Deepen your Connection to the Sun

September 18, 2022

Did you know that there is a very special geometry connected to the sun’s rhythm throughout the year?

Because of this relationship with the sun, the geometry is alive and sacred. This blog will share how you can have a deeper relationship with the sun, even a spiritual one.

The Autumn and Spring equinoxes are exceptional times of the year. In fact, the equinox is one of the most important times of the year because it is when the forces of summer and winter are in balance. For ancient people, the equinox and the solstices marked critical solar times of the year. They were connected with celebrations, spirituality, and rituals.

We, modern people, have lost our connection to the spirituality associated with the sun.

The sun is life for every living thing on earth, and our ancestors worshipped the sun before anything else. Megaliths were oriented to the sunrises and sunsets of significant solar times of the year, the equinoxes and solstices. There are many examples. Newgrange in Ireland is aligned to catch the light from the winter solstice sunrise. At Chichén Itzá, the Temple of Castillo is famous for the Mayan serpent god, Kukulkán slithering down the stairs during the equinox. Most Greek temples were oriented with the main door to the east, taking advantage of the rising sun. The god in the west would be illuminated by the light of the equinox sun.

Churches are even oriented to the sun.

Most are built along the east/west axis with Christ positioned in the east, marking the difference between pagan worship and Christianity. Temples could also be aligned to other celestial bodies, such as the moon, the planets, and important stars. Stone circles were giant calendars and marked solar, lunar, planetary, and even celestial events.

Because of humanity’s long history of aligning its most sacred structures to the sun, it makes sense that we can have a spiritual connection with it.

Nowadays, people are searching for ways to deepen their own personal spirituality. One powerful way to begin is to feel the energy of the equinox sunrise. Looking back at history, we notice that this thought is nothing new.

But what is so special about the sunrise on the equinox?

First of all, it is just one day. Solstices have a one-week window to feel the power of their energies. This is because the sun begins to slow down, stop, and reverse its travel direction. The sun is constantly in motion, traveling north in the summer and south in the winter. For example, the best time to visit sacred sites is during the summer solstice. This is because many churches, temples, and megaliths are solar structures oriented to the sun. When the sun is at its highest power during the summer, so are the temples.

But the equinox is one day in the Spring and Fall; the sun isn’t slowing down or stopping; it is in motion.

In ancient times, the equinox was associated with the feeling of beauty.

The feeling quality of beauty.

What does that mean?

It is not a surface beauty, it is not intellectual, and it is not of the mind. It is a feeling. To get an idea, think about gazing upon a lovely rose. When you appreciate it, you are not seeing or feeling it with your mind. You appreciate and recognize its qualities and beauty with your heart, soul, and spirit. This is the beauty of the equinox sun. It is a sensory perception and a connection between beauty, harmony, and even love.

In ancient times, alchemists gathered dew on the morning of the equinox.

This unique water was used for their magical potions because of its extraordinary energy. The feeling of beauty from the sun carries a sense of deep spirituality and connection to the vibrancy of life.

As the sun rises on the equinox, you feel more connected to the earth and grounded in your body. Then the energy shifts and changes as the sun’s rays touch the earth. The birds’ songs change ever so slightly, and the energy from the trees also shifts. The energy all around is happy and welcoming, and the moment feels profoundly spiritual and full of life force energy.

Many of us have lost the magic in our lives, and our spiritual connection to the sun has vanished. We invite you to establish a relationship with the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the cosmos this Fall by watching the sunrise. This year, the equinox falls on September 23, 2023, if you live in the United States.

You can also do as the ancient alchemists did and collect the morning dew of the equinox.

The water carries information about the end of the summer. It is full of the sun’s energy, which Mother Earth has sated herself with over the summer. This water was highly prized for its energetic qualities. The alchemists used it, of course, in all of their potions, but in particular, in their powerful spagyric elixirs. Spagyric comes from Greek and is the alchemical preparation of herbs into a more potent form.

The Chinese used this special dew water to balance the energies of the palaces by putting it in urns on the rooftops. Equinox water brought energy full of cosmic information, balance, and beauty to the place.

To harvest this incomparable dew, alchemists got up before dawn.

They placed prepared linen sheets around their necks, like long capes trailing on the ground. As soon as the sun rose, they walked in meadows letting the linen soak up the dew. When the sheet was completely wet, it was wrung over wooden tubs to extract the moisture.

In this manner, they collected as much dew water as possible in the early morning before the sun got too hot and reduced the water quality. The water was then filtered and stored in closed clay pots to preserve the energetic qualities of the water for as long as possible.

It is easy for you to do the same thing.

One note of caution, do not touch the dew water with any iron, including pots or utensils, because the water immediately loses its unique energetic qualities.

We hope you are inspired to deepen your personal spiritual connection with the sun this equinox and discover the true meaning of the beauty of the equinox sun. We can’t wait to hear all about your experiences with the sun!

A new Energetic Geometry Certification Training begins in September 2023. If you are ready to deepen your connection with the sun and its magical sacred geometry, click here to learn more about the training. It is a once-in-a-life experience you won’t want to miss.

By Karen Crowley-Susani and Dominique Susani, sacred geometry, and geobiology experts and authors of Secrets of Sacred Geometry, Solar Geometry for Health and Life, Sacred Santa Fe, Geomancy, Geometry, and Energetics of its Churches, Ad Quadratum, Geometry of the Square of Nebbiu Cathedral, and Earth Alchemy, Aligning your Home with Nature’s Energies.

How the Gods Came to Life

July 15, 2022

Have you ever gone to a temple and felt the presence of a god?

Really felt their presence?

In ancient Greece, it was possible.

The ancient Greek world was famous for its philosophers and mathematicians. But something that is not discussed much is the fantastic energetics of their temples. The Greeks went to great lengths to invoke their gods’ attributes and energetic qualities in their temples.

How did they do this?

The Five Elements were something familiar to the Greek architects. One Greek philosopher, called Empedocles of Akragas, originated the cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements that make up all the structures in the world, Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. This concept is related to the Hindu vision of the Five Elements. The Hindus even built temples dedicated to each element. These elements were held by the god Shiva Nataraja, who danced and wove the world into being.

