Strictly
speaking, the term geomancy refers to an ancient form
of divination in which, simply put, handfuls of soil
or other materials were scattered on the ground, or
markings made in the earth or sand, to generate a range
of dot configurations which could then be "read" by
a seer.
In the 19th century, however, geomancy came to be applied
to the Chinese practice of feng shui by which the location
and orientation of houses and tombs was determined with
close regard to the topography of the local landscape.
The feng shui master or geomant employed a circular
magnetic compass, called a luopan, which was marked
off in rings containing data relating to astrology,
directions, the elements, landscape forms, times of
day, and so on. The aim was to locate a site where the
energies or ch'i of the land and sky were brought into
perfect balance. The harmony of these energies ensured
good fortune
The science of feng shui, literally "wind and water",
recognized that certain powerful currents and lines
of magnetism run invisible through the landscape over
the whole surface of the earth. The task of the geomancer
was to detect these currents and interpret their influences
on the land through which they passed.
These lines of magnetic force, known in China as the
"dragon current", or lung-mei, existed in two forms:
the yin, or negative, current represented by the white
tiger, and the yang, or positive, current, represented
by the blue dragon. The landscape will display both
yin and yang features; gently undulating country is
yin, or female, while sharp rocks and steep mountains
are yang, or male.
In the 1960s, the ley lines discovered by Alfred Watkins
forty years earlier, came to be identified with the
dragon lines of Chinese feng shui. This gave a whole
new meaning to ley lines which now ceased to be simply
straight tracks but in fact mapped on the surface of
the landscape lines of energy coursing through the earth.
The presence of prehistoric sites - megalithic tombs,
stone circles, standing stones - along ley lines indicated
that these energy currents were known in prehistoric
times and that the sites did not merely mark the route
but somehow also tapped into this energy source. Frequently,
important prehistoric monuments occupy sites where two
or more ley lines intersect.
