Gilman.ES@XEROX.ARPA (08/06/84)
In my dictionary, ley points to lea, which means: Poetic. Grassland, meadow. [Middle English ley(e), Old English leah, lea. My New College Edition, "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" has an appendix of Indo-European Roots. leuk- ... II. 0-grade form *louk-. 1. Suffixed form *louk-o- in Germanic *lauhaz in Old English leah, meadow (<"place where light shines"): LEA ...
bradford@Amsaa.ARPA (08/07/84)
From: Pete Bradford (CSD UK) <bradford@Amsaa.ARPA> There seem to be quite a few people to whom a discussion of 'ley lines', right out of the blue, is pretty much on a par with somebody bumping into Greek for the first time! Let me, very briefly, put those of you who are interested in the picture...... I first came across the concept of ley lines in a British book, the title of which, as near as I can remember, is "The Old Straight Path". Again my memory is rusty on the author's name, but I'm pretty sure it's Alfred Watkins, or something of that ilk. He wrote the book in the 1920s. Watkins 'discovered' that certain features of the British countryside tend to lie on virtually straight lines; these features included tumuli, barrows, crosses(both stone and chalk crosses carved in the chalk soil), early churches, Roman sites, moats, isolated trees or clumps of trees, tumps, old inns, and places containing the name 'cross' or the syllables 'ley', 'leigh' 'ly', 'lay', etc. These sites are readily seen on the Ordnance Survey maps, but others such as notches in the sides of hills can often be seen only by travelling along a 'ley line'. Watkins' interpretation of these 'straight lines' was that they represented surveyed routes along which Ancient British Man travelled for specific purposes such as collecting flints, salt, etc. Watkins suggested that these straight paths would have represented the easiest way by which Ancient Man could have found his way over what to him would appear to be monumental distances. (Pun intended!) However, only a select few of the Druid chiefs would have the 'know- how', and - just as in many areas of today's society - they would guard this secret jealously. (This explains the 'magic' and the mystic qualities that these ley lines assumed in the minds of the common man, and which I mentioned in my previous letter.)
bradford@Amsaa.ARPA (08/07/84)
From: Pete Bradford (CSD UK) <bradford@Amsaa.ARPA> A couple of things have come to mind since my last letter... Firstly, Watkins suggested that certain chalk carvings such as Wilmington Man could represent 'memorials' to the Druid surveyors, since they often depict what appears to be a man - often quite obviously not a woman! - carrying a stave or pair of staves. Here is a crude diagram of Wilmington Man........... | O | |__o__| | o | | o | | ^ | | | | | | | | | (EXPURGATED VERSION) Secondly, I would like to throw in my own 'two-pennorth', as we Brits call it... In Wales, there are a number of pretty straight roads, mostly now no longer part of the general road network, marked on Ordnance Survey maps as 'SARN HELEN'. Since the word 'sarn' means track or causeway, it has been said these roads were named after the sweetheart of the local Roman Commander - some say Julius Caesar's girlfriend. I have never before publically stated my theory about these tracks, but, as a Welshman, (who was looking for a modern Celt the other day?) I know that the Welsh word 'Hellen' means 'salt'. IF, then, you believe in ley lines, couldn't these old tracks be those which led to sources of that vital commodity - salt? PJB
weutil@ih1ap.UUCP (David Pope) (08/08/84)
[] My meager knowledge of Ley Lines comes from a year long visit to England. The study of Ley Lines and related phenomena seemed to be quite common among the citizenry, and the following is submitted as hearsay evidence: Ley Lines are the ancient lines of travel used by the spirit world. The orientation of these lines is apparently random but many support the idea that the Lines are 'roads' between centers of power. Houses that are built in the path of a Ley Line have high reported incidents of poltergeist activity. The theory seems confined to England, but after all, that's where Jerusalem was located. It is probably time to move the discussion. Any suggestions on a destination? David L. Pope
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (08/10/84)
<> Look, Summerly! Two trees in a straight line, and the same distance apart!