Over the past 5 years, together with visiting geomancers, shamanic practitioners, and course participants, I've been mapping the earth energies in the area of la Janda, endeavouring to make visible the invisible aspects of this landscape. In geomancy, we look for energy lines, underground water lines, various energetic 'organs' that exist in the landscape, portals, vortexes and so on. Over time, the land reveals more of it's hidden secrets, it's memories and dreams. These aspects are not depicted in modern maps, but there was a time when they were passed on as a living knowledge by the inhabitants of a place, through the oral tradition, or through maps depicting the topographical as well as the mythical. This particular area I am talking about is situated on the Atlantic side of the Strait of Gibraltar. There are two dragon lines flowing through it, intertwining in a watery landscape of sea water and abundant underground fresh waters. Salt marshes, springs, rivers and coastline. Processes and relationships that evoke potent stories and memories of a sacred dimension of the earth. Local painter, Manuel Maqueda has agreed to work with me to visualise these energy features and draw a mythical map, making visible the energy leys and the soul aspects of the place.
Maps have always reflected humanity's understanding of, and relationship to their physical environment. Map makers and geographers have always depicted their culture's current knowledge and belief system regarding the lands they were charting. Ancient maps often reflected Soul aspects of place in the forms of beasts and monsters, winds and sacred springs, gods and goddesses. The transition to accurately drafted topographical maps reflected the transition of our awareness from a multidimensional relationship to place to a purely physical topography.
Our intention is to name some of the qualitative aspects of the la Janda area, and expose place stories and memory through art, in order to inspire visitors to the area to value it's sacred gifts.
Studies and first sketches by Karmit EvenZur & Manuel Maqueda:
'The story of Lykaeon's transformation into a wolf took me back to a blustery spring day in Arkadia and seeing, in the limestone cap of Mount Lykaeon itself, an image of the crouching beast King. I read of Hyacinth and Adonis; of Deucalion and the Flood; and how the 'living things' were created from the warm Nilotic ooze. And it struck me, from what I now knew of the songlines, that the whole of Classical mythology might represent the relics of gigantic 'song-map': that all the to-ing and fro-ing of gods and goddesses, the caves and sacred springs, the sphinxes and chimaeras, and all the men and women who became nightingales or ravens, echoes or narcissi, stones or stars – could all be interpreted in terms of totemic geography.' Bruce Chatwick, Songlines