Posted by Pat in Feng Shui | 0 Comments
Chaco Canyon: Feng Shui on a Grand Scale
Have you ever been to Chaco Canyon? I haven’t actually been there, but I recently watched The Mystery of Chaco Canyon on DVD, narrated by Robert Redford.
From the description at SouthWestIndian.com:
Located in New Mexico, Chaco Canyon is one of the most extensive prehistoric ruins in America. For years archaeologists have assumed that Chaco was primarily an ancient trading center. Now, this nationally broadcast film (narrated by Robert Redford and first aired on PBS,) shows that Chaco was instead a complex ceremonial center, harmonized by extraordinary astronomical alignments of buildings and roads, and elegant light and shadow markings. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how the Chacoan culture oriented and located its major buildings in relation to the sun and moon.
It was thrilling to watch this documentary, especially with knowledge of Feng Shui principles.
When Feng Shui was developed in China, people were trying to locate their buildings and gravesites in spots that would be auspicious, given the natural surroundings. Today, we use Feng Shui to improve our lives by bringing our homes into balance. We might not realize it when we are adjusting our interior space, but a familiarity with nature and the directions of the compass are still there in the background of Feng Shui.
So it was amazing to me how the ancient Chacoans set up their worship centers in alignment with the travels of the sun and the moon. Some of the buildings are lined up over huge distances. The documentary spoke of a certain road that went “nowhere”, but it actually followed the path laid out by the celestial bodies.
It reminded me of the bagua that we use to overlay a house, a lot, a room, or even a table or desk, except that this was on a much grander scale. This was a giant cosmic map that was overlaid on the structures built by the Chacoans.
They worshiped their deity not only in prayer but in the actual layout of their buildings in relation to the surroundings.
If you get a chance to watch this documentary, I highly recommend it.
(This post was originally posted on my FengShuiCrazy.org blog.)
