The spiral can been seen everywhere in our lives from art, to fabric, to nature. The spiral is part of our environment. However, we don’t seem to really understand its significance and power. It is hugely taken for granted although it has been at the center of spirituality since the beginning.
Spiritually, the spiral is our connectivity with the divine, as we are housed in physical form the spiraling from the outer ego (the outside world) into the inner soul (cosmic awareness and enlightenment) is continuously flowing phenomena. The spiral represents our evolution and growth of the spirit.
It is the pattern through which the cycle of life: birth, growth, death, and re-incarnation plays out. It is the active principle in the way that stars and planets, and time revolve. It connects one to the energy of the cosmos, endlessly making available to us the awareness of being a piece connected to a vast whole. We see in the spiral the beginning, the end and all that is between. It is reflected in nature. It continues on its undulating motion into infinity.
We find spirals in so many things, in plants as they sprout from the seed, ferns as they uncurl. Hurricanes spiral over the countryside and we experience the massive power as it connects directly with the earth. In whirlpools, we see the spiral take things into its depths. Looking at pure energy under a microscope you will see the energy forms spiral patterns. Life is a series of spirals ebbing and flowing within and without.
In the Kongo religion, this symbol is shown to be the summary of the teachings of the Bukongo; it explains the celestial origin and destiny of man, the divine completeness of being (the Verb) and universal oneness. The spiral means different things to different cultures. In Greece it means infinity. It represents continual motion and balance. In Celtic cultures it represents birth, development, and expansion. The triple spiral is representative of the triple Goddess (Crone, Mother, Maiden) in Wiccan spirituality.
Ancient people were aware of cyclical forces in nature, monthly moon patterns, yearly solar and seasonal changes. From this awareness, they were able to see patterns for their planting seasons. There are certain spirals reflecting the golden ratio (1: 1.618) or the Fibonacci sequence reflecting certain mathematical truths.
Spirals are engraved in Ancient Mayan Temples, in Temples found in Malta that are the oldest free-standing temples on Earth (built around 5,000BC). In India, spirals are represented as engravings of Kundalini serpents spiraling up and awakening the Higher Mind and Divine Consciousness. It is a direct path that facilitates our movement from ego mindset to awakening. In China it is a symbol for the sun. Shen is the spiral circle found in the culture of ancient Egypt. It represents ultimate Divinity. Its symbol was mainly used in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
One of the most beautiful manifestations of the spiral form in nature is the shell of the nautilus, a marine mollusk related to the squid, which approximates closely to the proportion of the Golden Ratio (1:1.618) which was integral to the geometry of antiquity in the construction of sacred buildings including the Giza Pyramids and the Greek Parthenon. The Ancient Egyptians’ term for the Golden Ratio was ‘neb’, translating as ‘the spiraling force of the universe’, appearing in names of pharaohs, and used as one of the sacred names of the Sphinx. There are countless examples of the spiral in human, animal, floral and mineral.
The spiral is evidence that a spiritual evolutionary pathway for creation and realization of Godhood was encoded in nature's DNA — a symbol that corresponds to the underlying reality of nature. It is a powerful design nature uses over and over again to travel and express its infinitude of forms on every level of its creative intelligence.
Spirals express a story of our soul’s movement towards the infinite as we travel the pathway to higher consciousness. From the center swirling out to the infinity, looking at the spiral we see and feel the expansion it moves us towards. The spiral is the eternal sign of the creative ordering principle at work in the universe. Ultimately, the implication is that the spiral form is integral to a consistency of movement and growth that both expands and provides stability uninterrupted.
In Tantric yoga, kundalini — the Sanskrit word for ‘spiral’ also suggests ‘serpent power’ — rises through the body through a series of seven energy centers, or chakras. Chakras keep a continuous spiral flow. The aim being is to activate this spiritual and psychic energy spiraling within the chakras by using various yogic techniques in order to raise it from the lowest to the highest vibration. Kundalini is often depicted as a coiled serpent.
The word ‘spiral’ springs from ancient roots— from the Latin spiralis or spira, and the Greek speira, meaning a spire or coil, as well as from the Latin spirare, meaning ‘to breathe.’ Tellingly, our word ‘spirit’, representing the animating, non-material divine element in humans, is drawn from the same semantic origins.
The spiral’s powerful motion can be felt in the feminine realm in its connection to Mother
Goddess. It is the core system of lifecycles, fertility, conception, childbirth and death. The womb is a spiral of life and a creation pathway of all things manifested. Divine Feminine symbol: spirals in nature, spirals of the cosmos, symbol of active and constant change and manifestation.
Worm holes, vortexes, and portals are all living vibrating spirals in motion. Representing cosmic wombs of creation. In a ceremonial setting when the ancestral spirits descend to their physical hosts, their host usually begins to spin in a circular motion creating a vortex upon which the merging of the spirit and host can happen. The whirling dervish is another example of using spiral energy to bring about a portal of spiritual ecstasy and connection with the Divine energies.
Some of the most famous locations of ancient spirals in the world are at Newgrange in Ireland. Newgrange is a large mound constructed by humans with stone and earth. It was at least partially used as a tomb, but it may have had other purposes as well. Newgrange has been hugely influential in many modern people's interpretation of spirals. Many suggest the spirals are representative of the cycle of rebirth (as indicated by their presence at a tomb) or as a symbol of a Mother Goddess, who in recent times has been strongly associated with underground chambers, which are interpreted as symbolic wombs.
When meditated upon, the spiral will draw you into its infinite movement of the motion of creation along the spiritual pathway to the inner realms. To harness the energy of the Spiral light a purple candle scented with lavender oil. Have a diffuser of lavender oil and have the image of a spiral on a paper, cloth or other material. Relax, sit quietly and focus on the spiral, breathing very deeply and slowly. Begin looking at its farther outer circle. As you breathe deeply and slowly begin to travel with your eyes along the spiral hoops making your way towards the center. Do this very slowly. Along the way allow yourself to feel the spiral into your breath and body. See what images, thoughts and feelings come up. To further tap into the ancient energy of the spiral, wear spiral jewelry and keep the symbol around you in as many places as possible. Begin to notice spirals in your every life. Take note of how this sacred energy shows up.
The spiral can be used to expand, connect, and develop the mind. The spiral is our internal realm expressing itself through intuition and psychic activities of all kinds represent journey, direction, and progress. If you have access to a labyrinth, it is a very beautiful way to feel into the spiral by walking the labyrinth from the outer circle to the very center. Then sit and meditate there. There is something very ancient, still, vast and sacred that can be felt when connecting with Spiral energy. It assists in returning you to your sacred core, reminding you of your inner sacred space.
The Spiral is ever-present energy active in all of life and all of spirit.
Blessings!