

hawthorns found

uncanny

the Middle East. Perhaps the best evidence of the thorn's that -unlike ordinary

hawthorns— the

always blossomed

at

Christian schedule

was

sample branch In the

tree

and

is

Christmastime and then again near Easter. That oddly first

recorded

Henry

to the court of

in 1535,

when

a royal inspector sent a

VIII.

chopped down the oldest of the

the thorn, a double-trunked

that the Elizabethan reformer

for fifty

the task, apparently with

no

trees

specimen high on Wearyall

halt his labors after a flying chip of

ond trunk then stood

origin

in

successors have almost

its

age of Puritanism that followed, miraculous trees

vor. Religious zealots

it

town

a major cen-

as the Glastonbury Thorn has been a matter of historical record

since the 1300s,

has

to the

was

as Glastonbury, which

transforming power of the Christian

Although

known

to the British

current in Clastonbury, Joseph climbed to the top of nearby

and

somed miraculously tors, the

Soon

tin trade.

first

who

wood

cut the

first

blinded him

out of fa-

descended from

Hill.

trunk

one

in

fell

Local legend

was eye.

forced to

The sec-

years until another Puritan returned to finish

ill

effects

The Glastonbury Thorn was not put

to rest so easily,

however. By the

time the Wearyall hawthorn died, avid gardeners throughout Britain and

across the oceans had nurtured cuttings from the thorn into mature trees,

most of which survived the Puritan reform. To from the original Glastonbury stock flourish

this day,

in the

hawthorns grafted

town

itself

and around

the world,

still

faithfully

flowering to

mark

the seasons of

the Christian year.

Whether the

omen

or an ical

the barest desert has a rugged form of plant trees of Glastonbury are a botanical fluke

fraught with Christian power, their story

is

life

and thought throughout

history. Early hunter-

gatherers lived in a kind of spiritual plants, then as

now

a

vital

communion with

source of food, medicine, and

to

a persistent, deeply

fill

human need

that has

human

plants

settled farmers,

and new gods,

do as

funeral wreath, or as seemingly scientific as attempts to

monitor the "emotional" response of plants

underwent a very profound change. Foot-

is

solemn as a

lighthearted as kissing under the mistletoe, as

man

became

cacti

to

little

with simple physical survival. Whether the connection

other staples. Then, about 10,000 years ago, people discov-

society

its

Even

As they have since the beginning, plants also continue

ered that certain crops could be deliberately cultivated, and

loose hunters

sea.

life,

and bone-dry weeds.

typ-

of the compelling roles that plants have played in hu-

man

and blue-green algae-the lakes and parts of the

thought, the link between

seems

Of

cruel

all

likely to

the plants

to

music or hu-

humankind and growing

endure.

honored by the ancients, those most

and variable as the weather or bountiful as the harvest,

deeply venerated were the trees, from whose protective

dominate human perceptions of the natural world.

branches our primate ancestors emerged tens of millions of

came

to

modern

In first

to distance

flowers,

and

times, the

human

emergence of science seemed

trees of a long-accepted mystical significance.

Yet in the end scientific research simply uncovered

human dependencies on

greater

at

beings from nature, stripping herbs,

the plant kingdom.

still

By the

years ago. Tradition and archaeological evidence suggest that

human

beings have worshiped trees since the

consciousness.

On almost

dawn

of

every continent, trees, rocks, and

springs formed the sacred groves that were the earliest centers of spirituality.

To

their worshipers, stone stood for

eighteenth century, researchers had learned of the funda-

strength and permanence,

mental process of photosynthesis— a capacity unique to

and

and water

purification. Long-lived yet

for constant

change

changing from season to

which vegetation combines sunlight and

season, trees represented a creative union of permanence

carbon dioxide to create food and, as a byproduct, the oxy-

and impermanence. They embodied growth, regeneration,

plant life— through

gen

we

breathe. With the twentieth-century advent of artifi-

cial satellites, scientists

and the cycle of

found that plants form

In fact,

many

trees to

a surface area cover-

much

of the mountains,

and— in

human

beings. "They

unhappy life,

forests but also

the form of green

known

at least as important as

say that primitive

miles. This skin covers not only

and

be

those of

ing tens of millions of square

fields

of the very earliest

cultures considered the lives of certain

the very skin of the planet: a thin, green

membrane with

life itself.

^fe

Rl

stition did

men

led

an

for their super-

not stop at ani-

mals but extended even

to plants,"

losopher Porphyry. "For ter of

why

implanted

in

among

Indeed,

was

to

bark of a sacred tree

his navel cut out

He was then forced

to

walk

wrapped

in circles

The Hidatsa,

for

younger Hidatsa began deliberately

the Kauaua. The Arunta believe the Kauaua serves as a kind of portable tree that links this world to the realm of divinity. Their legends recount how the

god Numbakulla climbed up the tree trunk and disappeared after creating the earth. So important is the Kauaua to the Arunta that a whole clan is said to have lain down and died when Its pole was accidentally broken. They few they had lost their connect to heaven I

their elders

man

offer a bird

Once trees

had

become vengeful. If a member of the

in

and a goat as

first

sacrifices to the tree

ax blow, he would suck some

order to form a blood-brother relation-

spirit.

the to

down

granted his blessing, a

Then, after his

ship with the

before cutting

first

be

human

settlements arose, however,

felled to build

and heat homes and

to

many such cultures came to somewhat mobile -and more for-

clear the fields. Inevitably,

Indian tribes held similar be-

example, regarded the giant cotton-

At a desert stopping place, men of Australia's nomadic Arunta tribe erect a sacred pole called

would

around

the trunk as a living

woods of the Upper Missouri as sacred and harvested wood only from those that fell naturally. Then, in the twentieth century,

tribe

men

tree, lest the tree spirit

sap from the cut

and nailed

for the bark.

Many North American

which

as the 1920s, the Basoga of central Africa

late

medicine

spirit.

murder, and the penalty was

the tree until his intestines

replacement

fell-

a serious business. In the ancient

The perpetrator had

to the tree.

any

peoples the world over, the

forests, peeling the

was tantamount

liefs.

As

consulted local medicine

is

these trees also?"

ing of a tree

German

fir

or an oak, seeing that a soul

tradition to

attributed every subsequent misfortune of the tribe.

should the slaugh-

an ox or a sheep be a greater wrong than

the felling of a

brutal:

cottonwoods-a break with

wrote the third-century Greek phi-

felling

think of tree spirits as giving. Trees

were seen as dwelling places rather than

as the permanent selves.

within

A it

embodiments of

tree could

was

the spirits them-

be cut down, as long as the

properly appeased.

spirit

James Frazer, an

Sir

early-twentieth-century

com-

piler

of folk practices and be-

liefs

from around the world,

recorded just such a custom in the islands

of the Malay Ar-

"When

chipelago.

the To-

boongkoos of Celebes are about to clear a piece of

for-

est in order to plant rice,"

Frazer wrote, "they build a

ny house and furnish

gold.

Then they

gether

all

wood,

offer

house with

with

and some food

tiny clothes

and

it

ti-

call to-

the spirits of the

them

the

little

contents, and

its

beseech them

to quit the

may wood wound

spot. After that they safely cut

down

the

without fearing to themselves

in

so doing."

Yet even as the forests themselves began to tain individual trees retained

lore of at the

many

fall,

On

Wearyall Hill in Somerset, Hamish Miller tests the response of his tools near one of the famous Glastonbury hawthorns. Miller believes that the tree sits atop a potent channel of natural energy.

cer-

dowsing

a fearsome power in the folk-

regions. Until their conversion to Christianity

end of the fourteenth century,

these trees would

for instance, Lithua-

nian villagers set aside special groves in which every

branch and twig was sacred. Anyone

who harmed

In

hands of the

site's spirit

the end of their city as well.

cultures, individual citizens could find their

fates linked irrevocably to those of particular trees. In an-

a tree in

such a grove would be sure to suffer death or accident at the

many

mean

cient

Rome and Palestine, for example, a family planted a when a child was born; so long as the tree thrived,

sapling

guardians. to the fate of partic-

so did the child. Eastern Europeans planted pairs of trees

ular peoples or cities. According to the first-century histori-

outside the doors of newly married couples, hoping to en-

an Plutarch, the ancient Romans worshiped and fervently

sure that the bride and

Specific trees could also

tended the a cornel Palatine

fig tree

of

Romulus

tree, similar to

that stood in the

members fire.

seemed

ill

if,

groom would

together as peace-

live

ably as did the two trees.

Even healing

rituals

could lead to arboreal bonds.

one widely practiced European remedy

or un-

of the populace would run to the

rescue with buckets of water, as

were putting out a

Forum and

a dogwood, that grew on nearby

either the fig or the cornel

Hill. If

dernourished,

be linked

dren, a

wrote Plutarch, they

young ash was

the afflicted child times. Both tree

Perhaps they feared that the death of 91

split vertically

and held apart while

was passed through

and

child

In

for rickets in chil-

were then

the split several

tightly

bound and

tended carefully.

would the

child.

By the appeared

in

1

was thought

It

If

that

if

vered of

the ash recovered, so

the tree died, the child

would

struck by lightning, and so they

storm gods: the Greek Zeus,

life

and reputation of their

such trees could be deliberately cut

master turned

its

down by

the state

tree

depended

species. In Europe, the lofty

honor of

their

animal sacrifices

re-

in

known

fires

burning perpetually

as Druids

oak groves

made human and

order to bring rain and fertility to

the land.

A more ambiguous

sense of spiritual kinship with other forms of life and protect the tree from a woodcutter's blade. The two are part of a growing, nonviolent movement

has set about

in

thus

By hugging the tree at left, a woman and child act out their

in India that

the lightning bolt;

sky gods, Perun and Perkunas. For their

part, the Celtic priests

in large part

oak was the most

southwest would keep oak

to the in

were often associated with

who wielded

of Novgorod and their Lithuanian neighbors

in the old city

if

unable

god Thor; the Germanic Donar. Russians

the Norse thunder

own-

traitor.

The mystical power of a

upon

aristocratic

still

than other trees to be

likely

Europe as nobles began planting ancestral

closely with the

their

oaks are more

500s, yet another version of the personal tree

oaks, elms, and other stately trees on their estates. Linked

er,

For reasons that scientists are

all trees.

to fully explain,

follow.

was

case

that of the apple tree,

which was linked

in Celtic

tradition with paradise

try-

(Avalon, the

ing to put an end to deforestation. The tactic of putting human bodies between trees and the loggers' tools was popularized by a group called Chipko, whose name is from the Hindu word meaning "to embrace.

name of a mystimeans "isle

cal British land,

of apples") but also tradition-

with the biblical

ally identified

fruit tree that fatally

tempted

Eve. In keeping with their

mixed reputation, apples were employed both as remedies for various

ailments and as ingredients in

evil

potions— an

association that lingers today in the poisoned apple of the

Snow White If

evil,

fairy tale.

the apple tree's character

elder trees

was

a mixture of good and

were generally considered wholly wicked,

perhaps because of their twisted, deceptively

wisdom

pearance. Folk

human

ap-

held that witches frequently trans-

formed themselves into these trees or simply dwelled them. Skilled artisans never chose the

when

wood

in

of an elder

building a cradle, for fear that an angry witch

would

shake the cradle savagely or otherwise injure the child sleeping within. Similarly,

an elder

it

was thought

would stunt a

stick

tree

was even

was

said to have

that a beating with

child's growth.

The

evil

of the

reflected in Christian legend: Judas Iscariot

hanged himself from an elder

after betray-

ing Jesus Christ.

Above and beyond the ordinary

trees of earth stood

another kind of tree altogether: a vast religious symbol that cultural historians call a in

many

traditions,

world tree or a cosmic

tree.

Found

such a towering supernatural creation

served as a vertical axis linking the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. In the Norse sagas, the mighty evergreen

ash Yggdrasil its

was

rooted in earth and held up heaven with

branches. Yggdrasil had three principal roots, one pene-

trating into Nifiheim, the

world of the dead, another into the

snow and ice where giants lived, and a third Midgard, the home of humankind. On the crown of the land of

92

into tree

perched an eagle representing

life

base, the giant serpent Nidhogg

and

stantly at the roots.

up and

down

A

and knowledge; his

troublemaking

Like the Norse gods themselves, Yggdrasil

at its

brood gnawed con-

the trunk carrying taunts

and threats from one

According to the Elder Edda saga, the god Odin once

wounded, from the great

himself,

runic

wisdom: "Nine whole nights on a wind-rocked

Wounded with a myself, / On that

spear. / tree of

I

was

On

evil.

would

inhabitant to the other.

hung

on the day of Ragnarok, the

to die

and

squirrel, Ratatosk, ran

at last

gnaw through

mos

it

with

hand,

fall,

foot

Then

taking the rest of the cos-

into eternal chaos.

The cosmic

tree /

its

the root of the mighty ash.

would crumble and

fated

between good

that day, said the sagas, the serpent at

Yggdrasil

tree in order to gain

final battle

was

was an

tree of the

Hindu Upanishads, on the other

inverted bo tree

named

the Asvattha.

It

was

described as having roots extending into the sky and

offered to Odin, myself to

which no man knows."

branches covering the earth. Like Yggdrasil, the Asvattha

had three main

Guided by a ritual master, a Malagasy youth bows his head against a sacred tree, begging forgiveness for any offenses he may have given to the spirits of his ancestors. In Mada-

roots, but while those

on the Norse

tree rep-

resented three cosmic worlds, in the Hindu religion the roots signified three great gods: the Preserver,

Brahma

and Shiva the Destroyer.

For the devout Hindu, however,

gascar, spirits are believed to reside in trees, which are

even the cosmic

held in high esteem and symbolize the continuance of life.

way

tree stood in the

of enlightenment. Accord-

ing to the sacred Gita, a religious

Bhagavad-

seeker must

renounce the As4

93

vattha

the Creator, Vishnu

human

touches transform two sacred trees into living the knothole below honors the cosmic life force embodied by trees; the tree opposite becomes the image of a deity with the addition of a bit offabric and paint.

In India, small

shrines:

A

votive

mask tucked into

94

entirely, cut the tree at its roots, and "seek the place from which one never returns." Only then would the Hindu be

able to transcend earthly understanding

human

and become one

seeds were

^

other mythical trees have played narrower parts

in the great

drama of

ere-

ation. In Judeo-Christian tra-

knowledge,

of the

from the

where

their

three trunks intertwined into a single tree. Centuries later,

wood from

that tree

was

used to make the cross on

which Jesus was

have grown inside the

tree of

tradition, saplings

later transplanted to Jerusalem,

ditions, a tree of life is said

to

means

would grow from those seeds.

According to the same

with the universe. Still

beings would one day be redeemed by

trees that

and

in

crucified,

fulfillment of the

at the

archangel's prophecy, at the

center of the primordial

crucifixion, Christ's blood

Garden of Eden.

fell

As recounted

in the

Book of Genesis,

biblical

Adam and Eve sampled

only

the forbidden fruit of the tree of

that

knowledge -the

fruit

itself is

people the yet anoth-

on the cosmic

a symbolic bridge be-

humanity and the

If

they would have

divine.

most awe

trees are the

in-

spiring of plants, the vines

been rendered immortal,

common Jewish

many

holy cross

tween earth and heaven,

also tasted the fruit of the

and a

deed, for

tree,

and estrangement from God. Had the hapless couple life,

redeem Adam

his descendants. In-

er variant

brought physical death

tree of

to earth to

and

and other vegetation cling to their

tradi-

that

branches have

adds that they would

often been next in order of

have gained a perfect un-

reverence. In Europe, the

tion

derstanding of the unity of life,

death,

best

and redemption.

Instead, they

and

their de-

scendants were driven from

legends.

trees of

One medieval

figure in

to

Eden

who was dying. Seth was met who gave him three seeds

angel,

knowledge. The

many

story recounted

Adam's son Seth returned ther,

deep green plant with

spirit told

time since his

is

the mistletoe,

to

an episode

beg mercy

at the gates

in

fall

berries. Not-

highly unusual

its

habit of growing in treetops without touching the earth,

early Christian

which

mistletoe

cause

for his fa-

it

was

especially revered by the Celtic Druids, be-

favored their sacred oak.

According to the first-century

by an arch-

taken from the tree of

harvesting mistletoe

A

Seth to place the seeds on

Adam's tongue. When Adam received the seeds, he laughed for the first

a

ed for

Eden also

of these arbore-

parasites

gleaming white

the garden forever.

The

known

al

was

ritual:

from the branch, and another Druid

caught the sacred plant 95

naturalist Pliny,

white-robed priest climbed the tree with a golden sickle

to sever the parasite

from grace, recognizing that

Roman

a matter of solemn druidic

in a cloth

before

it

was desecrated

Although the cosmic tree of Persian tradition at right and the eighteenth-century interpretation below by English mystic William Law both link heaven and earth, they are decidedly different in focus. Rooted in the dark mortal world but growing toward the light of God, Law's Tree of the Soul traces human spiritual development. By contrast, the Persian haoma emphasizes the divine, providing fruit of immortality for the gods.

went

by contact with the earth.

If all

well, the priests sacrificed

two white

to increase fertility

was

all

that of a

human

being. In

Europe, the mandrake, an herb with a

plant could then be used as a cure for

and

in fertil-

two-pronged root that resembles

potions for both cattle and

women.

has been sought

a wide range of ailments ity

desire.

The most potent botanical form of

thanks. The carefully gathered

bulls in

and sexual

legs,

for centuries as

an

The association between mistletoe

ingredient in love potions. Carried

and

close to the body, the root-itself

fertility

persists today in the well-

mandrake-was also thought to cure sterility in men and promote fertility in women. In the Book of

loved Christmas custom of kissing un-

called

der a sprig of the plant.

Well into the twentieth century,

peasants from

Italy to

Sweden

Genesis, Jacob's wife Rachel bargains

also

for

mandrake

with stones— as a protec-

not

much

household

In yet

gathered mistletoe -often by knocking

it

down

tion against

fires,

and simple bad

strikes,

lightning

luck.

Many

ward

was powerful enough

off the spells of

forms of

its

about the plant's quasi-human shape

fell

airy perch,

that led to darker traditions.

it

also prescribed as a cure for the

known

lore

According to

ing,

which was generally accepted

its

this line of

root to the devil

many parts of medieval Europe, it was unwise for a woman to keep

for centuries, a

powers could be de-

mandrake

physical properties, or

and

cause enough

in

moist places,

it

Plants that resemble

A widespread notion was

and agues Because the willow \

and other ailments thought

foi

to

b

male or femah

in

her house for any rea-

son; possession of the root could be

poplars shiver in the slightest breeze, so they were thought to provide cures for fevers

and the underworld.

Witches, too, were believed to use mandrake roots in their spells. In

reason-

signature. For instance, aspens

grows

mandrake grew be-

ers died; the stories also linked the

other healing herbs as

plant's medical

that

as the doc-

well.

duced from

it

neath the gallows on which murder-

trine of signatures applied a similar

throughout Europe

had

European

The

"falling sickness," or epilepsy.

many

wisdom attributed to was something

effects that folk

the mandrake, there

spontaneously from

logic to

Romans, and

Despite the various beneficial

evil.

medieval theory

root,

potion and anesthetic.

to

witches and sor-

Because mistletoe rarely

was

she bears Jacob a son.

Arabs used mandrake as a sleeping

cerers, serving as a general antidote to all

later

another application of the

the ancient Greeks,

believed that the seemingly heaven-

sent plant

end her barrenness;

to

a ghastly shriek

rheumatism

when

belief that explains

that a

hanging or burning.

mandrake

root

let

out

pulled from the ground. Supposedly,

hearing that cry could prove

Limpness.

for

fatal or

bring on insanity, a

why Shakespeare's young

heroine

Juliet

feared the sound of "shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of the

'relieved

96

97

98

earth, / That living mortals, hearing them, run

mad." The

danger was taken seriously enough that mandrake hunters often trained dogs to

Hie Sad Talc of Treaty

remained

masters

their

at a safe distance.

modern

In the

Oak

do the uprooting while

powers have

era,

mandrake's supposed healing immeasurable by the

fallen into disrepute,

techniques of medical science. More medically effective

is

another plant with a humanlike form -ginseng, from the In

Chinese words for "man" and "plant."

another place and time, Paul Sted-

man

met

Cullen might have

the

same

to Chinese tradition, ginseng forms According when lightning strikes a mountain stream. The

he inflicted on his victim. Indeed, some Texans muttered half seriously about hanging the middle-aged drifter from a limb of Treaty Oak, the 600year-old tree in an Austin city park that he deliberately poisoned with fate

herbicide.

energies of the lightning and the flowing water

coalesce into a root and pass on to those

consume

in

May

more human

of 1989, people

grieved for the venerable tree. Under its

F.

looks like an ordinary

things. Get-well cards arrived

ing can elude

and even chicken soup at the A few people were so fell

became

undis-

being but has pure white life.

