SPIRALS IN NATURE

“Spirals are a common shape found in nature, as well as in sacred architecture. In the natural world, we find spirals in the DNA double helix, sunflowers, the path of draining water, weather patterns (including hurricanes), vine tendrils, phyllotaxis (the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem), galaxies, the horns of various animals, mollusc shells, the nautilus shell, snail shells, whirlpools, ferns and algae. Look at a cross section of red cabbage and you will see spirals. Look at your fingertip, where you would make a fingerprint, and you will see a spiral. Even the shape of your hair at the crown of your head…a spiral. Spirals seem to permeate many diverse natural formations: inorganic and organic, lifeless and alive, non-conscious and conscious.”

“Perhaps because of their prevalence in nature, and because of the sacred quality that humans attribute to nature, spirals have been used in a range of religious and sacred architecture. At the archaeological site of Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico you can see this. Mitla (or the place of the dead) was a site of great religious significance in the Zapotec civilization. I went to visit Mitla on a trip to Mexico and I found the intricate geometric patterns carved into the palace building to be absolutely fascinating. One repeating pattern was the spiral. My tour guide told me that the spiral signified both the wind and the feathered serpent deity known as Quetzalcoatl, an important deity in all Mesoamerican cultures. Indeed, further research confirmed that the motif behind these geometric patterns was Quetzalcoatl, a deity which the inhabitants of Mitla believed they were descended from.” (1)