by Marty Cain

When Sig asked me to write this article on geomancy I had to ask, "Am I really a Geomancer?"

I was fortunate to have grandparents and parents who were close to the Earth and who loved life. I suppose Geomancy instruction began for me at about 6 years of age when my grandfather taught me to dowse for water. Grandfather also connected me to the heavens. Seeing me upset for having "lost" a special toy, he asked me to follow him. We walked together into the side yard and gazed at the evening sky. There he pointed to a tiny clusters of seven stars. "See that cluster of tiny stars? They are yours and no one can ever take them form you. They will always be yours." And so they are even to this day.

Through my family's day by day examples, I began to notice what harm I caused to nature around me and what good I could do. I didn't realize I was becoming a Geomancer, I just loved the earth, loved the wind in my face and the open skies and the billions of stars over head. I was delighted with the variety of forms life from the tiniest critters to the greatest trees. So Wonderous.

Dowsing was considered strange by people outside my family so, although I found water for friends from time to time, I did not use it or speak of it in my every day living. It wasn't until September of 1986 when I attended the National Convention and School of the American Society of Dowsers in Danville Vermont that I discovered other people who were willing to explore the mysteries of the natural world. Master Dowsers: Terry Ross, Gordon Barton, Sig Lonegren, Dwin Gordon, Dave Bagley, Jack Livingston, Joan McFarlain, Chris Bird, Enid Hoffman, Ed and Lydia Jastrum and so many others opened for me the whole field of esoteric knowledge. The living Earth, conscious water, plants that responded to their masters needs, spirit guides, devas, gnomes, all were recognized and acknowledged. The unseen beings of childhood stories stepped forth as living consciousness, willing and able to interact with me. Life became enchanted again. The Earth became my best friend. She danced in my sculptures and lead me to special places in which to learn and create my work.

Up until this point I concentrated on creating paintings, drawings and sculptures that were beautiful and strong and enthusiastic having been inspired by artists like Henry Matisse, Max Beckman, and Pierre Bonnard. As a private escape from the intensity of drawing, my simple lining up of striped rocks lead me into the landscape and into a new way making art and a new way of life. I noticed that people shifted their way of looking at nature when they happened across one of my stone lines left on the beach or near a forest trail. I was delighted to find the English Sculptor, Ted Long, who made a pattern in a field by trimming the tops off daisies.

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