Today, with clean water piped directly into our homes and largely taken for granted, it takes a leap of imagination to consider the greater importance of water to those who fetched it daily from the riverside or village well. Deeply dependent on the local water source for their crops and animals, our ancestors had a natural reverence for those places where good, pure water emerged like magic from the depths of the earth. As a result, water has played a role in myth, folklore and sacred rites in cultures all around the globe ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Sacred springs, rivers, pools, lakes, waterfalls and wells are found worldwide. In most cases, the lake or spring is the place where a miraculous event occurred and has thus acquired sacredness through its connection to that event. But, these bodies of water are also sacred in their own right because water itself is the source of life for most things on the planet. Without water, almost everything would no doubt be dead in short order. The power and mystery of this primary element seems to have been forgotten as science has, over the years, deconstructed and demystified the natural world.

"It is good to leave some mystical space for the water spirits that will surely come to make their home and watch over your water with you."

Water is the one element that forms the underpinning of creation myths and legends in every culture. It is an intrinsic part of most spiritual beliefs. Its symbolism and uses in religion are extensive and varied, and its spiritual and healing properties are seen in many rituals. The different religious and cultural aspects of water reflect the array of civilizations that have made water a central element in their rites and practices. Among Christians, water is a symbol of grace and used for baptism. In many cultures, water is an expression of the soul. In Japan it is a reflection of the purity of life, because it can be both calm and animated. The lotus stream of the Buddha comes out of the waters of the soul, mirroring the way the soul frees itself from existence. In India, the Ganges embodies the water of life, and outward cleansing is a symbol of inner cleansing and purification.

Using man-made rocks made it possible to string the copper fog line through the rocks. This kept the fog lines as well as the electrical lines hidden. When all the rocks have already been set, it?EUR??,,????'?????<

Create a Spiritual Aura Anywhere

Mistscaping allows for subtle and mystical introduction of fog effects into any outdoor application. Utilizing the pump module and specially designed risers, any standard landscaping project can be transformed. Created and developed by Mr. Mister of Fogco Systems, Inc., fog system applications can be used in restaurants, hotels, resorts and theme parks and can be combined to provide cooling of outdoor temperatures by as much as 40 degrees with no noticeable increase in humidity. Using a 1000 PSI/70 BAR pump module, the system can produce billions of water droplets as small as 5 microns. These microscopic water droplets then ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Right: Since some of these rocks had been brought in and placed strategically to create a waterfall effect before the fog lines could be placed, rather than digging through the rocks, the equipment was placed in the ground and foliage area. They were thus able to fog around the rocks and set nozzles into the hill behind the waterfall.
Image courtesy of Fogco

Myths and Their Message

As Joseph Campbell says in ?EUR??,,????'?????<

One of the significant factors in figuring out any installation is wind. Since mist evaporates rapidly, it is important to take into consideration the prevailing breezes, which can carry it in other directions. Strategically placed lights give the effect of mist on a fen or meadow and fire pits in planters resemble campfires dotting the landscape.
Image courtesy of Fogco

 

"By investing a pool with the power and mystical importance it has always had across the millennia, you recreate the marriage humans have always had with the earth and its life giving waters."

The importance of the mythological ramifications of water across time, all cultures and all religions is indicative of the spiritual nature of the water all around us. By giving the proper role to water?EUR??,,????'?????<

Both the mist installations as well as the lighting fixtures have been placed among the plantings and the rocks. The secret of the spectacular fog effect is the backlighting, making the area look as if it is covered with rolling fog in an English woods. Because of the complexities of each site, all are custom installations.

Springs and wells, the sources of water, are often thought of as the homes of supernatural creatures as well as a source of healing. Seneca, a Roman philosopher, said, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

This gazebo is being cooled by mist nozzles set in the roof above. There is a relatively short free fall and then it evaporates close to the ground. By then, the mist has already cooled the air so people can sit in relative comfort much like air conditioning. Both misting and fogging are used together in this installation, and it?EUR??,,????'?????<Image courtesy of Fogco

Ritual washing in water, or immersion in a pool, has been part of various religious systems since the dawn of time. The priests of ancient Egypt washed themselves in water twice each day and twice each night. In Siberia, ritual washing of the body ?EUR??,,????'?????<

In Shinto, waterfalls are held sacred and standing under one is believed to purify the individual. It is quite fitting that any water feature, even one created in a backyard, could be considered an open invitation to healing, purification, rejuvenation and spiritual expansion.

