Earth Magic at the Ramapo Walls

I went back to the Ramapo Walls last Friday for a survey. I was last there in 2019, here is my post Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part I Overview.

Below is a YouTube video of my survey last Friday.

I brought along my hiking buddy Bill, whom I went hiking with at Harriman park almost every weekend after my divorce in the late nineties.

We had some excitement. My concern about visiting Harriman, particularly  the southern and southeastern ends is that there are lots of rattlesnakes there; which both of us have encountered. Because of this I kept my dog Jaeda Bear tethered close to me on a short four foot leash.

Shortly after we got there I spent time shooting a video on a Manitou Stone with a seat and Bill went exploring. While I was shooting I heard a loud thud and saw Jaeda Bear was excited. I looked over and saw a black Bear, probably a yearling, had fallen off a large log.

I realized we had to hightail it out of there so I began blowing my whistle and shouting "Bear..Bear.." But Bill kept meandering about. Fortunately my whistling and shouting "Bear" scared the bear. When I finally connected with Bill, he told me he thought I was calling Jaeda Bear when I yelled "Bear, Bear..." one of her nicknames.

We were lucky. What a hoot. I wish I had more  forsight and kept shooting and captured the bear on a video.

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part I Overview

I had a chance to finally see the Ramapo Walls and stone mounds at Harriman Park in downstate NY a little north of NYC this last December. I had gone down the previous December but could not find the site. On that previous visit I had followed Trento Salvatore's directions in  Field Guide to the Mysterious Places of Eastern North America unfortunately they were a little off. This time I relied more on my dowsing rods. I went in December because Sloatsburg is reported having rattlesnakes and since I had dogs I did not want to risk going during warm weather.

The Ramapo Walls is visually interesting containing a  large collection of stone work.

I know Harriman Park well and have hiked it numerous times. I was also familiar with Torne Mountain at the southern end of the park with spectacular views of NYC which is a little north of the Ramapo Walls. I remember a trail on the way to Torne that gave a great view of the World Trade Center before it was destroyed.

We know about the Ramapo Walls thanks to Salvatore Trento and Edward Lenik. Lenik led a multiyear archeological dig and survey (1969-1973) that was published in the New York Archaeological Association's bulletin in 1975 No.63 titled The Riddle of the Prehistoric Walls, Ramapo NY. 

Unfortunately the luster of the Ramapo walls, its "je ne sais qoi", the vibe that makes sacred space so wonderful has been lost. When we love, give, heal, meditate, pray,  do ceremony, practice ahimsa we leave a wonderful loving imprint behind at a place. These imprints fortify a space and increase the possibility for a profound mystical experience. Clearly the creators of the Ramapo Walls had once left a wonderful gift behind that is now sadly gone. 

Archaeological digs destroy sacred space. Thrill seekers and partiers belittle the sacred. Ghost hunters desecrate space with their ghoulish intentions. Hunters bring the intention of stalking and killing. Ask yourself how should you behave at a place of worship. Would you dig up the pews? tear up and test the sacred texts? Would you drink and rabble rouse? Would you bring a magnometer and take readings of the holy water, or look for sightings of ghouls and demons? Or would you sit there for hours in one place contemplating killing an animal?

Worse modern technology through cell phones and other digital devices is microwaving our Mother to death. I expect many that have visited in recent years have brought their cell phones and other devices that wreak havoc on sacred space.

That said. There were some wonderful pockets within Harriman and lots, and lots of stone work. It merits more investigation. I imagine that there once were many hidden gems with divine consciousness. Peter Shell and I tapped into a few. Sweet.

The following are the links to the rest of my review with pictures. Or just scroll down. 

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground


To Continue Reading
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Below are the overview maps from NYS Bulletin No 63 March 1975, 'The Riddle of the Ramapo Walls' by Edward Lenik.

Location relative to Sloatsburg.

Map of the Ramapo Walls and stone mounds.

A discussion of the walls, stone mounds and more follows.

To Continue Reading
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

There is a reason they call it the Ramapo Walls. There were lots of stone walls to be found.

Pepper walking over one of the stone walls. To give you perspective he about 18" tall.

Time has not been kind to the Ramapo Walls.

