Sacred sites are scattered around the world and have different meanings. Many believe the whole the earth is a sacred site. Here we define sacred space as the place where mother earth meets father heaven, or where earth and heaven energies combine to make a place of power. Or as the Taoist tradition of Feng Shui says Ying and Yang are in balance;

Syracuse's Peace and Justice Ley There is a Ley Line in Syracuse New York that connects several of our most socially active churches and peace activists. While meditating in the garden at Grace Episcopal Church on University Ave I realized that I was on a Ley Line. A few days of dowsing found the following places: 1) University United Methodist--Corner of University and Genesee--Place of worship for many activists. Strong community outreach-active in ACTS. 2) Grace--The one integrated Episcopal church in the city--it has a rich history of civil rights. 3) Hendricks Chapel-Syracuse University--Ecumenical and socially activate. 4) Woodlawn Cemetery- Comstock Ave--Several abolitionists and other folk buried here. But I need help finding them. The line appears to pass a hundred yards east of Jerry Longuen's grave. 5) St. Andrews Catholic-Alden Ave. Noted for its activism and activist congregants. St. Andrews is off the street and the ley line passes the back of the church. The line passes close to Ivy rdge and Thurber streets. 6) Activists- Jerry Berrigan of the Berrigan Brothers and Kathleen Rumpf, both well known national activists. Maywood Drive off of Seneca Tpk. Starting from University and Genesee. The Ley line curves slightly to the west as it heads south. By the time it gets to Seneca Turnpike it be just east of Rte. 81 but ends up west--a difference of a few hundred yards over the 4 mile length I followed. The bend appears to begin in Oakwood cemetary. It passes over numerous other noteworthy places such as the Percy Hues school for the mentally challenged and the priests retirement home in Lorretto. Below is a yahoo link that can help you see what I have found. I am hoping to come up with a better representation. Map of University Ave At E Genesee St Syracuse, NY 13210

'At the very roots of Chinese thinking and feeling there lies the principle of polarity; which it not to be confused with the ideas of opposition or conflict. In the metaphors of other cultures, light is at war with darkness, life with death, good with evil, and the positive with the negative, and thus an idealism to cultivate the former and be rid of the latter flourishes throughout much of the world. To the traditional way of Chinese thinking this is incomprehensible as an electric current without both positive and negative poles, for polarity is the principle that + and --, north and south, are different aspects of one and the same system, and that the disappearance of either one of them would be the disappearance of the system.' Pg 19-20; Tao the Watercourse Way ; Alan Watts with the collaboration of Al Chung-Liang Huang, Pantheon books, 1975

There is an abundance of heaven energy in Central New York. The hills and drumlins around Syracuse have numerous Ley lines . Ley lines carry chi or the life force. They were first discovered by Alfred Watkins in England in the 1920's, when he noticed that many sacred sites miles apart were connected in a straight line. Most places of worship and sacred sites are located on Ley lines or where several Ley lines intersect. Some argue that in ancient times sacred sites and sacred stones where intentionally placed on ley lines. Today it appears that decision makers for selecting where to construct a place of worship are being influence at the subconscious level by the energy flow of ley lnes.

In less than a quarter mile section of the West Shore Trail around Onondaga Lake, an area we call 'Stairway from Heaven', we have found 81 Ley Lines. We also found several vortexes of energy, where the heaven sent energy creates ley lines, on the trail as well. There are so many Ley Lines around Onondaga Lake that it is virtually impossible to walk more than a 100 feet in any one direction and not come in contact with a Ley line. To see the preliminary results of our sacred sites survey, plotting the earth energies around Onondaga Lake click on Onondaga Lake Ley Lines

Central New York has an abundance of mother earth energy. The landscape is dotted with lakes, rivers and streams. Onondaga Lake and the Finger Lakes mark the beginning of the Great Lakes water basin that contain 20% of the worlds' fresh water. The area is noted for its high rainfall and snowy winters. Syracuse is recognized as the snowiest major city in America. While Onondaga Lake is the most polluted lake in America, the city of Syracuse gets its water from Skaneatlas lake and its water is rated as one the best tasting and cleanest in all of the country. The city's water system is one of only a handful of municipalities in the country that are exempt by the Federal government to have a filtration system.

Given the abundance of water and mother earth energy in Central New York it is not surprising that women have found liberty here. The prominence that women played in the Haudensaunee society and the birth of the women's movement in nearby Seneca Falls is a testament to the power of mother earth energy and her ability to influence consciousness.

The sacredness of the Onondaga Lake region is evidenced in its topography and geology. There are earth mounds around the lake and throughout the Central New York (CNY) region. Earth mounds are often found around sacred sites.

Naturally occurring salt springs dot the lakeside. There are very few natural occurring salt lakes in the world and Onondaga Lake is one of them. Syracuse is nicknamed the 'Salt City'. Salt is a powerful life force.

The area around Onondaga lake is made up of limestone. Limestone is unique from other minerals because it is comprised of compressed and fossilized sea life. It is also associated with sacred sites around the world. Think of a sacred site and you will find limestone.

The Chinese religion of Taoism advocates seeing the unity and the interdependence of all things--implying that we have a spiritual connection with the environment. Taoism stresses living in balance and harmony with all--going with, rather than against. From Taoism we get the Chinese art of terrestrial divination, Feng Shui. 'In the center of the philosophy and practice of feng-shui is the idea that the land is alive and filled with energy.' (page 137, Taoism, The Shambala Guide; Eva Wong, Shambala Publications, 1997) 'Feng Shui's goal is to tap the earth's chi, just as the goal of acupuncture is to tap a person's ch'i.' (page 28 Feng Shui; The Chinese Art of Placement; Sarah Rossbach, E. B. Dutton, NYC 1983)

According to Feng Shui the most auspicious place to build a house is at the foot of a mountain with water in front of it. This is because the mountains carry the chi and the water will prevent the chi from dissipating. The city of Syracuse and much of the greater Central New York area sits in arguably one of the most auspicious places in the world. It is sandwiched between the Appalachian mountains that reach all the way down to Georgia and close to the Atlantic ocean and come to an end in CNY and it is the beginning of the Great Lakes. So instead of being nestled at the base of a mountain in front of a lake the greater CNY is nestled in front of the Applachian mountain range and at the beginning of the largest section of fresh water in the world. Click to see map