Earthstars: The Visionary Landscape

This important and beautifully produced book is an updated and much extended edition of an earlier book by Chris Street entitled "Earthstars?" It incorporates the sacred sites forming the Earthstars on the ground, from the pentagram to those involving 20 and 30 pointed stars. This formed the basis of the earlier book and his further research has revealed the interaction of these across the landscape, not merely in London. The author covers such topics as London's lost Camelot, lost Henges, hill-top sites and holy wells, and includes ancient churches founded on such sites. He makes an important point regarding these locations, namely, that many which form the "Stars" were not chosen by humans but were natural focal points of worship.

As well as 40 Earthstar maps, there are 131 other illustrations and the subjects covered range from those already mentioned through the Arthurian legends 'lines of spirit', tarot, crop circles and the establishment of the first Fountain groups. These are additions to the original book as are important sections on sacred geometry, Earth-force and the web of life, human chakras, Earth Mother, St Mary the Virgin and St Bride. The breadth of this study is impressive, forming links with the researches of John Michell, Michael Poynder, Henry Lincoln, Gordon Strachan and others. In addition to this, there are detailed surveys of Stonehenge, Kings College, Cambridge, Glastonbury Abbey and Westminster Abbey. There is also a full bibliography.

It seems fitting to end this review with a quotation from Chris himself. He writes:- "Earthstars" is not simply about our connections between sacred sites. It is about the hidden connections each one of us have to each other, to the earth, the universe at large and to the creator of it all. There is a tendency to assume that our ancient sacred sites are only relevant to the past, yet our ancestors selected these locations because they were focal points for the universal Life Force. They link us to the formative forces of creation and evolution, to our origins and to our destiny. As such they are far more relevant to our future than our past.