Provided such a be-

hunters anxious to collect

its

blood,

depart the earth to wander forever

Whether or not they

it

among

seng, traditional Chinese physicians have

shown

which they have

and

versal cure

to their

truly believe in spacefaring gin-

able faith in the efficacy of the root

itself,

consider-

more than nineteen

centuries as a uni-

effective aphrodisiac. In

an approach remi-

been prescribing

foot of the tree.

that they

If it is left

and

the distant stars.

from as

knees and prayed beside the dying oak. Despite every effort, however,

human

will eventually

far away as Japan and Australia, and well-wishing visitors deposited poems,

moved

human

blood that can restore the dead to

As the effects of the poisoning grew more pronounced, people were shocked into recognition of the bond between humans and other living

deeply

larger

Austin

signed an Indian treaty.

flowers,

becomes

turbed for 300 years, the root emerges as a creature that

boughs, legend suggests, Texas

founding father Stephen

it

appearance every year.

in

who

As long as the ginseng root remains

underground, claims another legend,

As news of the peculiar

tragedy spread

it.

for

niscent of the European doctrine of signatures, doctors treat it

the ailments of various parts of the

body with the corre-

clear that nothing short of a

sponding portion of the ginseng

miracle could save Treaty Oak.

ginseng

Cullen's motives in attacking the tree remain a matter of conjecture. Police have mentioned a failed love affair and

is

used

leg ailments,

for

root.

The "head" of

an aching or injured head, the

the

legs for

and so on.

Long ago,

collecting ginseng

was considered

as dan-

also the possibility that the attacker

was

carrying out

ritual.

Cullen

Whatever

some

gerous as gathering mandrake,

sort of occult

banditry, in part

his motivation, Paul

was sentenced

in

May

of 1990

protective guard of panthers

to nine years in prison for his crime

in part

because of rampant

because the root was thought

hunters even warned of a small

and

tigers.

demon

to attract a

Some

ginseng

that disguised itself

against nature.

as a ginseng root and slowly retreated into the forest to lure the

99

unwary

into danger. In sheer self-protection, ginseng

hunters

in

China

at

saw

also

one time joined

be made

profit to

in the

800s was

forces to form a defensive society for

business and by the early

the safe collection of the root. Each

exporting ginseng along with

member was sworn strictest

furs.

to preserve the

Today, as American businesses

was

continue to ship wild and cultivated

moral character,

for

it

ginseng to the East,

believed that ginseng would reveal itself

1

many

in the

only to the pure of heart.

West are themselves intrigued by

Although the imperial family

root, which researchers at Chelsea

the

variety of ginseng,

College in London have studied as a

Chinese emperors paid ginseng

possible arthritis remedy. In the So-

hunters handsomely for wild roots,

viet Union,

which were considered more potent.

means

cultivated

In

its

own

as a

the tiniest rootlet.

a stream to

They would

wash a

mountain

even

The hallucinogenic cactus called peyote inspires an annual 600-mile pilgrimage by Mexico's Huichol Indians. They collect the buds in reenact-

small hairs to get dried and bro-

coccus to combat motion sickness, stress,

ment of the gods' legendary quest for peyote.

except

in the

ginseng found Called

Little

become

all

but ex-

coffee to the

remote Sikhote-Alin mountains along the

Chinese turned to a

Man by

To ease

effects

While ginseng

was

also used as a

The Pawnee employed

it

in

childbirth. But

a chemical

l

persons and pack horses going Daniel

Boone

in

for

in

Kentucky, sending his treasure up the Oh,

in

Philadelphia.

The well-known merchant

the

[i

-

I

have

sinister of these or-

and with bewildering, or poor harvesting

women

more

component in a

terrifying

used

it

to ease the

ergot-poisoned grain called ergotamine

Those

who

is

baked

pangs of in

becomes

bread,

lysergic

eat the bread find

world of hallucinations that are

all

because they appear without warning.

As the blood vessels and nervous system are attacked by

with ginseng."

successfully pros,

when

themselves living

"in

met numbers of in

to

as ergot, an unobtrusive grain

damp weather

acid diethylamide, or LSD.

1784,

in his diary that

passing over the mountains

In 1788,

Ohio

After a trip to

rye in

anesthetic. Medieval

life-

in love potions.

George Washington noted

ail-

conditions, ergot can be beneficial in small quantities as an

ginseng was soon flowing to the Far East

American large quantities.

known

a fungus

Found on

A Chero-

saving cure by the Iroquois, the Creek, and the Chippewa tribes.

one of many

often fatal effect.

the Cherokee, the root had long served

as a medicine for several American Indian tribes.

is

infection that strikes unexpectedly

deciduous forests of North America.

kee headache remedy, ginseng

is

opium poppy-have long been known

on the mind. Perhaps the most

ganisms

the shortage, the

though less potent, type of

plentiful,

in the

fatigue.

ments of the body, a small number of other plants -from

overgathering of wild Asian ginseng had sharply reduced

the supply. (The Asian plant has since

Soviet coast of the Sea of Japan.)

and

herbs that are believed to heal

By the early eighteenth centu-

tinct

dose cosmonauts,

climbers, deep-sea divers,

and a related plant called eleuthero-

single ginseng

ken by handling.

ry,

well accepted

and soldiers with ginseng extract

divert

root out of the soil rather than allow its

is

of boosting stamina. So-

viet scientists

gathering the ginseng, the collec-

tors took great care to preserve

ginseng

demons and monsters Those who survive may

the poisoned bread, vividly realized

accompany

ginseng

River for sale

the victim's suffering.

experience flashbacks as horrifying as the original episode

rob Astor

for

100

months afterward.

dressed in linen, and implanted with the hairlike sprouts of millet seeds, the root depicted in this peculiar engraving appears eerily human. Crafty peddlers passed off such creations as the coveted mandrake root, duping buyers who believed that human-looking plant roots carried magical powers. Skillfully carved,

According to a theory

vanced have

in 1976,

ergotism

killed indirectly

first

may

ad

first

women

old

woman and her granddaughter who had become lost in

by causing

the bizarre behavior of several

young

revealed himself to the Co-

manche nation through an

also

Salem,

the desert while seeking a

Massachusetts, in 1692. The

cure for a tribal epidemic.

Salem

Drawn

pers,

girls' fits

in

and distem-

which one University of

mysteriously to a

hidden peyote cactus,

women

California researcher has

the

linked to a possible case of

its

juice

ergot poisoning, led to a

ly

revived.

hysterical witch hunt

and

their tribe,

of twenty-two presumably

fur-

The sacred plant

al-

so gave them a kind of

di-

dying.

American Southwest,

other hallucinogenic plants

vine understanding, which

have long been accepted as a

they were able to pass on to

of inducing mystical or

other tribes.

Among

religious experiences.

Aztec rituals also

most commonly used are

lucinogens, one of them a juice

head of the spineless

peyote cactus.

Amid

emn ceremony,

celebrants

eat the buttons

and per-

in-

cluded a number of plant hal-

peyote "buttons" found at the

where

plant cured the sick and

Across the continent,

the

The peyote

ther applications of the

innocent villagers.

means

drank

and immediate-

then led them back to

the execution for witchcraft

in the

two

brewed from morning-glory seeds that contained a lysergic acid

sol-

much

like

sacred

LSD. By drinking the

fluid,

they believed, the

ceive colorful visions

Aztec priests could make con-

amid sensations of

tact with a host of

peace and happiness.

Another sacred Aztec

A Brule Sioux legend from the

psilocybin

savage gods. plant, a

mushroom

called

teonanactl, or "flesh of God,"

1920s relates that

supposedly helped priests be-

Grandfather Peyote

come one with

the divine.

Hallucinogenic plants figure in

an ancient

text, India's

religious

3,000-year-old

Rig Veda. According to this collection of

101

hymns and

prayers,

and consumed an insoma in rites that historians bemodern Hinduism. Soma's precise

the eariy Incio-Europeans worshiped

covered," reads one

toxicating plant juice called

all

lieve later

identity

developed into

hymn from art

our

the ancient scripture.

life-giver:

aim of all eyes,

"On

light-

finder,

come

For

the ancient glories of the soma, the mandrake, and

within us."

remains something of a pharmacological puzzle.

Harvard researcher banker

Soma, thou

sides,

who

has

mushrooms by

R. G.

made

Wasson, a former reporter and

extensive studies of the ritual use of

early cultures, argues that

soma may

have been derived from Amanita muscaria, the

mushroom, a species

that

was

during mind-altering religious

Whatever

its

traordinary effect

fly

thrived

well

also used by Siberian tribes

soma

many ways an enemy

in

also served as a

haven

evidently

had an ex-

woods posed

to early civilization.

outlaws and savage

a daunting barrier to

razed the

attained the light the

Gods

first

European

forests, the prevailing

man

domination. Even the study of plants was brought

under firm intellectual control

amid of greenery, a man impersonating fack-in-the-Green Jack

in the

sixteenth and

seventeenth centuries as Andrea Caesalpino

dis-

itjes in this

view of wild

plants and trees evolved from respectful coexistence to hu-

in the

on godhead. "We have drunk Soma and

cavorts dui

for

farming, building, and free travel. As farmers gradually

on human perception. As recorded

become immortal; we have

it

animals, the ancient

Rig Veda, the mysterious botanical fluid induced a state of exaltation verging

was

Because

agaric

rituals.

true identity,

all

the mistletoe, the primeval forest in which such plants

nineteenth-century painting. In British folklore,

embodies the

102

leafy spirit ot spring.

in Italy

and

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in

term "haymaids." Under Lin-

France separately categorized

naean

plants into thousands of pre-

the

cisely defined varieties.

Glechoma hederacea.

all

Around the world, colo-

saw "taming

rules

it

was reduced

to

but unpronounceable

Linnaean classifications

the wilder-

also created something of a

ness" as the order of the day.

communications gap between the educated classes and countryfolk unfamiliar

nists

To the seventeenth-century pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, the virgin forest

was

a "hid-

with the Latin tongue. Farm-

eous and desolate wilderness of wild beasts

ers found the

and

new

terminolo-

wild men." Back in Europe,

gy unnatural and stultifying. Latinate plant descriptions

.

.

full

.

fashionable gardeners took to

were, as one British

trimming their plants and

it,

trees into geometric forms

grammar

and

fanciful shapes.

the sheer

torians of Covered head to toe with burrs from the burdock plant and crowned with a hat offlowers, a resident of Queensferry, Scotland, plays the part of the Burry Man-a magical fellow believed to bring luck.

volume of newly

discovered plant and animal species inspired the Swedish naturalist Carl

von Linne

known

who had nicknamed him

hardly surprised his family, little

cies

botanist"

when he was

names, one

Latin lar

for its

ical virtues

known

genus and the other

to

to this day,

variety of plant with

ivy

latest

scheme.

sifications, other

for its particu-

traders, gardeners,

human

about the same plants, but at a significant

ground

a realm of dry, "lifeless" objects

But even as the botanists pondered their orderly clas-

Westerners

who

felt

sickened by the on-

touched nature. Between 1700 and 1850, the bulk of the

and bot-

European population was

from different regions to be sure they were talking

the

cost. In-

terms supplanted a time-honored vocab-

ulary of local plant

mag-

a student of botanical lore,

slaught of industrialization developed a yearning for un-

The new system allowed

evitably, the Latin

and plants into separate rise of science came a grow-

To many

became

was

humans

be inspected and pigeonholed according to the

scientific

two

type or species.

anists

of plants.

the natural world

"the

a boy of eight. In his book Spe-

Plantamm, considered the bible of botanists

Linnaeus baptized every

"scientization" of plants

ing impatience with age-old beliefs in the religious or

as the father of modern botany -a development that

his-

thought, the

the segregation of

realms of existence. With the

under the Latin form of his name, Linnaeus, he became

human

greater price paid for this

to

develop a detailed system for categorizing plants. Writing

put

Hebrew."

According to some

By the eighteenth century,

in

wag

an English

"like writing

names

once gloried

in

ripe with

meaning.

an array of

folk

green pastures, the

go by

fraught with disease

and the peculiar

recalled as a

103

from the countryside

small, individually farmed patches

more

efficient tracts.

spective of new arrivals choking in

England,

"Gill

and

solidated into larger,

names ranging

from "catsfoot," "tun hoof," and "alehoof," to the ground," "Gill creep by the ground,"

In

city,

shifting

to

were con-

From

the per-

smoke and homesick for was a noisome wilderness, and danger, while the countryside was city itself

haven of innocence.

who gave up formal pursue a scientific career, George Washington Carver attributed his remarkable agricultural discoveries to a mystical relationship with plants. "The secrets are in the plants," he once said. "To elicit them you have to love them enough.'

A

talented painter

art training to

had become

Trees, meanwhile,

more valuable with

As timber

scarcity.

prices rose with the

growth of ship-

building and other industries, land-

owners began they cut

to plant trees as often as

them down. Trees also began

some of their lost human significance. As early as 1691, one Thomas Tyron recorded that many beto recapture

when

lieved "trees suffer pains

cut

down, even as the beasts and animals do when they are

killed."

By the nineteenth century, sensibilities

cle.

about plants had

come

full cir-

Referring to the neatly patterned

order of a formal English garden, land-

scape 1822, sion.

artist

John Constable said

"A gentleman's park It

is

is

my

not beauty because

it

in

averis

not

nature." Instead, British poets such as

William Wordsworth celebrated the beauty of natural scenes and wildflowers.

In

Wordsworth's poem

"I

wan-

dered lonely as a cloud," the author

comes upon "a crowd, a en

host, of gold-

daffodils; / Beside the lake,

the trees, fluttering

beneath

and dancing

in the

memory

of the

breeze." Later just the

flowers could lighten his thoughts: "And then /

my

heart with pleasure

And dances with

the daffodils "

countryside even reassumed its

religious significance

.

first

temples

The

some of

he American

poet William Cullen Brya ests "God's

fills,

called for-

"

For his part, the n century

German poet johann

von Goethe believed he could communicate with the divine through the con-

104

templation of plants. The young ualizing the

life

man

lay in

bed

at night vis-

took

cycle of a plant from seed to seed.

Eventually Goethe

came

notion that descendants of such an Ur-plant could adapt

new forms has been

too

many

ents paid

and

Charles Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution.

researchers

who combined

Among

the best

known

technical expertise with a re-

all

enced through workshop," the

York audience.

creations of God.

method

decades

Goethe pondered

after

into

to

Civil

waking hours

said.

things in the woods.

ailing

In 1891, Carver

Nicknamed "the

for

methods; the

inspired to create said,

without God

curtain." the

dustrial titans as

mained

abili-

I

"And so do hundreds of little living learn what know by watching and

touch that flower," Carver explained,

I

ty.

became

the

first

loyal to his

I

It

existed long before there

come. Through the flower, only

accept a position as head of the newly formed agricultural

the earthquake,

Tuskegee, a black Alabama college founded

by the ex-slave Booker

Washington. During his

T.

Tuskegee, Carver would

later tell

window and experienced

first

that

a silent force. This is

still

a vision, one of several

ticular plant. In recent

sciousness

he saw lush green

of plants that

infini-

this

1

talk to the Infinite,

not a physical contact.

fire.

It

is in

It

which is

is

not in

the invisible world.

It

is

life

have

all

living things

than to any par-

decades, however, other students of

taker, the notion of individual plant

con-

more literally. Certainly, there are some types seem to act with eerie intentionality. The carnivorous Venus flytrap captures and eats helpless insects,

dotted with prosperous, freshly that day, the

wind or

divine force that pervaded

his students, he looked

of the barren clay of dirt-poor central Alabama, Carver said,

From

touching

For Carver, that "fairy" voice belonged more to the

day

botanical

hills

am

small voice that calls up the fairies."

divine revelations received throughout his lifetime. Instead

painted farmhouses.

"I

were human beings on

earth and will continue to exist for millions of years to

black student to en-

Iowa State University. After earning a bachelor's de-

out of a

am

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, he rework in Alabama. One day near the end of Carver's life, a visitor saw the famous agriculturalist gently caress a small flower on his laboratory bench. "When

plant doctor"

gree and then a master of science degree, he went on to

at

I

Despite generous offers of employment from such in-

try.

loving everything."

at

moment

By 1930, Carver not only had salvaged some of

observations of the plants themselves. "All flowers

department

never have to grope

revealed at the

New

laboratory," he told a

created a quarter-billion-dollar regional agricultural indus-

called his "garden hospital."

roll at

my

woods, where he would nurse

in the

me," he

"I

prayed every day before entering

into

South's endangered soil but had almost single-handedly

by appreciative neighbors, the shy boy attributed his

talk to

is

little

War, as a young boy he spent most of his

plants back to health in a hand-built greenhouse that he

ties to

scientist

"draw aside the

slavery in rural Missouri. Freed in early childhood by the

American

plants. Calling his laboratory "God's

something new." He could do nothing, he

his imaginary

was born

more valuable because they helped to As he had in childhood, Carver

"No books ever go

it.

humanity's best advantage and revering them as marvelous

A few

the

attributed his successes to the divine reality that he experi-

balance between employing plants to

Ur-plant in cosmopolitan Europe, Carver

such previously unregarded

restore nutrients to the soil.

life

strike a near-perfect

tal-

new

dividends, as he found

profitable uses for

were

of the

was the black American scientist George Washington Carver, whose lifework seemed to many to

spect for plant

the decades that followed, Carver's

enormous

crops as peanuts and sweet potatoes, plants that

Gradually the newly humanized view of plants spread itself.

to replenish the depleted soil of the

cotton crops.

Throughout

in-

credited as a significant influence on

into the study of botany

upon himself

South, which had been slowly leached of any nutrients by

to the conclusion that all

plants derive from a single Ur-plant, a kind of ideal form. His

to

it

young professor 105

far

energy within the body. Before begin-

Tapping flie

ning such an exercise, the meditator takes pains to find a suitable tree for

Life

Force

inspiration. Evergreens are considered

the best, because they are not affected

by seasonal changes.

ol a Tree

Maples, on the other hand, are generally avoided; tradition has

deemed them

According to the Chinese

gave

traditions that

rise to

practices as feng shui

puncture, an invisible called

qi,

or

everything

ch'i,

such

and aculife

force

courses through

garded as wellsprings of the energy, drawing

it

out of

the earth with their roots setting

it

free

leaves. In the is

and

through their

human

body,

lower abdominal region, passes under the tailbone and

up the spine

to the head,

available energy

neither overpow-

is

The

and— perhaps

smooth,

most important -the meditator must have a special feeling for the tree.

starts in the

It

be neither too large nor too small, so that the reservoir of

Once

qi

thought to follow a circu-

lar path:

should

trunk should be straight and

Trees, in particular, are re-

vital

it

ering nor overly meager.

the universe.

in

What-

unfriendly.

ever the tree's variety,

a suitable tree

has been found, the meditator

assumes a

position,

either sitting or standing,

with his or her back up against the tree trunk.

before returning to the

Then begins a process

abdomen. A

of concentration on

of

qi is

free flow

considered

essential to spiritual,

mental, and physical well-being.

detect an upsurge of

power

could

respond to the in any other.

qi

Acting on this

assumption, practitioners of

the meditative art called ch'i

kung devel

oped an exercise for

harnessing a

tree's

of

upward How

qi to

entourage

the circulation of

to

the head, while trying to

Another Chinese belief was that any living thing

up the spine

pulling the qi

in

the tree.

