The Lines of Power: Part Two
So here it finally is, the second part of the Lines of Power post I’ve been meaning to. This is going to be another long post, due to covering several topics, so grab yourself a coffee – you might need it to make it through!
Addendum: Leylines – Astrological Significance
Firstly, I’d like to quicly and briefly summarise that, outside of the original post’s conclusion, I do believe that SOME ley lines lie along paths of astrological significance. It is now widely accepted by the mainstream that these sites were often made specifically to identify, track, and even measure the cycles of the celestial planets. As such, it would of course make sense that certain sites are aligned along paths which facilitate this. These lines would be the exception to the examples talked about in the prior posting – these sites would necessarily have to be located along the same line, marking a real, tangible line of influence. With that said, this wasn’t the point of part two, so I’ll leave that for other people to discuss/research and keep this as a small sidenote.
Earth’s Magnetic Field
The most easily observable Lines of Power I will mention here is arguably those of Earth’s magnetic field. I have included it here to ground the other topics and to illustrate the great physical influence these have on human life and the biosphere.
Magnetic fields are produced by the motion of electrical charge. This can be seen in a humble bar magnet, where the magnetic field results from negatively charged electrons moving from one pole to another. The Earth similarly has a magnetic field. Whilst its origins are poorly understood, it is believed that the electrical currents are produced by convectice effects and rotation in the liquid, metallic outer core which is comprised of iron and nickel.
This field is constantly present but can vary considerably with time. Rocks such as basalt that are formed from a molten state preserve indicators of the magnetic field when they eventually solidify. This allows geologists to observe how the magnetic field has changed over time. These indicators show that the flow of the field is not constant, varies in strength, and has gone through several cycles of reversing the direction of its flow.
The actual poles of the field do not correspond to true north and true south, and the poles are known to wander, presumed considerably so before a reversal. This causes a declination in the magnetic field lines, which can be measured to be significant over a few hundred years.
Earth’s magnetic field is vital to life. Our sun produces larges amount of radiation, in the form of Solar Wind. Solar Wind is not wind at all, but instead a powerful stream of of charged particles consisting of electrons and protons. These are released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, and can be exceptionally damaging especially during intense periods of solar flare activity. Thankfully the presence of Earth’s magnetic field prevents the atmosphere from being stripped away into space, and the surface from being heavilly irradiated. Even so, the harsh battering the planet receives is enough to distort the magnetosphere significantly, as shown in the image below.
This is not the only effect the magnetosphere has however. It is known that many organisms on Earth make use of the magnetic field for numerous purposes, in what is known as Biomagnetism. Biomagnetism plays an important role in the lives of many species.
A powerful example of how it affects organisms would be in a class of bacteria known as magnetotactic bacteria. These organisms demonstrate a behaviour in which they orientate themselves and migrate along the Earths magnetic field lines. These bacteria are said to be permanantly sensitive to the fields, due to them containing magnetosomes which act as a magnetic dipole, preserving the crystalline structure of cells.
Other examples can be seen in even more complex animals, including various mammal and bird species. In these cases, the magnetic field of the earth is used as a natural inbuilt compass, to help guide the animal in some manner, as either a map, a compass, or a compass calibrator.
In addition, there are several studies that show that the Earths magnetic field can have influence upon the human brain. Studies on the possibility of a human magnetic sense being present has been conducted, with mixed results. It is known however that humans possess magnetic bones in the human nose, and another recent study showed that low-frequency magnetic fields can produce an evoked response in human subjects.
It is interesting to note that strong magnetic fields can cause hallucinations, such as the feeling of being watched, and are in some cases are seen by some to play a part in several hauntings. It does therefore not seem too far fetched to believe that magnetosphere has some kind of psychological influence. I will leave that topic for further exploration another day however.
Song Lines/Dream Lines
In Aboriginal Australian belief, there exists a concept of the Song Lines or Dream Lines. These lines, also known as Dreaming Tracks, are paths across the land and sky which mark the route followed by localised creator spirits, during the Dream Time. The Dream Time was a sacred era in which it is believed that the ancestral totemic spirit beings created the world, making these lines actual lines of spiritual power.
These paths are recorded through traditional songs, stories, dance and paintings. By recalling these paths in song or through other methods, the indigenous people could navigate vast physical distances, travelling often through the harsh deserts that make up the centre of Australia. The continent is said to contain an extensive system of Song Lines. Some of these are only a few kilometres long, whilst others are travel hundreds of kilometres, crossing several different territories owned by differing indigneous tribes.
