Recommended Read this week is 'Cymatics' by Hans Jenny (1904 - 1972). It is a primer for understanding the history of the field of cymatics (physics of sound), the geometry within sound waves and their creative influence. Probably best to read this first before last week's Recommended Read 'Interference Theory'.

Even our early ancestors knew that sound and its impact on us at a cellular level were highly important. Our depth of our understanding of the science of cymatics grows every day. The significance of sound in the creative process and its influence on us is becoming more mainstream since Jenny's early work.  John Stuart Reid's cymascope has contributed significantly to this field.


I have included a couple of YouTube videos at the end of this blog for those of you who are new to the subject. These stunning geometric patterns are like animated mandalas.

This original hardcover edition now seems to be a collectible item and secondhand copies are quite expensive. It is currently reprinting and is due out March 2022 - Floris Books.

Interference: A Grand Scientific Musical Theory by Richard Merrick
published by Richard Merrick
978-0-615-20599-1​

The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art and Architecture 
​by Gyorgi Doczi
Shambhala Publications Ltd
978-1-59030-259-0

A gem of architectural mystery, internally the Rosslyn Chapel is covered by carved images that have piqued the interest of historians trying to unravel their meaning. Made famous by Dan Brown's 'De Vinci Code' the chapel welcomes hundred of intrigued visitors every year, which helps to restore and maintain this delightful structure.

Founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair the chapel took only 40 years to build. Naturally, with so much overt symbolism, the Knights Templar and Scottish freemasonry are part of the chapel's history.

'The Rosslyn Motet' (2006) by Stuart Mitchell Music. Stuart composed this beautiful piece based on some 27 years of research by Thomas J Mitchell (Stuart's father) into the musical references of the Rosslyn Chapel carvings of organised cubes, now called the Rosslyn Frequency. The first youtube below describes this research and its links with cymatics, and the second introduces the Rosslyn Motet.
Purchase the Rosslyn Motet from Stuart's store.

​Rosslyn Chapel, Rosslyn, is located in stunning surroundings a short journey beyond the southern fringe of Edinburgh, Scotland.

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. 

MusicMadeVisible app  Music has always been associated with cymatics, the geometry within sound waves, and there are many examples where cymatic imagery is used as a visual, dynamic art form complementing the originating sounds. It is VERY exciting that John Stuart Reid, inventor of the CymaScope, has launched MusicMadeVisible. It is an app that allows anyone to capture the dynamic geometry of their musical creations, or recorded sounds such nature and even their our own voice! It is a brilliantly accessible way to harness the power of the cymascope and the apps potential for creating art forms is limitless.

Here are examples of the cymatics of two very different types of music - Pink Floyd's 'Welcome to the Machine' and dulcet tones of 'Clair de Lune':