© Brian Allan 2000
Myths,Magnets & Magicians.
For millennia, there have been certain areas of the Earth held sacred, revered as places of power, of healing. What marked these places as being so different, so unique, that cairns, temples and, eventually, churches were built there? The answer is obscured, layered in myth, magic and legend, protected by the ‘true believers’, who prefer to attribute the inherent, unique properties to supernatural agencies, rather than natural forces. This entire world is criss-crossed by a network of ‘lines of power’ geo-magnetic energies, generated by the planet in the hellish inferno of its rotating, molten iron core, like an incredible, gigantic dynamo. These ‘lines of power’, sometimes referred to as ‘Ley Lines’, or ‘Leys’, spread out like the filaments of a spiders web, carrying this natural magnetic force all over the world.
Modern research into the subject, indeed the term ‘Ley lines’ itself, can be attributed to one man, Alfred Watkins (1855-1935). Specifically, on the 30th June 1921 Ley lines were discovered, or perhaps re-discovered would be more apt. Watkins was studying a map, identifying places of interest, when he noticed that many of the points were on a straight line, running across hilltops, skewering the ancient sites like an arrow. As far as Watkins was concerned, it was ‘a flash of light’, he could see that this was not an isolated case, once he knew what to look for, the straight alignment was obvious and formed a pattern over the map. This resulted in a flurry of research, culminating four years later in the seminal work, ‘The Old Straight Track’.
As far as Watkins was concerned these arrow straight lines were remnants of ancient trade routes " Imagine a fairy chain stretched from mountain peak to mountain peak, as far as the eye could reach, and paid out until it reaches the ‘high places’ of the Earth, at a number of ridges, mounds and knolls. Then visualise a mound, circular earthwork or clump of trees, planted on these high points, and in low points in the valley other mounds ringed about with water to be seen from a distance. Then great standing stones brought to mark the way at intervals, and on a bank leading up to a mountain ridge or down to a ford the track cut deep so as to form a guiding notch on the skyline as you come up…Here and there, at two ends of the way, a beacon fire used to lay out the track. With ponds dug on the line, or streams backed up into ‘flashes’ to form reflecting points on the beacon track so that it might be checked at least once a year when the beacon was fired on the traditional day. All these works exactly on the sighting line" [Watkins, ‘The Old Straight Line’ 1925]
Although Watkins had picked up on the anomalous layout, he did not attribute it to anything other than prehistoric trading routes, at least not in public. In his estimation, the ‘ley lines’ as he christened them, were associated with the Greek god Hermes (or Mercury as the Romans had it) the winged messenger who would guide travellers on the paths. If he had any other thoughts, he did not share them, justifying his position by stating, "A Celtic God, Tout, or in its Romanised form Toutates, is supposed to be what Caesar referred to, and his name has been found on a Romano-British altar. It is a fact that the sighting mounds called Tot, Toot, Tout, Tute and Twt, about all over the kingdom, and the root is probably Celtic…. The fact that such mounds are mark-points on trackways strengthens this claim".[Watkins, ‘The Old Straight Line’ 1925]. Despite the fact that many of the paths led up impossibly steep hillsides, no one offered an alternative explanation until, according to the findings of researcher Paul Deveraux, the occultist Dion Fortune in a1936 novel, claimed that Ley Lines were ‘lines of energy’, that followed other lines of earthly ‘cosmic energy’ linking prehistoric sites. This remarkable insight, whether due entirely to imagination or a flash of intuition was astonishingly accurate. Although it was known by then that Ley Lines could be detected by dowsing and other techniques, they later became associated with UFO sightings and other paranormal events. This is not totally surprising, and as we shall see, there was a deliberate plan in the various structures erected on, or adjacent to, the Leys. Strange as it may appear, the standing stones either singly, in lines and circles performed the function of items that are nowadays orders of magnitude smaller.
It is here, depending on your point of view, that the subject becomes mired in a sub-culture of superstition and myth. Other than bona fide researchers, dowsers and healers, there has been no shortage of groups and individuals who either accidentally, or, as is more likely, wilfully, dismiss bio and geo-magnetism as a natural, usable, functioning energy, choosing instead to build a mystique around its properties, usually as part of money making scheme. In particular, the cult of ‘Scientology’ adopted one complementary use of Electromagnetic (EM) energy in the form of ‘Radionics’ to create this device, which appears to rely on varying skin resistance and little else, to evaluate the response of prospective members (to whom they refer as ‘pre clears’.), to certain questions.
Watkins, to his credit did notice the co-relation between straight lines and ancient sites, but could see no further. It is fact the there exist lines of geo-magnetic energy, the ‘Leys’, they are the same thing, serve the same purpose and are entirely natural. The practitioners of alternative medicine have harnessed - or perhaps hijacked would be a better word - for their own ends. Bear in mind that the energy creating Leys, is the self same energy that supports all life, in other words, ‘Electromagnetism’. Apart from the legitimate use of EM in mainstream medical diagnostic procedures, for example, ECG’s (Electro cardiograms), or EEG’s (Electro encephalograms) etc. The alternative therapies apparently using EM effects in their application include, Acupuncture, Biofeedback, Bach Healing, Homeopathy, Hydrotherapy, Kirilian Photography, Orgone Therapy, Osteopathy and Pyramid healing. This list is representative but by no means complete. We will take a look at how the natural forces of EM are alleged to be beneficial in some of these therapies.
