Spiritual places in the home of shungite

      During your journey towards the spiritual growth, you might encounter mentions of various spiritual and sacred sites on our planet. These places are known to us through the countless generations of people who had some sort of connections to these sites. The sacred sites usually are linked to the divine through religions and beliefs and since there are so many of those, there are thousands of these sites around the globe. Spiritual places are one of the most vivid examples of interaction between the natural physical world and the spiritual cosmos. These sites are the nexuses of the natural and spiritual energy concentrated in one spot. All over the world people who are eager to achieve spiritual growth make pilgrimages to the spiritual sites and many of them have also become tourist’s attractions. Today we are going to talk about interesting sacred places in the Russian Federation, especially in Karelia, home of our favorite shungite. As shungite is closely connected to the spiritual world we hope that this information will be useful in your personal journeys towards spirituality.

1. Shardon islands. This archipelago is situated in the northern part of Lake Onego in Republic of Karelia, not far from the shungite deposits.  It consists of 40 small islands of volcanic origin so the look of the island is pretty unique: lots of sharp edges, bank of irregular shape, lots of rocky cliffs and small forests, red moss and bright flowers. You can notice the energy of this place right away after you come ashore. First thing that comes to attention is the tree branches that are all crooked in the spiral pattern. It is believed that this is due to strong energy flows on the islands. Second thing that becomes evident once you have spent some time on the islands is that there is no wildlife there, except for bird. You wouldn’t be able to even find insects there. The rocks are shaped in truly unique patterns and filled with positive energy of quartz. The islands also attract a lot of lightning bolts, which is proven by a number of burned trees. All of this is signs of a powerful energy vortex that can be a source of a great energy boost. Locals advice for spending from 5 to 7 days on the archipelago in primitive conditions to fully appreciate this sacred sight.
2. Vottovaara Mountain. The highest peak in the Western-Karelian elevation, the mountain has become famous among Karelians as the spot of powerful energy. The mountain is well-known for the large amount of massive boulders and seidis – boulders that are place atop the smaller rocks. It is not entirely known which of these structures are manmade and which occurred naturally, but it is clear that they attract great energy flows and stay with this unusual composition for centuries. Researchers of Mount Vottovaara count up to 1286 cult stones within 138 separate objects on this sacred site. The one thing is known for sure – the ancient people of Karelia used the mountain and its objects as a sanctuary to connect with various deities. Maybe even the great stones themselves were worshiped by people, since the cult of sacred mountains and stones is evident in many ancient cultures of the world. These connections to the world of divine, unusual energy of even more unusual rocks are just the thing you might need for a deeper spiritual experience in the heart of the North.
3.  White Sea region. Along with being the place of magnificent sights, the White Sea is a site that still holds a lot of mysteries. For example, the region is connected by many enthusiasts to the lost northern continent of Hyperborea. The legends that tell us about it depict the nature that in very reminiscent that of the White Sea region. More than that, the region has a great number of spiritual artifacts and application of many of them is still not understood by scholars. The Aku-Aku pass with its strange-looking rock has become a tourist attraction and was named after the statues of Easter Island. The region has 30-40 manmade labyrinths and it is still debated what they could be used for. Much like Vottovaara the White Sea region has a great number of cult stones and other spiritual objects, most notable the so-called “King’s Throne” on the Kuzova archipelago. Some of the stones have runes carved in them, other form sanctuaries and ritual sites.  Other cult objects include natural pyramids, which draw more and more attention today. Even without all of this the White Sea is a great trip destination and with so much connection to the spiritual traditions of the old this is a perfect place to learn more about yourself and practice spiritual healing.
4. Kojonsaari Island. Another spiritual place in Karelia is also connected to one of its most famous water reservoir, namely Lake Ladoga. The island is connected to the spiritual traditions of ancient peoples of Karelia and the highest peak of the island called the Leshy Mountain (Leshy is the name of wood spirit in Russian culture) was the home of a sanctuary of these peoples. The peak stores a lot of natural energy as it served as the conduit with the divine. Aside from that, the island is a place of wonderful unique landscape, where the famous Ladoga skerries meet sand beaches.
5. Proto-Sami labyrinth. Situated near the village of Alho in Karelia, this artifact of ancient culture is a sacred spiritual place of ancient Sami population of the North. It is believed to be a place of high positive energy and used for spiritual transformation. The locals advise for the following ritual on site of the labyrinth: You should walk towards the center of the labyrinth with your hands lowered and palms facing the ground. By doing that you let go of your negative energy. After that you should place some sacrificial item (that you personally find suitable) and walk away from the center of the labyrinth this time with your palms facing the sky. This makes the transformation complete as you now take the positive energy from the cosmos.
6. Kurkieki stones. Not far from the village of Alho lies the village of Kurkieki, which is also known for its spiritual site. In the woods near the village you can find another set of seidis, a lot of which are believed to provide you with healing.  The locals have even given some of these boulders unique names, for example Horse-rock or Thunder-rock. One of the stone is called Lady-rock, as it is believed to help women with fertility. There are also a number of sanctuaries and an ancient labyrinth, which people call “The snail” because of its shape.

      As you see, the homeland of shungite is filled with a various sacred sites (by the way, people in Karelia usually call them “places of power”) so it’s no wonder that this magical stone is full of energy of the Earth, divine and cosmos. Visit Karelia to feel this energy firsthand and achieve the spiritual growth you desire with shungite in your hand.