CONSTRUCTING A MAP AND RECOGNIZING YOUR SACRED LAND
There were several steps involved in constructing Our Sacred Map which names the features of our physical world in accordance with our beliefs. This in ancient times was called "land-claiming." This did not mean that we owned the land financially, but that we owned it spiritually; the actual features of the land around us spoke to us of our beliefs and practices. The steps were as follows:
1. Get a road map of your region that includes where the state parks are and all lands available for public use.
2. Decide within your group, clan, coven, tradition, etc. where your geographical center is and how far the group is willing to travel from this center, conveniently, for any of the Feast Days and a ritual sabbat. (You now have your circle and the area within which all your particular sacred sites will fall.)
3. On the road map circle in red, for easy reference, all the state parks and public lands.
4. Get a sheet of tracing paper and trace off the major land features, major roads, state parks, public lands and major cities.
5. On your traced map, find the roads that fall fairly close to where the divisions between the quadrants east, west, north and south. Between those roads label the quadrants Eastern Kingdom, Western Kingdom, etc.
6. Now envision the Wheel of the Year superimposed over this map with the Feast Days or Sabbats in the appropriate directions.
7. Find the public lands closest to the Sabbats on the wheel that most represent the intention of the Holy Days and name them, on your traced map, in accordance with the story of the Lord and Lady and what is occurring during that time of year. (Each of these places will become focal points for the practice of that specific ritual sabbat.)
8. Now comes the time when you name all the features of your map in accordance with the myths and legends of your group and the wheel superimposed over it. Name every road, city, river etc. with a spiritually significant name.
9. The map can now be transferred to a more permanent piece of paper and colored and copies made. See this map as an example. It was done by the Lycian Tradition in South Central Texas, however the Lycian members in other regions are encouraged to do the same for their areas.