Ley Lines
Alignments and patterns of powerful, invisible
earth energy said to connect various sacred
sites, such as churches, temples, stone circles,
megaliths, holy wells, burial sites, and other
locations of spiritual or magical importance.
The existence of leys is controversial. If they
do exist, their true age and purpose remain a
mystery. Controversy over them has existed since
1925, when Alfred Watkins, an English beer
salesman and amateur antiquarian, published his
research and theory in his book, ''. Watkins
suggested that all holy sites and places of
antiquity were connected by a pattern of lines
he called 'leys'. Mounds, barrows, tumuli,
stones, stone circles, crosses, churches built
on pagan sites, legendary trees, castles, mottes
and baileys, moats, hillforts, earthworks and
holy wells were all thought to stand in alignment.
Using the Ordnance Survey, Watkins claimed that
the leys were the 'old straight tracks', which
crossed the landscape of prehistoric Britain
and represented all types of early human
activities.
After Watkins's theory was published, public
fascination with leys remained high until the
1940s, when it began to decline. Interest
revived in the 1960s and 1970s, as part of
the New Age movement. While Britain has been
the chief site of investigation, there also
is interest in France, the United States,
Peru and Bolivia. Many archaeologists and
other scientists dispute the existence of
leys and say the theory originated by Watkins
was contrived because Watkins aligned secular
and sacred sites from different periods of
history. Even ley enthusiasts are divided
into differing camps. Some hold that the
prehistoric alignments can be statistically
validated. Others agree but say that alignments
continued in historical periods. Still others
contend that leys mark paths of some sort of
earth energy that can be detected by dowsing,
and perhaps was sensed by early humans. The
energy is compared to the flow of ch'i, the
universal life force identified in ancient
Chinese philosophy.
Points where the ley energy paths intersect
are said to be prone to anomalies such as
earth lights and poltergeist phenomena and
reported sightings of UFOs (one theory
suggests that the paths are navigational aids
to extraterrestrial spacecraft). These energy
leys, however, do not necessarily coincide
with physical alignments of sites. Despite
the controversy ley researchers hope at least
to come to a better understanding of ancient
sacred sites, and of the people who built them.
Related books:
A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany (1995).
Circles of Stone.
Circles of Stone, 3500-900 B.C.
Earth Energies.
Earth Energies: A Quest for the Hidden Power of the Planet.
Exploring Prehistoric Europe (Places in Time).
From Carnac to Callanish: The Prehistoric Stone Rows and Avenues of
Britain, Ireland and Brittany.
Geopathic Stress: How Earth Energies Affect Our Lives.
Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts.
Healing Through Earth Energies.
Megaliths: Stones of Memory (Discoveries).
Planetary Mysteries: Megaliths, Glaciers, the Face on Mars, and
Aboriginal Dreamtime (Io, No 37).
Prehistoric Stone Circles.
Stone Circles: A Beginner's Guide.
Stone Circles: A Modern Builders Guide to the Megalithic Revival.
Talking With Nature: Sharing the Energies and Spirit of Trees,
Plants, Birds, and Earth.
The Circle Of Stones, An Investigation of the Circle Of Stones.
Your Home Can Make You Ill : How to Counteract Harmful Electrical and
Earth Energies.
Further info:
Earth Mysteries - Ley Lines.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/earthmysteries/EMLeyLines.html
Ley Lines/Earth Energy Lines.
http://www.mystical-www.co.uk/leylines.htm
LeyLines: History & Theories.
http://www.simmons.edu/~zyirek/leylines/hist.html
