Alexa Botha (Landscapes of the sacred #2)

The definition of a "sacred place" has been a constant challenge for me during this course. If one was to ask me what a sacred place was I would honestly just answer it was whatever you wanted to be. Isn't it that simple? What is sacred to someone can be their own sacred place, be it a garden, or cottage, or open field.... Lane tackles this topic extremely well in Landscapes of the sacred.  Three different factors come into play when defining a sacred place:Ontological, cultural and phenomenological. These three facets of a sacred place dance and create an interwoven web of the meaning, conflict, and sacredness of a place. Lane simply states that there is no way to measure a sacred place but instead it is the effect that it has not on us, but through us. Sacredness creates a pull and  a sense of magic that effects many cultures, so that does go a bit against my anything can be a sacred place idea...