I teach about the Sacred.  Lately, it has been about Sacred Landscapes or Sacred Places.  But what is Sacred?  The question I get all the time is, “But isn’t everything Sacred?”  The answer is simple.  That’s up to us.  We create the sacred.  And we do this based on what we venerate.  But what does it mean to venerate something?

By definition, to venerate is to feel or show deep respect for.  To revere, regard highly, exalt, or honor.  Without knowing it, we are actually venerating things all the time.  It’s all about what we put our attention on…what captures our hearts…and what we give our time to.

Places become sacred in the same way. 

When, for centuries—even millennium—people are drawn to the same place to venerate or exalt something (such as an ideal), then over time it becomes sacred.  It holds a special energy, frequency, or capacity that impacts us in a particular way.

Alison McLean, Languodoc Region, France

The places I am most interested in now are the places I know that exalt or venerate the feminine and hold the ideal of sovereignty.  That is why I love to visit the South of France.  It is in this landscape that the elevated feminine has been exalted and sovereignty has been revered—for thousands of years.   For example, the Languedoc Region of France is rich in legend with feminine icons like Mary Magdalene and is the ancestral home of the Cathars, a gnostic community, who gave their lives to uphold their freedom to follow their own inner authority when it came to their spirituality and way of life.  This is what I call sovereignty.  When there are sufficient Sacred Places in a region, the landscape as a whole becomes sacred.

Sacred Places are the places we can go to awaken lost aspects of ourselves, to reaffirm what we are committed to and what we are about, and to cultivate our unique voice.

What are your Sacred Places? And what is exalted or venerated in those places? I would love to hear about it.

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