(no subject)
i posted this in my blog on myspace. thought you might find it interesting:
i've been reading about celtic art lately and i'm finding a lot of
similarities between the celts and myself. many celtic beliefs (such
as interconnectedness (if that's even a word), intricacy, patterns in
nature, geometry, natural cycles, the ebb and flow of time, death and
rebirth, reverence of trees and animals, and an overall connection to
the earth and its control over living things) are ideas i find myself
attracted to on a spiritual level. not that i'm a very spiritual
person, but there are ideas and occurrences i pick up on that i can't
explain which, if nothing else, provide me with a great deal of
inspiration.
another weird coincidence is that many of the popular symbols in
celtic art are symbols that i've always been attracted to but never
really realized where they came from. intricate knotwork, spirals,
zoomorphic designs, the celtic cross, key and labyrinth designs, and
the tree of life are all major symbols found in celtic art. i can
remember drawing intricate, connected designs on my homework in high
school. the spiral is my all-time favorite symbol and its meaning in
celtic art sums up precisely why:
The spiral is the cosmic symbol for the natural form of growth; a
symbol of eternal life, reminding us of the flow and movement of the
cosmos. The whorls are continuous creation and dissolution of the
world; the passages between the spirals symbolized the divisions
between life, death, and rebirth.
The spiral dance that witches perform in sacred circles demonstrates
the concept of As above, So below; mirroring the macrocosmic order of
the heavens, the gyratory movement representing the whirling of the
stars above the fixed earth. Winding in, the spiral dance establishes
the still center within, approaching the hear of the universe, or the
womb which will give birth. Winding out, the spiral dance births the
Spirit back to its divine source of existence.
the spiral is also a very common pattern in nature; it is found in the
shapes of galaxies, in hurricanes, inside shells, and on animal horns.
here is an interesting page on the equiangular spiral pattern found in
nature: http://www.math.duke.edu/education/ccp/materials/mvcalc/equiang/equi1.html
(i just googled that in like 5 seconds. i'm sure there are better
pages but i can't be bothered to look for them right now.)
so what does all this mean? probably that i smoke a lot of pot and
think too much. i've always wanted to find a unifying theory that
connects mysticism and spirituality with science. it's hard for me to
think about things such as geometric patterns in nature (or any math
for the matter), the control that natural cycles have over living
things (seasonal depression, the ties between lunar cycles and female
menstruation, animal migration, etc.), and the overall awe-inspiring
power of nature without thinking that there has to be some sort of
reason these things exist. i don't believe in any god or deity, i am
not a creationist, i do believe in evolution, and i am agnostic on
whether or not i believe in an afterlife or a soul, but there are
moments when i am struck with an overwhelming sense of unity with the
universe; and 9 times out of 10 these moments occur when i am stone
cold sober..
i've been reading about celtic art lately and i'm finding a lot of
similarities between the celts and myself. many celtic beliefs (such
as interconnectedness (if that's even a word), intricacy, patterns in
nature, geometry, natural cycles, the ebb and flow of time, death and
rebirth, reverence of trees and animals, and an overall connection to
the earth and its control over living things) are ideas i find myself
attracted to on a spiritual level. not that i'm a very spiritual
person, but there are ideas and occurrences i pick up on that i can't
explain which, if nothing else, provide me with a great deal of
inspiration.
another weird coincidence is that many of the popular symbols in
celtic art are symbols that i've always been attracted to but never
really realized where they came from. intricate knotwork, spirals,
zoomorphic designs, the celtic cross, key and labyrinth designs, and
the tree of life are all major symbols found in celtic art. i can
remember drawing intricate, connected designs on my homework in high
school. the spiral is my all-time favorite symbol and its meaning in
celtic art sums up precisely why:
The spiral is the cosmic symbol for the natural form of growth; a
symbol of eternal life, reminding us of the flow and movement of the
cosmos. The whorls are continuous creation and dissolution of the
world; the passages between the spirals symbolized the divisions
between life, death, and rebirth.
The spiral dance that witches perform in sacred circles demonstrates
the concept of As above, So below; mirroring the macrocosmic order of
the heavens, the gyratory movement representing the whirling of the
stars above the fixed earth. Winding in, the spiral dance establishes
the still center within, approaching the hear of the universe, or the
womb which will give birth. Winding out, the spiral dance births the
Spirit back to its divine source of existence.
the spiral is also a very common pattern in nature; it is found in the
shapes of galaxies, in hurricanes, inside shells, and on animal horns.
here is an interesting page on the equiangular spiral pattern found in
nature: http://www.math.duke.edu/education/ccp/materials/mvcalc/equiang/equi1.html
(i just googled that in like 5 seconds. i'm sure there are better
pages but i can't be bothered to look for them right now.)
so what does all this mean? probably that i smoke a lot of pot and
think too much. i've always wanted to find a unifying theory that
connects mysticism and spirituality with science. it's hard for me to
think about things such as geometric patterns in nature (or any math
for the matter), the control that natural cycles have over living
things (seasonal depression, the ties between lunar cycles and female
menstruation, animal migration, etc.), and the overall awe-inspiring
power of nature without thinking that there has to be some sort of
reason these things exist. i don't believe in any god or deity, i am
not a creationist, i do believe in evolution, and i am agnostic on
whether or not i believe in an afterlife or a soul, but there are
moments when i am struck with an overwhelming sense of unity with the
universe; and 9 times out of 10 these moments occur when i am stone
cold sober..