Empedocles also considered the Elements as gods. Zeus represented the Air Element, Hera the Earth, Hades was the Fire, and Persephone represented Water. The Fifth Element, Ether, was someone extraordinary, a primordial deity of Greek mythology. He was the son of Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night). Aether (Ether) was the personification of the superior air that only the gods breathed, vastly different from the air that was breathed by mere mortals.

It is interesting to learn that the Elements have a special relationship
with human perception and the chakras.

For example, the Earth Element has a grounded feeling and is connected to the first chakra. Some people feel pulled down into the earth by their feet, or others feel more confident. The Water Element is connected to the second chakra, fertility, and creativity. It feels sexy. Fire feels expansive, warm, and active; it is the “fire in the belly” and is related to the third chakra. Air is uplifting, light, felt in the lungs, and works with the fifth chakra.

Then we have the Element of Ether, that rarified air of the gods, also known as soma/prana. Ether begins as a warm expansion of the heart, the fourth chakra. As it travels upwards, it begins to feel like a warm silk scarf opening the energy of the throat. Then, it moves through the upper chakras to connect to the exalted air energy of the gods. This expansion connects one to the world all around and is calm and full of life.

Let’s expand on this thought of feeling the Five Elements with the body.

Because then, you can begin to understand how the Greeks could design a place where their gods came to life. Builders and architects built their temples with the measurements of the Five Elements found in something called in the Master Builder Tradition, the solar mandala. This particular tool is associated with the sun’s annual rhythms and the pattern of the earth in a specific location. For example, the height of the sun’s angles is different in New York City compared to Miami, where the shape of its solar mandala is dissimilar.

The solar mandala is based on the summer and winter solstice sunrises and sunsets. When these angles are connected to the earth, a rectangular pattern emerges, called a solar rectangle. When you place weight on the four corners, the magic begins. A living structure is created by joining the sun to the earth, one of the big secrets of building a sacred place.

Like the Hindus, the Greeks worked with the solar mandala and the measurements of the Elements they found within it. The statues of their deity used the measurements of the Five Elements. For example, the Air Element was used in the dimensions of Zeus, the sky god. Ether, the sublime air of the gods, could be used to wow people with the opening of their hearts and a deeper spiritual connection.

To really impress people with a god’s presence, the Greek Master Builders would use weight, rhythm, and measurement to build their temples. There were many layers of geometry, and the Greeks used a combination of solar and sacred geometry to enhance their spiritual energies. For example, massive columns were used to set up a rhythm of measure using the Elements. The height, diameter, and the space between each column were all measurements used to invoke the presence of the god through its connection with specific elements. The sheer weight of each column pressing down on the ground provoked a reaction from the earth, spreading information about the column’s size and shape outwards.

Just think about that for a moment.

The temple’s width, length, height and size, and spacing of all of its columns, plus the size of the god’s statue, all had specific measurements relating to particular Elements. Suppose you choose one or two Elements. In that case, the entire complex will radiate this energy outwards, and worshippers could feel the presence of the gods through the chosen Elements.

The statue of Zeus at Cyrene is an interesting example of this. The artisans used the solar rectangle of Cyrene to enclose Zeus. The adds the sun’s life force energy to the statue. Next, they used the Element of Fire for the width, fire is connected to lightning, one of Zeus’s most powerful weapons and symbols. The measurement of the 7th chakra was used for the height of Zeus because he is the all-powerful sky god of the Greek pantheon.

But that is not all.

The enormous amount of energy coming from the temple and the statue of the god could change the energetics of the worshippers’ bodies. It raised their energy and frequency, ensuring a spiritual connection. This experience allowed people to enter into another way of sensing and perceiving the world, one that had a deeper spiritual connection—making these Greek temples a fabulous place to feel the god’s presence.

By Karen Crowley-Susani and Dominique Susani
To learn more about Solar Geometry and the Elements, be sure to check out our book, Secrets of Sacred Geometry; Solar Geometry for Health and LIfe. Click here

The Beauty of the Equinox

March 13, 2022

Equinoxes are genuinely magical times of the year.

Night and day, light and darkness are in balance. It was a day when rituals, ceremonies, and even magic were common in ancient times. This article explores a few places connected to the power of the equinox and shares a couple of ways to work with the magic of this special time.

The Spring equinox falls on March 20th, 2023.

The word equinox comes from the Latin aequinoctium, from aequus (equal) and nox (noctis) (night). In ancient times this period was called the time of grace and beauty. Our ancestors loved the sun and tracked its travels in the sky. Many temples were aligned to the sun and its annual rhythms. The directions of solstice and equinox sunrises and sunsets were called the seven sacred directions, which include the axis mundi, the vertical axis connecting the earth to the heavens.

In Paleolithic times, sacred painted caves like Lascaux in France were oriented in one or more of these seven directions. At Lascaux, the equinox sunset would illuminate some of the paintings inside for a few brief moments.

Neolithic people aligned their massive stone structures to the first or last of the sun’s rays during the equinox and solstices. Called dolmens, covered passageways, or burial mounds, their complex functions involved rituals and spirituality. Sacred places oriented to the sun captured the essence and energy of the sun’s first or last light. An example of an equinox sunrise alignment is at the Mnjadra temple complex in Malta. On the morning of the equinox, the sun’s rays shine through the central passageway of the Lower Temple, illuminating a small shrine inside.

Many cultures captured the sun’s energy in a bowl of water.

Charging this water in this manner on the equinox imbued it with magical qualities. For example, at places in Ireland, like Newgrange Monument and the Loughcrew Cairn complex, carved stone bowls could be illuminated by the sun during the solstices and equinoxes.

We can experience the powerful energy of the equinox sun too.

One way is to make a pilgrimage to a sacred place aligned with this time. Traveling to Mexico is relatively easy. At Chichen Itza, dedicated to the serpent rain god, Kukulkán, is a pyramid called El Castillo. During the equinox, the sun hits the pyramid at a precise angle, creating a snake’s shadow slithering down the pyramid steps. A representation for the Mayans of their god, Kukulkán fertilizing the earth with water from the cosmos.

