What is geomancy?

Geomancy literally means ‘divining the earth’, and through earth divination or dowsing we can communicate with our environment on a truly profound level. Through dowsing, we can detect the best place to dig a bore to obtain clean water for drinking or agriculture, gain insight into why plant life and animals behave or grow in certain ways (based on the earth energies that surround them), and detect harmful or beneficial geopathic earth emanations.

Dowsing earth energies in geomancy
Geomancers use dowsing to gain insight into the energies in our environment

Geomancy is a Western tradition that helps us gain insight into our environment, and has much in common with Chinese feng shui. Geomancers seek to find compatibility between the subtle energies of a place and those who live there. Central to geomancy is the notion that we have a close connection with the environment, particularly the subtle environment, in which we live or work. This relationship can impact on our physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual lives, reaching beyond the more immediately obvious physical connections. A large part of geomancy involves locating different stresses and energy meridians in the landscape, and remedying or harmonising those determined detrimental and in need of healing. These meridians are channels of earth energy that act in the same way as meridians in the human body.

Through geomancy we can gain a deeper understanding of place, as all elements of a site – both seen and unseen – are thought to be interdependent, affecting each other and interacting as a subtle network of relationships between earth energy and people. Often referred to as spirit of place, this expression of the life spirit of a site can be used as a gauge of its overall health. Spirit of place encompasses everything that contributes to the character of a location or site, including the seen (physical) and unseen (non-physical) elements, including its feel, consciousness, weather and Dreaming. This delicate balance can be interrupted or become inharmonious; geomancers work to realign these relationships of a site.

As acknowledged by quantum physics, all things vibrate. These vibrations occur at a unique frequency and interact with the vibrations of other people and objects in a way that either resonates or is inharmonious. While this can go some way to explaining ‘chemistry’ between people, it can also help to explain why certain areas have a particular feel about them and why this varies from person to person. Geomancy helps to harmonise the frequencies of people and their environment.

A geomancer will identify and locate geopathic stresses on a site, and then determine whether they need to be remedied. All of this is usually done using dowsing. The first remedy is avoidance: wherever possible, furniture should be moved to avoid the stress. However, this isn’t always an option, and remedies can also be used. The earth healing carried out by geomancers is often referred to as earth acupuncture, as some remedies are used in a similar way to acupuncture in the body, where needles of wood or crystal are placed along points of the energy meridians to stimulate healing.