A

typical session lasts just ten

minutes, and it

is

kung

ch'i

when

complete, the practition-

er takes care to

guide the the

qi

back to

abdomen. Excess

qi in

other parts of

body is believed to be potentially harmful. Rubbing the the

belly is the usual tech-

nique for easing the

back home.

qi

for instance,

and the sunflower

track the sun in

its

one of several plants

is

course across the sky. Certain acacia

by giving them extra nectar, while the ants

And

more predatory

in

many

gedly in an uncontrollable surge.

more complex behavior, "paying" ants

plants display even

other,

lying-the relatively smooth line drawn by the pen rises jag-

that

Backster reasoned that the

employed

in turn fight off

harm the plant. common scrub weed responds to

insects that might

areas, the

make

itself

plant's leaves just as

mained

at

one of the

being's finger,

human

re-

subject.

So

far,

his results

were unre-

France contended that most

such a slow pace that people didn't notice

cording to his knowledge of physics, Backster expected that

own

their

moved

human

a response that would be expected

fairly steady,

from a calm

bi-

argued that these and other patterns of

move— much

behavior implied that plants could

plants

he would to a

known since the 1870s to generate electrical signals. But when he supplied the plant with water, the next readings came as a surprise. Ac-

ologist Raoul France

do— of

also be

in the conductivity of his

he found that the resting measurement of the plant

appear unappetizing.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Austrian

same device could

secretary's dracaena. Pasting the electrodes to

the hoofbeats of approaching cattle by sinking into a false wilt to

measure changes

to

volition.

as

markable, because plants had been

humans

unless they paid very close attention. He himself, he said,

the circulating water

had observed buds and twigs tracing exploratory

plant's conductivity. Instead, as he later told the story,

and

the air

circles in

tendrils reaching out to sense the plants' sur-

France concluded that plants were

intelligent

beings operating

in a

fully

the

was astonished to see the polygraph pen tracing same kind of falling line that, in a human being, would

indicate pleasurable relaxation.

conscious,

fascinated by this unexpected response, Backster de-

dimension of existence be-

yond human ken.

cided to try to induce stress in the plant by burning

one of its

Although France's observations were dismissed by his contemporaries, his ideas gained 1960s,

when

gest that

lie

new

currency during the

detectors could be used to measure the

beings. This line of research

when

riosity

was

initiated late

emo-

signal

in

how

was sheer

mind and reacted

this

gave

water.

such a machine are pasted to a

A

and

then traces these values on a moving

a

exposed

of paper.

If

seemed

coincidence, the plant must have read his to the threatening situation as

test, six

any

think-

of Backster's students secretly

determine which of them would

in front of

to

rip

apart one

another houseplant. The chosen stu-

each of the

tion to five of

mechanical pen

strip

It

in the electrical

dent did the deed, and afterward, the surviving plant

subject's fingertips.

device called a galvanometer measures changes in the

electrical conductivity of the skin,

lots to

houseplant

graph machines— lie detectors. Ordinarily, the electrodes of

human

being.

odd phenomenon using a number of innovative exper-

drew

was an expert in skin with polyhuman of

Backster, a former CIA employee, electrical potential

human

sudden change

to

During the next several months, Backster explored

iments. For one

measuring the

line

ing being would.

quickly the electrical poten-

of his secretary's potted dracaena— a small, broadleaved plant similar to a palm— would change when he tial

it

had so much as reached

an agitated series of spikes similar

to Backster that unless the

Cleve Backster, a security consultant, out of cu-

decided to measure

into

those caused by physical fear in a

human

one night

leaves. Before he

match, however, the plant's charted

for a

swung up

a series of novel experiments seemed to sug-

tional responses of plants as well as those of

1966,

in the

Backster

roundings. After years spent scrutinizing such botanical activities,

would cause a slow increase

six students in turn.

them but gieeted

It

was

had no reac-

the sixth student with a bar-

rage of agitated botanical signaling that correctly identified

him as the

the

killer.

Backster also tried

subject experiences great stress-such as that involved in 107

some

long-distance

tests.

Once,

for

Reports of plant-human interactions began to surface

example, he wanted to measure the changes that might occur in a plant's electrical potential as

lengthy

trip

by airplane. After the

measurement of

that the

its

owner took a

what would become

his

Newark,

death— by boiling-of brine shrimp. As the shrimp showing every sign of

ed system poured

in

But

stress.

when

Sun-Times that

died,

an equivalent amount of

sterile

to

at

improve

head

water

is

own confused

straightened out a

my

more,

little

failed to

"Now

thinking.

them, they ignore you." Backster

When

was committed

perform

for

The

some

a

distinguished visitor, he declared they had "fainted" be-

cause the visitor had previously burned plants laboratory. (In the

same

spirit,

some

experimenters some-

later

On

explanations for unanticipated changes

plant's readings.

Once he decided

had been reacting hot water

was

to the

In

cells

when he

dence of Primary Perception

voir, Virginia,

the use of plants themselves as

painted iodine

that tried to

some

of his results in The

under the

in Plant Life."

And as

Other

scientists,

respond to the

lie

investigating

detectors in experiments

however, were not so enthusiastic, as

title

"Evi-

several carefully controlled attempts to replicate Backster's

the

news

experiments

publicized, others intrigued by the

produce

failed to

confirming results.

In

1978,

Ciate at the privately _ ,,i j

results. In 1973, the publication

.

of The Secret Life

work and other paranormal

research, produced an explosion of public interest. tion quickly spread that, as the

New

funded i-

r-.

Science Unlimited Research

of Plants, a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird

Foundation,

became

the

lat-

C/eve Backster demonstrates a Pofygraph technique for measunng reactions of plants. The chart allegedly shows one plant's distress at the idea of H } being burned In l970s

^New

Backster persuaded police to let

plant

est in a series Of Scientists

Who Worked

The no-

Closely With

him

assist in

Jersey

a

murder investigation. He hoped that plants might recognize the and register fear. The

killer

York Times phrased

plants "fear, love, hate, worry about

may

to

measure human emotional response through

undertook similar plant experiments, sometimes achieving

that discussed Backster's

In his

their reactions. Like

seemed

army researchers considered

John KmetZ, a research aSSO-

same

Maryland.

dismemberment, even

and then recorded

paranormal, including a respected IBM research chemist,

the

had duplicated

the reactions of nearby plants.

1968, Backster published

work became more

in

experimenter's intent as well as to his actions. At Fort Bel-

a sink where

finger.

International Journal of Parapsychology

of his

in

fire,

Backster, Byrd found that plants

running; in another case he thought a plant

had sensed the death of body

on a cut

ultraviolet light,

in a

a suddenly active plant

death of bacteria

you ignore

1973, navy opera-

in Silver Spring,

study, Byrd subjected plants to

other occasions, Backster had to scramble to

find plausible

If

If

of Backster's experiments at the Naval Ord-

nance Laboratory

times blamed a lack of results on "sluggish" or "morose" plants.)

military laboratories. In

tions analyst Eldon Byrd reported he

own

her

in

my

Backster effect also gained a sympathetic ear

to the idea of

his plants failed to

that

better," Previn told the interviewer. "They're like friends.

you approve of them they approve of you.

this time,

grow

plants are doing

signals steady.

By

florist in

and appearance.

their color

instead of shrimp, the plants remained passive and their

plant intelligence.

A

Previn explained to the Chicago

one time her plants had

because of Previn's

automat-

his

were prayed

declared that he sang to his flowers for

And singer-composer Dory

Backster's polygraphs recorded electrical signals from his plants

New Jersey,

an hour every day

most famous experiment,

Backster also tested the reactions of three philodendrons to the

that plants that

over grew faster than their neglected peers.

the plant's energy potential in-

creased each time the traveler tensed during landing. In

announced

Franklin Loehr

Backster determined

trip,

across the continent. In Los Angeles, the Reverend

in cities

it,

Backster to repeat his Classic

who knows-

brine-shrimp experiment,

possess the power to read people's mind

Following Backster's advice, 108

plants failed to respond, but it turned out that none of the suspects paraded before them was charged with the crime.

which included a

rule that

no other plants could be

new

left in

produce Backster-like

effects in

such inanimate objects as

plants about previous

damp

cloths. Backster himself

experiments, Kmetz nevertheless failed to find any evi-

tional

responses from shredded leaves, chicken eggs, hu-

the

room because they might

tell

dence of plant emotion. His research, wrote Kmetz,

went on

New

a

to

become

the assistant

Jersey college, "led

ster's] results

.

.

.

may

me

is

I

random

am

calling electronic noise a response."

might explain

why

at

to believe that his [Back-

represent only

functioning of his electrode system. ...

he

who

dean of natural sciences

electrical

suggesting that

The noise theory

other researchers of the day

managed

to

man

has reported apparent emo-

blood, and yogurt.

An

equally cool-headed interpretation of the whole

question of the secret

life

of plants has been offered by

Anthony Huxley, a gardening expert and nephew of the writer Aldous Huxley. Posing the question, feel?"

"Do

plants

Huxley answered "yes" and "no." Plants, he

have a rudimentary system of "chemical messengers"

/

f

said,

that

According to experiments conducted in the late 1 960s by a college student named Dorothy Retallack— pictured here with her professor Francis Broman— plants not only respond to music but have their individual likes and dislikes. One of the plants below, for instance, supposedly revealed its distaste for avant-garde concert music by leaning away from the tape machine; the other was reportedly dying from too much expo-

can trigger reactions to physical sensations, but those reactions do not signify

emotional or intellec-

tual perception.

sure to so-called acid rock. Retallack found that music could have an effect on plant growth as well, as evidenced by the photograph at right, in which the roots of a rockstimulated plant (far right) are sparse and distorted compared with those of a healthy control plant (near right).

According to Huxley,

most so-called demonstrations of plant conscious-

ness can be explained by a

combination of plant physiology

and human

mentality.

senti-

"One has

finally

to say that the imputation

of fainting and telepathy in plants

sounds

like

wishful

anthropomorphism — that wish on man's part

make ways

many

other organisms resemble him in as as possible because, presumably,

them

and perhaps

less alien

to

makes

it

less frightening."

While Huxley and others were gently deflating claims of plant intelligence, yet another group of re-

searchers

was

exploring the effects of a particular

physical stimulus-musical

Among

opment. to

sound-on

plant devel-

the pioneers of the field that

be called plant harmonics was

T. C.

came

Singh, head of

the botanical department at India's versity. His

Annamalai Uniwork may well have been inspired by the

ancient Indian tradition oidohada, a gardening tech-

nique that promotes growth by singing or playing to

and

trees

plants.

According to one Western observer Singh

in

1950, the experimenter typically

who visited began work

before sunrise, because the protoplasm inside a plant's leaves

moves more slowly

predawn darkness, the

visitor

at night. In the

observed as Singh studied

leaves through a microscope. Singh

was watching

cally,

proto-

lead in turn to faster growth.

plasm slowly streaming through the semitransparent leaf of a Hydrilla plant.

Once

the botanist switched

n a

tuning fork, the protoplasm's motion acceleiou

In

motorized .1

suggesting an increased metabolic rate that could

another experiment, Singh found that the sound of

a violin had similar effects

on some mimosa

exposing the mimosas to violin music

dramati-

110

for a

plants. After

two-week

peri-

searchers at the University of North Carolina at

Greensboro found that blasting turnips with "pink noise," which of a jet engine,

sound

similar to the

is

made

more

the plants sprout

quickly than normal.

Meanwhile, as word of Singh's musical research

name

spread, a skeptical Illinois botanist by the

of George

E.

Smith decided he would do some

experimenting of his own. Smith planted identical crops of corn

and soybeans

in

twin green-

houses, which were carefully regulated to pro-

duce the same greenhouse he

environments. One

artificial

left

alone.

The other he

outfitted

with a phonograph that played George Gersh-

win's "Rhapsody in Blue" around the clock.

od, he discovered that the plants

had two-thirds more

filled

stomata — the epidermal pores through which a plant "breathes"— than did similar specimens raised silence.

Even the

cells of the

the quiet greenhouse.

The matter of musical influences on plant growth was

in relative

serenaded plants seemed big-

taken to extremes by Dorothy Retallack of Denver, Colo-

ger and heartier. Based on this and other research, Singh later

announced

in

an Indian agricultural journal

yond any shadow of doubt

.

.

.

the growth, flowering, fruiting, In

and seed-yields of

food-poor India, the next natural step

for

rado, a

mother of eight who became the

to graduate

that "be-

harmonic sound waves

Much to Smith's surprise, the crops in the musicroom sprouted earlier and grew larger than those in

first

from Temple Buell College. Intrigued by a mag-

azine article about Smith's Gershwin experiment, Retallack

affect

persuaded her biology professor to

plants."

Singh was to

effects of

sound on

let

plants. For eight

her do a study of the

hours a day,

fifty-six-foot-long

Indian ragas, or hymns, through loudspeakers directed to-

close control of humidity, temperature, and

rice paddies;

lack's geraniums, philodendrons, corn,

according to his records, the

exposed

harvest from those paddies exceeded the yield from silent

Studies of

what came

to

be called sound irradiation

weeks' time.

Among

more promising

findings

were those of a team

at the University of

Ottawa,

light,

and radishes were

key played over and all

died within two

same droning note for only three much better than a control group of

to the

plants housed in a third

chamber with no sound.

Wondering whether the F note might have bored her

report-

mid-1960s that wheat seeds exposed

to a single

hapless specimens to death, Retallack-herself a

high-pitched tone later grew into adult plants

more than

prano and organist -decided to

ed

in the

twice as heavy as ordinary specimens.

In

Retal-

a second chamber, however, similar plants

hours a day and did

the

at the de-

who

In

were subjected

followed at other institutions, although inconclusive results eventually led to a falloff of academic research.

partment of biology

to a recording of a piano's F

over. According to her report, the plants

acreage by 25 to 67 percent.

in special

environmental chambers that allowed

apply his findings to increasing crop yields. So he broadcast

ward a group of

grandmother

another study, re-

find out

react to different kinds of music.

111

how

mezzo

plants

so-

would

She discovered, she

said,

that the plants

seemed to share her own musical tastessome of her fellow students as some-

kind of experimentation. Until that lieve

revelation that struck

was

Percussive rock music, which Retallack disliked,

awareness, though, the

forcing plants to lean

away from

the loudspeakers

modern

and even

one group of marigolds. Bach choral preludes and

courage marigolds and other plants to grow and causing them to bend toward the loudspeakers as

age-old affinity for plants

thrive,

the Salyut-6, Salyut-7,

some reason they displayed no western songs, a

Duke

plants in complete

harmony with

music'" she commented

at the time.

was

and Mir space

pose of the plants grown

"Were the

in

these greenhouses

kind of earthy

were intended

ing a small crop of orchids,

"Or didn't they care

late

Retallack had the opportunity to

seasonings such as parsley,

dill,

onion, garlic, and wheat

addition, a small tray of cotton bolls

ordinators to set up a rock versus raga experiment that

test the feasibility

would be filmed with time-lapse photography. Retallack

journeys

was "almost

lat-

sick with nervousness" that

would not come through. Rising

mellifluous melodies of Ravi Shankar's sitar and

was

er,

to the occasion,

far

What

the Soviets discovered,

All of the plants

more

were of only secondary

critical role in

preserving the cosmonauts'

one Salyut-6 crew

referred to plants as "our green friends" said

mainstream academic com-

he could not emphasize strongly enough the importance of the plant garden to his psychological well-being during his

and her

time on the space station. Another cosmonaut

relative lack of scientific

2

1

1

days on Salyut-7 had the same reaction.

guments against Retallack's work, Frank Salisbury of the

future flights there will be a lot of plants.

plant science department at Logan's Utah State University

essential to

many

New York

Times,

conventional botanists "I

years.

when he

hate to just out-and-out say

but there's been an awful field for

Most of

howev-

general tended to focus on her ev-

critics in the

experience. Although he marshaled no specific ar-

for

to

grown on board, they found,

After a stretch of 185 days in orbit,

member who

Cleve Backster, Dorothy Retallack garnered her

ident musical bias

spoke

diet. In

would be included,

mental health.

the blasting strains of rock-and-roll.

in

supplement the cosmonaut

that these pragmatic goals

played a

away from

to

of space-grown textile material for longer

in the future.

importance.

however, her botanical proteges duly leaned toward the

munity, which

to help recircu-

ess actually kept the atmosphere livable). Fresh foods and

16, 1970,

would also be grown,

share of

was— at

oxygen through the station (although a chemical proc-

share her results with viewers across the nation in a report

Like

first orbit-

least originally-entirely utilitarian. All of the plants, includ-

on the CBS Evening News, when she was asked by CBS co-

the plants

stations, the

periods of several months

for

special greenhouses equipped for zero gravity, but the pur-

one way or the other'"

er admitted she

by the be-

vividly illustrated

of Soviet cosmonauts living aboard

Plans for the stations had always included designs for

Ellington, but for

this

to plant

greenery does un-

without a break.

reaction to country-and-

fact that puzzled Retallack.

for

most technological of

in the

manned

ing vessels to be

to in-

if

a marked, though less extreme, preference for jazz

recordings by Louis Armstrong and

comments

havior and

crease their exposure to the airy strains. The plants also

On October

don't be-

I

During the 1980s and 1990s, humanity's

settings.

to en-

on the other hand, were said

classical Indian ragas,

human need

questionably persist, even

revealed by her experiments to be extremely destructive,

showed

comes along

it."

Whatever the verdict may be with regard

what suspicious.

killing

any of

lot

of pseudo-science

this stuff just doesn't

balo-

station

it

was as

opened up and

in this

have the

in

into the

right

112

world

it

"

if

I

who

in

They are simply I

had

a garden. But onboard the space

woke up

seemed

spent

think that in

space," he said. "Back on Earth

never loved tinkering

told the

it's all

man

"I

all

A tiny leaf window out

of a sudden. ...

to fling

open a

bright

The Art ol Feng Shui

"There is a touch of magic light amid confusion, peace; amid peace, a festive air. Upon coming into its presence, one's eyes are opened; if one sits .

or

lies,

one's heart

gathers,

is joyful.

and the essence

take a hand in positioning struc

.

tures

and influencing the flow of qi outcome

to invite the best possible

A common

Here chi

application of feng shui

collects. Light

places.

The

belief

made happy

is

that

if

the ancestors

shines in the middle, and magic goes out

are

on

graves, they will secure great blessings

all

sides."

Thus did one seventeenth-

century Chinese describe a pleasant and

for their

auspicious place, where a fine balance of

placement

earth energies ful

was achieved through

care-

attention to feng shui.

Feng shui is the Chinese name for the ambiance of a place and the art of harmonizing human works to their natural surroundings. Pronounced "fung-shway," the name means "wind-water" and implies the study of things that flow. The flow of ch'i, or qi— life energy, the earth's cosmic breath— is the essence of the art. The feng shui master scrutinizes the earth as an astrologer does the heavens,

Many feng shui

consultants make use of the Lo Pan, or "heaven pool, " compass (above), using its concentric rings to determine the astrological influences on a building site. Other adepts rely on the shapes and mystical traits of the four sacred animals below, as explained on the following pages.

The goal

is

descendants. But beneficial is

yang The feng shui of

also crucial for the

dwellings of the

home

in their yin dwellings, or

living.

or place of business

bring good or bad luck in

is

all

a

believed to

aspects of

life— including health, marriage, career,

and reputation. schoolhouse

is

If

pie, children will

With so

the feng shui of a

not favorable, for

much

exam

not learn quickly at stake,

and with the

precepts of feng shui both complex and subjective, there

is

room

for dishonest as

well as honest practitioners. But the Chi

nese who can afford it consult a feng shui master when planning any kind of build-

seeking details that might affect future events.

is

in locating auspicious family burial

ing or

not to divine but to

WHITE TIGER

RED PHOENIX

when

starting a business.

iln Eastern

Sense of Place

The yang dwellings

come

of the living in-

wealth and oppor-

to symbolize

Nowadays,

clude not only

tunity.

homes

not only waterways

but temples,

but roads— with

banks, schools, factories, halls,

meeting

and other

buildings. In the past, the

designed

all

impede the flow of qi or

of these structures in accord-

away from

roll

have

rich

are consultants ready to advise house-

their

own way

the flow of

qi,

is

is

will

a pool or a

are in

highly desirable. Indeed, is

a

flat

be additional

hills to

the east, west,

and south— the last of these being low enough to permit an unobstructed view and an inward flow of qi and prosperity. In such an auspicious landscape, the sheltering mountain to the north is called

with no obstruc-

qi

in

of a mountain (above). Optimally, there

not considered favorable, because

thought to have no

with water

gentle stream. Just as a current that flows

piece of ground halfway up the south side

tions blocking the front. Perfectly level

land

endowments of qi and

the ideal location for a house

improving a home.

