Many landscape designers know their plants and paving and might creatively layout a patio, visualize a landform or know the soil, but how can one really sense the true “spirit” within the landscape? Thinking about this, I have been drawn to researching the myriad cryptic arts, ancient beliefs about plant systems and mysterious philosophies that can inform and open up our thinking about what landscape designers do. While I can only touch upon it here, there are varied and arcane ways of looking at the earth, each one fascinating, unique and inscrutable, instilled with a grain of truth and a basis in faith.
Years ago, I was placing large form boulders with a rock setter on a site. Before digging into the earth with the backhoe’s large articulating arm, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a metal wire, then slowly walked through the site holding both ends of an untwisted coat hanger, formed into a “Y” shape. “What are you doing”, I asked. “Dowsing”, he replied. “This will show us if there is water below grade”. “Uh-huh”, I snorted. “No really, he said. “I’ve been doing this for years. I keep the dowsing tool under my seat in my truck”. Sure enough, we dug later where he indicated and there was an unexpectedly high water table.
OK, so I consider myself a bit of a pragmatist. Not a lot of “woo-woo” at my end. But last night, I looked in wonder at the beautiful moon and thought again for the thousandth time, “how much do I really understand”? We take for granted the changing of the seasons and the moons pull upon the tides. We celebrate holidays rooted in ancient tradition and use plants that ancient peoples thought had magical powers. Who am I to feign to understand? Given this, what if we were more open to understanding these ancient systems that purport to help us sense the spirit within a place or the comfort that a client may feel? What are some of these ancient systems?
Just as acupuncture was not an accepted western medical practice two decades ago, many of us have come to accept and are curious about Feng shui or “earthen harmony”. This ancient Chinese aesthetic practice aligns heaven and earth to receive positive qi. This ancient Chinese system informs the orientation of buildings, paths and axial arrangements in reference to topographic, stellar and compass points. The Chinese idea of subtle earth energies can be said to parallel the western concepts of ley lines, dowsing and geomancy (see below). This Chinese art is concerned with the relationships between human beings and the subtle energies of nature. The term “ti li” (position on land) is often noted, as is” kan tu” (cover and support). Both feng-shui and ti li center oround the idea of subtle earth energy or "dragon lines", with respect to building orientation.
As my kids attended a Waldorf school here in the Puget Sound, I have been drawn to the thinking of it’s founder Rudolf Steiner and the design intelligence inherent in Biodynamics, a natural-based system that is a basis for a new international movement in agriculture and viticulture. Biodynamic thinking helps form a holistic balance within the soil and plant systems by means of fermented herbal and mineral preparations and a planting and sowing calendar centered in the rhythm of the seasons and the phases of the moon. Founded in compost and natural-process horticulture that appeals to many, biodynamic results are evident and its proponents are growing like sweet pea on a summer day.
Dowsing, as noted earlier is defined by the action of a person using a stick, rod or pendulum to locate minerals , underground water or notable object buried in the earth. The dowsing rod is sometimes called a “doodlebug”. Some think electro-magnetic tension may cause a dowsing rod to pint downward, others consider it involuntary mental “ideo-motor action”.
Geomancy, is a systematic way of thinking that results from a scattering of rock or pebbles, the resultant pattern or markings in the ground. Largely intuitive and in part based upon defined pattern-charts, geomancy has also been based on the writings found in I-Ching hexagrams. Geomancy may be based in part on feng-shui, as rock positioning relates somewhat to a human map of acupuncture points.
Other odd forms of divination include Hydromancy or divination by water and the ancient process of Lithomancy, astrological prediction made by placement or casting of stones, gems or twigs, branches and leaves. Stones were sometimes inscribed with glyphs and ciphers, creating the basis for Runic symbols. Similarly, Rhabdomancy utilizes wands, sticks, arrow shafts or rods. Numerology centers around the association between physical objects and numbers. While we may scoff at numerological beliefs, don’t be surprised to learn that your Chinese client chose you as the designer because your estimate had an “eight” in it or didn’t want to sign your proposal because it had “too many fours in it”.
Ley lines can be thought of as invisible linear connections between meaningful sites, holy shrines and spiritual rock alignments. Believers contend that certain locations on the planet possess a greater spiritual energy. Here in Seattle, the Seattle Arts Commission funded a $5K survey to “tune” the ley-lines in the city. (Hey, only in the Pacific northwest – you should come visit!)
Vastu shastra is the fascinating Hindi "science of construction" based upon specific alignments for a buildings direction. Based upon the five elements of earth (Bhumi), water (Jala), air (Vayu) and fire (Agni),a cornerstone of “Vastu” thinking is the definition of space (Akasha). An invisible thread of relationship between these elements and it is understood that a person can improve and benefit from a balancing of all of these elements in context to each other. One interesting notion is that of the central courtyard, the “Brahmasthanam” or the "nuclear energy field". Held as an open space, it is likened to the breathing space of a home, a precious place for ritual or open gathering. In addition, corner areas are assigned specific purpose based upon a connotative god, northwest for seed and grain storage , northeast for worship, southeast for cooking and southwest sleep.
The “Vastu Purusha Mandala” forms a diagrammatic basis for design. The northeast corner of a site is considered prominent and the source of energy, while alignment of the body in conjunction with the sun and east-west axial relationships predominate in design.
Condensing centuries of metaphysical thought into a short blog certainly doesn’t give these topics the respect they deserve, but perhaps this list can open up a new world of esoteric symbolism, ancient mythic belief and nature-based understanding to infuse your next garden design. At least this might pique your interest in one obscure facet of landscape design and spark your imagination in a new direction.
So, what kind of metaphysical design magic have YOU been up to lately? Hey, I’m a Scorpio....forgive me for being direct!
