The First of May

Fetal Venus & Her First Dove (sketch #1) - digital - 2024, DS.

I am sorry for the delay with posting. I must have totally revised the intended post several times this past month, but it is still stalled; it may never be published on this blog. Meanwhile, in the real world... well, let's face it, if it's not one existential crisis, it's another... or, perhaps, one on top of the other... a parfait of stress factors.

As I write, however, it is May Day... which means two very different things, depending upon who you are and where you live. For some it is International Worker's Day. For others its a banking holiday. But, for many of us, it's the daytime leg of the ancient Celtic holiday of Beltane/May Day... specifically those of us in the Northern hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere, Samhain is celebrated, (if  I'm reading this correctly). And, this provides us with an interesting symmetry.

For some reason, things always seem a bit more peculiar around the April/May cusp for me, and I don't think it's an astrological phenomenon. Beltane and the Germanic Walpurgis Night (see St. Walpurga) are very much like Samhain (or Halloween) in that the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest; the difference being that the dead who walk on Beltane night are seeking rebirth. Perhaps, they're hoping they'll be conceived on May Day... a very Venus/Aphrodite day, due to the planet's astrological rulership over the sign of Taurus the Bull, and Aphrodite's role as fertility goddess. However, while May Day evokes chaplets of spring flowers and circling around maypoles, Beltane, the nocturnal leg of the holiday, is a fire festival. The following quote was sourced from James Frazier's classic, The Golden Bough:

"The people believed that on that evening and night the witches were abroad and busy casting spells on cattle and stealing cows’ milk. To counteract their machinations, pieces of rowan-tree and woodbine, but especially of rowan-tree, were placed over the doors of the cow-houses, and fires were kindled by every farmer and cottar. Old thatch, straw, furze, or broom was piled in a heap and set on fire a little after sunset. While some of the bystanders kept tossing the blazing mass, others hoisted portions of it on pitchforks or poles and ran hither and thither, holding them as high as they could. Meantime the young people danced round the fire or ran through the smoke shouting, 'Fire! blaze and burn the witches; fire! fire! burn the witches.' In some districts a large round cake of oat or barley meal was rolled through the ashes. When all the fuel was consumed, the people scattered the ashes far and wide, and till the night grew quite dark they continued to run through them, crying, 'Fire! burn the witches'."

Apparently, in the 18th century, the Beltane fires were meant to metaphorically burn witches. Possibly, in previous centuries Beltane fires literally did burn witches. It's not really clear to me. But, it is ironic that it is the Wiccans and "heathens" (of the future) who've essentially revived the bonfire tradition... and ran with it!

However, we've moved past the night into the prettier and more benign May Day. Wiki, in the Beltane entry, describes the traditional May Tree or May Bough as being a: " a small tree or branch - typically hawthorn, rowan, holly or sycamore - decorated with bright flowers, ribbons, painted shells or eggshells from Easter Sunday... The tree would either be decorated where it stood, or branches would be decorated and placed inside or outside the house... the tree would remain up until May 31st. The tree would also be decorated with candles or rushlights."

Lovely.

Enjoy your holiday!

***

Regarding the two images above - Fetal Venus With Her First Dove (above), and Fetal Dove with the Planet Venus (inset right) - both are sketches I made earlier this year when I possessed a more competent graphics program. I no longer do and am not sure when I will, so, these images will have to stand for the originals; I just wish they were the images I originally had in mind. (Note: Phi shells look as if they were designed for the embryonic; don't you think?)

What I failed to mention in this post, however, is that my "fetal" images had an actual precedent, and my original idea was to post my embryonic Venus images along with the image that inspired them (posted after the jump). It's interesting to juxtapose spiral images of Venus from various periods. And, considering she's been an artistic subject for almost 3000 years, there's a lot of images to cover; I may as well start now!

(Continued...)

An Auspicious Day

The Three Golden Eggs of Happiness, G-DS-2024
Alternative title: 3 Sleeping Doves

We seem to be experiencing a grand trine of celebratory days today: the first day of spring, the neo-pagan and Wiccan holiday of Ostara, and the first day of the Persian new year! So, put aside your woe and despair and knock yourself out with the pleasure of impractical things - we've hit the jackpot!

I found three (pretty-much) perfect golden eggs (sourced here)... and, now, you have!