The first consideration is the land on which construction is planned or where a structure already exists. The site should

it

be conduits for qi and to symbolize

the flow of wealth. Desirable building sites are blessed

Nonetheless, mountains are believed to

holders on every stage of finding, build-

welcome

to let prosperity

a structure.

streaming

traffic— are said to

Chinese

ance with feng shui principles. Even today in some parts of China and in other countries where Chinese have settled, there

ing, or

their

Ae ideal idecL setting for a house, the building nestles comfortably In the y amid four mount 7s. Waterflowing each symbolizing one of the four sacred animals. protective mountains, ilth. pas the house in a gentle curve presages abundant wealth. past

whatsoever.

But the slopes that do exist should be

the Black Tortoise. That to the east is the Green Dragon and should be a little larger than the White Tiger— the mountain to the west. The southern mountain is called the Red Phoenix. These mountain creatures carry a multi-

gentle and flowing -never so steep as to

tude of mystical associations.

A crescent-shaped pool turned toward the house is said to bode well for career development.

Among

other things, they are the four most important constellations of traditional Chi-

nese astronomy, one

in

each quarter of

the night sky. In the ideal homesite, the

Red Phoenix is associated with fire, the Green Dragon with wood, the White Tiger with metal, and the Black Tortoise with water. The house itself, standing at the center, represents earth, the

element of Chinese its

this

house should enjoy much prosperity, because water symbolizes money.

permanence and

It

Set in the e

observed

fifth

great

valued for

stability.

in the old

feng shui texts

wind disperses qi, while water retains it, and over the centuries water has

that I

is

tradition,

too rapidly washes it

also

is

deemed

prosperity,

A

away

to flush

valuable

away

soil,

so

luck,

and money.

road can have a similarly draining

effect

if it is

situated too close to a house,

and special care must be taken with the walkway or driveway that links a house to an avenue. The path should be wider than the main entrance of the home (right),

to allow the

supply of qi.

And

passage of a

in situations

sufficient

where

excessive qi rushes in from the road, a

circular or

winding path or driveway

recommended

is

to effectively increase the

distance from the house to the thoroughfare (middle right).

It

is

also helpful

if

the

gous

back represents is wider in front than in back suggests good fortune for the present owners but dwindling to the present; the

the future.

A

plot of land that

house is buffered from the influences of a road by being set back in the middle third

prospects for their descendants.

of

shaped

its lot

(bottom

Straight lines

right).

aimed

and mountainside

sites are

A

dwelling should not

the path of a straight stretch of river or

highway, for example. Nor should the its

These unlucky features are called secret arrows and direct sha toward the house and its occupants. direction.

In fact,

it

is

in the

considered advisable that

Depending on their shapes, even distant mountains can influence human fortunes. A hill shaped like a dog may be regarded as a guardian, watching over the house. But an outcrop

may

devour resources and deny prosperity. The shape of a lot also carries portents. Square or rectangular lots are the most prized, because these shapes symbolize the element earth and thus confer solidity. The front of a lot is thought to be analo-

but

set

rear of the lot balances the effect.

Indeed,

all

of the

recommended feng

shui remedies are designed to reconnect,

residents.

of rock with the contours of a rat

lot

toward the front, then a tree, lamppost, or heavy stone placed at the

evaluated with regard to their potential

on the

and do the residents

rather than simply dispersing.

optimal middle third of a

must be

the entire surroundings of a domicile be

effect

flow to the place and then be con-

tained, to circulate

Feng shui experts advise that boulders, large trees, mounds, or walls in front of a house are likely to hinder the arrival of qi and can lead to bad luck. But these features have potential benefits in some circumstances. If a house cannot be built

lie in

spines of nearby roofs be pointing in

will

some good

at a building are

thought to produce a malevolent energy called sha.

These remedies have the added benefit of enclosing the site on three sides, leaving the front open. Thus, the energizing qi

In the real world, of course, perfectly lots

With such options available, almost any house can be given a favorable feng shui.

balance, or stimulate the flow of

qi.

Tradi-

tional fixtures installed out of doors in-

clude lamps and mirrors to produce or

A circular driveway will allegedly bring a flow ofqi and burgeoning opportunities for the residents.

extremely rare, and

in urban settings not can face the auspicious south. It is the task of the feng shui consultant, therefore, to identify problems

even half the

lots

reflect light;

wind chimes

to raise qi

through the energy of sound; and objects that move, such as fountains, windmills, and mobiles. Judiciously placed trees, stones, paths, walls, and sheds can also have a useful effect in deflecting the sha

of a secret arrow, for example, or in slowing a too rapid flow of

qi.

and suggest possible remedies. The usual approach is to regard each building site as a

little

world unto

itself.

The front of the lot and the front of the house are treated as if they were facing south, regardless of their compass orientation.

And

for properties lacking the ideal

cluster of mountains, the feng shui master

suggests ways to compensate for the presence of the missing sacred animals. An authoritative text called the Yang-chai Ching, or The Classic of Dwellings, pre-

scribes the following substitutions: "All

residences are honourable which have on the

A path

that widens as

it

leads

away from the house is a hopeful sign for a promising career.

left

flowing water, representing the

Green Dragon; on the right a long path, symbolising the White Tiger; in the front a pool, for the Red Bird, and at the back a hill,

the

emblem

of the Black Tortoise."

When a house is centered in its plot of land, the lives of its residents should remain pleasingly balanced.

Addressing Problems inside me Home

Within the house, as on the surrounding

aim

land, the feng shui practitioner's

help qi circulate, letting in

it

move

is

to

freely but

a balanced and moderate way. The

pictures

on these pages

illustrate, first,

among

qi

beams

and

enhance or impede the

keeping with

circula-

this view, the

feng

shui patterns

to achieve this aim, and then three that

seen as portents of corresponding bodily ills for the residents. Thus, a broken window may presage problems with vision. Applying the principle that like, all

like imitates

the feng shui expert studies the over-

plan of a house for the influence

might have on the occupants'

lives

and

The most prominent rooms, main enwill dominate the thoughts and

especially those nearest the trance,

of the people in the house.

game room example,

is

a

near the front door, for

will

it

If

fl»

• front

encourage the residents

door that

leads into

room

it

interests.

activities

and both hinged on the same side.

and problems of a house are

three features of interior design that help

are less than ideal (opposite) but that have

the easiest path. Two doors in succession should be exactly aligned

are thought to have the potential

to either tion. In

Doors should open inward to offer qi

the rooms, whereas such fea-

tures as interior doorways, corners,

at

no

all,

but

opens directly onto a wall, is most unfavorable, because it offers nothing but a dead end to anyone entering the house. Such an entrance inhibits qi and will inflict upon the residents a life of struggle and failure.

away time and money on to fritter

amusements. A kitchen, on the

may

other hand,

lead to excessive

eating or

The shape of a house should be balanced like this one to help its occupants to achieve balanced lives.

been corrected with remedies prescribed by feng shui experts. The remedies are used indoors for the same purpose as

some

other form of greed. In a house

where a bathroom is large and central,

the residents

may spend

dispro-

portionate

amounts

they are outdoors: to balance, encourage,

of time coping with

or retard the flow of

bladder problems

To help promote

qi.

qi flow, the overall

shape of a house should be regular and rectangular. Shapes based on the square are considered the most fortuitous, because four-sided figures harmonize with the four quarters of heaven

and because

or endlessly bathing

and grooming

themselves.

A

study that

too

is

prominent pro-

motes reclusive

angles are thought to allow a good circulation of qi. Moreover, a balanced design in a domicile (above) is believed to

bookishness, but

promote balance in the lives of the people who occupy it. Feng shui experts also look upon a house as a body with doors for mouths and windows for eyes The hall side act as veins and acH

draws in residents and visitors alike and promotes

right

an

inviting foyer or

living

room

(right)

relaxed sociability. J f

rom

the feng

erspective, a

T The room just /us inside the front door provides the first impression of a hot home. A good choice for that location is a sitting room, wl which conveys an invitation to relax. .

,

The usual remedy

is

hang a mirror on

to

west. Each direc-

the obstructing wall, so that qi will be

tion is assigned to

redirected to the interior.

one side of the ba-gua and attributed with unique

The kitchen deserves a special place in a home, preferably on the south side. A kitchen's element is fire, and the food prepared there represents the wealth of the household.

If

room

the

is

small or

sponding to the eight fundamental

narrow, a mirror can be hung over the

life

stove to symbolically increase the family's

health, wealth,

wealth by giving the appearance of doubling the

number

of burners.

To safeguard

whatever wealth does exist, the kitchen stove should never be too near a bathroom lest water coursing out of the house

away the prosperity. Each room in a house has

carry

its

own

best

purpose, which a feng shui expert ascertains by evaluating the

room's physical

-
properties, corre-

concerns:

fame, marriage, children, helpful

acquaintances, career,

edge.

and knowl-

When

the

ba-gua is superimposed on a house or on a room, one of these concerns

To counteract a beam's tendency

bamboo flutes

becomes paramount in consider-

^¥5

sides sit of the auspicious ba-gua octagon.

ing each part of the house or the

The room marked

for

room

knowledge should

be devoted to studious pursuits; a space on. the children side of the octagon would be suited for a playroom. If there is a feng shui defect, an expert can judge by the

A

dampen energy, two hung at angles to form two

to

ti tied with red ribbons are

orientation of the ba-gua

what type of

flutes (above) or a length of red fringe.

beam over

a sleeper's head

headaches, or

it

may

A

may cause

interfere with antici-

above the feet. A bed should be moved from under a beam or pated travels

if it is

at least turned

to a

beam

so

its

length runs parallel

rather than across

it.

encounter. Or, someone hoping for improvement in a particular area of life can attempt a feng shui remedy by reassigning rooms to different uses as indicated by the ba-gua. trouble the occupant

is likely

to

And there are other possible solutions: Wind chimes in the family area may defuse squabbling among relatives; or a fishtank or a talisman of the ba-gua itself

may be A bed is best in

the

comer oppo-

site the door; failing that,

a mirror can

help to redirect the

qi.

placed in the wealth position to

bolster family finances.

A

projecting corner

ered unfavorable, for

is it

always considis

believed to

produce the malevolent sha. Whether the qualities, its

compass

orientation,

and the

implications of a mystical eight-sided

ba-gua (top right). Feng shui recognizes eight primary

figure called a

compass

directions: the cardinal points of

north, south, east,

and west, plus the four

"corner" points between east, southeast,

them— north-

southwest, and north-

offending corner

bend

is

part of a pillar or the

an L-shaped room, its threatening angles should be neutralized with mirrors, climbing vines, crystal balls, or wind chimes. Likewise, overhead beams are said to bear down on the flow of qi and be an oppressive influence. Experts advise altering such beams with bamboo in

Because qi rushes wastefully fast through a line of doorways, a crystal ball is

hung

to

impede the flow.

CHAPTER

4

Toward a New World-View

biochemist and inventor James Lovelock's groundbreaking book

ritish

A New Look at Life presents the following scenario: A dedicated scienmuch distressed by the plight of starving children, resolves to find a way

Gaia: tist,

to increase the world's food production.

succeeds

in

Through genetic manipulation he

developing an improved strain of bacterium with an enormous

capacity for gathering phosphate, an important nutrient for plant growth,

from even the poorest of

soils.

He then adapts

with a variety of crops, especially

rice,

the

new bacterium to live many of the

a key source of food in

world's poorer countries.

The

scientist

conducts his

of the bacterium in England on

first trials

wheat and several other cereal crops. The

experiment are ex-

results of the

tremely impressive; yields of all the crops increased substantially.

bacterium on

mayhem

rice,

that will

To

test the

the scientist travels to Australia, never anticipating the

soon

follow.

Instead of forming a beneficial union with the rice, as

it

did with the

cereal crops, the bacterium joins forces with a tough, tropical blue-green

alga growing on the water surface of the paddy a

new

field.

Together they create

organism, a kind of superalga that grows unusually quickly, dou-

bling in

numbers every twenty minutes. Before long the

entire

paddy

is

cov-

ered with the organism. Despite the valiant efforts of the scientist and his Australian colleagues to contain the

and then on

new

alga,

it

continues to spread, from the paddy to a stream

to sea. Within six

oceans and the majority of

months, more than 50 percent of the earth's

its

land surfaces are covered with blue-green

slime. Like a cancer, the algae gradually displace all other living matter.

As plants and animals is

die

and decay,

oxidized to sulfuric acid and

rain,

falls

sulfur

is

back on

released into the

air,

where

it

the earth in the form of acid

causing more death and decay. Eventually, the earth becomes as bar-

ren as Mars or Venus. Even the algae, with no other nutrients to feed upon, rue unable to survive. k's til

doomsday scenario

\s Lovelock points out,

is fiction,

many

of course.

And

it

is

not likely

scientists believe that nature

has

written too

many

roadblocks into the process of genetic

coding for any newly created organism to run roughshod over the earth, destroying everything

in its path.

James

early 1960s,

when Lovelock was

tional Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA)

Lovelock also believes that there are natural regulatory proc-

mine whether or not

esses at work in the environment that would safeguard

scientists believed that there

against such a catastrophe.

ering

Yet his scenario does offer an important lesson: living species

species

is

"No longer can we merely

all

are potentially

regret the passing

of one of the great whales, or the blue butterfly, nor even the smallpox virus," asserts Lovelock.

one of these from the

earth,

we may

"When we

eliminate

have destroyed a part

of ourselves."

Today, more and more people are recognizing the

in-

terconnectedness of life on earth. They are beginning to see

themselves as their ancient ancestors of a greater living whole. Their goal

did: is

as one small part

not to conquer or

control the earth but to live in

harmony with nature and

hidden forces. Caring for the

soil,

special organic gardening

whether

it

its

be by using

methods or by communicating

with invisible plant "spirits" or by healing the land with

acupuncture, it

is

from the

is

considered particularly important, because

soil that

every living creature gathers suste-

new

scientific theories

contributed to this holistic

and some

times mystical view of earth.

is

the brainchild of

James Lovelock.

take,

was

a good chance of discov-

Lovelock decided that the best

He believed The

life

Its

origins

can be traced back to the

have

life

nobody knew.

Mars, or on any other planet,

certainly

deter-

could exist on Mars. At that time,

on the Red Planet, although what form the

that

any

life

was

way

to detect

to study

that existed

its

life

on

atmosphere.

on Mars would almost

depend upon the atmosphere

to help sustain

itself.

form would need to draw raw materials out of the

atmosphere and

to deposit

metabolism into

it.

This

tion of the planet's

some

meant

of the by-products of

its

that the chemical composi-

atmosphere would be

in a persistent

state of disequilibrium.

Studying data from observations performed with a

high-powered infrared telescope, Lovelock and

his col-

leagues looked for signs of chemical disequilibrium

atmosphere of Mars. They found

just the opposite:

tremely dull and stable atmosphere that

in the

an ex-

was dominated by

carbon dioxide. Such evidence strongly suggested that the planet

was

appeared

lifeless— a conclusion later space explorations

to confirm. life

on

Mars got Lovelock thinking more deeply about

One

of the most important of these

theories

life

Thinking about the possibility of

nance and energy. Several

life

would

on our planet are interconnected; when one

tampered with, or destroyed,

threatened.

All

invited to the Jet Propul-

sion Laboratory near Pasadena, California, to help the Na-

life

on our own

he returned to his '\.

shire,

planet.

home

When

in Wilt-

England, two questions

tL kept nagging him. How can JL the earth's atmosphere,

\

which consists of highly

man

And how could such an atmosphere be so perfectly suited for life 7 "It was

reactive gases, stay so constant?

unstable

then," Lovelock later wrote, "that

could be that the air also a part of

From

is

began

I

wonder

to

not just an environment for

life

if

it

but

is

seed of an idea, Lovelock has nurtured an

view our relationship with

an immense

is

regulating et,

and

it.

trees,

living

organism that

both

is

self-sustaining. All living matter

works together

environment— its

to

keep the body

its

physical

so closely interwoven with the evolution of

down on

book on the

The Gaia hypothesis which looks

warm

at earth as a

life

have attributed the

effect that

If

life

constant-and herself alive-Gaia has devised her own system as a means of offsetting the increas-

environment into a

stable, or

manip-

homeo-

static, state.

The

salinity of seawater, for

changed very

little

over the millennia, staying at a relatively

example, has

salt is continually

being washed off the land and into the sea by rain and ers.

Life

the scien-

Oxygen concentration

ble at a steady 2

1

percent.

the earth's vegetation

taneously erupt

in the If it

atmosphere has kept

were

to

go even

riv-

sta-

slightly high-

fact that the earth's

earth had had an orbit that

closer to or farther from the sun, they said,

and

all

living things

would spon-

in flames.

Such homeostatic behaviors are not merely coinciden-

In the past,

atmos-

tal,

to the planet's precise position in

i

life's ability to

constant 3.4 percent, despite the fact that

sphere of inanimate rock

have evolved Therefore, argue con

would other-

er—to, say, 25 percent rather than the normal 21 percent-

appears as a chance occurrence.

hospitable for

earth

the planet's surface. Thus, to keep her tempera-

ulate earth's physical

paper. In 1979, he pub-

stir in

What has kept

ing heat from the sun.

the face of mainstream

flies in

on which

the solar system:

hotter.

organisms have drawn

built-in cooling

not simply a

A New Look at

life

the atmosphere, which

ture

life

home, Lovelock began

subject, Gaia:

scientists is

and

Lovelock cites other evidence of

The work caused an immediate community.

phere

length of time that

living

it.

Earth.

science,

same

has reduced the gas's greenhouse

responsible for the development of the is

average surface tempera-

more and more carbon dioxide from wise

that together they

it

tem-

says Lovelock. As the sun's rays

have become stronger, earth's

Furthermore, the evolution of earth's

earth;

own

around 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Life,

lating himself in his country

tific

own

million years or so -about the

ism Gaia after the Greek earth goddess. Then, iso-

on

it

its

has been present on the planet— even though the sun has

friend gested that Lovelock christen the vast earth organ-

first

always keeping

regulates

close to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit,

it

brighter

putting his theory

has not

This temperature has stayed constant during the past 3,800

and neighbor novelist William Golding sug-

lished his

human body

from overheating 7

and bountiful planet

by-product of

life

needs. Take the surface temperature of the earth,

become 25 percent

constitute a single evolutionary process. In other words,

beautiful

example. Just as the

ture,

self-

on the plan-

maintain the earth's physical

and chemical environment

itself is directly

own

for

oceans, and soil— in a comfortable,

alive.

living species is

its

much the same way that all the organs human body interact with one another to

air,

such an ide-

is

life.

perature, always holding

life-giving state, in

and tissues of the

for

so does Gaia regulate her

According to Lovelock, the

from bacteria to blue whales, from algae to ancient red-

wood

home

According to the Gaia concept, however,

new scientific theory that has begun to transform only how scientists see our planet but also how they

earth

other living organisms) should

only adapted to earth but has also adapted the planet to suit

exciting

not

all

consider themselves fortunate that the earth al

life itself."

this

beings (as well as

argues Lovelock. They are Gaia at work, regulating her

planetary "body," adjusting her chemical and biological

was any

processes to keep herself alive and healthy.

And she has

would not

successfully stayed alive for several billion years -far too

na scientists, hu-

long to be explained by luck alone. "For this to have hap-

life

120

Maverick British biochemist James Lovelock (below) relaxes in a sunny London park in 1 989. Best known for his view of the earth as a living planet, Lovelock also invented the device that first detected damagecausing chlorofluorocarbons in the earth's atmosphere.

pened by chance," James Lovelock

insists, "is

as unlikely

as to survive unscathed a drive blindfolded through rush-

hour

its

Lovelock stresses, earth would be a very

the earth

surface temperature would be around

the earth

Its

much

554 degrees Fahrenheit, as

we know

part of the tree's outer bark or

way," says Lovelock, "a

in this

itself. is

too hot for

trees

and we humans are a above us

is

the air

ei-

or have

life

been

greatly modified by

its

presence."

be a hot, dusty plan-

^r

with a hazy,

brownish red

air

of course dead. But

and the rocks are

of

lush

green forests, would

et

part. All of the

ther the direct products

familiar with today, with its

like

rocks beneath our feet and the

eons ago. The earth we are blue sky and

very

is

a thin skin of living tissue of which both the

oceans would have dried up

its

tree

Around the circumference on the surface of

Furthermore, the

it.

become

inner core of heartwood.