Perhaps the best known and most widely used of these complimentary treatments is acupuncture, it is certainly given a grudging acceptance by the mainstream medical profession to the point where some doctors are also Acupuncture practitioners. The origins of Acupuncture can be traced back to China around 3000 BC, the legend tells us that: soldiers wounded it battle discovered that pain relief from injuries but applying pressure to areas of the body remote from the site of the injury. Over time, this led to the discovery that there was a precise relationship between the internal organs and specific areas of the body’s skin surface. In classical Chinese teaching, there are 1000 of these connecting lines of ‘energy’ termed ‘meridians’, however, modern variants on the traditional treatments using ‘electro-acupuncture’ are finding even more meridians. The philosophy and practise of acupuncture involves rather more than sticking needles into patients and is more a system of checks and balances aimed at restoring the energy or ‘Chi’ levels in the body to an equilibrium. This life force or chi circulates through the body 25 times in 24 hours in a circadian rhythm.
As far as Western science is concerned, the ‘Art and philosophy of acupuncture cannot be under stood’ [Electromagnetic Man pp105, Cyril Smith and Simon Best pub. Dent 1989] this does not, however, prevent attempts to discover the science behind it; they know the therapy works, but why? Electrical measurements show that there is a reduction in the electrical resistance of the skin within a few millimetres of a meridian point, which is used to indicate its location. Neither is it necessary to draw blood to achieve a reaction, the application of pressure or a mild electrical current to the meridian is normally sufficient to achieve a response. In laboratory conditions, the use of low power lasers has produced the same results. This has, however, still not explained why this relationship between the external ‘meridians’ and internal organs should be present. Recent experiments conducted by French researchers Dr. Jean-Claude Darras and Professor De Vernejoul who injected radio active tracers at an acupuncture point, found, using a gamma ray camera ‘That the radioactivity travelled along the acupuncture meridian with a velocity of 3-5 cm/min. this is of the right order of magnitude to give 25 circulations per 24 hours’. [Electromagnetic Man, p106, Cyril Smith and Simon Best, pub, Dent 1989] They also discovered that, ‘The rate of diffusion along the meridian was increased when the acupuncture point was stimulated, whether by needle, electrically or using a helium-neon laser, [Electromagnetic Man, p106 Cyril Smith and Simon Best pub, Dent 1989]
Colour Therapy, on the other hand uses a different aspect of EM, since the colour of a person’s environment can cause different emotional responses; it is reasonable to wonder why. Colours, as perceived by human beings, ‘Are a selection of particular frequencies of electromagnetic radiation in the visible part of the spectrum’.[Electromagnetic Man, pp109, Cyril Smith and Simon Best, pub. Dent 1989]. Therefore, we as bioelectrical machines can and do react with various frequencies within the EM frequency spectrum. In this instance colours affect us directly, physically and mentally, both beneficially and otherwise.
Healing is of course another commonly used application of using EM interaction between the ‘healer’ and their patient. The ‘gift’ of healing has, traditionally, been the domain of a priest or shaman who used their unique talent to benefit the group or tribe to whom they belonged. The judicious dispensation of healing would of course serve to enhance the position of this individual in the hierarchy of the group, rendering then more or less indispensable. The difference in this case must involve different levels of interaction both psychological and physical between the healer and the patient. One or other of the people, almost certainly the healer would possess a marked degree of EM sensitivity and be able to recognise an imbalance in another. It is also likely that the ‘readjustment’ or ‘re-alignment’ of a particular bio-magnetic field is carried out at an unconscious level, probably as a function of biofeedback.
Perhaps the most spectacular use of EM in a healing scenario is Kirilian Photography. This process that was discovered in the mid to late 1890’s in Russia by electrical researcher Yakov Narkevitch-Todko, who exhibited ‘electrographic photographs obtained with the help of quiet electrical discharges’. This interesting development was perfected by the husband and wife team of Drs. Semyon D and Valentina Kh. Kirilian, who were eventually honoured by having the process named after them. The technique involves photographing the pattern of luminous discharges surrounding an object, usually fingers and toes, when the subject is subjected to a low current, high voltage, at unbelievably high frequencies. This, interestingly, was a branch of physics pioneered by electrical pioneer and genius (and due to his experiments with high voltage, high frequency electricity, a sufferer of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, or ‘EH’ ) Nikola Tesla. Aside from human and animal subjects, the Kirilian’s applied the technique to plants and trees, particularly leaves. There is one fascinating photograph showing a leaf which had a section missing, The photograph however, although showing the leaf with the missing section, but also shows, in the surrounding luminous outline, the complete leaf. Is this some form of primitive ‘cellular memory’, activated by electromagnetically induced resonance?