Smile. You'll feel better. It's a known fact. :-)

The Paisley Pattern & the Golden Meme

Phi shells served up on a modern paisley fabric (sourced here).
Geometry: 2024, DS.

"meme - n. a unit of practice or belief through which a society or culture evolves and that passes from one generation (or even one person) to the next. In this sense, the term — coined in 1976 by British  biologist Richard Dawkins (1941–  ) and derived from the Greek word for “imitation”— is a kind of metaphorical parallel to the term gene."

-  An interesting definition of "meme" found in the online American Psychological Association's Dictionary. As a "metaphorical" gene, in lieu of its lack of actual physicality, we can expect a meme to operate in a manner similar to the gene: subconsciously and/or subliminally. Unlike the gene, it is transferred from one mind to the other... often in the form of a symbol, although not necessarily a visual symbol.

The images posted above, and inset right, and inset left and right below are the result of a new 2-dimensional toy I developed last year and introduced in The Universe in a Phi Shell: phi shells. I can't remember what inspired me to make phi spirals into phi shells, but it was probably pretty elementary. However, once I saw the effect the shells produced on some images, I was astounded. In so many cases the phi shell was like an envelope - die-cut to fit a golden spiral - or a custom-made template... with maybe a little wiggle room.

Sometimes, working with a phi shell leads to repositioning the original spiral. Inset right is a prime example: Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles by 17th century Dutch painter (and Bentvueghel), Karel Dujardin. (See the post for the former spirals.) As concise as this spiral appears, it could be larger and better... but, As we see time and time again, some portion of the necessary image area is missing. What sold me on the orientation of this spiral, however, is the way the boy's right arm - holding the bubble pipe - falls so neatly into the small triangle. It's as if the boy is drawing the spiral in the air.

"Proponents theorize that memes are a viral phenomenon that may evolve by natural selection in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution. Memes do this through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance, each of which influences a meme's reproductive success. Memes spread through the behavior that they generate in their hosts. Memes that propagate less prolifically may become extinct, while others may survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate. Memes that replicate most effectively enjoy more success, and some may replicate effectively even when they prove to be detrimental to the welfare of their hosts."

- A cautionary quote from the Wiki entry for "meme," and one that might make a certain amount of sense to those acquainted with what I've come to refer to as the "Golden Meme." I could even go so far as to says this might be reflected in my own experience... including the "detrimental to their hosts" bit, but, I try not to entertain fantastical innuendos that accelerate my level of paranoia.

"When Pacioli (the Renaissance mathematician) wrote in his Divina Proportione: '.. just like God cannot be properly defined, nor can be understood through words, likewise this proportion of ours cannot ever be designated through intelligible numbers, nor can it be expressed through any rational quantity, but always remains occult and secret, and is called irrational by the mathematicians'... he seemed to be equating the golden ratio with a variety of magical formula. That is, through his recognition and understanding of "this proportion of ours" he was attempting a marriage between several disciplines: science, art and mysticism. And, this wasn't unusual for the early Western scientists, many who dabbled in astrology, numerology and alchemy side by side with astronomy, mathematics, botany... and the arts. The scientific field was wide open - the hard lines were still blurred...

The "new scientists" were seeking enlightenment, autonomy, discovery, truth. And, it was into this slowly reawakening world that the pentagonal spiral made its appearance... and not necessarily for the first time. Similar to the sign of the pentagram - by which the followers of Pythagoras "knew each other" - perhaps, the "sign" of the pentagonal spiral enabled the Baroque artists to identify like-minded artists... kindred spirits in a world in which freedom did not, yet, ring."

"Keep in mind that the spiral was also present in Baroque ornamentation... and possibly somewhere in Baroque music, too.  So, were the artists, artisans, and musicians completely aware of its proportions and using it as a measure of perfection and beauty? Or, was the proliferation of golden spirals (at that time) an almost paranormal thing... or a variety of subliminal meme... an unconsciously recognized icon which was possibly a symbolic presentiment on the part of an artistic community who were, without noticing it, heralding an evolutionary phase of a whole society?"

A Baroque flourish (w/ phi shells). G-DS-2024.

- Two quotes via my blogpost: The Gentilischi Spirals and a Series Afterword. One painting appearing in that post is the image reposted (inset right) above the flourish: Orazio Gentileschi's Young Woman with a Violin. It's phi shell is looser than the original spiral I gave it, which, resting on her lap like a humongous sea shell, gives the image a somewhat comical appeal... but the spiral and triangle intercepts the young woman's bow perfectly, so, we have to admire its cleverness.

