When the Land Speaks

Part 1 of a series of interviews with Rocio Araujo on Solar Geometry and Site Coherence

In this series of articles about Shamanic Architecture, I interview Rocio Araujo, a talented Guatemalan architect who graduated from our Solar Geometry Certification. We continue to work with her designing homes, hotels, and temples. Our idea is to share the process of building modern temples and homes conceived from the very beginning with a shamanic perspective, using the technical skills and methods of master builders of old, which we call Shamanic Architecture.

Rocio designed and is currently building a temple at Lake Atitlán. As you will see, each step functions in a shamanic way, by feel, by connecting with the earth, the sun’s rhythms, and what is present in the place.

Location and Its Relationship to the Sun

Location takes precedence over design. Before sketches, measurements, or any technical constraints come into play, there is the land itself and its relationship to the sun. Solar geometry isn’t just an abstract idea here; it’s a way of understanding how light, time, and place are already talking to each other. The sun’s movement across the horizon, the solstices, and the way morning light hits the site aren’t details added later. They are the foundation.

Solar Geometry, as its name suggests, relates to the sun. It connects the sun’s yearly patterns to the Earth. It is an ancient form of geometry that has been used to construct sacred structures worldwide since the Neolithic period. It fell out of favor in the 19th century, but we have played a role in bringing it back into architecture

Solar Geometry offers a vital framework for this stage. Here, geometry isn’t viewed as an abstract or universal system; it is directly connected to latitude and the movement of the sun. Every location on Earth has its own solar rhythm, with unique features that shape design. In this way, geometry is not imposed on the land but is revealed through it.

This approach differs from traditional practice, where orientation is often adjusted within the existing form. In this method, orientation is prioritized first. It establishes the building’s main axis and influences how the space will be experienced over time. Small adjustments in orientation can significantly impact comfort, perception, and overall coherence. Once a clear solar orientation is identified, technical factors can then be incorporated into the design.

The Importance of Intention

The second question concerns intention. Often, intention is seen as abstract, but in reality, it functions as a tangible design element. It shapes how a space is meant to be used, how it should feel, and the kind of experience it aims to facilitate. A temple reveals the clarity or ambiguity of its purpose directly through its walls. Two structures might appear identical on paper but feel entirely different in person, simply because their underlying intentions differ. This is something that cannot be fixed later with decoration or ritual. It must be incorporated into the design from the beginning through decisions about orientation, proportion, and spatial hierarchy.

With this focus, intention is not just symbolic; it actively shapes how a space is formed and how the building engages with both the land and the people inside.

The Larger Landscape

Then there is a third layer, which often gets overlooked in traditional architecture: the broader landscape. Not just what is immediately visible, but what exists on a larger scale. Mountains, volcanoes, bodies of water, and historic archaeological sites are all part of a network of relationships that influence placement and orientation. Rocio often examines the alignments of structures built long before us. They don’t need to be close. What matters is that they already belong to the land. Knowing what was there before and understanding how it related to the landscape opens a creative channel that is difficult to access in any other way.

Once these three layers, location, intention, and landscape, are established, the real work begins. This involves determining the precise placement of the temple.

The Importance of Perception

At this stage, technical limitations such as land size or construction challenges are deliberately set aside; those will be addressed later. Initially, the focus is on orientation through solar geometry, Vastu Shastra, and experiential practices, such as the roses experiment. Sometimes, there’s a clear idea, such as aligning the structure toward the solstice sunrise. However, when the orientation is directly felt on the land, the original idea often changes completely, and you may find yourself facing the opposite direction to perceive the difference.

The rose experiment helps identify the direction of positive energies and allows you to optimize these life-enhancing energies through the structure’s orientation.

This process isn’t about being right. It’s about broadening the range of possibilities until something becomes clear in the body. I’m not looking for the best idea in my mind. I’m listening to what the land is asking for.

This is Where the Work Becomes Truly Shamanic.

The land constantly communicates, but not through words. It expresses itself through sensations, subtle body shifts, the health and behavior of plants, and a sense of ease or resistance when you stand in a certain spot facing a specific direction. Visualizing the space in three dimensions is essential here. I aim to sense how the space will feel once built, not just how it looks on a plan.

Orientation matters. Facing different directions creates unique energetic qualities that influence how a space feels. Sometimes, established directional rules don’t match the site’s actual conditions. The land might be too small, proportions might be off, or the structure might seem forced. In those cases, a decision must be made between achieving technical perfection and maintaining energetic coherence.

For me, the structure must conform to the land. Imposing an idea onto a site, no matter how elegant it is conceptually, always creates tension. When the building fits, something relaxes. You notice it immediately.

How the Path Began

This sensitivity to listening to the land’s energies didn’t come fully formed; it developed over time. Part of it emerged through formal study, starting in Boulder with my Solar Geometry Certification and continuing with hands-on experimentation. However, some of the earliest moments happened during the restoration of a convent in Antigua. That was the first time I truly felt that a place was communicating with me, as if the land itself was offering guidance. That experience opened a door.

In 2018, I began actively searching for a geomancy teacher. I looked in Guatemala and Mexico, but most of what I found focused on prediction and future readings, not on working directly with land and architecture. I continued searching online and eventually discovered formal geomantic training. That path led me to study with master builder Dominique Susani, who taught me Solar Geometry and whose work combined land, geometry, and the elements in a way I had never seen before.

What I was looking for wasn’t just another building method. Architecture schools in Guatemala excel at technical training; they teach you how to build, but they don’t teach why. Very little attention is given to essence, meaning, or the criteria guiding design beyond simple function and efficiency. I’ve always been more interested in that deeper question.

Geomancy offered a way to work with the land rather than against it. Solar geometry, proportions, and the elemental measuring system became tools not for control, but for listening. Today, I often use the five Elements as confirmation. When I am designing something as simple as a window, I experiment with proportions until the Elements respond clearly. When the response is harmonious and produces a clean, resonant note, I know the design is right.

Designing with the living land isn’t about choosing a style or belief system. It’s about restoring architecture’s ability to work in harmony with its environment. When design aligns with a place’s natural rhythm, the building becomes a natural extension of the land, and architecture fulfills one of its most essential roles: supporting life in harmony with its surroundings.

This Shamanic Architecture series will explore that process in greater detail, step by step. Not as a strict formula, but as a way to remember how to build relationships with place and harmonic structures.