Sacred Earth

Human beings have always sought a spiritual communion with our natural environment. Certain places and landscapes have a history, mythology and mystical meaning that have inspired humanity from antiquity up to the present day. These sacred sites are found on all continents, and have a special energy that deeply resonates with the human soul and puts us directly in touch with spirit.

Abstraction in Art and Nature
Nathan Cabot Hale
Watson-Guptill Publications (1972)

American sculptor Nathan Hale explores the forms, patterns, scale, proportions and colours of the natural world. Philosophy and art meet in a creative synthesis which reveals the fundamental design principles of nature.

The Earth Spirit
John Michell
Thames and Hudson (1975)

This volume by respected author and researcher John Michell illustrates the natural shrines and channels of the earth spirit and the relics of an ancient, once universal, science by which its powers were concentrated by adepts for the benefit of all life on earth.

Grand Design: The Earth from Above
Georg Gerster
Paddington Press (1976)

Photographic artist Georg Gerster assembled the fascinating array of aerial images in this book over a ten-year period. They display the unexpected beauty and startling patterns of the diverse features of the earth viewed from above.

Living Corals
Douglas Faulkner and Richard Chester
Crown Publishing (1979)

Living Corals is an aesthetic feast, revealing the extraordinary beauty of tropical ocean reefs and corals. More than 200 colour photographs encompassing 31 families of corals capture the magic and mystery of this normally hidden world.

The Anatomy of Nature
Andreas Feininger
Dover Publications (1979)

Master photographer Andreas Feininger documents the unity, interdependence and similarities of the myriad forms of nature. Beautiful black and white photographs, ranging from immense stellar gas clouds to the delicate filaments of a spider’s web, illustrate the essential unity underlying the infinite diversity of natural forms.

Natural Wonders of the World
Reader’s Digest (1980)

This informative book features the most magnificent natural wonders on each continent of the earth, ranging from mountains, canyons, valleys, gorges and caves, to hot springs, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, forests and deserts.

Nature Close Up
Andreas Feininger
Dover Publications (1981)

This companion volume to Feininger’s The Anatomy of Nature showcases the marvels of nature in brilliant black and white and colour photographs. Each image conveys a sense of awe, insight and curiosity about nature and her mesmerizing creations.

Powers of Ten
Philip and Phyllis Morrison
Scientific American Library (1982)

Powers of Ten is a fascinating journey across the universe, showing the relative size and scale of things from the vast world of galaxies to the infinitesimal domain of the interior of the atom.

Natural Wonders of the World
B.J. Banyard
Orbis Publishing (1982)

The book is a wide-ranging study of the greatest creations of nature, beautifully illustrated by the world’s leading photographers. It is a celebration of the majesty of the natural world, from atmospheric phenomena such as the northern lights to breathtaking geological formations like the Grand Canyon.

Wonders of the World
Lionel Grigson
Viscount Books (1985)

This tour of the wonders of the world includes both the awesome creations of nature and human achievements such as the Taj Mahal, oriental temples and the paintings of Michelangelo.

Microscomos
Jeremy Burgess, Michael Marten and Rosemary Taylor
Cambridge University Press (1987)

Powerful microscopes provide a window into a mysterious unseen world hidden from normal human perception. Amazing magnification yields images giving unparalleled views of the human body, plants, insects, microorganisms, cells and even atoms.

The Sacred Landscape
Fredric Lehrman
Celestial Arts (1988)

The Sacred Landscape combines the work of some of the world’s finest photographers with the writings of contemporary thinkers and authors such as Gary Snyder, John Michell and Sun Bear. It celebrates the magic which surrounds sacred sites, places of power and natural earth shrines.

Sacred Places
Sarah Ann Osmen
Labyrinth Publishing (1990)

Sacred places are found throughout the world and have been used for religious ceremonies and initiations since time immemorial. The book explores some of the most beautiful and significant sacred sites on our planet.

The Sacred Earth
Courtney Milne
Western Producer Prairie Books (1991)

Award-winning Canadian photographer Courtney Milne travelled throughout the world in search of sacred sites and landscapes that have held mystical and sacred importance and inspired humanity from antiquity up to the present day. The book explores the mysterious, often supernatural, qualities associated with these sites.

Embracing Earth
Payson Stevens and Kevin Kelley
Chronicle Books (1992)

The book provides an all-encompassing view of the astonishing beauty and fragility of our planet through fascinating images taken from space. They provide a holistic perspective that emphasizes the interaction and interdependence of all of the Earth’s natural components.

The Atlas of Sacred Places
James Harpur
Henry Hold and Company (1994)

The Atlas of Sacred Places visits more than thirty sacred sites around the globe, including temples, ancient shrines, sacred mountains and places of pilgrimage. Essays and colour photographs describe each site and explain their spiritual significance.

Heaven and Earth
David Malin and Katherine Roucoux
Phaidon Press (2002)

By exploring phenomena ranging from the smallest atomic particles to vast galaxies, Heaven and Earth offers a unique insight into the vastness, complexity and beauty of nature.

Satellite Atlas of the World
Oxford University Press (2004)

High quality photographs reveal the diversity of topography, vegetation and geography that characterize the surface of our planet. Covering six continents, the atlas provides beautiful images of countries, oceans, mountains and lakes from an entirely new vantage point.

Earth: A New Perspective
Nicolas Cheetham
Smith-Davies (2005)

When the earth is viewed from space, we see a familiar planet from a new perspective. The book is divided into four sections based on the four elements - Earth, Water, Air and Fire - and shows a world “that lives and breathes around us but one which, paradoxically, we are too close to see.”

Sacred Earth: Places, Peace and Power
Martin Gray
Sterling (2007)

This wonderful book is the fruit of Martin Gray’s 20-year odyssey photographing and exploring sacred sites throughout the world. The author weaves together photographs and commentary to illuminate the history, mythology and spiritual magnetism of those sacred sites “imbued with the power to awaken feelings of transcendence, awe and peace.”

The Atlas of Sacred and Spiritual Sites
David Douglas
Octopus Publishing (2007)

This richly illustrated book explores the symbolism and spiritual significance of places of mystical power from around the world, showing how human beings throughout history have always sought spiritual communion with our natural environment and how the energy of sacred sites still resonates with us today.

Strange Worlds, Amazing Places
Reader’s Digest (2007)

Sacred Places of a Lifetime
National Geographic
National Geographic Society (2008)

The volume is a spiritual and cultural journey to the most powerful and magical sites on our planet. These sacred places are both ancient and modern, famous and unknown. Throughout history, human beings have travelled to them for spiritual nourishment and inspiration.

1001 Natural Wonders
Michael Bright, ed.
Barron’s Educational Series (2009)

1001 Natural Wonders is a compendium of the most spectacular natural wonders in the world. Spanning every continent and ocean on the planet, the book is a testament to the incredible beauty and majesty of nature’s creations.

100 Journeys for the Spirit
Michael Ondaatje, et al.
Watkins Publishing (2010)

Certain spiritual places move us at a profound level and put us in direct touch with spirit. The book is an inspiring guide to those sacred sites where landscape, art, architecture and mystical power meet, whether the medicine wheel of Wyoming, the Buddhist temples of Angkor Wat, the Temple of Heaven in Bejing or the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe.

Microcosmos
Brandon Brall
Firefly Books (2010)

Microcosmos is a journey into a world normally invisible to human perception. The amazing magnification of microscopic images brings to life the wonder of the microcosmos which surrounds us, as well as being inside us.