Sacred sites and their subtle fields of influence can assist in the awakening and transformation of human consciousness and thereby in the healing of the earth… Open yourself to this power of cosmic grace. Let it touch and teach you, while the planet is in turn graced by your own love.

This luscious pictorial guide will call the pilgrim in you out to play… Get ready to “make the journey” of a lifetime.

Photographer and anthropologist Martin Gray spent the last 20 years on an amazing pilgrimage: he visited 1,000 sacred sites in 80 countries around the world – with a good camera and his intuitive heart open. His journey unfolds in a remarkable compilation of images that reveals just how devoutly pre-industrial cultures everywhere worshipped and respected our Earth. From the Western Wall to the Great Mosque of Damascus, Mt. Olympus to Assisi, Tibet’s Potala Palace to Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, Teotihuacán in Mexico to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, these are the awe-inspiring places from which all the world’s great religions sprang, along with our finest culture, art, and architecture. Gray’s stunning photographs and fascinating text provide unique insight into why these powerful holy places – sites imbued with the power to awaken feelings of transcendence, awe, and peace – are the most venerated and visited sites on the entire planet.

Accompanying each photograph is an insightful commentary that takes us deep into the history, mythology, and spiritual magnetism of the particular place. These stone rings, pyramids, shrines, and temples are often situated in locations that were discovered to possess special powers and energies by pre-industrial peoples who recognized the earth as a living and sacred being worthy of deep respect.

Maps adapted from the National Geographic Society show the locations of all the sites presented, and a thorough appendix includes a comprehensive list of over 500 of the world’s sacred sites. It is both an important record of sacred architecture, much of which is threatened by the ravages of modernization and industrial pollution, as well as a celebration of humankind’s spiritual impulse in all the magnificent variety of its expressions. It’s also a Great Places to See Before You Die guidebook.

Sacred Earth is a visual meditation, a passionate prayer, and an expression of loving gratitude. My purpose in creating this book has been to share the teachings I received as a wandering pilgrim passionately in love with the earth.

See the author’s award-winning website at sacredsites.com.