In the US, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico also aligns with the equinox sunrise at Casa Rinconada. It shines through the east and west windows of the kiva and is a popular place to experience the magic of the equinox sunrise. But not many people live near a sacred place. If you want to stay home, there are a couple of things you can do to connect with the power and beauty of the equinox sun.

One interesting exercise is to go outside before sunrise and find a place to sit and observe the sun.

What direction does it rise? How does it feel when the sun’s rays first hit the land? By doing this for several days or even weeks, a sensitivity to the sun’s energy takes place. Then on the morning of the equinox, watch the sunrise. Notice the change in the quality of the sun’s power.

Another way to work with the equinox is to charge water with the sun’s energy.

As ancient people did, prepare a bowl of water for the equinox on March 20th. It is easy to do. Use a clean bowl and good water. Position the bowl, making sure that the first sunrise rays touch it. Use a special altar cloth and crystals to make the space more sacred. After the water is charged, drink it, noting the change in taste and quality.

The following way is to make a flower essence with the equinox sun.

First, do a meditation with the plant and ask permission to take a few flowers. When communicating with the plant, be aware that sometimes the answer is no. If this is the case, move on to another flower and do the same thing. After finding an agreeable plant, place a clean bowl filled with distilled water next to your plant. Cut a few of the most vibrant flowers and let them drop into the water. Take care not to touch the flowers. Do another meditation and ask the deva of the flower for assistance in making the flower essence strong. Leave the flowers in the water for 20 min. Then strain and drink sips throughout the week. If you want to preserve it, fill a glass bottle with 30% preservatives, usually vodka, brandy, or vinegar, and the rest with your water.

Lastly, be an alchemist.

At dawn on the equinox, use a sheet of linen to capture the dew on the grass or plants. When the cloth is soaked, squeeze the water into a bowl and filter it. This water contains exceptional energy and was used by alchemists to create their magical potions.

These are a few ways to connect deeply with the energy, balance, and grace of the Spring equinox. By working with this special time of the year, one can find an understanding and appreciation of our ancestor’s rituals and spirituality and deepen their own.

By Karen Crowley-Susani and Dominique Susani, sacred geometry and geobiology experts and authors of Secrets of Sacred Geometry, Solar Geometry for Health and Life, Sacred Santa Fe, Geomancy, Geometry, and Energetics of its Churches, Ad Quadratum, Geometry of the Square of Nebbiu Cathedral, and Earth Alchemy, Aligning your Home with Nature’s Energies.

Solstices and Sacred Sites

December 21, 2021

The sun is a beautiful star and is connected with life here on earth.

It is the most important heavenly body in our lives because without the sun, there is no life. Our planet has a strong connection with the sun because it is an ancient part of the sun. Our solar system was created from the spiral movement of gases dancing together until the sun and the planets formed. Because of this relationship, our planet was formed from many of the same elements as the sun.

It is no surprise then that Earthlings revere the sun.

Most civilizations recognized the power of the sun and worshipped it in one form or another. The sun bestows life and light on our planet. It illuminates the darkness and is connected with enlightenment and wisdom. Many gods and goddesses were associated with the sun. Some were sun-gods themselves, others were related to the sun. These gods and goddesses had many attributes of the sun, including being all-seeing, full of wisdom, and justice. There were many cultures where the kings ruled with the power of the sun and based their right to rule by claiming to descend from the sun.

The sun has rhythms throughout the year, and these rhythms are also related to life.

One of the main rhythms that we experience on earth is seasons. The seasons are connected with the position of the sun in relation to the earth. The “turning of the seasons” is related to the solstices and equinoxes. Solstices are a special time during the year when the sun reverses its travel through the sky. The word solstice means “sun stands still” and occurs twice a year, once in December and once in June. For ancient people, this was a significant event during the year, and they employed this still point and reversal in the construction of their sacred structures.

One traditional method was to perfectly position an opening in a sacred structure to the sunrise or sunset of the solstice.

This could be in the form of a long stone passageway like Newgrange, Ireland. As the sun rises on the winter solstice, it shines through a rectangle box above the entrance, down the long passageway to illuminate the carvings at the back of the structure. Other examples of a small opening to let the sunshine into a structure can be found in dolmens in Russia. They have round holes that the solstice sun shines through, this, for example, can be seen in the Wolf Rock Dolmens group in the Lazarevskoye region of Russia. There are many examples of these types of alignments in megalithic structures found all over Europe. You can also discover many dolmens with their entire entrances positioned to capture the light of a solstice sunrise or sunset. One such example is La Roche aux Fées in Brittany, France. It is a massive dolmen, with its entrance perfectly aligned to the light of the winter solstice sunrise.

One way ancient people connected to the rhythms of the sun was to build a stone or wooden circle.

Many of these were giant calendars marking the rhythm of the sun and sometimes the moon. Solstice sunrises and sunsets were highlighted and marked by unique stone alignments or openings in the wooden circles. The most famous example is Stonehenge, which is connected to the solstices and to the lunar patterns. An example of a wooden ring is the Goseck Circle in Germany. It was erected around 4900BC (2000 – 3000 years before Stonehenge) and is considered the “earliest” European solar observatory. It consists of several circles of wooden posts with entrances or gaps that let the light of the solstices shine through to the center of the circle.

Another way to connect to the patterns of the sun is to bring this solar energy and pattern to the earth through a solar rectangle.

This quadrilateral is made up of the angles of the solstice sunrises and sunsets. In my tradition of the European Master Builders, it is called a solsticial quadrilateral. The size of this unique rectangle changes with its location on earth. It can be a long rectangle shape when it is close to the equator, or a square shape in the more northern and southern latitudes, such as in Russia. The angles of the sunrises and sunsets are then connected to a grid or net of energy that rises up from the center of the earth. This net is called by several different names, including the natural net, the solar net, and the Peyre net. This combination of solar energy and the earth’s energy in the form of a rectangle creates magic!

The solsticial quadrilateral with the solar net

This fascinating quadrilateral has many attributes that our ancestors recognized and took advantage of.

First of all, it is a structure that can be felt in the body. When a sacred site is built using this rectangle as the basis for its measurements, there is harmony with all life that can be felt in the body. The solsticial quadrilateral relaxes the physical body, releases stress, balances the energy of the body, and, most important for a sacred site, connects the people inside more strongly to the earth and the cosmos.

