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Monday, January 12, 2009

Spirals


Pendant by Becky Sharp of Becky Sharp Designs
(Read below for information about this item.)


Swirls and spirals are an image I have been drawn to since forever. Recently I was doing some research about this symbol.

Information I took from Wikipedia is as follows:

The spiral is the most ancient symbol found on every civilized continent. Due to its appearance at burial sites across the globe, the spiral most likely represented the "life-death-rebirth" cycle. Similarly, the spiral symbolized the sun, as ancient people thought the sun was born each morning, died each night, and was reborn the next morning.

The spiral plays a certain role in symbolism, and appears in megalithic art, notably in the Newgrange tomb or in many Galician petroglyphs such as the one in Mogor. See also triple spiral. While scholars are still debating the subject, there is a growing acceptance that the simple spiral, when found in Chinese art, is an early symbol for the sun. Roof tiles dating back to the Tang Dynasty with this symbol have been found west of the ancient city of Chang'an (modern-day Xian).

The spiral also represents infinance, or 'infinity.' Starting at a single point, and revolving outwardly until the end of the universe. Because of this, some civilizations believe that the Spiral is a pathway to the afterlife.

The study of spirals in nature have a long history, Christopher Wren observed that many shells form a logarithmic spiral. Jan Swammerdam observed the common mathematical characteristics of a wide range of shells from Helix to Spirula and Henry Nottidge Moseley described the mathematics of univalve shells. D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson's On Growth and Form gives extensive treatment to these spirals.

As part as seeking out images of spirals I came across an artist who makes jewelry. The gorgeous heart with the spiral is one of her designs. I am so loving her jewelry and the wonderful spirals that appear on many of them. It just so happens that through another blog you can enter to win the beautiful and stunning heart pendant. You can also take advantage of a 25% discount being offered when making a purchase of Becky's jewelry. Please visit the blog Finding the Joy In the Journey here and Becky's website called Becky Sharp Designs by clicking here.

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