Saint Michael's line

The Saint Michael's Line, also known as the Sword of Saint Michael,^[1]^[2]^[3] is a postulated ley line connecting monasteries and other sacred sites dedicated to the Archangel Michael in Europe and the Holy Land. The aligned sites are almost all located on prominent hilltops, and include Skellig Michael, St Michael's Mount, Mont Saint-Michel, the Sacra di San Michele, San Michele Arcangelo, the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo, the Panormitis Monastery of the Archangel Michael, Symi, and Stella Maris Monastery; although the latter is not explicitly dedicated to St Michael, the mountain on which it sits, Mount Carmel, is associated with the archangel by the biblical story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).^[4]^[5]

There are claims that the line perfectly aligns with the sunset on the day of the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice^[6] (however, sunrise/sunset maps show this to be incorrect ^[7]).

The term St Michael's Line is also used to refer to a similar alignment of hilltop sites linked to the archangel within southwest England, including St Michael's Mount, St Michael's Church (Brentor), Creech St Michael, Burrow Mump (also known as St Michael's Borough) and Glastonbury Tor.^[8] This shorter alignment was first postulated in 1969 by John Mitchell and subsequently claimed to be supported by dowsing.^[9]

Interpretation[edit]

As with other ley lines, no scientific evidence indicates that the alignment was planned and meaningful, making the claim pseudoscientific, but commonly reported at these sites. Physicist Luca Amendola noted that the deviation of these sites from the loxodrome that allegedly connects them ranges between 14 km and 42 km.^[5]

According to legend, the Sacred Line of Saint Michael represents the blow the Saint inflicted upon the Devil when he cast him into Hell, as per the story of the Fall of Satan.^[10]

Some also say that it is a reminder from Saint Michael that the faithful are expected to be righteous, walking the straight path.^[11]