There is also a vortex of energy that forms in the center of the solsticial quadrilateral. This vortex cleans the central channel and opens all the chakras, mostly the 5th chakra. Some people cry with joy when they feel the opening of the 5th chakra as they begin to feel their connection with nature and the cosmos. Because the 5th chakra is connected to spiritual life, the opening of it helps with the development of a person’s spiritual life.

The church of Santa Maria de Aguas Santas inside the SQ of the place

Examples of using the solsticial quadrilateral to build are many.

In fact, all civilizations used the solar quadrilateral and its resulting solar mandala to build their sacred structures. For example, most churches built in Europe before the 19th century used the solsticial quadrilateral of the place as the base for their church dimensions.

The worship and love of the sun are found all over the world and this reverence is found in sacred constructions everywhere.

As we have explored, our ancestors aligned their sacred structures to capture the light of the sun during a few special times during the year. Solstices hold the keys to the secret of how sacred sites were aligned and constructed, and the “sun magic” of the solsticial quadrilateral can even help develop our spirituality in the present as it did in the past.

The Mysteries of the Black Madonna

October 1, 2021

We begin our story a very long time ago, with the Great Mother Goddess of ancient times.

In Europe, the mother goddess has been ever-present since Paleolithic times. Connected to the earth, fertility, and life, she is usually depicted as a very full-bodied woman. One of the oldest was discovered in Germany. The Hohle Fels Venus dates back to around 40,000 years ago. Another more famous one is called the Venus of Willendorf. She was found in Austria and is 25,000 years old.

Other relatively modern mother goddess cults can be found in Malta and Turkey and date back to 6000 to 5000 BC. In Neolithic times, carvings that look like breasts can still be seen carved inside dolmens and are regarded as belonging to the cult of the Mother Goddess. The energy in these unique places is full of life and fertility.

A row of breast-like carvings from the Cult of the Mother. Kergüntuil Dolmen, France

As we move into more historical times, the Mother Goddess appears in the cults of the Mediterranean. The Sumerians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Egyptians all had Mother Goddesses. These famous goddesses are Artemis from Ephesus, Inanna, Persephone, Demeter, Hera, and Hecate. Of course, the most notable was Isis.

The cult of Isis first appeared in 2400 BC in Egypt.

It spread throughout the Roman Empire from 400 BC to 400 AD. She traveled up into Europe and throughout Gaul to many Gallo-Roman cities. In 1944, a bronze statue of Isis Lactans was discovered during an archaeological dig in the Gallo-Roman thermal bath complex of Therme de Cluny in Paris. She dates back to 200 BC and is holding baby Horus on her knees.

Many Isis Lactans were found in Egypt and made their way up to the north of France. Isis Lactans were worshipped for around 700 or 800 years in the Roman Empire. It is easy to see that Isis could have been the inspiration for the Black Madonna, who sits with her baby on her knees.

Who is the Black Madonna?

Much has been written about her. We believe she is a continuation of the great Mother Goddess from ancient times. The goddess of the dark earth of fertility, abundant growth, and life. As mentioned before, the Black Madonna, like Isis, is depicted holding her baby on her lap. For the Christians, she is seated on the Throne of Wisdom, representing being in majesty.

Many Black Madonnas are found in Auvergne, France.

Traditionally they were placed deep in the earth in the crypt. Most Black Madonnas have a specific type of energy, which is very connected to the earth and fertility. The energy that goes deep into the earth opens the first and second chakras, then rises through the rest of the chakras and opens the crown.

The Black Madonna of the Cathedral of Orcival, France

Black Madonnas are associated with miracles and healings.

The very first church dedicated to Mary is an example of this. It is called Nôtre Dame du Puy and is built in Auvergne, an ancient volcanic region in France. Le Puy en Velay, together with Chartres, were the first places dedicated to Mary in France. Of course, both were associated with miracles and are powerful healing places.

Le Puy en Velay was inhabited since Paleolithic times, some 17,000 years ago. When the dolmen builders arrived in Neolithic times, it was a country full of forests and old volcano plugs. These people found a place on one of these ancient volcanoes, which had exceptional healing power. Because of this, they constructed a dolmen over it to enhance the healing energies.

The Celts also lived here and arrived in the 3rd or 2nd century before Christ. When the Romans invaded in 52 BC, the Celts were conquered and a Gallo-Roman town called Anicium was built.

After the Roman Empire collapsed, the Christians built their first church in the 5th or 6th century on the hill. But it wasn’t until the first half of the 12th century that Mary came into the picture with a miraculous healing.

The Virgin appeared to a woman with a life-threatening fever.

She was told to go to the dolmen on the hill and lay down on top of it. After being miraculously healed, an angel told the woman that Mary had chosen this site for her church. The old lady told the head Bishop of the area named Scutaire, and he decided to visit this miraculous place.

When they arrived, they discovered a stag tracing the outline of the future sanctuary. The Bishop said to surround the area with some thorn branches. The next day, the branches were flowering. Thus, the Bishop decided that a church dedicated to Mary would be built because of these two miraculous signs.

The Stone of Fevers, the original capstone of the miraculous healing dolmen.

The Cathedral of Nôtre Dame du Puy still has the original capstone from the dolmen, called the Stone of Fevers. The cathedral was built with the dolmen incorporated into the altar, with the healing stone of the dolmen in view. Doing this was a common technique used by the Christians. Some of the most potent dolmens, menhirs, and even cromlechs have their healing energy integrated into church altars simply by building over them.

In the cathedral of Nôtre Dame du Puy, the capstone of the dolmen became a popular pilgrimage destination. People desiring to heal would come and lay down upon it one by one for healing. Through the centuries, the Stone of Fevers moved to different locations inside the cathedral. Now it resides in a room to the left of the altar.

The Black Madonna in the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame du Puy presides over the most powerful place of the cathedral, the altar. Like the Mother Goddesses who came before her, she guards the true location of miraculous healing power in the cathedral. The gift of Mother Goddess in any of her forms is healing, fertility, and life and is still true today.

Is the Mother Goddess and the Black Madonna calling you? If so, join us in May for the Black Madonna Tour. We will follow the goddess’s trail and discover her secrets of healing, of connecting deep into the earth, and of connection to the heavens.

