What Makes a Place Sacred?

by Robert Scheer

Our ancestors and their ancestors before them understood the importance of sacred places. For thousands of years, people have gone on pilgrimages or vision quests to seek answers to questions, to gain inspiration, receive prophecies or other messages about what direction their lives should follow. Today, with the very future of life on earth in serious jeopardy, it's never been more important to hear the message we can receive at places of power.

The power of most sacred places was first recognized long ago by shamans or other sensitive  people, who realized that a particular site was blessed by an unusually high concentration of natural energy. Such energy can be caused by underground mineral deposits, underground water, reflected energy from surrounding areas, a combination these factors, and other little-understood factors. Through usage by humans or animals, places further absorb different kinds of energy.

In his book Places of Peace & Power, Martin Gray lists 32 categories of sacred places. A few of these are...

• Ancient ceremonial sites, such as Machu Picchu in Peru,
• Ancient astronomical observatories, such as Stonehenge in England,
• Sacred mountains, such as Kailash in the Himalayas,
• Human-built mountains, such as the Great Pyramid in Egypt,
• Sacred bodies of water, such as Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia,
• Oracle sites, such as Delphi in Greece,
• Labyrinth sites, such as Glastonbury Tor in England, and
• Sacred islands, such as Iona in Scotland.

Some people believe that Earth herself is a living being who speaks to us at sacred places. Martin Gray is an explorer, anthropologist and photographer who visited over 1000 sacred sites in more than 80 countries over a 20 year period. During these pilgrimages he gained the ability to receive direct communications with a spirit of the Earth. "In ancient times," he said, "many cultures knew it was possible to communicate with living, non-human entities, of which the Earth is the oldest and wisest."

As editor and publisher of Power Trips magazine for more than two years, I was amazed to discover how many prophecies, visions, inspirations and other important messages pilgrims have received at sacred places. I invite you to explore this NewAgeTravel.com website at your leisure to discover more about the sacred places of Mother Earth.