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The Lines of Power: Part Two

Posted in Folk Belief, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2013 by Sypheara

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.

 

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The Lines of Power: Part One

Posted in Necromancy, Occultism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , on May 30, 2013 by Sypheara

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for not making an entry sooner. This week and last week have been exceptionally busy for me, in all ways! The lack of posts is definetly not due to lack of things to talk about.. just that my own practice coupled with keeping my own  written records up to date has took its toll.

With that said, I’d like to move swiftly on to the topic at hand that I have chosen for this post. The title, ‘Lines of Power’, refers to the different lines and fields of energy that run through and around the Earth.  This concept plays an important part within my own tradition in understanding certain phenomena and working with them, as its seen as the arteries of the planet, which to us is the physical body of one of our Gods.  Unfortunately, this is often seen as a predominantly New Age Idea with little merit to it, due to the sometimes outlandish claims made involving all sorts of nebulous and undefined terms.

To make this core belief seem more plausible and ground it in some sense of reality,  I am going to go over several concepts to hopefully  show that the actual lines are infact several systems existing parallel to each other of a different nature, which all combine to make up the whole. More importantly, I hope to show that these conclusions are in some manner grounded in much older beliefs.

Ley – Lines Origin and Development

The most obvious and exoteric theory when talking about ‘lines of power’ is found in the concept of Ley-Lines and associated beliefs.These are very well known within New Age groups and in Popular culture as being magical lines through which ‘Earth energy’ or other such things flow. In this section I wish to show that the original concept, and the actual natures within the  Ley Lines, has become confused with other ideas to be blended into a whole that does not work as an explanation and actually detracts from the original nature and understanding of the Leys. Hopefully this will demonstrate that its several existing systems that combine to make the whole picture rather than the Leys that encompass everything.

The Ley-Line theory was originally concieved by Alfred Watkins. Watkins, a self-taught amateur archaeologist and antiquarian, believed that in a flood of ancestral memory he had gained insight onto something whilst looking over a map of Herefordshire. He saw that various prehistoric sites, such as burial mounds and standing stones fell into straight lines for what appear to be miles in length across England. From this point on, Watkins spent many years studying such alignments in the field and on maps, taking photographs, and writing books and giving lectures on his theory.

For a few years in the 1920’s, Watkins referred to these alledged alignments as ‘leys’. This was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘meadows’ or ‘cleared ground’. Watkins explanation for the leys themselves were that they were old straight traders’ tracks laid down by surveyors in prehistory. He claimed that using surveying rods resulted in the roads being built in straight lines. His use of the term ‘ley’ was in regards to the clearings on either side of the road that he logically deduced would have had to be made, due to several of them cutting through dense forest or other problematic terrain. By 1929 however, he had discarded the term ‘ley’ and simply refered to them as ‘old straight tracks’

Additionally, Watkins believed that many of the key sighting points along these old tracks evolved into sacred sites of their own over time with use, resulting in standing stones and burial mounds. He also believed that in the historic, Christian era, some of the Pagan sites became Christianised, explaining why many ancient churchs appeared to stand along his alignments.

Watkins died in  in 1935. A year after his death, the renowned occultist Dion Fortune wrote a novel, called The Goat-Foot God, in which she put forward the notion of ‘lines of force’ connecting megalithic sites such as Avebury and Stonehenge in Southern Endgland. Two years later, Arthur Lawton, a member of Wakings Straight Track Club, published a paper claiming that leys wern’t just trading roads after all, but lines of cosmic force which could be dowsed. He himself was a dowser, and had been impressed by the work done on Dowsing in both France and Germany which claimed that there were lines of force beneath standing stones and at other neolithic sites. Putting these together in his own head, he came up with his own theories about leys.

Over the next few years, this more occult theory became the one that was predominantly spread. Some of the ideas developed from it were interesting, however it soon became interspersed with some very up the air New Age claims, even including gaining an association with UFOs and Alien Channelling. To save another three paragraphs, needless to say that Watkins original idea was buried beneath this more popular conception which caught on in wider culture.

Ley – Lines : Shamanic paths and Death Roads

It has not been to relevently recently that the original ‘Ley Line’ theory has been taken more seriously. This has been spurred by finds in other countries which not only shed some interesting light on the original theory, but tie the original to more believable, real lines of psychological and spiritual power.

This revival has been spurred by the discovery of similar constructs in other parts of the world, such as the Americas. Here, straight roads can be found in relative abundance across certain areas of the landscape. Some of these roads are easily seen to be engineered features, with primary ones being 30 feet across. Even when changing direction, these roads do not bend, instead prefering to angle sharply maintain the road as straight as possible.