“Click here” to check out the tour!

Who is This Temple Really Dedicated To?

August 25, 2021

Dominique and I are passionate about exploring sacred sites.

We love to decode the solar sacred geometry used to build them and love to discover their healing energies. We are often surprised by what we find, and one such surprise was the Gallo-Roman Temple of Janus, located at Autun, France.

Autun is located in the Loire valley, a famous wine region inhabited since Neolithic times.

A vast Neolithic enclosure was found near the temple and is still being studied. The Celtic tribe of the Eduéns had also settled in this area. Afterward, the Romans built their city called Augustodunum. Celtic people were wine lovers and cultivars. Some believe that the Romans conquered Gaul because of their wonderful wines!

The Temple of Janus dates back to the 2nd half of the 1st century and sits on a plateau northwest of Augustodunum. A mystery surrounds who the temple was actually dedicated to. In the 16th century, historian Pierre de Saint-Julien de Balleure thought it was dedicated to Janus. But, the name could actually be a corruption of the toponym Genetoye which means where the broom grows.

The God Janus — Photo by Loudon Dodd, from the Vatican Museum

Who is this Roman God Janus?

He is the god of duality, doors, gates, and transitions. Because every door and passageway had two directions, Janus was depicted with two faces, keeping an eye out in the front and back. He is also the god of beginnings and endings, the gatekeeper, and he protected the start of all activities. His shrines in Rome were all located near the crossings of rivers. In his early days, he was associated with waterways and bridges. Interestingly in ancient cultures like the Hindus, the Tibetans, and the Chinese, water crossings were considered a doorway for spirits to interact with the human world, particularly demons.

The Romans were masters at syncretism, meaning they combined different local beliefs and traditions to ease the transition of Roman rule. Many times, the names of their temples were a combination of Roman and Gaul gods, like the goddess Sulis Minerva. Mercury was often associated with Lugh, the Celtic god of light.

The Romans often build their temples over pre-existing Celtic ones or even Neolithic sites.

The temple of Janus was a fanum, a type of religious sanctuary commonly found in Roman Gaul. Originally this type of temple was Celtic and was built out of wood. The Celts called them nemetons, stemming from the word nemeto, meaning holy wood enclosure.

Fanums had an inner sacred space called a cella. Its shape was typically square or circular. The cella housed the statue of the deity, and only priests had access to this inner sanctum. During certain ceremonies, the temple’s doors were opened so the god could gaze out to the masses. The cella was surrounded by a veranda, which served as an ambulatory where people could walk around it. Interestingly enough, I found a reference to the Celts circling around the cella, a traditional way to enhance the sacred energy inside.

When building any sacred place, earth energies were employed to give power and energy to the holy center.

As you can see, this temple was placed over a powerful configuration of subterranean water veins. The most sacred place is the crossings of three water veins and a few faults. Notice also that all the temple openings have water veins flowing through them and are roughly the same size. The center is a healing crystalline vortex of energy.

In the analysis of the geometry used by the master builder, the first thing we notice is that the temple is square-shaped. More than that, it was conceived with three concentric squares using a common building technique called a triple enclosure. Triple enclosures were used in temples and churches to strengthen, refine, and protect the sacred energy at the center.

The illustration below is the solar mandala of Autun and the Temple of Janus. This unique mandala is intimately connected with the sun’s annual rhythms throughout the year. It is called a solar rectangle (solsticial quadrilateral) because each corner is connected to the solstices. It becomes a complex mandala relating to the five elements, the seven chakras, and musical notes. Another essential thing to understand about this solar rectangle is that it is unique to each latitude and changes in shape and size with latitude changes.

The solsticial quadrilateral was used as the beginning point to build sacred structures worldwide, and the Romans were part of this tradition.

In the Temple of Janus, the master builder employed different circles relating to the sun and a fractal of the solsticial quadrilateral to design the temple. The first solar circle is found at the intersection of the solar and lunar quadrilaterals. This circle forms the first sun square, as can be seen in the illustration. The outer wall of the cella is found by placing a square around the outside of the sun circle and the inner wall is found by placing a square inside of this sun circle. And the inner rectangle that the god would be placed upon is a solsticial quadrilateral connected to the golden mean.

Everything in this temple relates to the sun, making it a very, very solar temple.

When you see this geometry, you begin to think that this temple is not dedicated to the God, Janus. The gods, Lugh, Mercury, or Apollo, were probably suited for this type of solar temple.

Lastly, there is a feeling quality associated with the healing abilities of every sacred site. Standing in the sacred center, you can notice this temple opens and balances the heart chakra and the lungs. It is connected to the air and ether elements. This type of energy is closer to the power of the God, Mercury. He is a god of the Air Element, a healer, and being the messenger of the Gods, was able to travel from the underworld to the spiritual realms. For the Celts, this place was a good match for the God Lugh, their solar god.

Names, Energies, and Sacred Places

July 11, 2021

Have you ever visited a cathedral and wondered why it was named for a particular saint?

During my early travels, I never did. I accepted the name, marveled at the architecture and other artwork, took photos, and then left for my next adventure. But over the years of studying the Art of the Master Builders, names of places have taken on a whole new dimension.

I work with solar geometry, which can also be called energetic geometry.

It was the first geometry used by our ancestors to build their amazing sacred places. This geometry is connected to the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars. It is also deeply connected to the earth and its patterns and energies. It is a geometry that is alive and life-enhancing. Because of this connection to heaven and earth, it is sacred. Even more than that, it creates a sacred space when used to build any type of structure. A place where you can connect much more quickly to the divine, to our own spirituality. It also can be used to emphasize different qualities of energies, like love.

Within the solar mandala of any particular place, the measurements of the Elements can be found.

Elements can be related to the chakra system and have a feeling quality. The ability to use measurement to create a place where a sensation can be felt with the body is simply incredible. For building a cathedral, the master builder can create a space that helps to open the heart chakra with the ether element, for example. But there is more to a sacred place than the geometry that was used to build it.

Much of our human life revolves around spirituality.

