Sacred Mountains: Themes and Teachings

The author examines the main meanings that holy and sacred mountains from all over the world possess and groups them into ten basic types: elevation or altitude, heart, power, deity or home of the deity, temple or place of worship; paradise or garden; ancestors and death; identity source or spring; inspiration, renewal and transformation. For each of these main meanings several representative examples of sacred mountains are considered and examples of the world’s diversity of cultures and religions are provided. Each example discusses the ritual practices that are linked to the sites in question (e.g. pilgrimages, meditation and sacrifices) and the teachings that sacred mountains provide within the societies to which they are spiritually linked.