Several archaeological sites in Mexico contain very old straight road systems. Sometimes, altars exist on these causeways or they seem to lead to other sites of natural significance. Further south, the Maya built long straight roads, called sacbeob or ‘white ways’. These paths interconnect temples, plazaz, and Mayan cities. Now only existing in fragmentary sections. arches, ramps and other curious structures are related to the Sacbeob and according to local Mayan tradition, the physical network of the roads themselves are joined to non material, spiritual routes. Several of these are said to run underground or into the air itself.

When we examine the prevalence of these roads and neolithic artwork  influenced by straight lines across many cultures, it doesn’t take a very large leap of faith to show something is occuring on mental and spiritual level across the human spectrum.  Anthropologist Dobkin de Rios explained that she believed that they derived from entoptic patterning that occurs in the human cortex early in trance states. She explains that she believes these ‘within vision’ images are universal to every human, and adhere to a basic, specific range of constant geometrically shapes – grids, dots, spirals, lines and so on. These basic elements she explains makes up the basis of the vivid geometric patterns associated with psychoactive substances, and heightened trance states and therefore shamanic practice. As the trance gets deeper and intensifies, she explains how they can take on full fledged imagery.

This would result in straight lines, a common entropic pattern in the form of a tunnel constant, becoming associated with spirit flight and ‘crossing the hedge’ to the spirit world. It is unsurprising then that archaelogists have discovered alot of these paths are used as ‘death roads’, which some still today being used for carrying corpses to burial and material used in the construction of tombs and cemetery walls. While the evidence for such practice is more prevalent in new world locations such as Costa Rica, it’s not a large leap of faith to imagine that they were used in this capacity elsewhere. Infact, evidence continues to exist in folklore and spiritual belief for the connection between people and these death roads and other important landmarks.

It is common in areas of Oceanic and Southeast asia for houses to not be built directly infront or behind another house. This is said to be because spirits travel in straight lines, and when corpses are moved from the house for burial they must go straight out of the house.

The native americans have several interesting beliefs on this as well. Buryat tribes people bury their deceased shames in special places in the landscape, so that their spirits can act as a guardian in the afterlife over the location. In this way, they could be said to augmenting the Genius Loci of a place. These shamanic spirits are thought to travel along specified routes, called goidel. They envisage their territory being criss crossed with these invisible tracks along which the spirits of the dead shamans.

In europe, similar invisible spirit lines are thought to occur, with features like fairy passes in Ireland. These link prehistoric earthworks, upon which it was not permitted to build upon. Archaeologically, there are many strange physical linear features. These include the bronze age standing stones in Europe which pass through burial cairns, and have “blockings tones” at their ends. Even older then these are the avenue lines called “cursuses” in Britain which can be seen connecting neolithic burial mounds. In addition, in Britain ancient bog causeways exist constructed from timber – some of these straight tracks have been excavated, showing that at least one of the uses of these tracks was transporting the dead.

The folk beliefs surrounding straight versus crooked is highly interesting, especially when we consider Old Europe. Often spirit traps consisting of webs or nets of material woven over a frame or tangle threads residing in bottles were placed on paths leading to and from cemeteries, houses and at crossroads. These can still be found in use in parts of Europe today, in places such as Bavaria. The logic behind this idead was that since straight lines facilitate the travel of spirits, winding lines or other forms could confuse or perhaps ensnare them, keeping them at bay or confined. There are also some pieces of evidence that suggest that labyrinths of some kind, whether stone or hedge, were employed to similarly confuse, confine, or cause to get lost spirits that inadvertly travelled into them.  The fact that similar elements appear in Feng-shui is highly interesting, showing that this belief was across cultures, bringing us back to our earlier findings.

In such a manner, I believe that some Ley-Lines do indeed serve a function for Spirits and their travelling. In this manner, the Ley-Lines are indeed lines of ‘spiritual energy’, but relate to the spirits and not some nebulous undefined earth energy. I think that ascribing such a blanket description to the Leys does nothing useful, and only serves to take away from their potential use as a spirit road and fails to account for the human element.

In part two, I hope to cover other fields, most importantly earths magnetic field, showing that it is infact several systems that make up the actual matrix of the different types of energy that are part of the body of our planet. I hope to finish by explaining how my own tradition sees it alongside analogues – hopefully this part will less dense and long!

Thank you for reading as always.

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