"Now life,

different planet.

life

of

traffic."

Without

they

this tissue die,

When

trying

to conceptualize

at-

helps to

mosphere, quite

Gaia,

similar to

step out of hu-

lifeless

its

man

neigh-

time

The con-

something as massive and as

much grander do humans. "For

humans," says

mate as the earth

earlier eras

Lovelock, "a hun-

is diffi

to grasp; yet

dred thousand years

people

who viewed

able from infinity; to Gaia,

the

who

would

have had no problem with

it.

To

is

day

Lovelock and other Gaia enthusiasts compare

redwood

wood

tree is very

enormous trunk

much

is

tree.

alive,

Although a

1

but a brief

,000-ton red-

more than 97 percent of

dead wood. The

its

living portion of the

thin layer of tissue located

nothing more than a

under the bark.

When

flick

into night

about 3.6 eons

we

ance

any other

see that earth

living system. Its

up huge mountain ranges. 121

it

The passing of into

day again

moves and changes

ating ever-changing coastlines,

the cells of

old,

is

of the eye to Gaia. Only in expansive Gaian

time can like

and then back

currents swirl around the planet.

trunk- the part that carries water and minerals from the tree's roots to its leaves -consists of

is

equivalent to no more than

three of our months."

make Gaia more understandable,

the earth to a giant

is

almost indistinguish-

peoples of

earth as a divine being

help

a

time scale than

apparently inani-

many

Gaia

.

moves on

cept of

cult for

time and

into planetary

bor, Venus.

being alive

it

Its

Its

its

appear-

atmosphere and ocean land masses part, cre-

and then icy polar

collide,

pushing

caps expand and

A Planers Buill-in Climate Control To explain

his Gaia hypothesis that

on

life

earth regulates the terrestrial climate,

James Lovelock often uses the hypothetical example of a planet much simpler than our world. As its name suggests, the imaginary Daisyworld harbors only one form of life— daisies, which may be dark, white, or gray. Simulated mathematically

on a computer, the Daisyworld case shows how a single species could control the temperature of an entire planet. The daisies in Lovelock's scenario require a moderate climate. None germinate at temperatures below 41° Fahrenheit and none survive above 104°. But the flowers face a potentially lethal threat: Daisy-

world's sun, like our own, gets hotter as ages. According to the computer,

it

howev-

the flowers have a natural tendency to keep their environment within livable bounds. When the sun is young and cool, er,

dark heat-absorbing daisies cover Daisyworld like a blanket (left). As the sun gets hotter, conditions favor white daisies,

which cool the planet by reflecting excess heat back into space (right). Lovelock has developed several other Daisyworld scenarios, some with rabbits that eat the daisies

the rabbits.

and coyotes

No matter how he

that eat

tinkers

with the program, he says, the system rectifies itself,

maintaining a climate hos-

pitable to Daisyworld

life.

As a young sun sheds gentle light and heat on James Lovelock's fictitious Daisyworld (far dark daisies dominate the planet by virtue left),

of their superior ability to capture

warmth from

the sun's rays. By storing solar energy, their dark petals are capable of raising the temperature

of Daisyworld (see

ther-

mometer at left)

a

to

level that is comforta-

ble for all daisy

life.

Ages later, wanner

As Daisyworld's aging

beams reach Daisyworld (above) from the matur-

sun grows hotter still,

ing sun. Because the capacity to retain heat is no longer an asset, dark

become less common. Gray daisies, and even a few white ones, begin to spread. By redaisies

flecting part of the solar radiation (arrows), the lighter flowers help to

keep Daisyworld's temperature at the level it

was

same

before.

white daisies— able to

a maximum of and heat— take over

reflect

light

the planet (above). For now, the white flowers

preserve Daisyworld's equilibrium.

One day,

however, the sun's radiation will become too intense for even the pur-

est white daisies to de-

and Daisyworld will become a barren rock

flect,

instead of a living planet.

and demeanor are forever moving,

Earth's character

selves," he later wrote.

the course of Gaia's

blows. During

at least thirty large

meteors have

life,

among them-

"[Human] population and technolo-

gy were growing rapidly out of control."

Gaia has been a remarkable survivor. She has been

some extremely sharp

a growing chaos that the

inhabitants of planet earth were breeding

for-

ever changing.

able to recover from

was

blue and white atmosphere

contract from time to time, leaving behind rocky scars.

Although Lovelock believes Gaia

with the cure

may come human

Greeks and other early civilizations realized

Everest and traveling at sixty times the speed of sound,

own

on an average of about every 100 million

strike earth

these collisions to a skin.

Some

human burn

the earth,"

years.

some

Lovelock compares the damage done to Gaia by

one such impact

that oc-

utters

more

curred 65 million years ago caused the extinction of

lest

static

regain or

its

is

wounds and

new

creating

more evidence of

yet

life-sustaining balance

damaged. For

into her air

this reason,

may wound

warming of lestial

just

we do

lock's assessment.

Lovelock believes that

kill

her.

forests

Gaia

will

divine

and

humans

At about the his

same time

Rupert Sheldrake,

seen hidden

that Lovelock

Apollo 14

flight in

1971. Looking at earth as

pended

space before him, Mitchell

of connectedness to

it.

felt

it

earth,

overv

the planet and with his

Nevertheles

recognized the vulnerability of the planet

I

own

and a special kind of un-

According to Sheldrake's provocative yet

and nature of

all

things on

from the shape of a particular crystal to the

depend on mysterious

biochemist calls morphic

fields

forces,

ability of

which the

(from the Greek morphe,

meaning "form"). Each type of organic system, whether

with

sense

trees, flu viruses, or

human

beings, has

its

it

be beech

own special

field.

Through a process of "morphic resonance" the individual

nediately th

force.

birds to migrate,

hung sus-

was developing

was formulating an even more

bizarre hypothesis, the form

made such an obon the moon during the

was standing

due a

unorthodox theory of Gaia, another maverick English

scientist,

as a kind of planetary

servation while he

other people, sometimes

being-and have apparently been rewarded with her

controversial notion about earth

power and beauty of

has powers

vastly important

abundant largesse.

adapt

earth's surface. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell

the

Many

may be

practical steps to treat the earth with the reverence

al-

Gaia by dumping toxic wastes

cancer, spreading rapidly and uncontrollably across the

in

possibility that this planet

not yet understand but that

thought-out theory or philosophy, have taken personal,

as she has survived the gradual

see

of

even when severely jarred

environmentalists agree with Love-

Some

number

acting out of a kind of blind faith instead of a carefully

cannonballs. all

goddess

able to

is

and the bombardment of immense ce-

Of course, not

to the earth

to the future of humanity.

a powerful

and water and by destroying her

the sun

homage

of science

priest exhort-

homeo-

other natural resources, they cannot

and survive, he argues,

man

an ancient

twentieth century has heard a

have reflected on the

species to re-

system on earth, a system that

though humans

eerily reminiscent of

would

voices with messages similar to Lovelock's. Other thinkers

place the old. Lovelock believes this ability to en-

dure

words

In fact, the

Gaia has survived, even thrived, healing her

treat

she punish their irreverence.

cluding dinosaurs.

physical

treated well, but equally she

ing worshipers to pay proper

than 60 percent of the plants and animals then living, in-

Yet

when

revenge abuse." Thus a thoughtful modern

affecting 60 percent of the

scientists believe that

well, our

full

and foremost on how we

warns Lovelock. "Gaia would reward mankind

with her bounty

of

first

that

"As the ancient

extinction.

monster meteors, approximately twice the size of Mount

well-being depends

likely sur-

humans, he acknowledges

vive any illness created by

crashed into earth, causing catastrophic damage. These

most

will

members

that

124

of a system can tune in to the behavior and expe-

I

The Strange Case of die Hundredth Monkey

One day

in

1953 on the island of Ko-

shima, a macaque

monkey named Imo

For other observers, this

seemed

phenomenon

to confirm Rupert Sheldrake's

members

picked up a sand-covered sweet potato

idea that

supplied by researchers studying her

from one another through morphic

species. Carefully, she rinsed

fields,

in a

it

stream. Then she ate the potato. In the

ple

led to a controversial theory,

put forward in 1979 by zoologist Lyall

Watson. According potato washing

to

Watson, Imo's

was unprecedented

a macaque, and the practice at

for

first

he claimed, something astonishing happened. Suddenly almost every monkey on Koshima was washing potatoes. "Not only that," he wrote, "but the habit seems to have jumped natural barriers and to have appeared spontaneously ... in colonies on other islands and on the mainland." Conceding that the available facts were sparse, Watson supplemented his account with some imagined details. "Let us say," he wrote, "that the number [of potato-washing monkeys] was ninety-nine and that at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday morning, one further The convert was added to the fold. addition of the hundredth monkey spread slowly. But

in 1958,

.

apparently carried the

some

.

.

number across

sort of threshold, pushing

mysterious energies said by

Sheldrake to pervade the earth.

years that followed, that sim-

meal

of a species learn

it

For

the fascinating implications of

all

the hundredth-monkey effect, er,

many

son based the idea apparently never occurred. In 1985, Ronald

Amundson,

a professor of philosophy at the University of Hawaii,

showed

that

Watson had

misinterpreted the original Japanese studies of

the

Koshima macaques.

Amundson found

that

the reports confirmed that

Imo had invented

potato washing and taught

it

to other

mon-

keys. But the articles

showed that only two macaques learned the skill in

1958, ruling out

Watson's story of a burst of learning. The reports also stated that

monkeys

sometimes swam between islands— providing a plausible transmission

through a kind of critical mass." Once the number of potato-washing

route for the habit.

macaques reached critical mass, he said, knowledge of the skill spilled over as if by telepathy to other monkeys on Koshima and elsewhere. A similar effect in humans, wrote

porters that he did not dispute

Watson, could explain the way that ideas "spread through our culture."

howev-

of the events on which Wat-

Watson

later told re-

Amund-

son's findings. The hundredth-monkey idea,

he explained, was a rhetorical

device. "It

is

a metaphor of

making, based

...

my own

on very slim

evi-

dence and a great deal of hearsay. have never pretended otherwise."

125

I

Unaware of scientific scrutiny, a redfaced Japanese macaque washes a sweet potato in a convenient stream. The monkeys have also been observed separating wheat from sand by throwing mixed handfuls into the sea and gathering the floating grain after the sand sinks.

members

rience of other

use the information contained to

modify

own

its

ents

of that system, like television sets

picking up distant transmissions. Each

member can

system's morphic

in its

who had

sumed

field

spring genetically.

that the rats simply

To

behavior.

once an animal learns a new

skill,

others of the

same

species should

subsequently become capable of acquiring that ability

more

easily,

even

if

they

have had no contact with the animal that originally

mastered the

example, after the

how

first

skill.

on

to their off-

he had not

just selected

passed the

rule out the possibility that

skill

quicker-learning rats as parents, Mc-

According to Rupert Sheldrake's theory,

already mastered the maze, McDougall as-

then

An

unidentified patient peers from a metal-lined orgone energy accumulator (below) that was designed by orgone theorist Wilhelm Reich. Suppos edly, the apparatus was capable of staving off a cold, eliminating fatigue, and even curing food poisoning.

For

dog

Dougall repeated his experiment, time breeding

new

rats only

this

from the

slowest-learning ones in each generagenetic selection were at work, each successive generation of rats should have exhibited a decreasing

tion. If

ability to

maneuver

to catch

through the maze. To

a Frisbee back in the

McDougall's aston-

learned

1970s,

it

ishment, he found

should have

been easier

for all

just the opposite to

dogs, anywhere in

be true: Successive

become

generations of rats

the world, to

adept at leaping the air

learned at an even

in

and catching

faster rate.

the spinning toy.

Later,

Indeed, past ex-

two sepa-

rate groups of re-

periments with rats

searchers-one

seem

confirm that

Scotland, the other in

such learning does

Australia -repeated

occur. During the

McDougall's experi-

to

in

1920s, a Harvard Uni-

ments using an iden-

versity psychologist,

tical

William McDougall,

maze. Not only were

noticed

a series

McDougall's findings

of experiments that

confirmed, but these

successive genera-

later researchers re-

tions of rats learned

ported that the

to

in

escape from

a

type of water

first

generation of their

unique type of water

rats learned

maze with increasing skill. Because each

more quickly than

generation of rats

generations had

was bred from

done.

McDougall's

par-

126

In

even initial

fact,

the

A glowing blue radiation

identified by some scientists as orgone fills a vacuum tube (below) in a demonstration at the Orgone Institute in Maine in the 1940s. According to Reich's theories, orgone could also be detected thermally, electroscopically, and by Geiger counter.

Scottish researchers found

some

that

of the

rats

first

they tested immediately ran

through the maze without

making

a single error.

To

Sheldrake, these findings strongly indicated that genes

and heredity cannot explain all

learning behaviors.

Sheldrake

con-

first

ceived of his theory of mor-

was

phic fields while he

working as director of biochemistry and

cell

biology at

England's Cambridge Univer1974, needing

In

sity.

more

time to develop the intricacies of his theory, he left

Cambridge

for India,

where

he took a less demanding job studying the physiology of

entific

questions Sheldrake's theory raised and encouraged

he was ready

to

their peers to give

moved

to

outright.

a Christian ashram. While in this self-imposed seclusion, he

was "an

tropical crops.

Four years

later, feeling that

put his ideas on paper, Sheldrake quit his job and

finally pulled

lishing

together his ideas about morphic

A New

Science of

Life:

fields,

pub-

The Hypothesis of Formative

The book was immediately denounced by much of the

Book

for

Burning?" "This infuriating

been

for

many

"an exercise that

A New

in

years."

tract,"

tors for attacking Sheldrake's ideas, saying the critics

had

all

Condemning Sheldrake's theory as

less

harsh with Sheldrake. They

It

could be proved either

wrong. Rupert Sheldrake himself encouraged other

scientists to test his hypothesis in the laboratory,

pseudoscience," Nature's editors suggested

members

were also

Scientist,

right or

ing that

don

only proper

if

emphasiz-

experiments proved him wrong, he would aban-

his notion.

Soon

after the publication of A

New Science

of Life, an

independent think tank called the Tarrytown Group

aberrations."

Not

lively tradition of puzzle-

editors at another respected British journal, the

criterion for a scientific theory:

place on the bookshelf- "among the literature of intellectual

of the scientific

community were so

damning, however. Indeed, many were intrigued by the

it

noted that his morphic-field hypothesis met the necessary

proclaimed the

its

hearing rather than dismissing

wrote that Sheldrake's hypothesis

edi-

New

"A

candidate for burning there has

Science of Life be banished to

fair

astonishing challenge to orthodox theories of plant

The

world's most influential scientific journals, published a

editorial, "... is the best

a

and animal development." Another rebuked Nature's

community. The magazine Nature, one of the

scathing editorial review of the book under the heading

it

scientist

shown "contempt for a whole, ment and creative thought."

Causation in 1981.

scientific

One

rytown,

who

sci-

127

New

in Tar-

York, offered a $10,000 prize to the person

performed the best

test

of Sheldrake's hypothesis. Ac-

cording to the rules of the contest,

did not matter

it

whether the winning experiment confirmed or refuted Rupert Sheldrake's hypothesis, as long as the

experiment was well designed and executed.

Two cowinners were in the summer

announced

of 1986, and both of their

experiments seemed give

some credence

to

to the existence of

happened, both of the studies involved

morphic

human

As

fields.

prove that morphic

it

the explanation for the results of the language experiments

beings deal-

may

ing with unfamiliar languages.

One

of the experiments

was conducted by Gary

He asked groups of students who

Hebrew

guess the meanings of a set of three-letter He-

to

brew words;

el

letters.

at

The students also rated

were

they were guessing the the

significantly

know

all,

Basic to Sheldrake's theory of morphic fields

not

just

real

the results

among

show an

"intuitive

fascinating

ence, with a

awareness" of Hebrew

Language iment, which

also the focus of the cowinning exper-

was conducted by Alan

structed

one group of students

He

the students had

words

that they

guage. Nevertheless, the students

the real

mixture of mysticism and in,

sci-

biody-

that the blanket of soil that covers the

in

its

own

order for

its life

forces

The duty of the farmer,

composts and sprays. According that

well,

words

is

grown

is

trients

lan-

exhibited better recall

life

soil to

forces.

produce

must be contintherefore,

is

to

in

such

and better

which makes

soil will

tasting but it

to

biodynamic theory, food

be not only richer

more

spiritually

as nourishing for the

in

nu-

balanced as

human

soul as

it

for the body.

Biodynamic farming was the creation of Rudolf

Although he was delighted with Sheldrake believes that

movements

care for the soil correctly, using specially prepared organic

had seen. None of

who saw

also the guid-

agricultural

a living organism that contains

ually replenished.

in-

to look at Persian

any prior knowledge of the Persian

A

a healthy crop year after year,

words and another group to look at nonsense words were made to look Persian; he then asked both groups

to attempt to recall the

is

is

witchlike potion mixing thrown

Biodynamic farmers believe that

Pickering of

Hatfield Polytechnic in Hatfield, England.

little

namic farming holds earth

a belief that

biodynamic farming, one of the more

and ecologically rooted

of the twentieth century.

that

the students.

was

that

ing principle behind

words, especial-

most commonly used words. Schwartz believes

is

of earth's powerful forces and energies are yet un-

all

derstood or even acknowledged. This idea

their lev-

showed more confident when

meaning of the

may

that exist in real language.

of confidence for each guess. Schwartz's results

that the students

ly

"words" were not words

half of the

scrambled Hebrew

did not

not have anything to do with morphic fields but

instead reflect an unconscious deciphering of the patterns

Schwartz, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University.

fields exist. Indeed, as critics point out,

.

much more evidence

-alts,

Steiner,

ed to

an Austrian social philosopher and

scientist

who

had, by the 1920s, recognized the inherent dangers that 128

Following the biodynamic methods of Austrian psychic Rudolf Steiner, the Virginia farmer at left stuffs manure into a dried cow horn. Below, two Steiner enthusiasts prepare to bury 850 similarly doctored horns. When unearthed several months later, the horns will contain a dry, odorless substance. Biodynamic

farmers believe one cup of this material, mixed with twelve gallons of rainwater, can rejuvenate four acres of soil.

chemical farming presented to the earth.

In 1924, just a

man who

year

is

generally credited with being the founder of the

before his death at age sixty-four, Steiner delivered a series

organic farming movement, had also taken to the lectern to

of eight lectures to a group of German and Austrian farmers

preach the

who were concerned

the soil through organic methods. Howard's message,

their

overworked

soil

not only about the poor

fertility

of

but also about a dismaying increase

was

ever,

perils of

chemical farming and the salvation of

clearly down-to-earth; the

how-

composting and

or-

ganic farming practices that he

advocated were

simple and straightforward, the kind that had

been practiced by farmers for centuries. er's

Rudolf Stein-

methods, on the other

hand, were quite esoteric,

involving elaborate rites

and

rituals.

As

a self-professed

clairvoyant and former

member

of the mystically

oriented Theosophical Society, Steiner

for organic its

magic on

first

believed that

matter to work it

must

be vitalized and

spiri-

soil

tualized by special cosmic forces. For this

purpose he

developed nine special biodynamic

soil solutions,

which he referred in plant

later

and animal diseases.

In these lectures,

which were

to simply

as preparations 500 to 508. Each preparation, he stressed,

compiled into a small book called simply Agriculture,

has a

slightly different practical

purpose— number 500,

for

Steiner outlined his strong belief in a need to protect the

example, promotes root growth, whereas number 508 helps

modern farming meth-

prevent plant rust and other fungal diseases. Yet each one

away from

also has the grander purpose of returning "beneficial ener-

earth from the destructive forces of ods.

He

told the farmers that they should turn

artificial fertilizers

and should feed

organic compost and humus. Their

their soil a diet of rich soil

was

gies" to the land.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering the practicality of

dying, he in-

it was up to them to save it. was not the first person to advocate

formed them, and Steiner

farmers

mental circle"

to chemical-free, or organic, farming. Several years earlier, Sir Albert

Howard, a

British officer

in general, Steiner's

1924 lectures were a success.