The stone walls were visually spectacular and interesting; and did provide some new interpretations of working with Mother Earth. Clearly, the stone walls and mounds were located over Earth Energies--an accomplished geomancer, or dowser of Earth Energies with some skill and with some effort should be able to  ascertain such. I think that the emphasis on placing stone walls on Earth Energies may be unique to the region as seen with other areas such as the walls by the Wangtown Stone Chambers and or those by the nearby Kings Chamber (see Survey of Sacred Sites in Downstate NY, PART III--The Stone Block Wall) and with Overlook Mountain; assuming my map dowsing of the walls at Overlook mountain are correct. But again I have only visited a few places. I have not see such at High Tor at other places in upstate NY or at places in Vermont such as Calendar 2 in Vermont, or New Hampshire. But then again there may have been stone walls at these places that were subsequently removed. 

What I am saying is that I have noticed an increased emphasis on placing stone walls on energy formation in downstate NY; possibly even in the tai-state area.

There were a variety of stone enclosures

There was a quartz stone in one of the walls and one must wonder if that was intentionally place there and had some purpose.

Several strips of stone walls contained depressed or dimpled areas.   Although it is difficult to see it appears that these depressions  were intentionally created. I believe that this is where pilgrims would sit and do ceremony, pray or meditate.

I am very familiar with stone structures with depressed, or hollowed out, or dimpled areas and have find them from West Virginia to New England as I will discuss in the next section.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Just about all of the stone mounds had depressed, or dimpled areas. As previously noted I believe that pilgrims would sit in the depressed areas.

Pepper (white dog) and Jaeda Bear (black dog) sitting in two of the several depressed areas of a stone mound.

Another angle of the picture above it.

I am very familiar with stone mounds with depressed ares having found them in numerous places;
High Tor NYS DEC Wildlife Mgmt. Area in Middlesex, NY,
 Whangtown Stone Chambers, Part III(of VII)--The St... NY
Part II Stonewall/Ohiopyle Survey--Carrion Run West Cairn Fields WV
Part IV Stonewall Ohiopyle Survey--Ohiopyle State Park PA
As well as NH and VT,

Although it is not clear cut there is a Manitou Stone behind Pepper to the right. The upright flat stone that looks like a grave marking, or headstone. 

I found that many of the stone mounds had intricate stone work detailing aspects of Mother Earth. Clearly the treatment of the stone mounds and walls made some of these markings indistinguishable; but they were there.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Unfortunately the luster and spiritual energy that once must have permeated these sacred grounds at the Ramapo Walls is long gone.The vibe, the reading of the imprints of the intentions left behind, was neutral at best. Sad.

An old hunter's tree stand by a stone mound. Hunting was prohibited decades ago within Harriman.

We found a hunter's stand next to one of the stone mounds. We also found shot shells, beer cans and other debris. We did pick up a few shot shells. Hunting casts a pall over sacred sites. Again ask yourself if you would want someone sitting in your place of worship or a chair in your living room thinking about killing for hours on end?

So revelers, hunters and curiosity seekers have desecrated this once holy site.

But that is not all as I said in the intro. Lenik in his write-up of the Ramapo Walls writes,

In 1969, the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, in cooperation with the New England Antiquities Research Association, began investigating the "Supposed Prehistoric Walls" in Ramapo, New York. This site is a massive complex of stone walls that meander over some 200 acres of ground along a hilltop overlooking the villages of Sloatsburg and Ramapo. Some sixteen massive stone mounds, basically conical in section and circular in diameter, are within the network of walls....
In 1973, archeological excavations were undertaken at the Prehistoric Walls site in an attempt to learn its temporal and cultural placement as well as its function. Three features were excavated at the site, namely, the suspected well, the stone fireplace, and a section of one stone mound. These features seemed to offer the best possibility of definitive material being found.
The stone filled depression, or suspected well, was excavated first. This feature is located along the eastern edge of the site, 100 ft. off the old road and 40 ft. east of the stone wall. The area was carefully cleared of surface leaves and brush and a 10 ft. by 10 ft. square was laid out around the depression. Excavation proceeded with great care and the soil was removed by trowel and sifted. All stones encountered were left exactly in place as found with the exception of a few which appeared to have tumbled into the center of the depression.

Wow!

I understand that people want to investigate and learn; but at what expense?

Again ask yourself if you would want someone coming to your place of worship, sacred and holy ground, and begin digging up the pews and tearing up your sacred texts and testing them with chemicals to better understand why you built them?