All cultures have their unique mythology and ways to deepen their spiritual connection. Most of the time, a structure is built over an extraordinary point. A place with exceptional healing qualities or a place where one could easily deepen their spiritual connection, a place kissed by the divine. A temple or cathedral built with precise measurements of solar geometry would enhance the natural energies of the healing point, making the healing energies more powerful. These enhanced energies could then radiate outwards, balancing the land and environment around, helping crops grow better, and improving the health of animals and humans who lived nearby.

In Neolithic times, these first unique places were where menhirs were erected.

These standing stones did many things. They balanced the land, creating harmony for crops to grow and where animals and people could live in a healthy environment. Interestingly enough, these points where the menhirs were placed had different qualities and healing energies. One menhir could be connected to the lungs and the heart. Another could have energies of fertility and birthing. Others worked on kidneys or the liver; others still opened the crown chakra and balanced the chakra system.

Over time, humans created elaborate rituals to ensure that they stay connected to the divine and be blessed with happy and healthy lives. Sacred sites were built to spiritually guide people and for miraculous healings. Pilgrimages for healing are a common theme all around the world. The Christians are famous for their pilgrimages of healing, and they continue today.

But what does this have to do with a name of a cathedral?

Given a little thought, one can conclude that the name of a cathedral conveys an underlying message. When you think of Mother Mary, what comes to mind? What are her special qualities? Love instantly comes to mind, the energy and feeling of love, grace, and healing.

What if these qualities were found at a place?

Love, healing, and grace? I believe they are. During research into the geometry and the energies of 100s of churches, cathedrals, and megaliths in Europe, cathedrals dedicated to Mary have one thing in common, the feeling of love. They were often built over an older temple or megalithic site, one that had the same qualities of love. In fact, it seems that our megalithic ancestors were concerned about a few things. Fertility, love, and spiritual connection are pervasive themes to find at their megalithic sacred places.

These same qualities are found in other temples, churches, and cathedrals. It is incredible to consistently find that Mary always shares her energy of love. She is in churches dedicated to her. When she is placed in a side chapel, this quality of love is usually present.

Other saints have specific energies as well.

For example, St. Michael and St. Peter Churches focus on the earthly and cosmic energies found at a particular healing point. St. Peter cathedrals usually have spiritual energy that comes down from the cosmos. He is the saint holding the keys to paradise, to heaven. His points are very cosmic. The healing power comes down to the earth instead of radiating up out of the land like most points or energy vortexes. In St. Michael churches, healing energy rises out of the land, opening the chakras of the feet, moving up the meridians, and cleaning our body’s energy system.

Names of places can be powerful reminders and indicators of the type of healing energy that is part of the story of a place. Next time you visit a cathedral, pay attention to its name and how you feel inside to see if you can get a glimpse into its healing abilities.

by Karen Crowley-Susani

If you would like to experience the healing energies of Cathedrals dedicated to Mary, the Black Madonna, St Peter, and St Michael, join us on the Path of Light Tour coming up in 2022. We also have the Magical Brittany Tour for all of you stone lovers. If the mysteries of the Black Madonna fascinate you, don’t miss this wonderful tour. During our time together, we share with you how to recognize places with healing energies. You learn how to feel with your body and chakra system these high vibration and spiritual connection points.

Learn new skills, eat good food, and enjoy many laughs along the way.
Which tour calls to you?

Keep checking back for new tour updates.

The Solstice Path of Light

June 19, 2021

Vézelay, France, is a very ancient sacred place and has been in use since Neolithic times.

Nowadays, something magical happens once a year during the summer solstice on top of an extraordinary hill. Light illuminates a pathway in the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene. The sun shines through the windows, creating radiant steps down the center of the church. It is a magical time to visit.

The path of light in the Basilica of St Mary Magdalene at Vézelay

Man has used this type of solar magic since the beginning of time.

Humans recognized that the sun has a remarkable ability to strengthen, power, and enhance the energy of what it touches. To understand this concept, think about Newgrange, a megalithic tumulus in Ireland with a long corridor oriented to the winter solstice sunrise. When the beam of sunlight illuminates the passageway and the carved stone in the back, the entire structure comes alive with powerful energy.

Photo credit: Ken Williams/shadowsandstones.com

If you visit Newgrange during this time, you can notice just how much more dynamic the form becomes. Another example happens on August 15 in Chartres Cathedral. During this day, a beam of light illuminates the labyrinth’s center powering up its energy exponentially. Many other places are oriented to the sun that takes advantage of the increased solar energy charge on special days.

The Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene is one such example with its beautiful path of light on the summer solstice.

For the Master Builder, this is an energetic path, one that not only inspires awe at its beauty but one that required a master to build. Measurements of angles that the summer and winter solstice sun make had to be calculated precisely—the location and orientation of the path of the solstice sun needed to be precise.

Years of work and calculations went into creating this fantastic light show. This awe-inspiring work of art not only illuminates the nave in the summer but also works during the winter solstice. The light now shines on the top of the columns adding the sun’s power to the stories told there.

This use of the solstice sunlight in cathedrals is a rare sight.

Vézelay is the only church we know of constructed like this. During our investigations of Vézelay, we explored the sacred geometry and energetics of the Basilica. We dowsed for faults and water lines during the first visit, which are essential earth energy lines that give power to the church. We also dowsed for the earth energy vortexes inside and outside the church.

Some of these vortexes arise naturally from the earth and become stronger when a well-calibrated site is built. Others manifest because of the use of solar geometry in the design of the church itself. While dowsing, we discovered Vézelay had initially been a fertility site. Many of the water veins flowing underneath the Basilica were fertility waters. This type of water vein has a very distinctive feel in the body. It is felt in the second chakra and can have a very sexy vibe. The Basilica has a lot of this second chakra energy. Many churches dedicated to Mary were originally megalithic fertility sites or had heart-opening energy.

In churches built by Master Builders, there is an energetic pathway or chakra path that runs from the back of the church up to the altar. It is created by the geometry of the church and vortexes that arise because of it. These energetic vortexes are connected to each chakra and have a color and a feeling. Some people can see these vortexes of energy and color, but we can all feel them with a bit of training. During our research of over 20 years, we have consistently found these types of energies in churches and cathedrals. As a rough guide for finding a chakra path in a church, you can look up and stand underneath the points on the ceiling. Columns also can indicate vortexes.