The farmers who attended immediately formed an "experi-

a return

and botanist and the

to discuss

and work out ways

into practice. Other farmers,

129

first in

to put his ideas

Europe and then

in

brew— things such

North America and other parts of the world, soon followed suit,

eager to replenish the energy of their

own

spiritless

soil.

Most heard about biodynamics through the

efforts of

blossoms stuffed

what he

bark ground up and placed

was

zodiacal associate the position with earth, water, light,

and warmth-elements

*e j

ng

how

nature ,

fa e 192 4 lectures,

the moon is in Taurus, virgo, or Capricorn, earth is ascendant, and the time is right to plant root vegetables.

quickly

preparations for several

ered to be ready for use. In one

T%

biodynamics

of his 1924 lectures, Rudolf

became an important

Steiner explained with characScorpio

r art

of the soc ety' s activities.

has a headquarters

in

obtuseness

teristic spiritual

j

Steiner's organization still

EARTH

stand-

months before they are consid-

Cancer

„ -

otherworldly influences. After

crucial to plant growth. The table below shows that when

cow— than

in

fertilizers.

Some of the must be buried

52

affected by

is

_

.

,,

ard

Pisces

Ph^ical realm and ignor-

,

the skull of a

on

too material, focusing only

ZZXXSZSSr' moon's

X

called

Spiritual Science. Steiner believed traditional science

der of a buck deer and oak

WATER

the Anthroposophical Society, an international organization

Steiner had established in 1913 to practice

as yarrow

into the blad-

why

Influences leaves and leafy plants

Dor-

preparation 500, which

cow manure

essentially

is

nach, Switzerland, and his pre-

packed into

scripts for protecting the soil

needs to be buried: "By bury-

continue to be followed by

ing the horn with

cow's horn,

a

its filling

of

8

thousands of farmers and

manure, we preserve

in the

Taurus

backyard gardeners around the

horn the forces

was

accus-

Virgo

"vT Capricorn

Influences roots

it

cow

world, from the North Ameri-

tomed

can plains to the Australian

itself,

outback. This unique form of

raying back whatever

organic agriculture

giving and obtained from the

ly

especial-

is life-

Europe, where

astral plane."

The manure,

stores sell only biody-

Steiner added,

is

popular

many

is

to exert within the

namely the property of

in

capable of

namically grown food. In the

gathering

Netherlands, biodynamic farm-

from the horn but also from the

ing has

become so

well accept-

soil in

which

it

season when the earth

experts in biodynamics to pass

the horn

knowledge on to other farmers The United States and Canada also have a good share

living is stored

in early spring,

of biodynamic farmers; their

amounts are then

produce, which

warmed

their

is

usually

found

at

grown

more

many

which

can be

food,

health-food

said

the prescribed solutions

pared

sound moii

lasts

iy

is

removed from

"All that

is

the cow's horn

an hour,

is

buckets of collected rainwater

temperature. The mixing process,

very

ritualistic:

The solution must be

twenty seconds one way, then twenty seconds

is

into

When

harmony.

life

forces of earth

the mixing

ready to be sprayed onto a

used: About one-fourth cup of

lons of water

field.

is

As

done, in ho-

is

manure added

to three gal-

considered enough to energize an entire

acre of farmland. In addition to

pre-

making and using

Steiner's esoteric

and

earthy preparations, biodynamic farmers follow the practice

dients that •.

he explained.

meopathic medicine, only very small amounts are actually

To properly

cosmic forces, Steiner

alive,"

in the

content of

manure."

stirred into

human body

the solution

re-

inoculate the earth with the

mu:

to

through the winter,

alive, the entire

the other, in order to bring the cosmic

quires great dedication and at-

right

in this

forces not only

before the planting season begins. Small

and the universe

Biodynamic farming tention to detail.

up

so,

most

becomes inwardly

stirred for

and food co-ops

stores

is

The decayed manure

expensive than conventional organically

"And

buried.

is

ed that the government hires

life

of

moon watching

to

determine

when to plant and when to many biodynamic farmers

harvest their crops. For example,

itch's

130

plant

new

moon,

crops two days before the appearance of a

in the

Some

With

full

hope of making the best use of its gravitational

and

peculiar

its

methods

spiritualistic overtones,

also turn to the positioning of the planets for

biodynamic gardening leaves

planting and pruning guidance. Steiner taught that each as-

some farmers— including many

pull.

pect of a plant-its root,

by the

movements of

and

leaf, flower,

the planets across the zodiacal sky.

work with

Therefore, the biodynamic farmer must lar plants

cal organic

T

methods— skeptical

Aries

and wary. Steiner himself

particu-

on those days when planetary positioning

less chimeri-

who do embrace

fruit— is influenced

most

real-

ized that his ideas

would be

difficult to accept. "I

know

per-

encourage to grow. Lettuce and spinach would be tended

fectly well that all of this

may

on the "leaf" days,

seem

favorable for the part of the plant that

tie

for instance, or turnips

is

wants

or she

to

and potatoes on

To

more

mad," he said

utterly

during one of his lectures.

the "root" days.

WARMTH

"I

Si Leo

y Sagittarius

remember how have seemed ut-

control insect pests, biodynamic farmers follow a

practical

only ask you to

many things mad which have nonethe-

scheme, the age-old gardening custom of

companion

planting. This prac-

seem

tice pairs plants that

LIGHT

terly

in

n

some cases by one

pelling insects that

Gemini

years later."

Indeed,

plant re-

would

are

at-

tack the other. Garlic, for ex-

ample,

is

among

planted

r\

and raspberry bushes

Libra

to deter

in

repel

merit to at least

in Central

among

of Stein-

ideas. Researchers

America, for exam-

crops have less of a problem

when

planted during certain phases of the

moon. And studies con-

ducted

insect pests

Mexico seem

in

to

are collected and stewed in a

show

pot of water; after the brew

is

burning pests-in this case,

strained and cooled,

is

beetles— to release substances

fruit trees,

it

where

it

is

that

supposed

pesticide. Various plants,

as

common

brewed

ward

onto crops

in

an

off other pests

some

may

validity.

Although Steiner recognized that plants derive most

such

of their

forces through nutrients in healthy

life

soil,

and sprayed

the swirl of

effort to help

particular,

life

that surrounds

them above ground.

he stressed, have a powerful influence on the

dynamic gardeners, these out-

air vibrations

of-the-ordinary pesticides offer

asserted, the birds help to stimulate plant growth.

way

Some

of balancing

the forces of nature. The

lowers of Rudolf Steiner

militarized

fol-

army

stress,

soil itself.

caused by the flapping of

thirty-five

their wings, Steiner

years after Steiner's death,

in the de-

zone between North and South Korea, a young

recruit

from Minnesota named Dan Carlson witnessed

a tragic scene that would eventually lead him to share

however, that the ultimate balancing must be done within the

Birds in

flowering and fruiting of plants. Through their song and the

prevent plant diseases. For bio-

yet another

he also

believed that they were continually drawing energy from

horsetail, are also

into a tea

that the technique of

also have

to function as a kind of natural

Steiner's belief that birdsong helps plants grow.

According to bio-

On

that

has been well infused with

cold winter day in 1960, Carlson watched in horror as a

the only guarantee of healthy,

young Korean mother purposely put her four-year-old son

dynamic theory, healthy

soil that

the earth's

is

forces

some

may be

with insect infestations

to

sprayed onto vegetables and

life

scientists

have found that cotton

ple,

tomato worms and as-

Sometimes

Influences

"mad"

order

paragus beetles. flowering plan ts

some

finding there

er's

tomatoes and asparagus

Aquarius

now

rose-

Japanese beetles; pot

marigolds are planted

/W

been introduced a few

less

to

encourage each other to grow,

Influences fruit, seed, and grain

under the wheels of a moving two-ton

insect-resistant plants.

131

truck, crushing his

As a doctor was summoned, the woman tearfully explained that she had been compelled legs.

son so that they could beg enough

to cripple her

food to feed him and her other two children.

Profoundly

moved by

finding a

new and

way

inexpensive

on even the poorest parcel of

to

return-

ing to the United States, he enrolled in a hor ticulture

and agriculture program

the University of Minnesota

how

gan studying

when

and be-

Carlson reasoned that an inexpensive liquid nutrient— in quanti-

so small

it

would be

virtually lost

grow even leaves.

in the

most

He was not

to get the

arid of soils

from the survive

if it

it

is

might

stomata to take on

who

^>',

*

a classic case of modernization final

govern-

in 1978, the

cies

and managed the island's irrigation. Then came modernization. Advisers encouraged farmers to plant three crops a year, instead of the two that Jero Gde had permitted. The result was little short of ecological disaster. Farmers discovered that keeping fields

planted year-round enabled insects

and

rats to survive

and

multiply. Pesti-

modernize rice growing on the island of Bali. By modem farming methods, they hoped to increase crop yields and thus the supply of food

in the

quarter. Learning of the

for the nation.

ing field research

most aspects of Balinese life, rice farming had been by tradition a highly spiritual pursuit. Throughout the

at the University of

million plan to

Like

also killed fish

and eels

that

had

lived

paddies and provided protein

Then help came from an unexpected on

problem dur-

Bali,

researchers

Southern California

developed a computer program that calculated the long-term effects of

terraced fields, prayer stations like the

both the traditional system and the not only crop schedules but also

was

strains, likely rainfall,

fields,

a

he

consulted the keepers of the shrine

upstream They in turn spoke with the farmers and priests just up the directly

hill,

until the chair.

a temple beside one

>se to ol

the island's

major water sources extinct volcano. Accord belief, this lake

was

hi

goddess Dewi Danu, wh< lero

Gde

lived in the

nearby

.

for

the local diet.

one here, as well as larger shrines, honored the rice spirits. Even irrigation ritual. If

nu-

what

was the right combination of frequenand harmonics. He demonstrated the

felt

cides intended to eliminate the vermin

farmer wanted to water his

in

a great deal of trial-and-

ment of Indonesia joined forces with the Asian Development Bank in a $24

a matter of religious

T. C.

in

error experimentation, he discovered

he

in

versus tradition -with an unlikely

Beginning

American researchers

spur stomata to open and take

versus die Experts

twist.

how it would be possible new feeding function.

search for frequencies that might

Hie Water Goddess

was

this

trients. After

able to take

to

examining the effects of sound on plants, Carlson began to

that

still

it

sprayed directly onto the

followed in the footsteps of

Singh

fl

sustenance through the tiny mouthlike

It

if

Inspired by the studies of the

nourishment

soil,

poured onto the ground

however,

certain,

a plant cannot get

sufficient

if

could conceivably nourish a plant sufficiently to enable

^

at

plants grow.

He quickly concluded

to

grow food

Upon

land.

life

These openings generally serve the purpose

leaves.

its

of exchanging moisture and gases with the air around a plant. But

ties

the incident, Carlson

decided he would devote the rest of his

stomata on

modern approach. Taking

social

into account rice

and the level of cooperation, the program pro-

duced comparative maps of the island under each system that included graphs of crop yields. The maps easily proved that the fragile rice paddies were best managed in the age-old way. As a result, the Jakarta government curbed its modernization efforts in 1988. Farming on the island once again followed the guidance of Dewi Danu and her vindicated high priest.

sounds Holtz,

Minneapolis music teacher Michael

for a friend,

and asked him

cies could

Findhorn Foundation, because of

named

music into which the frequen-

to find

be merged.

Upon hearing

looking to find a

were very

similar to the early

of birdsongs outside his to

make

feel that

"It

was

for

more than

thrilling

began

how be

trailer

just freely

soil

same time bombarding

with special birdlike sonic pitches

is

juicier,

121 percent

it

One

his potato yields increased

less

fore

cow-even feed. And a rep-

moving

test his soil,

might be lacking

After taking

one look

at

potash per square yard. believe in using

compost and wood ash and reported

fields,

Carlson remains hopeful that his methods will soon be

"It is all

done with nothing but

tally

that the earth has in

back

of

that

affec-

fled.

that

can be

sorriest of soils

central belief of a remarkable experimental

community

the adviser said that

known

it

two ounces of sulfate of

When Caddy replied

that

he did not

he preferred natural

instead, the adviser

shook

his

head

he considered such substitutes to be

to

soil

Aberdeen. Returning

to-

sample from Caddy's garden six

weeks

later

adviser admitted to Caddy that he

The analysis had found

present in the sample.

that there

Amazed

that

with his anal-

was

totally baf-

were no nutrient de-

such

elements were

rich soil could

be

a

created on such poor land, the adviser asked Peter Caddy to

that

participate in a radio debate with a professional gardener

is

who

located in a remote area of northern Scotland. For the

past quarter of a century, this community,

in nutrients.

inadequate.

ysis, the

taste

soil,

at least

ficiencies in the soil; in fact, rare trace

unseen forces

even the

Caddy's

The adviser took a

at

and sound."

tapped to help plants grow

is

and

it

artificial fertilizers, that

many

the plants, witness the remarkable fructification,

forty

because he was

county adviser to

concerned that

though these isolated experiments have not persuaded

more widely adopted. "I would challenge anyone to look the model gardens I've set up, examine the radiant health

and more than

fruits,

community, had asked the

to the

would undoubtedly require

used Carlson's methods. Al-

other farmers to turn on the stereo in their

named Dorothy Maclean. Out

spiritualist friend

the

by 150 percent and his corn

yields by 85 percent after he

The idea

to the trailer

Findhorn garden was thriving, Caddy, Although who had never sown a single vegetable seed be-

resentative of a farmers' association in Pakistan says that

he says.

to get a

different herbs.

fruit is

A Pennsylvania dairyman made from son-

though the cows were eating a quarter

fruit,"

way

miracle garden of sorts, where he grew sixty-five types of

milk production jumped from

alfalfa, their

tion, natural nutrients,

his

who had moved

vegetables, twenty-one kinds of

and sweeter than before but also has C.

and a

6,800 to 7,300 pounds per hundredweight of

of this

was on

of a gravelly patch of gorse and sand, Caddy had created a

Florida

uses the method reports that his

more vitamin

grown

public in 1965. In the au-

park located on a sandy, wind-swept stretch of land

notes that after his cows began eating hay ically

became

sample from a rather unlikely garden. The garden be-

sons,

au-

being tried exper-

imentally on several farms around the world.

who

first

that year, a county horticultural adviser drove to a

park three years earlier with his wife, Eileen, their three

Today, Carlson's idea of spraying a plant's leaves with

not only larger,

disciples

of getting in touch with

leader and former hotelkeeper

intimately linked to the mysteries of seed germina-

orange grower

New Age

longed to Peter Caddy, an ex-Royal Air Force squadron

and plant growth."

a liquid nutrient while at the rally

for

way

direct

overlooking the Firth of Moray. He

to

about and warbling. Their very singing must some-

flying

tion

bedroom window.

God had created the birds

Findhorn's story

tumn of

morning concert

that connection," Holtz later recalled. "1

location near a village

the hidden forces of nature.

the strange string of chirplike pitches

that Carlson produced, Holtz immediately recognized that

the sounds

more

its

mecca

Findhorn, has been a

advocated conventional chemical means of gardening.

Caddy consented.

as the 133

During the radio show, Caddy credited his extraordi-

compost, nor indeed by the application of any

methods of organic husbandry," noted an

known

cul-

nary gardening success to the use of compost and other or-

tural

ganic gardening techniques, as well as plain hard work.

expert from the United Nations. "There are other factors

This practical

message was well

received,

and throughout

and they are

the following year, a steady trickle of curious gardeners be-

gan to

visit

the Findhorn

agricultural adviser

many

them,

perienced

in

Foundation. Yet, like the

who had

traveled to Findhorn before

of these visitors, especially those

who were

felt

that ordinary organic methods

and vegetables grown on "The

at

vigor, health

k

^

Caddy also believed

in his

this publicly until 1968. In that

that the is

world

that there

were other

factors

gardens, although he did not acknowledge

is

year he professed his belief

a living sentient organism and that nature

empowered with many as

yet unsuspected

powerful forces. Through the spiritual

gifts

and

quite

of friend Dor-

othy Maclean, Caddy said, he had been able to communicate directly with invisible angel-like creatures that he

and bloom of the plants is

in the gar-

almost a barren powdery

sand cannot be explained by the moderate dressings of

.

work

fruits,

midwinter on land which

ed

Peter at

ones."

that otherwise infertile stretch of

could not explain the radiant health of the flowers,

land.

ex-

organic growing methods, were bewildered by

what they found. They

den

county

vital

agricultural

^~ *Y

gllfl.llK

called devas, from a

Hindu word meaning "beings of light."

The devas, Caddy explained, control the "nature broader forces of nature that permeate

all

spirits,"

of earth's differ-

ent physical forms, from clouds to cauliflower, from

Each spe-

rain to red maples. cies of plant,

he emphasized,

possesses

own

its

deva.

Through Maclean, the devas of the plants

in

Caddy's

garden gave him almost daily practical instructions about

how

to water, feed, mulch,

and otherwise care

them.

for

Maclean would consult the devas

A landscaped mandala

daily meditations

of soil and plants, the Findhorn herb garden

ceived.

(far left) supplies sea-

following message: "If you

sonings, medicine, dye, cleansing agents, and

the

fragrant herbs to its small community,

at the

One

leaf,

much

overall as

By communing with the plants they grow, residents of the Findhorn Foundation like the achieve all life

natural growth of

bulk

perhaps a

in the leaves, life

are,

harmony with

little

tender,

which

spirit,

lighted" the entire garden. This being, a kind of spokes-

angel for

humans

on earth.

will get

she and Caddy called the Landscape Angel, that "over-

work

more general

usually

the devas,

its

colleagues were.

radiating love

in a

was

all

vice than

to

you

force."

Maclean also received messages from a

left.

re-

the plants will have to be wider apart than they are

but with not as strong a

farmer above hope

want strong

moment. By leaving them as they

whose ideal of closer

blackboard at

course of her

day, for example, the spinach deva sent her the

spiritual union with the

natural world is described in part on the

in the

and then pass on the messages she

It

stressed the importance of

and positive emotions while they

garden, particularly while preparing the

also gave practical advice, passing

mation as

how

to apply liquid

on

soil.

Caddy such

to

make compost, when

to

in its ad-

to water,

But

it

infor-

and how

manure.

Today, more than 100 people

live

and work

at the

many more visit annually from world to study how to communicate and

Findhorn Foundation, and every corner of the

collaborate with the forces of nature, whether

devas, through nature a

more

sensitive

is

be through

or simply through developing

awareness of plants and other

members of the much more than just an experiment

ings. Yet the

horn

spirits,

it

community

living be-

believe that Findin

organic gar-

dening. Wrote longtime resident David Spangler: "[We] are 135

Supposedly neutralizing negative earth energies on a Vermont farm in 1 990, psychic farmer Sig Longren first locates subterranean lines of force with a freshly cut dowsing rod (below, left). After identifying the boundaries of a force line with a so-called aurameter (top right), Longren hammers a concrete reinforcing rod deep into the line's center (bottom right). According to Longren, the rod functions much like an acupuncturist's needle by altering the earth's natural flow of energy.

136

not just growing vegetables and flowers on barren sand.

the valley-like "the deep silence of a cathedral," as one

[We] are working with the processes of emergence and

observer described

drawing out of earth

its

what has transformed

living Self of the planet is

it.