This sort of  voyeurism is bad for the vibe and goes contra to the love and positive intentions that once blanketed this holy area. It destroys what makes a sacred site holy and sacred.

NEARA prides itself on protecting and preserving stone structures in greater New England. But doing an archaeological dig of a sacred site without knowledge of its function and purpose is not going to assure proper reconstruction.

As noted previously stone structures can be very intricate in design. In the picture above a manitou stone is located behind Pepper.  I am concerned that the stone structures dissembled by  the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society and NEARA were not properly reconstituted.

NEARA does have many dowsers amongst its membership but science and traditional archaeology drive much of its decision making. No doubt they do good work in preserving the physical structures at a sacred place. But what of the spiritual component? How can science come to understand sacred space and Indigenous People that loved Mother Earth and worked to create stone structures to enhance Her?

They cannot!

A sacred site needs love, prayer, ceremony and good intentions. The makes its vibe well. Science is an anathema to spirituality. 

And if you have read my work before you know that I believe that it is all about the vibe. The stone structures are often mere ornaments that adorn a powerful sacred sites. I expect that certainly was the case at the  hay day of the Ramapo Walls.

Archaeologists, hunters, revelers, groups like NEARA, ghost hunters through their intent and actions not only destroy the vibe of a sacred area but its ultimate purpose; a mystical experience, a union with Great Spirit/God, an answer to a difficult question or the chance for a vision or great insight.

We did find a remnant that the Ramapo Walls was once treated as a sacred area with prayers, ceremony and contemplation.

There was a water dome still located on the grounds. When we pray, meditate, do ceremony and act in a sacred manner we may draw water to a location Yes just as we attract energy/prana above ground we attract water underground.  A water dome is water that has attempted to well up from the bowels of the earth and has reached an impediment and cannot go any further. So water pushing up on the earth begins to form a dome, a mushroom shaped structure that fills with water. Water veins eventually form on the side of the dome.

There was a water dome at the Ramapo Walls.

Peter Shell with dowsing rods tracing out the spiral of the water dome whose center is marked by my backpack

Because the only co-creation with Mother Earth that we found was one water dome I had many questions. I know energy vortices can come and go; but what about water domes? Were there many more water domes in this large sacred area? Do water domes dissipate slower than Energy Vortices, or do they never disappear once formed? These are only a few of the questions I posed and discussed with a few seasoned water dowsers.

We did say some prayers, spread tobacco and did a ceremony. Unfortunately because we were in hurry we could not meditate and spend the time in spiritual activities the way we do in places closer to home in Syracuse.

There is more reason to believe that the Ramapo Walls and its surrounding area was a sacred place as I will discuss in the next section.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground

There was a lot of stone work hidden in plain view in the area surrounding the Ramapo Walls at the southern of Harriman Park. Because of this it is safe to assume that  much of the surrounding area was once treated as a sacred area and revered.

We found many loosely constructed stone circles over aspects of Mother Earth in the area surrounding the Ramapo Walls. Pepper and Jaeda Bear are pictured in one such structure. Very similar to what I found on Estelle Weeds property in New Paltz, NY last June (See Survey of Sacred Sites in Downstate NY, PART VII--Estelle Weed's Woods and its Many Stone Structures) and in other places as well.

There were a ton of Manitou Stones in the area.

We also found lots of charged areas where the vibe was still very positive another indication that the Ramapo Walls were once a sacred area. It also made us wonder what the vibe at the Ramapo Walls must have once been and whether it was littered with Energy Vortices, a Thin Veil and more. All co-creations with our Mother indicating that the area was once treated as being sacred.

I am overwhelmed with joy when I find an Energy Vortex, or what I call a Natural Vortex in the woods. Vortices. Meditating in an Energy Vortex  allows us to transcend time (see my video Transcending Time with an Energy Vortex) and connect with the spirit and consciousness of its creators.

As always on day trips where we have to drive great distances we are limited by time. We hope to go back to the Ramapo Walls and explore, learn and appreciate particularly the surrounding area. Perhaps we may be blessed to find an Energy Vortex to meditate in.

It was a good day and a great trip.

We thank Mother Earth and God for showing us the Ramapo walls. We also thank those who created them many millennia ago and charged the grounds by saturating them with love, ceremony, prayer and meditation.

Blessings,
madis


To go back and start reading at the beginning.
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part I Overview