Paola, Malta
First in my prayer, before all other deities / I call upon Gaia, Primeval Prophetess . . . / the Greek great earth mother.
—Aeschylus (ca. 525–456 B.C.), Greek playwright
This prehistoric hypogeum is an underground labyrinth carved from limestone with egg-shaped burial chambers (symbolizing the Goddess’s regenerative womb). Its builders decorated the walls of the first level with a red ochre wash and painted elaborate spirals on the ceiling of the second-level Oracle Room. But the heart of this sanctuary (and necropolis) is a trilithon (a structure consisting of two large vertical stones supporting a third stone set horizontally across the top) within a larger trilithon within a still larger trilithon—symbolizing progeneration.
Whether you feel drawn to the Mother Goddess or to sacred cave structures, visit Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a World Heritage site. From Malta International Airport, travel by bus, rental car, taxi, or motorbike. Order tickets (from the Archaeological Museum in Valletta, Malta) in advance; only eighty visitors are allowed in each day.
After touring the hypogeum—pausing to issue a silent petition to Gaia in the Oracle Room—take off your shoes and embark on a barefoot walking meditation or meditate as you sit with your bare feet on the ground, absorbing the earth’s regenerative energies. (Pressure points on the feet correspond to internal organs: reproductive, brain, heart.)
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, discovered in 1902, dates from 3600 to 2500 B.C. The Sleeping Lady, a famous 5-inch sculpture found inside the cavern and now housed in the museum in Valletta, depicts a reclining woman, perhaps incubating a child or a dream of conception.