Daniel Gittelman- The Four Axioms and Tinker Creek (Landscapes of the Sacred)

In his book Landscapes of The Sacred, Belden C. Lane introduces the four guiding axioms. These axioms are significant because they define and characterize what makes a place sacred. In this post, I will prove how these axioms are demonstrated in Tinker Creek in Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek”.

Lane’s first axiom is that “a sacred place is not chosen, it chooses” (19). This is arguably the most important axiom because it establishes the fact that one cannot simply declare any location sacred. Dillard makes this evident of Tinker Creek when she states that “I’m drawn to this spot” (5). I chose to use this example because Dillard does not express a clear witnessing of God. However, this place still fulfills the first axiom because rather than her deciding that the place is sacred, Tinker Creek has demonstrated wonders to her that pull at her emotions and bring her back.

The second axiom Lane describes is that a “sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary” (19). This means that a place is not made sacred through declaration, but rather by spiritual actions that give it meaning. Tinker Creek fits this by Dillard’s spiritual ritual of flow in which she reflects on the nature around her. When there, she is engaged in a no-mindedness repetition of experiences where one is fully immersed in their actions. Her actions are movements to observe the creatures around her, and she evidently has spiritual reflection when she asks, “What do we think of the created universe, spanning an unthinkable void with an unthinkable profusion of forms? (7)

Lane’s third axiom is that “Sacred place can be tread upon without being entered” (19). The meaning behind this is that while a location may be significant for one person or group, it may be meaningless for another. This works for Tinker Creek because most of us would not feel the spiritual connection to this land that Dillard portrays. I personally do not believe that I would experience flow at Tinker Creek because the nature she reflects upon would be unlikely to resonate with me. While she is able to enter this sacred place, I would merely be treading upon it.

The final Axiom Lane speaks of is how “sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal” (19). A sacred place is central in that one will have their sacred experience focused there, yet it is also not central because God and other deities are not exclusively present in that location. Tinker Creek certainly fulfills this, evident by how Dillard was able to speak of “another time [she] saw another wonder: sharks off the Atlantic coast of Florida”  (8). Even though deities don’t appear to be part of this place, the Atlantic coast of Florida is arguably sacred for Dillard because it provided her with a spiritual experience. Although Tinker Creek is local when she’s having experiences there, sacred place is universal because sacred experiences do not have an exclusive focus on that sole location.