Like
the scene outside the Mars rover, Sedona, Arizona is a mystical landscape of
dusty red rocks and towering boulders, strewn in haphazard formations like a
giant Martian toddler's abandoned building blocks.
The
land here has some serious vibe. I'm not surprised that the Navajo, Yavapai and
Hopi recognized the energy and spiritual power of Sedona's vortexes. They came
here for thousands of years to pray, seek guidance and alignment for their
people, through vision quests, ceremony and ritual. But they never lived in
this red rock country. It was considered sacred.
So,
what is a vortex? It's swirling energy. Hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones are
examples of vortexes.
In
Sedona, the vortexes are natural geomagnetic points that create a swirling
energy center radiating from the earth's surface. A place in nature where the
earth is exceptionally alive with energy.
Some
clues you notice when coming upon a vortex include tingling in the hands, or a
buzzing throughout your body. You may heat up, feel a rush of energy, or a
shift in consciousness or perception.
Often,
the land around a vortex will be unearthly beautiful, and trees may show
twisting trunks and branches, spiraling in the energy field.
There
are fifteen vortex sites within a ten mile radius of Sedona. The rock
formations are composed of ferrous oxide mixed with sandstone and basalt,
giving the Sedona landscape its rich red color. The earth here also has an unusually
high iron content. The summer lightning storms awe-inspiring.
Most of the area was once an ancient seabed
with subsurface volcanoes. When the volcanoes erupted, molten magma forced its
way into cracks of the sandstone. Over time, the softer rock wore away, leaving
spires called volcanic intrusions.
For centuries these giant monoliths have
served as natural shrines for prayer, meditation and connection with Great
Spirit, Creator, or what some term God.
I feature one of the most well-known vortexes,
Cathedral Rock, in my paranormal novel, Song of the Ancients.
Excerpt:
I
pulled a brochure out of my bag, brandished my latte toward the red mountain in
front of us, and lectured in my best peppy, tour-guide voice. "According
to local lore, Cathedral Rock is one of five major vortexes in Sedona. Each
site has its own personality. Some radiate male, yang energies, active and
energizing. Others are female, calming and tranquil yin."
I studied Cathedral Rock. This one was
definitely male. It looked like a larger rock wall had been blasted apart,
leaving vaguely phallic slivers of rock jutting through the center.
Rumor pointed to a flat spot between two
spires. "Up there is where we're going. It's steep but only about two
miles round trip."
I turned to Rumor. "Kamaria says it has
magical energy. What do you think?"
"She's not the only one who feels the
area is unusual," Rumor said. "The Native people think those rock
spires work like satellite antenna, connecting to one of those mountains out in
the middle of the valley called Vision Butte. Tribal medicine men have used the
site for hundreds of years for vision quests and ceremonies. Cathedral is state
land, but Vision Butte was decreed sacred. No non-Native visitors."
"Do you know which one is Vision
Butte?"
Rumor shrugged. "No idea. It's not on any
of the maps."
Ignoring the burning muscles in my thighs, I
climbed to the top and stopped, panting. "Wow."
The overlook was like a wide sidewalk, with
steep drops on each side. The view was jaw-dropping in both directions.
We walked to the edge and sat down, dangling
our legs over the side. The breeze came up the ledge from the desert below,
lifting my damp shirt away from my sweaty skin. I sighed and raised my arms
over my head, stretching out my shoulders.
The
place slipped into me, a shimmering wind I drew in with each breath. It wasn't
just the view, or the breeze; there was a vibration in the air, not quite
audible, like a dog whistle barely above hearing range. I closed my eyes and
listened.
I didn't know how long I sat, feeling the wind
whoosh up my legs from the valley floor far below. At some point, the vibration
increased, and I could hear words, in a simple melody:
"Wakan, wakan, every creature,
Wakan, wakan, every rock.
Tuku Skanskan, the time surrounds you.
From sacred earth we send our voices.
Wachin ksapa yo! Be attentive!"
I reached for Rumor, to ask if she heard it,
but she was gone. I jerked my eyes open and looked around.
Rumor was standing, eyes closed and arms
outstretched in a "V" over her head, oblivious to the precipice
beyond her. The wind spiraled around her head, swirling the dark strands of her
long hair across her face.
I stood
up slowly and tiptoed over to her, took her hand and pulled her gently away
from the edge.
"Oh." She made a little, surprised
sound, like she'd forgotten I was there. Then she crossed her ankles and sunk
to the ground.
"Wakan tanka, we watch the Earth.
To Man below, we send our voices.
Wakan, wakan, every creature,
Wakan, wakan, every rock."
The song rode the wind, ebbing and fading
until it was no more, swallowed by the air currents from the valley floor
below.
---------
Each
book in my four-book series will be set in a different sacred site around the
world. This summer I'm traveling to England, Scotland and Wales to finish research
Book 2 of the Ancient Magic series, set in the magical standing stones of Great
Britain. Book 3 is set in Hawaii and features the Goddess Pele, goddess of fire
and volcanos. The final book will take place in Alaska and Newfoundland, and will
trace the history of the ancient land bridge between the continents.
Have you ever visited a physical site where
you felt an innate, unexplainable boost of power? Was it positive or negative? Was it male yang,
active and energizing? Or female yin, calming and tranquil? Did the land speak
to you, and if so, what did it tell you?
Please share your experiences, I love to learn about unusual power
sites.
Sandy Wright
resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, her college student son, a
rescued Australian Shepherd named Teak, and two twenty-pound domesticated black
panther cats. She fell in love with the southwest desert, including its Native
American influences, when she relocated from the Midwest.
Song of the
Ancients, the first novel in the Ancient Magic paranormal suspense series, introduces
readers to witchcraft and shamanism, seen through the eyes of an ordinary woman.
Readers
interested in witchcraft—or just a dark, spooky tale—will enjoy this paranormal
suspense, written by a real-life Wiccan High Priestess.
Song of the Ancients
was published in May 2015 and is available on Amazon.
Visit Sandy at www.writersandy.com. For additional
articles and short stories, see www.readerlicious.com
and www.desertmuses.com.
4 comments:
Sandy, this is so interesting. We'll be going out to AZ next month and hope to go to Sedona again--more than just a jump out of the car, take pictures, jump back in, travel a little way, and repeat. According to a "lecture" I heard about the town where I use to live, a lei line ran through it. I noticed how the weather reacted--it could be snowing (or raining) north or south of us, but sunshiny in town. A female energy?
Heading there on my next trip to AZ!!
That is so fascinating! I've been to a couple vortexes, one in Oregon and one in Nevada. I'm a bit dubious about the one in Virginia City, Nevada because I felt nothing, but the one in Oregon is cool, makes you feel a little off kilter. I couldn't imagine a bunch of vortexes close together! Love how you highlight sacred places in your books...plus it gives you a great reason to travel, right? Book research. Very important. :)
Yes, research is half the fun of writing. We just booked 3 weeks in Scotland this July. So, so excited for this first trip abroad.
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