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Flowers - alchemical art forms of nature

5/22/2018

Spring flowers

Where better to see sacred geometry, colour, the Elements and pure creative intent - the components of alchemical art - than in Nature. Spring flowers provide us with a feast for our senses and overtly display the use of sacred geometry and colour to perfection. As living yantras they can be used for meditation and reflection. And it is not surprising that we have given flowers additional symbolic meanings, then presented as gifts to convey these meanings in an intimate and personal way.

Personally I could look at flowers for hours as they are fascinating as well as beautiful - within them we can find all the rules of the geometric blueprint, colour combinations reflecting harmonious musical notes, pattern making, fractals, stimulating scents...and so much more. But mostly because it is such a pleasant experience to be with flowers.

It came to me to do this post while wandering through my garden, enjoying the spring flowers and taking the photographs below. Until using them in a gallery I hadn't realised how all except one (the red one at the end) include the colours purple, yellow and white. Something I will reflect on...

Keith Critchlow's -sacred geometry of flowers

Keith Critchlow's book "The Hidden Geometry of Flowers - Living rhythms, form and number" is a masterpiece of work examining the sacred geometry within flowers and also flowers as the original source of human life. To hear more listen to his presentation on the youtube video below.

Crystal Grids and Alchemical Art - fusing sacred geometry, light and the Elements

5/11/2018

Alchemical art

Alchemical Art is transformative, changing anyone who works with them. This can happen merely by looking at the artwork or being in its proximity. Each piece is contained within the sacred space of its boundaries and is a fusion of the dynamics of geometric forms, emotive colours and one or more of the Classical Elements. The latter may be symbolically represented in the image or made out of specific materials due to their symbolism or vibration. In this instance crystals were placed on four paintings of my alchemical art paintings to incorporate their qualities. The results were stunning to look at and to work with. It would have been interesting to add further Elements, such as bowls of water and burning essence for air and fire, and also to use sound to activate them.

Each of the alchemical art crystal grids were made by some participants of a crystal group run by Karin Bain. Karin has written an e-book called Networking With Crystals that will soon be available in paper form as well.

Crystal Grids

Crystal grids take many forms, they can be simple, intricate or complete. Invariably there is sacred geometry in their layout and so they are actually a yantra, or "thought form", the principle of all man-made sacred geometry artworks and structures. By adding the vibrations of specific crystals the crystal grid yantra becomes a pulsating vehicle for connecting your Mind to the underlying basis of reality. The effects are very personal.

Yantras are covered in detail in The Gateway Series books and I also recommend the book Yantra by Madhu Khanna.

Any sacred site using sacred geometry and specific earth materials brings additional vibrational qualities to their function and use. For example, Stonehenge and its bluestone rocks that were deliberately brought a great distance for their vibrational purposes. In the aerial image below notice how the central stone grid is enclosed within a larger Circle. It is part of a larger site that has several smaller yantra that all work together. This sacred structure is a huge crystal yantra that still has the capacity to draw thousands of people to it.

Aerial view of Stonehenge (Google Earth)

London Book Fair - Watkins Publishing Ltd

4/30/2018

It is always such a pleasure to visit the London Book Fair! Busy and buzzing with conversations in many languages you get a sense of the global love of books. As an author it is rewarding to experience the business side of publishing books and see the wheels of commerce in action. Also to see what are the current trends, to renew and make new connections. For their second year at the LBF the Society of Authors were there gathering up more authors and plan to keep coming - evidence that many authors like to see the LBF in action.

Watkins Publishing, publishers of The Gateway Series, beautifully displayed their latest publications. It was lovely to say hello to Etan (Watkins owner), Jo (Editorial Director) and Vicky (Director of Marketing) and to meet their latest recruits.

Boxed In - a guided visualisation

4/30/2018

Through guided visualiations you can gain incredible insights into your self. Imagery and symbolism are ways of sharing information that words sometimes cannot express eloquently or adequately enough.

Boxed In! was included in my latest Spring 2018 Newsletter. If you would like to receive my newsletters please use the link on my HOME page. I aim to produce at least 2 a year and do not use your email details for any other purposes.

Bio-Architecture - living structures

1/18/2018

The concept of Bio-Architecture emerged from Roger Green's 'International Sacred Geometry and Ecology' conferences. It is a term coined by Dan Winter who inspired many architects to use the geometry seen in nature's creations and integrate it into 'living' architecture. These principles are also incorporated into other environmental designs such as the Bloom the Desert projects.