Someone who is knowledgeable of the lines and able to recall them in this manner is able to see the marks of the Spirits. Repeating phrases and words in song that describe of the location of landmarks such as waterholes and other natural phenomena enables them to follow the Song Line. In many cases it is said that the paths of the creator spirits is obvious from their marks on the land, such as large depressions or other signs which are said to be of their footprints, body marks or other indicators of their physical presence.
Some Song Lines have strict taboos or rules surrounding them that are observed religiously. For example, some Song Lines are thought to have a particular direction, and walking the reverse way along such a Song Line is seen as a sacrilegious act. This is difficult to at first appreciate the severity of, but when one investigates how Traditional Aboriginal people regard their land sacred, and them as guardians it begins to make much more sense. The Aboriginal people believe that the songs must be continually song of the lines to keep the land alive, and working against and damaging the Song Lines is obviously seen in a bad light.
In both these posts I have now covered several examples of different Lines of Power, I will now go onto detailing the teaching my own Path has on this, alongside my own personal interpretation which will hopefully wrap it all up in a cohesive way.
Path of Flames Teaching and My Interpretation
The Path of Flames has its own take on Lines of Power, in the form of the Dragon Lines. These Dragon Lines are in a way similar to the Lung Meis or Dragon Paths as seen within the Chinese belief of Feng Shui.
In the Path of Flames, Belial is the God associated with the material plane. The material plane itself is the actual body of the God, and the Dragon Lines in our tradition are the actual spiritual vessels for this Gods lifeforce, analogous in some ways to the blood vessels within our own body. It facilitates the travel of spirits and the transfer of spiritual power, and exists as a system connecting our world to the astral and the Gods. Without it, similar to the concept of the Dream Lines, we believe the world would begin to literally wither and die.
It is currently the task of those who follow Hecate and the Path of Ascending Flame to work with reinvigorating the Dragon Lines by earthing the currents found through spiritual practice. It is believed that by each individual in this manner bringing back more of the teachings and power, and feed them back into the Dragon Lines, that a much stronger spiritual age can be ushered in and humanity can reconnected with its spirits on a larger level.
Its name as the Dragon Lines is also apt, as the Dragon spirits of the path use it to travel and manifest. The Earth Dragon, Behemuth, draws alot of its power from the lines and travels along them as one of Belials most impressive and powerful servants, and is an entity that I look forward to personally working with in the future.
When this is viewed in the context of the Lines of Power revealed in my previous posts, I can now say my own view and theory on the subject. I believe that, whilst the Dragon Lines themselves exist as a spiritual (but physically existing) system, that some (if not all) of the Lines of Power mentioned also belong to this system as different manifestations of it. By this, I mean that I believe that each of these systems combines to make up the manifestations of the body of Belial, and in essence, are all differing types of Dragon Line.
In this way, I believe the nature of the system has untapped potential for exploration in much greater detail, and I’m looking forward to possibly uncovering more in the future through practical means. By investigating each set of Lines, I hope that in the future that how each Line operates, and interacts, with the others can be explained in greater detail. I hope this is done through respecting the complexity of the systems involved, rather than trying to merge through over syncretic action separate modes of action (such as how Ley-Lines became confused with the Dragon Line/Song Line concepts in New Age thought).
Hopefully this has been a little primer.. and revealed what directions my thoughts are going on it.
Thanks as always for reading.
June 16, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Hmm…. very interesting bit about dragon lines.
I’ve come up to similar insights concerning what you call “dragon lines” on my path with Hecate, although i see a much “wider”, “pan dimensional” influence of those “dragon lines” or “conduits”.
June 19, 2013 at 4:28 pm
And I wouldn’t doubt such a wider influence does in fact exist, I’m still exploring it within my own path. I’m glad you found it interesting, was actually difficult to write into a cohesive manner! Glad I managed to convey something from it…
Thank’s for following and commenting, I’ll have some more of my own reading to do now! 🙂
November 13, 2015 at 3:28 pm
I really enjoyed the last part about your own views of the lines of powers (Dragon Lines). I was starting to come to a similar conclusion myself; that the different lines of power could very well all have some merit, just maybe in a different way… If that makes sense.
November 13, 2015 at 5:48 pm
No that makes perfect sense, glad you enjoyed the post!
I think that its both more complex and much simpler than many people think. I don’t think these leylines are simply some kind of extremely secret power network created by man. Instead I think they both arise natural magickal and mundane fields created by our planets flesh, and can and should be explored with this in mind.
Im sure there are some amazing works to be explored in that direction.
Thanks for the feedback!
~S~