After the article on Jamaica Inn and the way Ley lines could cause hauntings and interact with magickally charged items I received a few questions on the nature of Ley lines and how they work. The idea of sacred sites has been around for centuries but the idea that they were linked to each other was something only known to people who worked with them and the energies they channelled. Even when the state-sanctioned belief system changed the same sacred sites were used. The most obvious example of this I know of is the number of Christian churches in the UK placed on or in former standing stone sites from Neolithic times.

This harkens back to the Papal decree in 601 CE that “The temples of the idols amongst that people (of England) should on no account be destroyed. The idols are to be destroyed, but the temples themselves are to be aspersed with holy water, altars set up in them and relics deposited them there”. The secular reason was that the people would still go to their usual places to pray and for festivals, but the aspersing and relics would re-tune the energy in this site to the Christian aspect of Divinity and its accompanying thoughtforms for use by their hierarchy.

This shows the impartiality of the energies at these places and how they can be re-tuned to different psychic frequencies by intent and resonance. By entrainment the energies colaced by rituals and worship would then pass down the Ley lines tuning other sites and the local environment to the same frequency and having a similar effect on the local population as a sort of early mass mind-control. The effects were very subtle, having a gentle influence rather than the ‘programming a robot’ effect people think of when mass mind control is mentioned today.

How the energy actually works is still being researched by Pagans, Orgone therapists, Psionic exponents, Pyramid power practitioners, and many other paths and disciplines that use different terms to describe the same energy. For anyone who wants to look at these researches in depth these are all useful terms to type into a search engine and see what comes up, be prepared for a lot of rubbish along with the useful stuff. Most of the Pagans I know prefer the Orgone approach as developed by followers of Dr. Wilhelm Reich.

When training as a medical Doctor Reich worked with Sigmund Freud and studied neuropsychiatry before becoming psychotherapist. Because of his background in physiology he became aware of the way electricity in certain parts of the body changes with the persons mental state. This line of research lead on to his claiming that he had discovered what he called ‘Orgone’ a form of biological electricity that was present in all things and could be concentrated and controlled. He built devices to concentrate and direct this force but ran into problems with the establishment and died in prison, his experiments discoveries derided.

However Pagans and magickal practitioners of many paths followed Dr. Reich’s work with great interest and incorporated it into their own practice. Two of the most popular devices to come out this research are the Orgone wand, and the accumulator cape/altar cover. Both are based on the theory that Orgone can be condensed from the surroundings. In the case of the wand ambient energy can be combined and focused with personal chi to enhance the casting of spells and the construction of sacred space. The altar cloth or cape is more for boosting personal power or enhancing the energies of the altar layout.

They are both made in the same way, by alternating layers of organic and inorganic material. For the wand this usually means layers of aluminium foil and paper or leather, depending on personal taste and availability of materials. Either use a length of paper/leather that is slightly narrower than the wand is long, place it over a sheet of foil then put a copper tube that you are going to use as a wand at one end of the two sheets, attach it with tape, and roll it up. The end result should be a length of copper piping encased in alternating paper and foil. If you use cartridge paper the result can be surprisingly durable particularly if you varnish the paper outside after you stick it down.

The best wand I ever saw of this design was used by a friend of mine in Mexico who used a roll of suede and metal foil rolled together and inserted into a copper pipe that he then covered with leather shrunk on and then tooled with symbols used in his style of magick. Having made it he took it on holiday with him to the Yucatan and left it concealed near a Cenote (sacred well) for a week to power up and attune to the land energies the Mayans used. While his wand was charging and attuning he found a local ‘rock hound’ (hobby geologist) who was able to provide him with a crystal point and marble-sized piece of tumbled crystal.

On the last day of the holiday he retrieved his wand and pointed each end in turn at the back of his hand. The one that produced the strongest sensation of a breeze – the projective spellcasting end – he fitted the crystal point to. The other receptive end he fitted the tumbled crystal to. The result was a powerful wand that could also be used as a scrying device by looking into the tumbled crystal. My friend used this wand in his test of evocation to visibility – making a summoned spirit visible to everyone participating in a ritual – and moved up two grades instead of the usual one!

The power cape/altar cloth is even easier to make, just alternating layers of cotton, felt, or wool and wire wool. Many Pagans prefer seven, nine, or eleven of these alternating layers but anything over five seems to be effective. Cloths the size of a bandanna or a large pocket handkerchief make an excellent addition to the personal or coven first aid box to help in the healing of sprains and burns.

The main thing to remember is only use the cloak or healing cloth for the duration of the ritual or for an hour. Any longer overloads the natural energies of the body and can counteract any advantages. The exception is if you are using the altar cloth in an ongoing magickal operation as it adds to the energies of the spell.

The equivalent of this accumulator for Ley Lines is the Tumuli, sometimes called ‘Burial Mounds’. Few actually contain a body being built up or alternating inorganic and organic layers of earth and turf on vital points on the line or where two or more crossed. This is the same design of the cloth just mentioned and appears to have been used by the people who made the stone circles and planted the monoliths to empower a specific site or a special area.