Mist, coming from both sides of the waterfall, is directed by the lines and varying sizes of nozzles run by a pump at one thousand psi. The size of the nozzles determines whether mist or fog is created. Risers are attached to the feed line and placed throughout the landscaping. The special memory tubing used for the risers allows the fog to be directed and controlled for maximum effect. In addition, as the landscaping matures, the fog can be re-directed as necessary.Image courtesy of Fogco

Nature?EUR??,,????'?????<

If spiritual rejuvenation is the goal, then the more natural looking the setting, of course, the more beneficial will be the experience. Finding the perfect rocks?EUR??,,????'?????<

To sit in this award winning pool is to be released from the earthbound state and soar up into the freewheeling realm of stars and spirits. Suspended over an almost sheer vertical drop, the inside wall needed first to be attached to a retaining wall. Building the retaining wall required four 50-foot caissons to anchor it. The pool itself was then constructed on six three-foot-in-diameter caissons, each also embedded 50 feet into the ground. Dug with a caterpillar tread, hillside drilling rig, the rig had to be cabled to the foundation of the house to prevent it from going down the incline. All the dirt brought up was placed behind the retaining wall to create a grassy area. Poured in place grade beams connect all the caissons. Thirty-foot sauna tubes were then installed, poured solid with concrete and those are the support of the pool itself.

Designed and built by Ultimate Water Creations, this is a 360-degree infinity edge pool. A normal infinity edge pool has a trough on just one side. However, all four sides of this pool have a drop off and trough covered with edged glass you can step on to get in and out of the pool. At night the glass is under-lit with fiber optic lighting?EUR??,,????'?????<
Images courtesy of Ultimate Water Creations.

The rocks are then transported to the job site and installed one by one. After installation, the gaps between the rocks must be filled by hand and then hand embossed to match the texture of the casting. Finally a hand stained finish is applied in several stages and layers. This method truly creates an almost exact reproduction of rocks in their natural state. In addition, artificial rocks allow for excellent placing of fog and mist nozzles.

Pool environments can include spectacular waterfalls, waterslides, swim up bars, beach entrees, caves, and grottoes. Not only do they indulge the senses with sounds, aromas, touch, and emotions but they create a perfect environment for faeries, piskies, naiads and all manner of water spirits.
Photo courtesy of Mark david levine

An Invitation to Water Sprites

Many cultures associate water with women, the Goddess or several goddesses or a variety of female spirits. The tribes of Botswana say that women are the source of water and thereby have power over it. The ancient Greeks thought springs were the haunts of water nymphs, spirits who were beautiful young girls.

All running water?EUR??,,????'?????<

This commission was for a pool in a large, beautifully landscaped private garden.One enters from the deck level across a hand-carved ceramic replica of a Caribbean beach, towards a spectacular coral reef where life-sized marlin chase mahi mahi into the rock caves. Said the clients, ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Images courtesy of Craig Bragdy pools

Make a Mermaid Feel at Home

No mermaid in her right mind would settle in for a protracted visit if the bottom looks like the inside of a refrigerator. She?EUR??,,????'?????<

Although the clients of Craig Bragdy Pools suggest a wide range of ideas for the painted tile designs, the most popular suggestion is the undersea world. Just as important as the daytime experience is what it looks like at night, which is often very different. All the designs are done on paper. There is a close relationship between the work on paper and the finished mural, but they will not be identical. Ceramics have different qualities than drawings, but each and every one of them is an artwork in its own right.

This handmade ceramic antique rug makes swimmers feel as if they have broken the rules of gravity and are flying through a room, suspended just above the floor.
Image courtesy of Craig Bragdy pools

Say Thank You to Your Water Spirits

As Terri Windling of the Endicott Studio says, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The Native American sweat-lodge ceremony uses water sprinkled over red-hot rocks to create the steam that is called the ?EUR??,,????'?????<

A mythical mermaid garden is filled with flying fish, skeins of bubbles, underwater butterflies, winding vines and tendrils, with a floor decorated in golden minnows and segmented sand dollars.
Image courtesy of Craig Bragdy pools

The words attributed to the Suquamish Chief Seattle, in Joseph Campbell?EUR??,,????'?????<

When standing by a pond, any pond, it is good to be reminded that we too had ancestors who did not consider themselves greater than the land on which they lived; who did not take good, pure water for granted; who knew man belonged to earth. It is also good to leave some mystical space for the water spirits that will surely come to make their home and watch over your water with you. However, they have some requirements.

These spas often extend the design theme of the nearby swimming pool. As well as creating a magical fantasy world, great attention is paid to the tactile qualities of the surface. When people sit in spas, they touch the ceramics with their bodies and so they are carefully designed with this in mind. Light surface texture and impressions in the clay contribute to the look and feel of each individual design.
Images courtesy of Craig Bragdy pools

An English folklorist once said that nature spirits will agree to live in a well, a spring, a lake or a grove of trees as long as they are remembered and addressed respectfully. If the spirits are neglected, they will leave the place and the land will feel soul-less and dead ever after.

It is therefore suggested that saying ?EUR??,,????'?????<

"So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give any brother?EUR??,,????'?????<?EUR??,,????'?????<