THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THE WORLD OF SACRED SPACE
For almost 20000 years, our ancestors have created temples and sacred sites which have shaped the course of humanity. By using a carefully defined set of principles, they became mirrors of universal laws on earth allowing human beings to access their divine power. Through this new access, they gained knowledge and tools which allowed them to live better lives on a day to day basis.
When speaking of ancient temples and sacred monuments, I am referring to sites such as the Pyramids of Egypt, the temples of the Yucatan, the archaeological sites of Greece, stone circles like Stonehenge and many more. Built by our ancestors for the development and growth of mankind, these are the means through which ancient cultures reconnected to divine power and thus maintained themselves in balance for thousands of years.
Whilst we are often told these temples are mainly places of worship, burial sites for kings or shrines in tribute to old civilisations, these are actually also deeply intelligent structures which amplify human potential.
The oldest recorded Temple or sacred site which exists on Earth is the temple of Tiwanaku which is 17,000 years old. This would indicate that the whole temple culture would have at least emerged around that time, however, there may be some earlier temples which have still not been found, or which have disappeared without a trace.
When the first souls began to incarnate on earth 100,000 years ago, these came onto earth as highly advanced beings as they arrived directly from a very strong connection to source. As time passed, they began to forget their divinity, becoming disconnected from their source.
As the order of the surroundings would have a profound effect on our beings, temples were therefore built as mirrors of universal law, reconnecting humans to the divine connection which was slipping away. Through their power and their form, they connected us to a force which allowed us to gain the power needed to transform ourselves into extraordinary humans, examples to others and help maintain societies in balance.
As many of these began to be built, they began to work together as a network, raising the level of awareness and consciousness of the entire collective.
By creating heaven on earth they helped bring balance to our beings, re-enabling our connection to our highest power.
The resurrection process:
Images and texts found on these sites also indicate that a central function of these spaces was to hold initiations and resurrections. After being followed by a shaman for a few years, initiates would undergo a death experience which allowed them to reconnect to their source, drawing in information and knowledge which would be useful for improving their day to day life. They became powerful manifestors and creators, impacting the world around them.
2- THE EVOLUTION OF SACRED SPACES THROUGH TIME:
FROM ANCIENT SACRED NATURE-MADE MOUNDS, TO CONTEMPORARY URBAN TEMPLES
This is where sacred spaces began: the perfection of the universe created mounds and hills which represented stronger energy points for human beings and other life forms would find the deepest connection it was looking for.
Thousands of years later, the very principles that began as natural mounds have found their way towards becoming sets of principles to create sacred spaces we can interact with on a daily basis.
It is important for us to refer to the temple culture as this is where the sacred space practise first initiated.
Long before any constructed temple existed, mountains and mounds which existed in nature were sacred spaces, behaving as natural temples. Simply climbing them would bring us closer to the divine. As they could be seen from further away, they were easier to find, allowing us to remember where the places for divine connection where located.
Ancient civilizations began to build structures on these to mark these sacred sites so humans could remember where to go to connect to the divine. With time, these structures evolved to become stone circles, temples etc, built in a way that they would amplify and increase the frequency and potency of these sites.
It began to be understood that as we are universal beings trapped in a 3D body, we become ill because we are stuck in an environment which is out of alignment with our own original being. We become angry, ill, self-harming, etc. Temples mimic the order of the universe so we can find alignment, we can refuel, strengthen our wisdom as these temples are places of universal force on earth. Whilst initiations, pilgrimages and live resurrections were common in temples, practises were later devised to create more systematic approaches to the sacred space field.
For instance, the shape of the pyramids of Giza was inspired by a hill called Dehenet by the Nile which was chosen by the Pharaohs as the gateway to the other world. It stands over what is known today as the Valley of the Kings.
Britain's famous Stonehenge is an evolution of all of this, a simple circular stone alignment, thousands of years old, it behaves as a temple as the stones alignment and the choice of the type of stone will help magnify and amplify the energy of the power spot it was built on.
Famous temples in Meso-America such as Chichen Itza in the Yucatan or Teotihuacan north of Mexico City were evolutions of these concepts as well.
Important to note that these demonstrated design principles which represented the existence of masculine and feminine forces, the sun and the moon, the yin and yang presence which is commonly referred to in Feng Shui.
Much later, it was found that many ancient sacred pagan sites were destroyed with cathedrals and churches built on top of them. One of the most important examples of this is Chartres Cathedral. Built in the middle ages, not only was it built over an ancient Pagan site which could have been built there any time between 10000 and 2000 BC, but it also used ancient principles in its creation.
Vastu Shastra was a practise which was created by Hindu monks during the Vedic times, approximately 7000 years ago. It was used first to build temples and sacred buildings but then became a practise to create private homes as well.
This practise was then carried over to Himalayas to China where it was adapted to become Feng Shui 4000 years ago.
Both Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra are based on similar principles as the ancient temples.
We will learn more about this connection when we explore the connection via the understanding of principles such as the Qi energy, the yin, yang masculine and feminine, and alignment to the forces of nature.
Today, Feng Shui is the foremost form of sacred space practise. However many practitioners are now branching out and seeking new ways of building spaces which use a mix of different practises which expand beyond this lineage.
The sacred space practise begins as mounds, hills and mountains were naturally formed as places of intense energy where humans could connect to higher energetic frequencies which were available there.
Above is the nature-made mound called Dehenet, next to the valley of the Kings in Egypt, known as being the first mound which inspired the shape of the first pyramids which then became popularly used as a shape in temple making.
These mounds later lead to the creation of stone circles, like Stonehenge and Castle Rigg (above) the placement of specific types of stones in a specific location, in a certain way would create an amplified, intensified and highly potent energy field.
The oldest temple known to man is Tiwanaku in Bolivia which is 17000 years old. Temples were another way of amplifying and intensifying natural energy fields to create spaces which could enable transformation.
The knowledge then expanded from the world of pagan sites to the churches and cathedrals of the middle ages in Europe.
7000 years ago, the practise of Vashtu Shastra was developed in India, from which Feng Shui was later created. These practices carried the knowledge into modern times and today the world of sacred spaces had become a broad, multi-dimensional field of work.
NEXT: Learn about the 5 main pillars of temple-making
This article is an excerpt of Lesson 1 of the online course: The Sacred Art of Transformative Spaces
Take the entire lesson 1 by clicking below.