Categories of Sacred Spaces

Numerous kinds of power places and sacred sites may be found around the world. As we examine the factors contributing to the presence of energy fields at these places, having a list of the kinds of sites one may encounter will be helpful. Over the years, I have identified thirty-two categories of power places, listed below, along with examples of specific sites. Some of these categories overlap, and some sites mentioned could be listed under two or more categories.

  • Sacred mountains: Olympus, Fuji, Popocatepetl, Ararat, Kailash, Hesperus
  • Human-built sacred mountains: Great Pyramid, Teotihuacan, Silbury Hill, Cahokia mound
  • Sacred bodies of water: Pushkar Lake, Ganges River, Lake Titicaca, Blue Lake
  • Sacred islands: Lindisfarne, Iona, Miyajima, Delos, Wizard, Valaam
  • Healing springs: Asklepions, Milk River, Bath, Tomagawa Onsen
  • Healing and power stones: Blarney, Men-an-tol, Kabba
  • Sacred trees and forest groves: Bodh Gaya, Anuradhapura, St. Catherine's at Sinai, Glastonbury
  • Places of ancient mythological importance: Vrindavan, Izumo Taisha, Kachina Peak
  • Ancient ceremonial sites: Machu Picchu, Karnack, Palenque
  • Ancient astronomical observatories: Stonehenge, Monte Alban, Externsteine, Carnac, Fajada Butte
  • Human-erected solitary standing stones: throughout the world
  • Megalithic chambered mounds: Newgrange, Gavr'inis, sites around the northeastern United States
  • Labyrinth sites: Knossos, Glastonbury Tor, turf mazes of England, stone mazes of Scandinavia
  • Places with massive landscape carvings: Cerne Abas giant, Serpent Mound, Nazca lines
  • Regions delineated by sacred geographies: Kii peninsula, Languedoc, Australian songlines
  • Oracular caves, mountains, and sites: Siwa, Delphi, Patmos, Hebron, Mt. Sinai, Katsuragi San
  • Male deity / god shrines / yang sites: Shiva jyotir lingams, Apollonian temples
  • Female deity / goddess shrines / yin sites: Shakti Pitha, Diana temples, St. Brigid springs, Marian shrines
  • Birthplaces of saints: Lumbini, Bethlehem, Assisi
  • Places where sages attained enlightenment: Shatrunajaya, Nantai San, Bodh Gaya, Mt. Tabor
  • Death places of saints: Kushinager, Dakshineshwar, Tiruvanamalai
  • Sites where relics of saints and martyrs were/are kept: Canterbury, Kandy, Mt. Athos, Vezelay, Konya
  • Places with enigmatic fertility legends and/or images: Cerne Abas, Sayil, Paestum
  • Places with miracle-working icons: Sabarimala, Tinos Island, Izamal, Guadalupe
  • Places chosen by animals or birds: Durham, Talpa
  • Places chosen by various geomantic divinatory methods: Koya San, Chinese feng shui sites
  • Ancient esoteric schools: Giza, Chartres, Uxmal, Mitla, Ephesus
  • Ancient monasteries: Lhasa, Externsteine, Mihintale, Ellora
  • Places where dragons were slain or sighted: St. Michael's Mount, Delphi
  • Places of Marian apparitions: Zaragoza, Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, Zeitun
  • Unique natural features: geysers, volcanoes, sink holes
  • Places where UFOs or other anomalous extraterrestrial phenomena have been seen.