Beautiful examples of bio-architecture can be found at Michael Rice’s website. Mike is considered to be the leading bio-architect and has completed over 400 projects, including houses, meditation huts and community spaces. He is an award winning architect and member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland. His stunning buildings blend nature, humanity and space. And are constructed using sacred geometry, designs of nature and feng shui. Naturally, ecology and the materials also are an important elements of the structures.

'Dreamfield' by bio-architect Mike Rice

Mike approaches his designs with the intent that everything is alive, interconnected and conscious. In essence a building is a living form! Being within such structures is invigorating, life sustaining, up-lifting....life enhancing.

Bio-Architecture conferences have been held in Budapest (2007) and South America. As a general theme, the merging of nature and man in designs is increasingly significant.

Mauve in Nature

1/12/2018

Regal mauve-purple, colour of limitless creativity and insight, is a stunning feature of nature's creations. Since my blog on Pantone's colour for 2018 I was intrigued to see how often nature used this stunning colour, especially since it was rare and expensive as a dye for such a long time and hence limited in its use by humans.

ULTRA VIOLET - Pantone Colour of the year 2018

1/4/2018

A stunning purple violet 18-3838 is the PANTONE colour for 2018. Tyrian (Imperial) purple tones were made out the secretion of predatory sea snails and used to be extremely expensive to produce, hence purple's association with royalty and special ceremonies.

Purple became an affordable dye around 1856 when the English chemist William Henry Perkin, aged 18, noticed that a compound from synthesised quinine dyed fabrics purple. He patented it, calling it anilin purple, and made a fortune from it. Then in 1859 the colour was renamed 'mauve' after the French name for the purple mallow flower (and the dye compound was named mauveine). Interestingly, it is only recently that purple printing has featured more on product packaging as the main colour.

Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.
Enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality. Nuanced and full of emotion, the depth of PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet symbolizes experimentation and non-conformity, spurring individuals to imagine their unique mark on the world, and push boundaries through creative outlets.
Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to Ultra Violet. The color is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world. The use of purple-toned lighting in meditation spaces and other gathering places energizes the communities that gather there and inspire connection. PANTONE

Man-made Circles and Spheres

1/3/2018

In celebration of the creativity of humanity here is a gallery of our PROLIFIC uses for the circle and sphere. From the invention of the wheel and construction of simple round buildings, using minimal materials and gaining maximum space, our uses for this most basic geometric construct are extensive. Simple and stunning, the sphere is the vessel of all geometric forms.

Circles all around us in nature!

1/2/2018

In celebration of the new annual cycle of 2018 I have put together a gallery of naturally occurring circles and spheres (without spirals). Enjoy!

'Blushing Satellite' - Indian band and healing music

1/2/2018

Tune into the healing music of Bengaluru-based 'Blushing Satellite', an Indian band whose music is based on the transformative healing of sound. Sound vibrations contain the geometric code structuring reality and the fabric of our being. Everything manifest from pure consciousness crystallises into existence through vibration. It is not surprising sound vibrations affect us to the core of our being.

This band maintains music is a form of therapy through cymatics (see my previous posts on this topic). Vocalist Ramanan Chandramouli says, "We create music and perform to tune the listener's attention inward, to slow down the thought process and bring the agitated mind to calm and restful state. This is where all healing happens." As John Stuart Reid states, "It is worth remembering that Pythagorus of Somas...also believed that music could be used as medicine and contributes greatly to health, if used in an appropriate manner...by using music in the place of medicine."

Music therapy is already used widely as a clinical discipline but John Stuart Reid is conducting research to validate the hypothesis that individual frequencies within sound can support healing in the body. He is currently investigating whether music can lengthen the life of human blood cells.

Gateway to the Heavens
A glorious work that fires the imagination and helps us appreciate the truth of our reality.
NEXUS magazine (Aug - Sept 2014)

'Do you realise you actually shape your destiny and shapes influence your destiny. If you want to understand how this works ask Karen to give a talk about it or read her excellent book. You may have hated even the mention of geometry at school, but Karen's simple and illustrated explanations will give you a real insight into this fascinating topic.'
Jo Pelle, NSFH

The Hidden Geometry of Life
The harmony in our world and the cosmos is awe-inspiring, and is brilliantly portrayed here in images and words which reveal the connection between art, geometry, science, consciousness and spirituality.... An illuminating book indeed!
NEXUS magazine (June - July 2012)

'The attentive audience was enthralled by Karen's introduction to the principals of this truly multi-dimensional topic ... The energy in the room, by the end of the evening, was well and truly charged!'
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