'Considered as the impulse that pushes a person to carry out certain actions with will, effort and constant interest, to achieve objectives, Motivation is nothing other than the "Motor of Life". A force without which humans would be doomed to constant discouragement, feeling of anguish or self-perception of disability when we face the problems that arise as we move forward in the pursuit of those goals that we set ourselves throughout our lives. .. '.
[Alberto Cachorrón Mojón (1)]

For some reason, which probably lies in the darkest and most unfathomable of the collective unconscious, man has always felt the uncertain call of the unknown, of following that mysterious inner voice -the same, perhaps, by whose imperative our ancestors left the security of the caverns-that impelled him to move, to know the environment in which he lived, and even beyond, to explore the world in which he lived.

A world, which must have seemed infinite, as infinite must have been, likewise, the adventures and vicissitudes that he had to face until he became the dominant species. For a scientist, dogmatic, rigid and punctually correct, in all this there would be no other type of romanticism added than that of a simple question of evolution. Maybe he's right; but to follow the guidelines set by that evolution, man probably needed a push.

A push, provided by that unknowable and psychic part, that even today, at the end of the millennia and at a point of evolution that in our ignorance we can consider sublime, still pushes us and motivates us to continue forward, to go beyond ; In short, to set a goal and achieve an objective. This could explain, as Alberto Cacharrón points out very well, in his wonderful book Mi otro tiempo -the use of whose paragraph as an introductory element in the present entry, I hope that it does not cause him an inconvenience or inconvenience-, those displacements produced throughout History, which make man a true nomad, nourishing, at the same time, a quality that could seem innate and without which, perhaps Humanity would not have imposed challenges, nor would it have reached, either, that Modern Age that leads to current end of the 21st century and its incredible technological advances: curiosity.

Curiosity, possibly, is one of the factors that mostly induce us to leave the comfort of our homes and throw ourselves headlong into paths, which are not arduous or difficult, stop being enriching experiences, while wonderful schools in the to be introduced in that immense heritage of Art, Culture, Thought and Mystery that the preceding civilizations and cultures left us, whose keys and secrets, however much we may insist on thinking otherwise, remain intact until today, constituting, precisely, a challenge for those who meet them and feel the urge to try to unveil them, letting themselves be carried away by their irrepressible spell.

One of them, evidently, is that world, dark, impenetrable and tremendously jealous of its own idiosyncrasies, which is the fundamental reason that this blog exists: the fantastic world of medieval stonemasons.

It is still a curious fact, and certainly coincidental, that over the centuries, in the course of these innumerable movements, the human being has felt, in addition, the intrinsic need to be carried away by their emotions, leaving signals in the places where it happened, although, in many occasions, the purpose and meaning of these. in the vast majority of cases, they escape us.

Far from sharing - at least in absolute terms - that strange idea that the marks that the medieval builders left in the ashlars of the churches -including castles and civil buildings- that they erected were simply an accounting that later justified the payment of a wage. I adhere completely to that other vision, mystical and undoubtedly anthropological, which summarizes, from its hieratic and highly hieroglyphic character, cultural paradigms that have accompanied man throughout the adventure of his existence. Many of these marks gather, in their constitution, symbols of varied condition: runic, magical, astrological, Christian .... that, in some general way, offer us aspects of that wide range of beliefs that marked the modus vivendi of the societies that preceded us.

While the cross, in many cases, served as the undisputed symbol for the consecration of churches, other specific symbols, framed within that section called magical, fulfilled a similar function, keeping at bay that range of perverse beings - devils, witches , restless spirits - who lived with astonishing reality in the superstitious mind of past societies (2). But between each other, sometimes marked in the most unsuspected places -such as, for example, the ground adjacent to an altar (3) -, I have always been struck by a certain symbol: the soles of medieval booties. Soles that, far from letting me convince by a simple reference to a guild of shoemakers who paid for the ashlar or the ashlars of the temple in question, have always seemed an indication to the trip, to the displacement, to that path of life that, to the way of a game of the symbolic game of the goose, we are consciously or obligatorily to follow at some point of our existence.

Such reflection -by the way, very debatable, as it is logical- was added to me not many days ago, while I was doing one of the most beautiful, but also hardest journeys of the Camino de Santiago as it passes through the province of Lugo: the one that goes from O Cebreiro to Triacastela. Although, it had already been able to appreciate, in previous occasions (4), the pilgrim not only leaves in certain places of his way, the typical stone to satisfy and to calm to the gods of the ways - the old manes- and augurate a good way , but also, they deposit personal objects - each time, in greater proportions - related to their personal experience on the Camino, among them, not only sandals, but, as can be seen in the video, the boots - or at least, one of the boots - with which they undertook the transcendent adventure to the tomb of the Apostle, and even, the map and presumably some suggestions of interest, for others who come behind.

It is true, also, that every time a greater intentionality is accused in the signaling symbolism of the paths, so that it is not difficult to find the significant leg of goose pointing the right direction, replacing the traditional shell or even the figure of the pilgrim and the arrow. In short, signs that, adapted to modern times, do not stop having some equivalence, perhaps, with those left in the past. Traditional forms, not perhaps cosmic cycles, as would be said by an esoteric theorist like René Guénon.
The place where I stumbled upon the cairn, whose objects suggested the present comparison, in case someone is curious and wants to check it, or simply passes by, is about two kilometers from Condesa Hospital, as soon as one enters the detour to Sabugos and Temple.

Notes, References and Bibliography:

(1) Alberto Cacharrón Mojón: 'Mi otro tiempo', Imgrafor, S.A., 2012, page 17.
(2) In fact, many of these symbols still subsist in the lintels of the houses of many peoples, known with the significant name of 'scarecrow'; and even still, they are also seen in sacred places, such as churches and monasteries.
(3) As would be the case of the church of Santa María, in the interesting Soriana town of Caracena.
(4) A significant example would be the cross of Ferro de Foncebadón, in the province of León.