There is yet another application of EM related phenomena that rely on nothing more than shape alone to produce a desired effect. Dr, Lyall Watson in his groundbreaking book ‘Supernature’, brought this method to the attention of the public in the West during the 1970’s although at the time the claims were greeted with considerable scepticism. Dr. Watson explained that in Eastern Europe, pyramid shaped devices were on sale that would, allegedly, sharpen blunt razor blades providing the device was aligned on a precise N-S axis. It is easy to see why this unusual concept met with disbelief, although if this device does work, and it appears to do so, then it must function in a similar manner to acoustic and electric resonators and react directly with the ‘memory’ of the metal.
Before we examine dowsing, there is one last ‘medical’ use of EM worth taking a look at and that is ‘Orgone Energy’. This was a healing therapy devised by Dr. Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) who was, perhaps significantly, originally a the pupil of pioneering psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. He claimed that his Orgone Energy was distinct from EM energy as he understood it. His therapy consisted of devices called ‘Orgone Accumulators’ which were constructed from alternate layers of wood and metal. The recipient of this allegedly beneficial energy would sit in a cabinet made of this laminate, and have the energy directed on them through a tube. Again, in some instances, the treatment appeared to work, although whether this was psychosomatic remains to be seen. It is also likely that some of the subjects were sensitive to EM fields, and, since any structure fabricated from conductors and insulators will resonate at some EM frequency, it is possible that the ‘Orgone Accumulators’ functioned in a similar manner to the resonance of a human ‘Healer’.
These then, are a few of the more common practises using the EM spectrum as the driving force behind their operation, no matter how the process is dressed up, irrespective of the rituals or pseudo scientific trappings involved, there is nothing ‘supernatural’ per se about it. On an acceptable, credible level, there is one remaining use of conventional interaction with geomagnetic energy that is perhaps the best known of all, the skill of the dowser. Perhaps this aspect is the most elusive yet common practical use of ‘earth magic’ known to man, and each one of us can be taught the skill. The ability was probably present in our pre-historic ancestors and is recorded in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It first appears in European writings around AD 1240, and also in the writings of Agricola, De Re Metallica in 1556. It again appears in the writings of Mgr. Fr, Le Lorrain, S.J. a Jesuit priest who was Professor of Physics at the College of Louis Le Grand. He writes that: "The rod moves" when he brought a piece of lodestone (a magnetic oxide) and placed it beside a dowser. It would appear that the action of the rod, be it a hazel fork, or thin, right angled metal rod, is due to involuntary reflexive motor movement in the muscles in the dowsers forearms and wrists, as his own magnetic field reacts with that of the lodestone. On the other hand, when a dowser walks through a natural increase of the earth’s magnetic field with the rods held in the dowsing position, the action of his movement again reacts with the ambient field, to produce involuntary motor action in the forearms and wrists. The normal function of the dowser is to locate water; this is done in a similar manner. The water creates an ionising stream as it moves through the rock strata that in turn produce an increase in local field strength. The dowser, who, through experience, recognises it as a reaction to the presence of water, detects this. Although primarily interested in locating water, it is far from uncommon for oil companies to employ the services of dowsers to locate oil, in many instances this is done, not in the field, but from a map. Just how this is achieved is not clear nor is there much evidence to indicate just how successful this technique is, nevertheless, the method is still employed.
Lastly, let us consider what is surely the most bizarre proposition regarding these lines of energy yet suggested. If we consider the network of Leys as analogous to a gigantic printed circuit board and the standing stones, stone circles and ancient buildings as coils and oscillators, then we are forced to an incredible but inescapable conclusion. The lines of energy were in effect directed, tuned and amplified by the introduction of components with a modifying EM field, then just possibly, our forefather had created a gigantic communication s, perhaps even healing device, using the pure, natural energy of the earth. Is it possible that the stone circles were a focal point for these resonant forces, the injured or ill were placed within the circles at a pre-ordained spot, allowing the healing fields to act upon them. Or were they in some way used to communicate over the length of the country. The sender, probably a priest or shaman, would stand, again within the circle, allowing his own electrical field to meld with the line of energy, allowing his thoughts, emotions and images, to become one with the pulsing energy of the stones. This added energy, his input, would intertwine with the existing signal like the harmonic of a carrier wave, travelling to the next junction, indeed, perhaps all of them, to be received and interpreted by the recipient, also probably a priest or shaman. If the purpose was communication, it is likely that the circles were permanently manned, rather than only at specific times or holy days, worldwide instantaneous communication is nothing new
If this is a workable hypothesis, then it is not inconceivable that this means of communication didn’t stop at the British coast. Given that Ley lines traverse the planet then it is possible that the rows of menhirs, the standing stones in certain areas of France, were part of this same international network. Perhaps the odd layout of geographical points detected in the Rennes Valley is a reminder from our past, not a coded message, but the remnants of a lost technology. A means of contact where language would not matter, an ‘Esperanto’ based on images and pictures requiring no deterrent of translation. This then may be our heritage, our reintroduction to a world with no artificial barriers. Back to the lost art of telepathy to a world where lies and deceit no longer have any provenance, back to a true brotherhood of nations.
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