Perhaps the acupuncture restored health

potential. This actualization of the

Cotswolds farm, or maybe

the barren

sand into a garden."

methods of the owners

Far from Findhorn, on a

communal farm

was simply

it

the

caused the improvement.

that

even possible that the perception of the

in the red-

to the

sound farming

soil's

earth Cotswold Hills of southern England, another group of

healthiness as well as the sense of peace were actually

nature visionaries turned to the ancient Eastern technique

induced changes of attitude

of acupuncture as a tired land. After

of healing and revitalizing their

purchasing the farm,

its

how

owners discovered

that

lay

it

tive

human

individual

a

is

good

efforts apparently

impact on the health of the planet.

however, that such individual

lieve,

is

self-

which the stakes functioned

as charms. In any case, the story

was devoid of most wildlife people who came to visit for more than a few which

that the valley in

and

means

in

It

increased

enormous

illustration of

can have a posi-

Many

scientists be-

efforts

may

not be

hours developed a stomach ailment, whether or not they

enough

drank the water. Eventually, the community reached the

massive deforestation, greenhouse gases, and other ecolog-

conclusion that the source of their trouble ry that

was

a

new

quar-

had been carved out of the earth approximately

miles away. They believed

energy that had

somehow

it

fifty

ical

Mto

had created an imbalance of

forces

become

W

bal-

*^

anced once again.

who have

with special needles to

adapted

to heal the earthen

it

farmland of ing twenty

its

bad energies, the two men

wooden

wire, into the

stakes, their tops

ground

days, the mysterious

fill

gan

an

men hammered more

ones

this

community

noticed a feeling of deep peace and

quiet

threat to her health. is

Wheth-

less certain.

continue to change the global environment

against the preferences of Gaia, Lovelock warns,

we

her to replace our species with one that

harmony with

the earth

is

that personal efforts can, "It all

a personal responsibility

is

on a large

scale,

depends on you and me," he

its

we

have a

last-

says. "If

we

are a part-

allotted span."

dian chief Seattle of the Suquamish

government

effort to restructure the en-

of the

human

beings can survive, however,

Lovelock's sentiment echoes that of the American In-

flow from the

in

tribe,

who

told the U.S.

1854, during a dispute over his people's

men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know, that the earth does not belong to Man did not weave the man; man belongs to the earth. Whatever he does to web of life, he is merely a strand in lands: "If

than sixty additional stakes -iron

members

liv-

could have a long time ahead of us and our species might

time-into the ground. Gradually, over a period

of two years, the

we

survive for

ergy flow and return an atmosphere of peace to the land, the

share his view of a

not the owner, nor the tenant, not even a passenger— we

in response to this action, the wildlife be-

to return. Finally, in

who

see the world as a living organism of which

Within

in any possible "holes" still

If

ing effect.

wrapped with copper

through which negative energy could quarry. Seemingly

and

rid their

stomach ailments went away. More

stakes were then added to

human

living in

began by pound-

at specially selected sites.

others

Like other environmentalists, Lovelock believes that

cure disease and have

"body" of Gaia. To

earth.

more compatible.

taken the Chinese medical practice of puncturing the hu-

man body

er

may encourage

The community's leader and another member were both experienced earth acupuncturists, people

on the

ames Lovelock and able to survive any

shielding the valley from the quarry's "bad" energy, or sha, life

assaults

global effects of acid rain,

ing earth strongly believe that Gaia will probably be

focused on their valley. Only by

they reasoned, could their land's

to counter the

.

said that they

.

.

it.

the web, he does to himself."

had spread over 137

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The

editors wish to thank the following individuals

and

in-

stitutions for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this

Nationale, Paris; Horus Buchhandlung, Bonn, The Earth-

quake Research

Institute

of the University of Tokyo, Tokyo;

Reinhard Eisele, Augsburg, Germany; Sig Longren, Greens-

volume:

A. Altan Akat, Director General,

Museums and

Artifacts of

the Ministry of Culture, Ankara, Turkey; Francois Avril, Conservateur, Departement des Manuscrits, Bibliotheque

H Preuschoft,

boro, Vermont; Lino Pellegrini, Milan, Dr

Ruhr Universitat, Bochum, Germany; Alexa Roberts, Historical Preservation Department, Navajo Nation, Window

Rock, Arizona; Dr. Jim Swan, The Institute for the Study of Natural Systems, Mill Valley, California; O. Gurkan Toklu,

Anadolu Medeniyetleri Muzesi, Museum of AnaAnkara, Turkey; Stephen Trimble, Salt Lake City; Ann Washatko, House of Mystery, Hungry Horse, Montana. Director,

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:

PICTURE CREDITS The sources for the pictures are given below. Credits from left are set off by semicolons, from top to bottom by dashes

to right

Colin Andrews, Bloomsbury, London, 1989. 22: Adam Woolfitt, Susan Griggs Agency, London 23: Yanki, courtesy

Museum

Cover: Artwork by Bryan Leister.

6, 7

Frederick C. Taylor,

From Circular Evidence by Pat Delgado and Colin Andrews, Bloomsbury, London,

Andover, Hants, England

8,

9

Frederick C. Taylor, Andover, Hants, England 12, 13: From Circular Evidence by Pat Delgado and Colin

1989

10, II:

Andrews, Bloomsbury, London, 1989

Sygma

14,

15

D Hudson/

17 Will Williams, Stansbury, Ronsaville,

Wood,

Inc.

20 The British Library, London -Frederick C Taylor, Andover, Hants, England 2! From Fortean Times #53; from Circles from the Sky, ed. by George Terence Meaden, Souvenir Press, London, 199 -from Circular Evidence by Pat Delgado and 18:

Yorkshire Television, Leeds, England

1

of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey. 25: J. Zuckerman/Westlight. 26, 27 Nimatallah/Ricciarini, Milan. 28: Galen Rowell/Mountain Light, Albany, Calif. 30: Mick Sharp, Caernarvon, Gwynedd, Wales. 31-33 Homer Sykes, London 34: R Ian Lloyd, Singapore 35 Leong Ka Tai, Hong Kong 37 F C Tyler; Hereford and Worcester County Library, Hereford, England. 39 Jerry Jacka, Phoenix Kurt Kummels/Superstock (detail from page 49) 40, 41 42: Terry E Eiler, Mugwump 43 Jerry Jacka, Phoenix. 44, 45: David Meunch, Santa Barbara. Calif 46. 47: Art Kane, Pasadena, Calif. 48, 49; Jerry Jacka, Phoenix. 51: Will Williams, Stansbury, Ronsaville, Wood, Inc 53 Anthony Suau/Black Star 55 Smithsonian Institution Photo No 79-

139

14705. 56, 57 Taikichi Irie, Nara Prefecture, Japan 60, 61: Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo; Jim Mendenhall c National Geographic Society 62: Hum-

berto N Serra, Rome, courtesy Biblioteca Angelica,

Rome

Tom

Bean,

68, 69

Philip

63

Paul Chesley/ Photographers Aspen. 65:

Flagstaff, Ariz.;

Dick Canby, Sedona, Ariz

Griffiths/Magnum. 71: Superstock 72, 73 George Silk for Life 74 Allen Kennedy/Janet and Colin Bord, Wales. 75: Bates Littlehales c 1961 National Geographic Society 78, 79: Judy Canty/Stock-Boston 80, 81 Kevin Schafer/Peter

Arnold Inc 82 G Ziesler/Peter Arnold inc 83: David KraseHiser/ Photographers Aspen. 84, 85 Stephen mann/Peter Arnold Inc 86, 87 David Meunch, Santa Barbara, Calif 89 Will Williams. Stansbury, Ronsaville, Wood, Inc. 90: From The Arunta by Baldwin Spencer and F J

J

Gillen.

ton, Essex. England. 103: Homer Sykes. London. 104: Tuskegee University Archives 106: Yong's Martial Arts Association, Jamaica Plain, Mass.; from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees by Herbert Edlin and Maurice Nimmo, Harmony Books. 1978. 109: Backster Research Foundation. San Diego. 110. Ill: George Crouter, Denver 113; From Chinese Oeomancy by Derek Walters. Element Books. Dorset, England, 1989— Fred Holz, from Empires Ascendant (Time Frame series) by the Editors of Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Va.. 1987. 114-117: Yvonne Gensurowskv. 119:

Macmillan, London. 1927. 91: Paul Broadhurst.

Launceton, Cornwall. England. 92 R Berriedale-Johnson/ Panos Pictures. London 93: D. Laine-Hoa-Qui, Paris. 94: Richard Lannoy. from The Tree of Life by Roger Cook. Avon. New York. 1974. 95: Reinhard Eisele, Augsburg. Germany 96;

ET Archive. London

Zigy

Kaluzny/Gamma

97: British Library,

Liaison

UP

London. 98:

July 17. 1989,

pp

1

16-

117 filed 541 -PL 100: Botanical Magazine LXXm 1847. T. 4296. 101: From Bizarre Plants by William A. Emboden.

New

Macmillan.

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Smith for People. December 25. 1989. 122, 123:

Terry

Man Mc-

H Preuschoft. Bochum. Germany. 126: 127: From Ether. Cod and Devil by Wilhelm Reich. Farrar Straus and Giroux. New Mullen. 125: Dr.

Syndication international, London

York, 1973. 128, 129: Courtesy Harper

&.

Row

Publishers

from Secrets of the Soil by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. 132: R. Ian Lloyd. Singapore 134. 135: From TheFmdhom Garden by the Findhom Community. Harper & Row, New York, 1975. 136 Chazz Sutphen

INDEX Numerals

an

in italics indicate

the subject

illustration

of

A Abraham

(biblical figure),

52

Acacias. 107

Acupuncture characteristics of, 38; and farming, 136, 137; and feng shui, 38; and Sig Longren. 136

Adam and

(biblical figure):

and Golgotha.

27;

knowledge. 95

tree of

Aelian. 59 Africa,

Mother Goddess

27

in,

Agriculture (Steiner), 129 Airport Mesa,

65 Alibard, Thomas-Francois

D',

70

Althing, 32

Alton Bames (England), crop circles 14-15

in.

Amanita muscana. 102 American Indians and floods. 74; and redwoods. 87; and sacred earth, 39 See also Apaches; Brule Sioux; CherokChippewas; Comanches. Creek Indians; Eskimos: Havasupais, Hopis; Huichols; Iroquois; Navajos, Pawnees: Pimas;

Taos Indians; Zunis

Amundson, Ronald, 125 Ancestor worship See Shinto Anesthetics ergot as, 100. mandrakes as

96 Animals and earthquakes, 59-60, 61: and meteorology. 64 See also Birds; Chimpanzees. Dragons Macaque; Phoc Rats Tiger-

Anihroposophical Society. Ants. 107

Anuradhapura Apaches, and s

1

30

Aphrodisiacs. 99

horns, 128, 129, 130; in Mexico, 131;

105;

Aspens. 96. See also Trees

and moon watching, 130-131; and morphic fields. 128; in Netherlands, 130: and pesticides. 131; and Rudolf

sions. 105

Cathedral Rock, 65

Steiner. 128-129, 129-130, 131; in Unit-

Caves: importance

Astronomy, 54 Asvattha: and bo trees. 83; and Hindus. 93-95. See also World trees Athena (goddess), 79 Atoms, defined. 51 Augustine. Saint. 80 Aurameter. 136 Aurora borealis. See Northern lights Austin, Stephen F., 99 Australian Aborigines. 50 Avalon, 92 Avicenna. 58 Aztecs: and morning-glory seeds, 101: and Mother Goddess, 26; and sacrifices, 26; and teonanactl. 101

Apple

14. flight of.

trees.

1

and

oracles. 54;

Cherokees. 100 See also American Indi-

ans Ch I See Qi

Chikxmg 106 Chimney. 62

Anuradhapura (Ceylon), 83: and Asvattha 83; and Buddhists, 83; and Gautama Buddha. 77; and Hindus,

Chimpanzees 69 See

Boynton Canyon. 65 BraJuna the Creator (god). 93

Christ crucifixion

Backster Cleve and Eldon Byrd. 108; and John Kmetz. 108-109; and plant con-

Broman. Francis. 1 10 Bromo, Mount, 68-69

of, 95; and Gethsemand Golgotha. 27 Christians and fig trees. 77

Brule Sioux, 101 See also American Indi-

Chunngas defined 50

trees. &3. in

83.

sciousness, 107-109: and polygraph

machines, 107-/09 Bacon. Francis 58 Baghdad (Iraq), design of, 33 Ba-gua, 117 Baia. 62 Bali, rice farming on, 132 Ball lightning, 70 See also Lightning Bank of China 35 Bantu society 53 Banyans. 82. and Hindus. 82. in India, 77: shnu 82 See also Trees Baobabs. 84-85 See also Trees Baptism and floods. 74-76

See also Trees

76 J 03 Byrd Eldon. 108

Clemens. Samuel (a k a Mark Twain). 63 Climate and continental drift. 64-66; defined 64 and ice ages. 64 Collective unconscious. 51 Comanches. 101 See also American Indians Combustion defined. 66

Caddy Peter and devas, 134-135; and Findhom Foundation. 133-134; and Landscape Angel, 135: quoted. 134-135 Caesalpino. Andrea, and botany. 102-103 Cairo (Egypt),

fig

trees in, 77

planting, 131

Compass. 113 drift and Francis Bacon 58: and climate 64-66 and Alfred We-

Continental

Calvar Campbell, Joseph 26 Canada, biodynamic farming in. 130 Carlson, Dan experiments of. 132-133; and farming, 132-133 and Michael Holtz, 133 in Korea 131-132 quoted

and T C Singh. 132 Camac, ruins at 57. 58 Carver. George Washington, 104, ba. ground of, 105; and botany. 105; and 133.

•

140

Companion

Constable John, quoted. 104

California earthquakes in 59-60

'roposophi-

12-13

Clay 58

c

100

in,

Burial.

Caddy. Eileen. 133

<••

The (Anonymous).

115 Clatford (Englandi crop circles

26 Burry Man.

33

29

Classic of Dwellings,

Buddhists and bo trees 83 and floods,

32-33 characteristics

79:

Cicero, quoted.

Bryant. William Cullen. quoted. 104

70 See also Lightning

^nds

ane

ans

and earthquakes

and elements. 51 62 Arrows secret defined. 15

of, 52;

Mountains. 52-54

Babylonians. 72

'

Aristotle,

60

Charybdis. 72

Toumefort. 102-103

92 See also Tt

Arabs. 96

Catfish,

Chaos (god) 22 Charlemagne 33

and George Washington Carver. 105; and Unnaeus. 103; and Joseph Pitton de

Bo

105:

in Superstition

Botany: and Andrea Caesalpino, 102-103;

B

'

Arc de Tnomphe. 67 Argo (ship). 80

Arthritis.

ed States, 130 See also Farming Birds 131 See also Animals Blue Lake, 46-47 Board of Rites 35 Boone. Daniel, 100

Bovis. Antoine 25

g

124

of. 128:

planting, 131;

also Animals China earthquakes in. 61; ginseng in. 99 Chipko. 92 Chippewas, 100 See also American Indians Chomo-Lungma 27

Aphrodite (goddesApollo (god). 29 Apollo

Edison. 105; and Henry Ford, and peanuts, 105; quoted. 104. and sweet potatoes 105. and vi-

companion

Barombi Mbo, Lake. 53 Barometers 63 Basoga. 90

.

52-54 See also A

Thomas

ada, 130; characteristics

and healing rituals. 91-92 Asian Development Bank, 132 trees,

Astor. John Jacob. 100

Aborigines, 50

and and cow

Arunta. 90

Ash

mentioned

gener. 58-59

Corhampton Downs

farm, crop circles at

8-9

Cornel trees. 91 See also Trees

Cosmic trees See World

trees

Cosmobiological experience defined 24 and Mircea Eliade 24-26 Cow horns, and biodynamic farming, 128 129.

130

Creation myths: of Navajos, 24; of Pimas,

El-Hemel, 29

Ford, Henry, 105

76 Creek Indians, 100. See also American

Eliade, Mircea:

and cosmobiological experience, 24-26; and gestures of approach, 30; and Mother Goddess, 24-26; quoted, 24, 27-29, 30; and sacred places, 27-29, 30 Energy circle, 65

Fountain of youth, 76 Fourth world, defined, 43

Indians Crick Stone, 57-58

Crop

circles: in

Alton Barnes (England),

14-15, broadsheet about, 20, character-

Clatford (England), 12-13;

istics of, 7; in

at

Corhampton Downs

farm, 8-9; in

England: crop circles 32; wells

in,

in,

6-15,

Frazer, James:

(England), 6-7

Estonia, trees

Epilepsy, 96 Ergot: as anesthetic, 100;

and LSD,

Caia

77

Ethelbert (king of Kent), 80

Stedman, 99 Cultural Revolution, 35

Eve

95

Evergreens, 106 See also Trees

"Evidence of Primary Perception

Daisyworld, 122-123

of, 29-30; and James Frazer, 29; and Mother Goddess, 29; and Plutarch,

closing

See also Oracles

Demeter (goddess), 54 Deukalion (god), 74 Devas: and Peter Caddy, 134-135; defined, 134; and Dorothy Maclean, 134, 135

Dewi Danu (goddess), 132 Doctrine of signatures, 96

Dodona, forest of, 80 Dohada, 110 Dolmen, characteristics of, 54-57 Donar (god), 92 Dowsing, 91, 136 Dragons and earthquakes, 60-61; as sacred animals, / 13, 114, 115. See also Animals Drbal, Karl, 25 Druids; and mistletoe, 95-96; and oaks, 80, 92; and Stonehenge, 54

Earthquakes: and Aelian, 59; and animals, 59-60, 6 and James Berkland, 59-6 1

;

in California,

59-60; causes

of,

acteristics of, 59; in China, 61;

59; char-

and

dragons, 60-61, and Moses, 59 Eastern Europe, trees in, 91

Eden, Garden

of,

geomancy

in,

Hidatsa, 90

122-123, 137

Farming and acupuncture, 136, 137; and Dan Carlson, 132-133; and Findhom

Geomancy: and

in Egypt, 33, in of,

los, 32,

1

1

1

See also Geomancy Fertility symbols, 22-23, in India, 58; and mandrakes, 96; and mistletoe, 96; and ings,

1

13.

Newgrange, 17-19; and Pimas, 76; and Sumenans, 76. See also Venus of Wil-

and Muslims, 77; mans, 91 and Virgin Mary, tians, 77;

;

77.

33

See also

Trees

farming, 133-134, 735-137; herb garden

and Dorothy Maclean,

Eitel,

Ernest, 36

of, 134,

Elder

Edda (Anonymous), 93

David Spangler, 135-137; theories 134-135

Elder trees, 92. See also Trees

Electromagnetic energy and James Beal, 61; and Francis Hitching, 61-62; and

Dolores LaChapelle, 62 Elements: and Aristotle, 51, 62, 66, 70, 76, characteristics of, 51

Floods:

and American

133;

Indians. 74;

Hot spot, defined, 68 Howard, Albert, 129 Huichols, 00 See also American Indians 1

Hundredth-monkey effect, 125 Huxley, Anthony: and plant consciousness, 109-110; quoted, 109, 110

Hydrologic cycle, characteristics

and

64,66 Iceland:

geomancy

in,

32; volcanoes

Goddess

in,

symbols

in,

in, 77, 92. 94.