During our first visit, we found the chakra path down the center of the church.

It worked well and went up to the 9th chakra, which doesn’t happen often. We also took note of all the energetic vortexes in front of the saints around the apse. St. Francis has a good root and first chakra energy that continued up to the heart to open it. Mary and the baby open the entire central channel. St John the Baptist has sweet heart-opening power.

During our next visit to Vézelay, we wanted to experience the illumination of the path itself. We arrived a few days before the summer solstice because the light path shines down the center for a few days before and after the actual solstice. The Master Builder used the radiance from the summer solstice sun at noon to light the path. He worked with solar time, which has changed with our modern interventions with time. In France, noon, solar time is 2 pm daylight savings time.

The Basilica itself felt different as we entered.

The energy was more potent and full of radiance. The Basilica’s fertility energy that we felt before was replaced with the solar energy of the summer solstice. As we entered the nave, we were amazed at the beauty of the pathway of sunlight. It was gorgeous.

We began our walk of light at the back of the church. Bathing in the glow of this first step, we realized we were receiving a fantastic tune-up of our entire energy system. It started with the first chakra grounding us into our body and the earth. The next illuminated point was the second chakra. Here we felt the energy of fertility, sex, and creativity humming. As we walked forward, we experienced the third chakra opening and unwinding.

As we continued through the path of light, the fourth chakra opened, expanded, and love radiated out from our subtle bodies. For the fifth chakra stop and we enjoyed our throat loosening and opening. In the next point of light, our third eye opened, and the colors around us became brighter and sparkled. Then we reached the crown chakra and felt the opening at the top of our heads connecting us to the heavens.

The chakra path during the summer solstice is enhanced by the light of the sun. Because of this, each chakra is easier to feel. The opening that typically happens when you walk on a chakra path was higher in vibration and stronger with the sun’s energy. For example, you feel each chakra and all of your central column because of the sun’s powerful influence. It’s a mix of the power of the place and the sun’s energy, which cleans the central channel more powerfully.

We encourage you to plan a trip to visit this magical place around the summer solstice. It will be an experience you will never forget and something most people will never experience. Few people know the secret of the path of light at the Basilica of Mary Magdalene, and now you are one of them!

If you are interested in learning more about the solar sacred geometry of the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene of Vézelay, sign up for our free Energetic Geometry Live webinars and watch the replay of Vézelay and the Path of the Sun. Just “click here” to sign up.

Rocamadour, history, legends and mystery

Dive deep into the Templar secrets at Rocamadour

February 8, 2021

Wrapped in mystery, Rocamadour has been a place of legends and miracles for eons.

Our first knowledge began over 50,000 to 70,000 years ago in the Paleolithic times. Archeologists discovered a Neanderthal camp in the area, and nearby the Grotte de Merveilles or Grotto of Wonders was found. Inside cave paintings were found with hands and animals. The Celtic tribe of Cadourque lived here too. They were the last Celtic tribe standing up against Caesar’s Roman invasion and genocide.

The cliffs were places where hermits in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries would find a small cave to make their home.

It was the fashion of the times. Sometimes these hermits became saints in later legends and were endowed with miracle-making skills. One such hermit’s body was discovered sometime after the Christians built a small chapel in the cliffs dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the 11th century at Rocamadour.

Chapel of Saint Amadour — The church of Saint Amadour in the cliffs

One story told is that while digging a grave in 1166, an incorrupt (undecomposed) body was discovered. Finding such a body was miraculous. Even more astonishing was that this mysterious person was cradling a carved virgin, who became known as the Black Madonna of Rocamadour. The mysterious person was identified as none other than Saint Amadour, a hermit who had lived and died there years or perhaps centuries before. His name inspired Rocamadour because he was found in the rocks; Roc means rock, plus Amadour. A church in the cliffs was soon built in honor of Saint Amadour, and pilgrimages to Rocamadour began.

There is another name associated with this hermit as well.

In the 15th century, because it was important to connect saints and places of pilgrimage to Christ, Zaccheus of Jericho became associated with Rocamadour. During his life, Zaccheus knew and conversed with Jesus. His wife, Veronica, even gave Jesus a cloth to wipe his face during his journey to Calvary. According to the updated legends, Zaccheus supposedly ended up in France to escape persecution and died in AD 70 as a hermit in the rocks of Rocamadour.

Pilgrimages were big business for the church, and Rocamadour became famous for all the miracles and healings that the Black Madonna performed.

She cured illnesses and was the patron saint of sailors, saving many of them during shipwrecks at sea. The 6th-century bell in the Chapel of Our Lady miraculously rings to warn sailors of storms and foretells miracles. The Black Madonna has a book of miracles, and entries are still entered in it today! Rocamadour has the distinction of being one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations in Europe for the last 1000 years, second only to Mont St Michel, with 1 ½ million visitors per year.

Both the Templars and the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, also called the Hospitallers, are associated with Rocamadour. The sects were devoted to the Black Virgin. In one decisive battle against the Saracen troops of Muhummand an-Nasir in Spain, the Templars carried the Black Madonna of Rocamadour into the Navas de Tolosa battle in 1212 and, despite overwhelming odds in favor of the Arabs, were victorious because of her. Afterward, the Archbishop of Toledo began a Te Deum in thanksgiving to God and Our Lady of Rocamadour for the miraculous intervention needed for the battle’s success. This vital ceremony healed to seal the Black Madonna’s reputation ability to perform miracles.

There is not much else is said about the Templars and Rocamadour. Still, you can find their mark in the construction of the Basilica. There are numerous Templar type crosses carved on columns and one extraordinary one on the floor before the altar in the Basilica of St Sauveur.

Cross before the altar in the St Sauveur Basilica

In the surrounding countryside, many buildings and churches once belonged to St John’s knights, who had enlarged their holdings after the abolition of the Templars in the 14th century. Jean de Vallon was the Head Master of St John of Jerusalem Knights in the 15th century who were active at Rocamadour. His family was from Quercy, and he was buried in St John the Baptist chapel.

The Basilica of St Sauveur is a classic Templar structure.

