Environmental Awareness and Sedona Vortex Site Etiquette

Sacred Site Do's and Don'ts

One of the vortex information handouts provided by vortex guide and spiritual educator, Pete A Sanders, Jr. was an "Environmental Awareness and Sacred Site Etiquette Guide." I'd seen the medicine wheels and stacked rocks left by so-called spiritual people and thought sharing this information might be a good thing.

Please Do

• Enter these areas in the spirit of respect - for the land, for the history of any artifacts, and for the significance they hold for many people.
• Be careful and avoid climbing and standing near ledges. The rock here is very soft, is often loose and may give way easily.
• Take time for quiet reflection and enjoy the scenic, environmental, and spiritual beauty of these areas. If others are meditating at a site when you arrive, be respectful and keep your voice low.
• If you see people vandalizing sites or starting fires, report this immediately. The Coconino National Forest Fire & Vandalism Dispatcher 24-hour line is 602.526.0600

Please Don't

• Start fires (even candles) of any kind at the sites. Fire can destroy prehistoric organic materials, ruin the dating potential of artifacts, and damage rock art by covering it with soot.
• Take home any rocks, rock fragments, or natural vegetation (or cut standing trees or tree limbs).
• Pick up or move any rock or artifacts at a site. If you feel the need to make a medicine wheel at your meditation site, make it a mental one.
• Draw or scratch grafitti on rocks or cliff faces. Also don't touch petroglyphs. Oils from your hands can cause deterioration of the drawings.
• Camp or sleep in ruins, or dig or remove artifacts from a site. Also, don't add anything (offerings) to a site. This contaminates cultural deposits that are important for scientific tests used by archaeologists in reconstructing past environments and dietary information abou the people who occupied these sites.