95;

Great Mother See Mother Goddess

Irminsul, 33

Greenhouse

Minoans, 74; myths about, 74; and Noah, 74; and Sumenans, 74

Iroquois, 100 See also

87

man-

oracles, 54;

"I

wandered

in,

66

American Indians

worth), 104

and Japan, volcanoes lava,

H

in, 69 volcanoes on, 68-69

Jesus See Christ

Flyagaric mushrooms, 102

Hag

Eleutherococcus, 100

Forbidden City (China), 33

Hajj, defined,

stones, 57

52

132

lonely as a cloud" (Words-

Jack-in-the-Green, 102 effect, defined,

Eleusinian mysteries, 54

141

Mother

and yoni, 57

Ireland, well in, 74

wells, 76

Greeks, 74, 76; and ice ages, 74; and

58;

26, sacrifices in, 26, trees

Indonesia, rice farming

and oceans, 72-74, and

and

in,

Imo (monkey), 125 India: fertility

drakes, 96; and Mother Goddess. 29;

baptism, 74-76; and Buddhists, 76; and

climate, 64;

floods, 74, history of,

Golgotha, 27

Greeks: and floods. 74, 76; and

of,

64;

of,

and

Goodall, Jane, 69

Great Wall of China, 34, and feng shui. 35

and

causes

effects of, 66;

Indians See American Indians

Spirit,

70-72

I Ice ages:

Golding, William, 120

Great

of,

69

Glen Canyon Dam, 48 Global warming, 19 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, and plants. 104-105

and Chrisand Ro-

of, 124;

Homer: and Charybdis, 72; and Eleusinian mysteries, 54; and Gaia (goddess), 22 Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. 26 Hopis: and fourth world, 43; and Mother Goddess, 26; and naming ceremony, 26; and Palongawhoya, 39; and San Francisco Peaks, 39; and Spider Rock, 43; and Spider Woman, 43 See also American Indians

also Trees

lendorf Fig trees: in Cairo (Egypt), 77,

England, 32; examples

30-32, 33; and Gabriel, 32; in Ice-

land, 32;

and acupuncture, 38; advantages and disadvantages of, 35; and ba-gua, 17; and Bank of China, 35; and Board of Rites, 35; characteristics of, 19, 33; and Cultural Revolution, 35; defined, 13; and Ernest Eitel, 36; and Great Wall of China, 35; growth of, 35; and Han dynasty, 36; history of, 36; and Johnny Kao, 35; and Mr. K's, 35; and Lin Yun, 35; purposes of, 36, 13; and qi, 33, 36, 113, 114-7/5. 16; and scientists, 36-38; and Shinto, 36, and Sung dynasty, 36, types of, 36; and yang dwellings, 113, / 14-11 7, and yin dwellshui:

and electromagnetic

energy, 61-62

defined, 120

and Michael, 32; and omphaand Phanuel, 32; and Raphael, 32. See also Feng shui Germany, trees in, 90 Gestures of approach, 30 Gethsemane, 79 Ginseng: as aphrodisiac, 99; and arthritis, 100; and John Jacob Astor, 100; and Daniel Boone, 100, and Cherokees, 100; in China, 99; and Chippewas, 100; collection of, 99-100; and Creek Indians, 100; and Iroquois, 100; in love potions, 100, and Pawnees, 100; in Soviet Union, 100; and George Washington, 100 Glaciers, 64 See also Ice ages Glastonbury Thorn and Henry VIII, 88; history of, 88-89; and Joseph of Arimathea, 88; and Hamish Miller, 91. See

Psychic farming, Rice farming

yans, 82; and bo trees, 83 Hitching, Francis,

Holy people, 19 Homeostatic state: characteristics

Althing, 32, defined, 30;

Biodynamic farming; Organic farming, Feng

Hindus and Asvattha, 93-95; and ban-

Holtz, Michael, quoted, 133

Foundation, 133-134, 135- 137. See also

Findhom Foundation: and Eileen Caddy, 133; and Peter Caddy, 133-134; and

95

Edison, Thomas, 105 Egypt,

Hess, Harry, 59

and Hesiod, 22; and Homer, 22; and Titans, 22; and Uranus, 22. See also Mother Goddess Gaia (theory): characteristics of, 19; and James Lovelock, 118-119, 119-124, Galvanometers, 107 Garden of Eden, 95 Gautama Buddha, 77 Gde, Jero, 132

Evolution, 105

1

Diodorus Siculus, quoted, 29

1

in Plant

Indi-

Healing rituals, and trees, 91-92 Helmont, Jan Baptista van, 70 Henry VIII (king of England), 88 Herb garden, 134 Hesiod, 22

Gaia (goddess): and Chaos, 22; character-

Life" (Backster), 108

Darwin, Charles, 105 Delphic oracle: and Apollo, 29; and Cicero, 29; and Diodorus Siculus, 29; en-

at Life (Lovelock), theo-

120-124

istics of, 22, 120;

Everest, Mount, 27

D

A New Look

ry of, 118-119,

te; Soma, Teonanactl Han dynasty, 36 Haoma, 97 Harmonic Convergence, 65 Havasu Canyon, 44-45

Havasupais, 44. See also American ans Hawaii, volcanoes in, 67

Gabriel (angel), 32

Crosses, 95

(biblical figure),

oracle, 29;

G

100;

101

in,

and Delphic

quoted, 29, 91; and trees, 91

Enlightenment, 77

and witches,

77

in,

Franklin, Benjamin, 70

Freemasons, 25 Freud, Sigmund, 50

Eskimos, 70. See also American Indians E.S.P. Laboratory, 25

29.

France, trees

geomancy

England, 6-15; growth of, 7; and Terence Meaden, 20; patterns of, 20-21; in South Wonston (England), //, and Stonehenge, 6; theories about, 7, 20; and UFOs, 20; in Upton Scudamore (England), 10, in Winterbourne Stoke

Cullen, Paul

France, Raoul, 107

76

in,

Hallucinogens See Amanita muscana; Ergot; LSD; Morning-glory seeds; Peyo-

Joseph of Anmathea, 88

Judas Iscanot, 92

lung. Carl: childhood of, 50-51, 76;

and

churingas, 50; and collective unconscious, 51,

and

kaabir, 50-51, 76;

and

psychoanalysis, 50; quoted, 50, 76; and spiritus

mundi, 51

tute for, 101;

Netherlands, biodynamic farming

Mao Zedong,

Newgrange

61

enclosing

Mars

stice, 16-17,

1

17-19,

(planet), 119

and

and

30;

of,

spirals,

1

fertility

7;

and winter

A

Meaden, Terence, 20

New Scientist (journal), 127 New Zealand, volcanoes in,

Mount, 28 Kami, defined, 57 Kao, Johnny, 35 Kauaua, 90 Kennedy. John Fitzgerald, 67 Kmetz, John: and Cleve Backster, 108109; and plant consciousness, 108-109;

Medicine, clay as, 58

Ni

Kailas,

quoted, 109 Krakatau, eruption

of,

sol-

The Hypothesis of Formative Causation (Sheldrake), 127

Mauna Kea, 67 May Day, 102

Ka'ba, 52

76

Menhirs, defined, 16. 54 Messina, Strait of, 72-73

Weather Mexico, biodynamic farming

Pliny,

"alnii'gi,

Noah

Meteorology: and animals, 64; and barometers, 63; history of, 63-64 See also

(biblical figure)

floods', 74;

Numbakulla

131

causes

lights, 71,

teristics of, 70; in,

and

and

olive trees, 79

Northern

charac-

of, 70;

and Eskimos, 70

(god),

Mid-ocean ridge, defined, 59 Hamish, 91

Oaks, 80-81; and Augustine, 80; and

Land of Room Enough and Time Enough,

Mineral waters, 76

and lightning. 92; in Lithuania, 92, and Perkunas, 92, and Perun, 92, and sacrifices. 92; in Soviet Union, 92; and Thor, 80, 92; and Zeus, 80, 92. See also Trees Oannes (god), 72 Oceans: and Babylonians, 72; and Greeks,

Lithuania, trees Little Ice

in,

91,

92

Age, 66 See also Ice ages

Loehr, Franklin, 108

Longren, Sig, 136

Lo Pan compass,

/

13

Lovelock, James. 121; and Daisyworld, 122-123; and Gaia (theory), 118-119, 1

19-124. 122-123. 137;

and William 19; and NASA,

Golding, 120, and Mars,

1

119; quoted, 119, 120-121, 124, 137;

and redwoods, 121 Love potions ginseng in. 96

in,

100;

mandrakes

Minoans, 74 Mir (space station),

Mr

Ethelbert, 80;

1

12

Mistletoe and Druids, 95-96; and epilep-

Pliny,

and

fertility

symbols, 96; and

95

Momaday, N

Scott, quoted,

Odin

Monument Valley, 40-41 Moon watching, and biodynamic

(god), 93 Old Straight Track Club, 38 Olive trees, 78-79 See also Trees

farming,

Pickering, 128;

and Gary Schwartz,

McDougall, William, 126 Mac].

and devas,

and Findhom Foundation, Landscape Angel. 135

namic farming. Farming Orgone, 127 Orgone energy accumulator, 126

Ozone

Madar led,

59

and

trees,

N

in,

91

Native Americans See American Indians

1

1

13;

and feng

shui, 33, 36,

1

13,

14-// 5, 116; and trees, 106; and yang

dwellings, 114-//5, 116-117

(biblical figure),

96

expenments with, 126-127 See also Animals Rebirth, 26 Redwoods, 86-87. and Amencan Indians. 87, and lames Lovelock, 121 See also

Canyon Dam, 48. and holy people H and Monument Valley, 40. and Mother 24 and Rainbow Bndg
Rice farming, 132 See also Farming

110. ///-1 12; quoted, 112

101

;

101.

and and

113,

Piezoelectric, defined. 61

142

Rig Veda. 101-102

Romans and mandrakes.

96, and Mother Goddess, 26, and oracles, 54. and Tellus. 26; and trees. 91

114, 115.

Pimas, 76 See also American Indians Plant consciousness and Cleve Backster, I07-I0O, and Eldon Byrd, 108, and

R.

and orgone, 126. 127 and plant harmonics.

Pesticides, 131

Pickering, Alan. 128

and

Trees Retallack. Dorothy

Phanuel (angel). 32 Phoenix, as sacred animal, See also Animals Photosynthesis, defined. 89

and Glen

Window

106,

Perkunas (god), 92 Perun (god), 92

Huichols. 100

nd

Qi and ch'i kung, 106; defined, 33, 36,

Reich, Wilhelm,

and Brule Sioux, Comanches. 101, effects of,

Roman

26

Pele (goddess), 67

Peyote, 100;

24;

Etruscan,

Ragnarok, 93 Rainbow Bndge, 48 Raphael (angel), 32 Ratatosk. 93

Palongawhoya (spirit), 39 Pangaea, 58 Pawnees, 100 See also American Indians Peanuts, 105

Naming ceremony, 26 NASA, 119

of,

Priest,

Prima materia, defined, 70 Psychic farming, 136 See also Farming Psychoanalysis, 50 Punya, defined, 82 Pyramid inch, 25

Rats,

and Smohalla, 24, and and Zunis. 24 See also Gaia

Nature (journal), 127 Navajos creation myths

Previn, Dory, quoted, 108

Rachel

layer, thinning of. 19

Palestine, trees

134, 135;

133;

72-74;

Organic farming. 129 See also Biody-

Slavs, 26-27;

Mushrooms, 102 Muslims and Abraham, 52, and fig 77; and hajj, 52; and Ka'ba, 52

of.

Oracles, 54 See also Delphic oracle

Greeks, 29; and Hopis, 26, in India, 26; and Navajos, 24; and Romans, 26; and

7;

Poseidon (god) charactenstics and olive trees, 79 Prayer stations, 132

32; importance of, 52, Ka'ba as, 52

128;

and Rupert Sheldrake, 124-126, 127-128 Moses (biblical figure): and earthquakes, 59; and sacred places, 30 Mother Goddess, 22-23, in Africa, 27; and Aztecs. 26; and Joseph Campbell. 26; characteristics of, 17; and Delphic oracle, 29, and Mircea Eliade, 24-26; and

1

Porphyry, quoted, 89-90

Pyramids, 25

Omphalos, 30, 31, charactenstics ol, 3233; and Charlemagne, 33; defined, 32; and Eleusinian mysteries, 54; and Forbidden City (China), 33; and geomancy,

130-131

Morning-glory seeds, 101 Morphic fields: and biodynamic farming, 128; characteristics of, 128; and Alan

(goddess)

Macaque, 125 See also Animals

Greek murder

39

Murderers, and mandrakes, 96

M

Mand'

72-74

Mitchell, Edgar, quoted, 124

spirals,

LSD, 100

Donar, 92; and Druids, 80, 92; and

K's (restaurant), 35

sy, 96;

95

107-/09

Miller,

Landscape Angel, 135 Law, William, drawing by, 96 Ley lines: defined, 38; and Old Straight Track Club, 38; and Saint Peters Church, 37. and telluric currents, 38; and Alfred Watkins, 36, 38 Lightning and Thomas-Francois D'Alibard, 70; causes of, 70; effects of, 70; and Benjamin Franklin, 70; and oaks, 92; and thunderstorms, 69-70 Linnaeus (a.k.a. Carl von Linne), 103 Lin Yung, 35

and

1

Ponce de Leon. Juan, 76 Poplars, 96 See also Trees

LaChapelle, Dolores, quoted, 62

40-41

1

Plowman, Etruscan, 26-27 Plutarch: and Delphic oracle, 29; and Eleusinian mysteries, 54; and trees, 91 Plutonion, 54 See also Caves Pneuma, defined, 29 Polygraph machines, and Cleve Backster,

90

Midgard, 92

L

University of Ottawa, Plate tectonics, 59

49 Nidhogg, 93 Niflheim, 92

Meditation, 106

University of North Carolina, 111;

Plasma vortex theory, 20 69

Michael (angel), 32

68

10, and John Kmetz. 108-109 Plant harmonics: and dohada, 10; and Dorothy Retallack, 110, 1 1 1- 112; and Frank Salisbury. 1 12; and T. C. Singh, 110-111; and George E. Smith, ill; and 1

symbols,

8

/

New Science of Life,

Mask, 94

and Carl Jung, 50-51,

Kaabir: defined, 50;

130

in,

characteristics of, 16, 17;

06 See also Trees Mare stones, 57 Maples,

Anthony Huxley, 109-1

49 See also American Indians

and witches, 96

Maoris, 55

s Sacred earth. 39 Sacred places, and Mircea Eliade. 27-29.

30 Sacred trees, Trees

in India, 94,

Sacrifices in Africa. 27.

95 See also

and Aztecs,

26; in

and oaks, 92, and sinkholes, and volcanoes, 67

India, 26;

Species Plantarum (Linnaeus), 103

74;

Spider Rock, 43

Elmo's Fire, 70 See also Lightning Saint Peters Church, 37

Spider

St,

Salisbury, Frank, quoted,

1

Woman, 43

and Mother Goddess, 17; and Newgrange, 17; purposes of, 55

1

12

Spiritual Science, 130

Salyut-7 (space station),

1

12

Spintus mundi, defined, 51

Sand baths, 63 San Francisco Peaks, 39 Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 46-47 of,

Statuettes, Etruscan,

1

Sedona

108

Stomata, defined,

1

1

and Druids,

Sumenans: and

90; in India,

Madagascar,

Thomas

54; enclosing of,

65

Tyron, 104; worship

of, 77.

also Aspens; Banyans, Baobabs;

fertility

93,

and meditation, 106; and Odin, 93; in Palestine, 91; and Plutarch, 91; and Porphyry, 89-90; and qi, 106; and Romans, 91; and Toboongkoos, 91; and

Stonehenge: and astronomy, 54; and crop circles, 6;

and Hidatsa,

90,

symbols, 76; and

trees,

Hawaii, 67,

in Iceland, 69;

in

New

Zealand, 69; number

and sacrifices, 67 Vortices, 65 Votive mask, 94 Vulcan (god), 67 of, 67;

92; in Lithuania, 91; in

sophical Society, 129

30; vortices in,

(Arizona), 65

Germany,

in

Japan, 69; on Java, 68-69; myths

about, 67;

Eastern Europe, 91, in Estonia, 77; in France, 77, and James Frazer, 91; in

namic farming, 128-129, 129-130, 131, and birds, 131; quoted, 129, 130, 131, and Spiritual Science, 130; and Theo-

Scrub weed, 107 Seattle, quoted, 137 Secret arrows, defined, 15 Secret Life of Plants, The (Tompkins and Bird),

and Anlhro-

posophical Society, 130; and biody-

Schwartz, Gary, quoted, 128 Scientists, and feng shui, 36-38

in

Trees and Arunta, 90, and Basoga, 90; and ch'i kung, 106; and Chipko, 92, in

26-27

Steiner, Rudolf (Agriculture):

74

31

Tree of knowledge, 95 Tree of life, 95 Tree of the Soul, 96

Spirals, 55,

12

Volcanoes:

crier,

Treaty Oak, 98-99

Salyul-6 (space station),

Santorin, eruption

102-103

Town

See

Bo

Glastonbury Thorn; Oaks; Olive

Redwoods; Sacred

w Washington, Booker T 105 Washington, DC, design of, 33 Washington, George, quoted, 100 ,

Wasson,

R. G.,

102

Watkins, Alfred, 37, and ley

lines, 36, 38 Watson, Lyall, quoted, 125 Weather: defined, 64; myths about, 64, and troposphere, 62-63; and Mark Twain, 63 Wegener, Alfred: and continental drift, 58-59; and Pangaea, 58

Seismograph, 60-61 Sequoias, 87. See also Trees Seth (biblical figure), 95

Sunflowers, 107

Sung dynasty, 36

Trophonious oracle, 54

Sha, defined, 115, 137

Sunspots, 66

Shakespeare, William, and mandrakes, 96-99

Superstition Mountains, 52-54

Troposphere: defined, 62, and weather, 62-63

Will-o'-the-wisp, 70. See also Lightning

Tse bit'a'i, 42 Tseghahodzani, 49 Tsunamis, defined, 74 Tuskegee Institute, 105 Twain, Mark (a.k.a Samuel Clemens), 63

Willows, 96. See also Trees Winchester (England), design of, 33 Window Rock, 49 Winterboume Stoke (England), crop cles in, 6-7

Tyron, Thomas, quoted, 104

and Newgrange, 16-17, 18 Witches: and elder trees, 92; and ergot, 101; and mandrakes, 96; and olive

floods, 74

trees; Poplars;

Sutphen, Dick, quoted, 65

and morphic fields, 124-126, 127-128; and Nature, 127 and New Scientist, 127; support for, 127; and Tarrytown Group,

Swanson, Gloria, quoted, 25 Sweet potatoes, 105

127-128

Tambora, eruption of, 68 Taos Indians, 46. See also American

Sheldrake, Rupert: criticism

of, 127;

;

and feng

Shinto;

shui, 36; shrine for,

56-57

Indi-

Shiva the Destroyer (god), 93

ans Tarrytown Group, and Rupert Sheldrake, 127-128

Shrine, Shinto, 56-57

Tattoos, 55

Siberians, 102

Telluric currents: defined, 38, 39,

Ship Rock, 42

Signatures, doctrine Singh, T. C: and

of,

Dan

96

Carlson, 132; and 1

and sacrifices, 74 Slavs, and Mother Goddess, 26-27 Sleeping potions, 96 Smith, George E., Ill

and San Francisco Peaks, 39 Tellus (goddess), 26

and Jane Goodall,

Soma, 102

69-70;

of,

and

in,

100;

oaks

Spangler, David, quoted, 135-137

in,

92

circles

Venus Venus

flytraps,

Vesta (goddess), 67 Virgin of,

13,

Mary and (god):

yans, 82

Tournefort, Joseph Pitton de, and botany,

Visions, 105

143

7,

types

of,

13;

1

15

and feng

andqi, 114-//5. 114

also

World trees 36

Yin dwellings, defined, of,

fig trees, 77;

67-68

1

13

Yoni, defined, 57

veneration

76

Vishnu

114,

Animals

11 6- 11

1

Yin, defined,

Vesuvius, Mount, eruption

/

dwellings: defined,

Yggdrasil, characteristics of, 92-93 See

105-107

of Willendorf, 24. See also Fertility

symbols

69

92.

Y Yang, defined, 36 Yang-chai Ching (Anonymous),

22

shui, 113, 114-117,

Titans, 22

15 See also

World trees, 96, 97; characteristics of, See also Asvattha; Trees; Yggdrasil

1

Valentinus, Basilius, quoted, 19-22

See also Animals

1

(god),

cir-

solstice,

trees, 79 Witch stones, 57 Wordsworth, William, 104

Yang

lightning,

Tortoises, as sacred animals,

130

Ur-plant, 105

Toboongkoos, 91

;;

in,

1

10

Uranus

Tigers, as sacred animals, 113, 114, 115.

See Plant harmonics South Wonston (England), crop circles in, irradiation.

Speaking Rock, 43

number

69;

1

1

Upton Scudamore (England), crop in,

Society of Freemasons, 25

Sophocles, 54

Upton

circles, 20, in

(England), 10

University of Ottawa,

76; in

Whirlpool, 72-73

Winter

University of North Carolina,

ley

Teotihuacan (Mexico), design of, 33 Terra Mater (goddess), 26 Theosophical Society, 129 Thor (god), and oaks, 80, 92 Thun, Maria, charts by, 130, 131 Thunderstorms: and chimpanzees, 69;

Smohalla, quoted, 24 Snow White, 92

Soviet Union: ginseng

Scudamore

Teonanactl, 101

1

Sinkholes, 75,

Sound

UFOs: and crop

and Greeks,

Ireland, 74

United States, biodynamic farming

and

Wells: in England, 76;

u

lines, 38;

plant harmonics, 110-111; quoted,

trees;

Sequoias; Willows, World trees

and Asvattha,

93;

and ban-

Zeus

(god): characteristics of, 74;

and

oaks, 80, 92 Zunis, 24. See also American Indians

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