The rectangular shape is called in the Master Builder tradition, a solsticial quadrilateral or solar rectangle. This particular shape is special and is used worldwide to construct sacred places. The rectangle points connect to the solstices. Each one marks either a solstice sunrise or sunset shown in the drawing.

This shape is important because it connects the structure to the sun’s rhythm and the cosmos.

The rectangle of the sun is also connected to the earth’s pattern. When builders use the solsticial quadrilateral, they connect heaven and earth, endowing the space with spiritual qualities. The natural energies of the place are refined, calibrated, and strengthened. Read more about a solsticial quadrilateral’s characteristics and read our blog called Real Sacred Geometry. The link is below.

When a master builder, such as the Templars, decides to build a sacred place, one of the first considerations is what type of earth energies can be employed in the space. Sacred structures are built for several reasons, and one of them is to heal. Earth energies are vital because they give healing energies to the church or temple. These earth energies are water veins and geological faults found below the earth’s surface.

Earth energy lines of Rocamadour — Earth energy lines of the Basilica and Chapel

The Basilica and the Chapel of Our Lady have excellent earth energies that the builders took advantage of during their construction. As you can see in the drawing, there is a big network of earth energies under the Basilica and Chapel. The blue lines are water veins, the red and yellow lines are different types of faults. At many intersections, there are vortexes of energy, depicted as concentric circles of different colors. These vortexes relate to our chakra system and can be felt with our bodies and seen by sensitive people. You can read more about these vortexes in this blog called Secret Energies of Sacred Places in the link below.

One other thing to keep in mind about Templar constructions is that they use the octagon.

During the Crusades, During the crusades, the Templars learned many things from the Muslims in Palestine, including advanced building techniques, mathematics, astronomy, and more. It is interesting to note they learned how to employ the octagon in construction and other designs. Some of their churches are even octagonal shaped, such as the Chapel of Ste Claire in Le Puy en Velay, France, and Eunate and Torres del Rio in Spain. Of course, the Templar cross is created using an octagon, but we will discover it is much more than a simple octagon later in this blog.

Solsticial quadrilaterals of Rocamadour — The solsticial quadrilateral of Rocamadour

The analysis of the Basilica and the Chapel plan shows that the builders used the solar rectangle of Rocamadour as the foundation of the design. They also employed another vital element, Ephesus’s solar rectangle, in Turkey. Builders frequently used this technique to connect churches to Ephesus, the Great Mother Goddess place.

Ephesus was connected to many of the great goddesses in ancient times.

Such as Cybele of the Phyrigians, Astarte of the Phoenicians, Ishtar of the Assyrians and Babylonians, etc. It is known to Master Builders as the Goddess latitude. The temple of Artemis, one of the 7 Wonders of the World, was built there. She reigned as the Queen of Heaven and as the Mother, Healer, and Savior. Reverence for her was so deep that in AD 431, Constantine declared the Virgin Mary to be the Mother of God, and she took over the role as the Queen of Heaven. It is generally accepted that Mary lived out her final days in Ephesus in a tiny stone cottage at the top of Mount Koressos, overlooking Ephesus.

solsticial quadrilateral of Ephesus as used in Rocamadour — Solsticial quadrilateral of Ephesus as used in
Rocamadour

In this drawing, you can see how Ephesus’s solar rectangle was employed in both structures by the blue rectangles.

You can also notice how the Master Builders, the Templars connected important earth energy points (the vortexes) into their structure. For example, the two columns in the Basilica are placed on vortexes of energy, strengthening their effects. The golden yellow fault is used for the cross by the altar. Also, it shows up at the center of the solsticial quadrilateral of the Basilica. The Black Madonna is placed above the golden yellow fault. A mosaic star on the floor of her chapel with its giant crystalline vortex is also connected.

What makes this golden-yellow fault so unique?

Because it joins all of the major energetic points of these two structures. As we touched on earlier, water was employed in all sacred places because of its healing qualities. It can also be miraculous. On the other hand, golden yellow faults were used because of their particular characteristic of bubbling up energy. They can work with the stomach, liver, and pancreas. When there is a configuration of a golden fault beneath a water vein, energetic steam is produced, opening the chakras of the feet and the body’s meridians, resulting in cleaning the body’s channels.

Because these earth energies are remarkable, the Master Builders took advantage of them.

The cross before the altar is fascinating. The geometry connected with the solar mandala of Rocamadour calibrates the vortex’s energy. Octagons are the best transmitters of information because they relate to the lymph and water circulation throughout the body. The solar geometry in the cross features water, air, and ether elements and the sun and moon’s energies. The inner-circle is called primordial water and has the unique ability to circulate the water in our body, clean the central channel, and open all the important centers of the body. Jean de Vallon, the headmaster of the Knights of St John, could have been the designer. The design is not a classic Templar design, nor is it a Malta Cross. The design falls somewhere between the two. The Knights probably used the cross for initiations because of its exceptional energetic qualities. It can open the body’s energetic systems and connect people to a higher spiritual vibration.

The striking mosaic found in Our Lady’s Chapel also has some special energetic solar geometry characteristics.

Our analysis shows that this star octagon was designed using the earth circle as the base. In the Master Builder tradition, the earth circle is the boundary between organized space and chaos. The 8 points touch the solar mandala’s outer limit or the earth circle. The different measurements used to design this star opens the root chakra first and then all the other chakras and finally connecting you to heaven and earth. This star is powered by a water vein and the golden yellow fault. Crystalline vortexes are very healing, and this is a beautiful example of one.

Octagon mosiac in the Chapel of Our Lady

Finally, the Black Madonna herself is positioned between the two solar rectangles. She is connected with the energy of Rocamadour and the Divine Mother goddess energy of Ephesus. The violet vortex she has been placed over opens the crown chakra, and the crown she wears emphasizes this energy.

We hope next time you visit and ask the Black Madonna for a blessing, try standing on her star on the floor; what happens next may surprise you!

By Karen Crowley-Susani and Dominique Susani

Real Sacred Geometry Blog

Secret Energies of Sacred Places Blog

Energetic Geometry Live! November

The Story of the Underworld:
Earth Energies Part 1
Saturday, November 7, 2020
10:00am US Pacific, 7:00pm France

Learn more: https://energeticgeometry.com/live/

Tag: sacred sites