Sacred sites are extraordinary places.

They are healing; they align and balance our energy and raise our vibration. Their very essence is mystical, and we make pilgrimages to them most often for the healing they offer us. But what is the magical ingredient that gives these unique places their healing qualities? These secret energies are vortexes, and they have healing vibrations that have long been recognized by the shamans, priests, and builders of sacred sites all around the world.

Earth energy is a big topic, and besides the subterranean water veins and geological faults, there are energies that we encounter on the earth's surface. These surface energy currents do not only flow horizontally. They also move in a vertical direction. A simple way to explain them is that they are vortexes of energy, shaped like a column. These vortexes are comprised of descending and ascending energy, which circulates by spiraling up and down.  We call them energy vortexes. Some people see them, and others sense them when they stand in the middle of one.

These vortexes are generally located at the intersections of major horizontal flows. Similar to how hurricanes are formed, many vortexes are created by the meeting of two different forces. For example, when the energies of two water veins meet inside the earth, this meeting begins a turning or spinning action, which at the surface translates into a vortex. Most of the vortexes that we encounter every day are caused by underground water veins, geological faults, or crossings of nets or grids that also cover the earth. Natural elements in the landscape create other vortexes, for example, volcanoes, pyramidal or conical mountains, confluences of rivers, or waterfalls.

People can feel energy vortexes with their bodies by standing in the center of one of them.

Depending on the vortex's intensity, it can affect the body and mind. Some vortexes put us in strange mental states, sort of like, feeling like we're somewhere else, like in a dream. Or we can feel dizziness. We can mostly sense these energy vortexes within the central channel of our body and our chakra system.

For those of us that can see these columns of energy, you can notice that the vortexes have different colors, and we can relate these colors to the chakras. A resonance phenomenon exists between these vortexes, their colors, and human beings and animals' energy centers. For example, a red vortex has a resonance with the first chakra. When you stand in the center of a red vortex and neutrally let your body feel it, you will become aware of how warmth or energy is centered in your perineum, legs, and feet.  For some people, it is a surprise actually to begin to feel their feet!

There are two main types of vortexes. One called telluric means it comes up from the earth. The other is cosmic, meaning it comes down from the heavens. Each of these types has both descending and ascending energies, but only one is the dominant one.

Our ancestors were aware of these energy vortexes and used them in building their sacred structures all around the world.

All temples contain energy vortexes at the center of their holy of holies, the most sacred place of all. These special energy vortexes are often violet, golden, or crystalline in color, prized for their opening and balancing effects on the energy system.

For example, violet vortexes are present in at least 80% of the apses of Christian churches. Animals, especially dogs, cows, deer, horses, llamas, etc., also seek violet vortexes to restore their energy. Interestingly enough, the Berbers, nomads of Africa, watched where their dogs would rest and set up their tents in these places. They knew the dogs chose vortexes that recharged their energy and were good for the body's health.

Golden vortexes have healing qualities and open the feet chakras and meridians of the body, and builders also used green vortexes because of their abilities to open the heart chakra. Crystalline vortexes also have healing abilities and were used in many places.

The megalithic builders discovered that when they marked a place of good, healing, or powerful energy with a stone, the energy vortex became stronger and more powerful.

In Neolithic times, erecting huge stones over these strong points of energy was the fashion. Most of these vortexes were connected to water, just like the temples and churches that followed them. These vortexes were water vein crossings and had specific characteristics such as fertility and other healing energies. Standing stones and dolmens were both placed over vortexes of energy created by the crossings of water veins. In contrast, cromlechs or stone circles were erected around a powerful central vortex of energy.

After this megalithic period, the best energetic points and vortexes became places to build other kinds of temples because of their ability to raise people's vibration and help them heal. For example, we can find these points of energy in the temples of Göbekli Tepe, Malta, and the pyramids, to name a few. 

When the culture changed with the Roman invasion in Europe, how to designate a sacred place changed. For example, the Romans placed statues of their gods on vortexes.

Depending on the god, the statues were placed either outside or inside the temple. Figures of Jupiter, Mars, Athena were placed inside. On the other hand, the placement of Mercury was outside the temple. All of these statues were very big, more than 10 meters high. For example, a Mercury figure in the Puy de Dôme in France was more than 14 meters high! The statues' height and weight were critical because the bigger it was, the greater the vortex's influence and its specific healing qualities had on the people and the surrounding area.

When the Christians started occupying the sacred sites of Europe, they placed crosses on vortexes of energy. 

Many crosses along the side of the road in France have special energetic qualities. They are mostly green, light blue, or violet colors and opened the heart, the throat, or crown chakras. These places marked with crosses were actually where menhirs once stood. Menhirs too big to destroy were Christianized instead with a cross placed on top. There are many examples of this found in Brittany, France. Other important stones were Christianized with a cross on top as well. To the uninitiated, it looks strange to see a random stone with a cross stuck on top of it, but in reality, it has a giant vortex. People from ancient times would go there for healing.

It also became popular for Christians to use Mary to show a particular point of energy or healing vortex. 

They even customized her depending on the energy. For example, there are telluric Marys, indicating that the vortex of energy is coming up from the earth. There are cosmic Marys, showing the energy coming down from the heavens. Marys also hold baby Jesus, which indicates the energies are complete because they go up and down.

Some special vortexes were considered much more than a healing place; they were places that could awaken special abilities. They became connected to initiation rituals and helped people change their level of consciousness. These places awakened and opened the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th chakras and kundalini energy.

These secret energies of sacred sites are naturally occurring vortexes in the earth or the cosmos.

But there are other vortexes, ones that are created artificially. These vortexes appear when you apply a particular type of geometry on the land. This geometry is remarkable because it is connected to the sun's rhythm and the energy of the earth and is considered alive and life-enhancing. This energetic solar geometry has been used throughout the ages to enhance and empower the natural vortexes of a place and create artificial vortexes in temples and churches. But this is another topic; stay tuned for our next blog to learn about these artificial vortexes.