The flower painting, inset left, above her, however, was the work of Dutch Baroque artist, Willem Van Aelst and can be found in Part III of the Bentvueghel series, where we become acquainted with the curious appearance of the garden snail in flower paintings. And, really, if the Dutch flower painters used the snail as a clue indicating that a larger spiral was deliberately embedded in their paintings, well, all I can say is, what a brilliant idea!

Directly above is a portion of a Baroque ornament recently found (now decorated with phi shells). Not all Baroque flourishes were as golden as this one, but, considering the quantity of spirals appearing on furniture, architecture and textiles, the golden meme was alive and well.

***

For the past few years, I've spent a lot of quality time pondering the meaning of the appearance of the pentagonal golden ratio in works of art, artifacts and in architecture. I can't say for sure why this is so anymore, but, once upon a time, there seemed to be a point. I had a plan. Nowadays, I have to ask myself, why in the world would anyone actually sit down and spend a great deal of quality time blogging about obscure topics to an evaporating audience while everything in the surrounding area (the world, that is) seems to be either rapidly going down the tubes, or up in flames?

And, this isn't the first time I've asked myself this question!

On the other hand, blogging about obscure topics to an evaporating audience - in view of the tubes and flames - presently encourages my survival. Perhaps, blogging is kind of a therapy after all. Or, perhaps, in an absurd world, doing nonsensical things in response to Armageddon is appropriate.

And, it is in this state of mind I will reveal my latest pentagonal phi epiphany... which just happens to regard a description I've used previously: subliminal meme. The kind of meme that just might slip into an image while the artist was totally unaware of it, as it did in 2012, when I created Metamorphosis Interrupted, reposted (inset left), with a phi shell that fits the unfortunate worm like a chrysalis! (See: A Virtual Can of Worms.) 

Generally speaking, the unconsciously produced spirals in the images referred to in the Worms post were not all that strong. However, the worm's proportions in Metamorphosis is very close to perfect. But, while I was aware that I was being very finicky about the shape of the worm's body while creating it, in reality, at the time of its creation, I had never even heard of the pentagonal golden spiral!

 

So, is this an indication of phi "on the brain"? Are our brains somehow wired to its aesthetic or does it go deeper than that? Is this why the ratio was referred to as "divine" - in that it is embedded so deeply in our consciousness we assume it is an outer force? Or, when we find it in organic life, is it merely the imprinted diagram of actual physical forces science is already aware of?

Or, taking into consideration the nature of a meme, can you actually "catch it" like the common cold?*

Speaking of brains, I was delighted to find an image of one that seamlessly fits into a phi shell (inset right). Of course, humans tend to have rounded skulls, so it should come as no total surprise. But, then again, the image is an illustration and not an MRI, so, this is an artistic interpretation (and a very nice one) by Hank Grebe.

I didn't notice this till I was adding my geometry "stamp" to the image, but what lies at (a very important) 3-cornered junction of the spiral nearest to the coil - technically, the apex of the smallest golden triangle (and its spiral) - is that notorious pine-cone-shaped brain element, the mysterious pineal gland or "third eye." Oddly enough, it is depicted here as another tiny golden triangle (click for enlargement.)

(Continued below the jump...)

The Universe in a Phi Shell

M74, or the Phantom galaxy... embellished with a phi shell. (G-DS-2024).

'The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."

- H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu, 1926.

"Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is a stunning example of a "grand-design" spiral galaxy that is viewed by Earth observers nearly face-on. Its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanate from the central nucleus and are dotted with clusters of young blue stars and glowing pink regions of ionized hydrogen (hydrogen atoms that have lost their electrons). These regions of star formation show an excess of light at ultraviolet wavelengths. Tracing along the spiral arms are winding dust lanes that also begin very near the galaxy's nucleus and follow along the length of the spiral arms.

M74 is located roughly 32 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Pisces, the Fish... In its entirety, it is estimated that M74 is home to about 100 billion stars, making it slightly smaller than our Milky Way."

- Via this Hubble page, we are introduced to the M74 galaxy discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1780. It is a kind of go-to spiral galaxy for those seeking spiral perfection. Of course, for the golden (pentagonal) spiral hunter, gazing at it's sinuous, twisting, mollusk-like proportions is sheer bliss... as, if there were a God and It had a face, this would be it. (God the mollusk! The Mollusk god. So, burn me at the stake. See if I care.)

"Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628 and Phantom Galaxy) is a large spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation Pisces. It is about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy. The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. Its relatively large angular (that is, apparent) size and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 hosts about 100 billion stars."

- This quote was sourced from the Wiki entry for M 74, along with the galaxy image used in this post (inset left). That the Phantom is considered an "archetypal example" of a "grand design spiral galaxy" is kind of interesting... in light of the fact that it is composed of 2 near-perfect pentagonal golden spirals. (And, when discussing massive deep-space objects, "close" is about as good as it gets.)

"This Hubble Space Telescope photo of Messier 74 reminds us that spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals. New research finds that spiral arms are self-perpetuating, persistent, and surprisingly long lived."

"How the spiral arms form continues to puzzle scientists. One theory suggests the galaxy arms could be the result of density waves traveling through the outer disk. Encounters between galaxies could cause such waves as the mass of the smaller galaxy could affect the structure of the larger galaxy as the two combine."

- Two quotes from this Space.com article... reminding us of how little is known - and how much there is to know - about our cosmos.

***

I'm a busy woman these days, and I hate it. All it amounts to is more stress. But, tell that to an artist's muse. Time perplexes muses. They simply don't get it.

So, I currently have five posts sitting on the back burner, an unfinished digital image - my first formal digital image since my 2022 car accident - a ceramic project that MUST go into production this month, and a number of tedious life issues to deal with... and deal with, and deal with. But, then, last night I came across this photograph (inset right) of M74, the Phantom galaxy and, within minutes, I found myself absorbed in playing with my latest graphic toy, a phi shell (rhymes with seashell)... trying to decide which color to use from my ever-growing palette. In the end, only the white shell did the Phantom any justice, and even this had to be almost transparent... to endow it with that certain marine life appeal which, for whatever reason, seemed appropriate.

Anyway, I decided to post 2 images to the blog for the (freakish) enjoyment of those who, like myself, delight in this sort of thing. (Yes, in case you haven't noticed it, we constitute a minority.)

Oh, and incidentally, the "phi shell" - my attempt to give the common mathematical diagram a little extra-dimensional pizazz - will be appearing quite often in the coming days. I confess; I'm hooked on phi shells now, and there's no help for it!

Adieu, till next time... :-)

Via the ESA: a multi-observatory view of the Phantom.

The Heart Nebula & the Flaming Heart of Venus

The Heart Nebula (detail) - Photo credit: 2022, Ernie-Jacobs. Geometry: 2024, DS.

 "What's that inside the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. It's shape perhaps fitting of the Valentine's Day, this heart glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula's center. In the heart of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their energetic light and winds. The open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of the mythological Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia)."

- Via this NASA archive page: In the heart of the heart nebula. Basically, the Heart Nebula - in the constellation Cassiopeia, composed of 5 major stars - seems to be an artifact created by gases from the birth processes of new stars, but, well, nothing I've read simplifies it to that degree, so it's merely my guess. In any case,  it's very impressive looking... like looking into the innards of an exploded star (nova) or a bubbling cosmic cauldron. Also, see its companion: the Soul Nebula... and an interesting star, φ Cassiopeiae.

Inset right is a cardioid animation, created by Atomic Shoelace, and sourced from the Wiki entry for Heart Symbol. I've never seen this before, but, looking at it now, it appears that the cardioid and the pentagonal golden spiral have something in common.

(continued after the jump-break...)

Five Spirals for December - #5 Song of the Morning by Nicholas Roerich

Song of the Morning, 1920, Nicholas Roerich. Nicholas Roerich Museum, NY.
Geometry: 2023, DS.

"The Awareness of beauty will save the world."

- Nicholas Roerich

"The pursuit of refinement and beauty was sacred for Roerich. He believed that although earthly temples and artifacts may perish, the thought that brings them into existence does not die but is part of an eternal stream of consciousness—man’s aspirations nourished by his directed will and by the energy of thought. Finally, he believed that peace on Earth was a prerequisite to planetary survival and the continuing process of spiritual evolution, and he exhorted his fellow man to help achieve that peace by uniting in the common language of Beauty and Knowledge.

...Nicholas Roerich died in Kullu on December 13, 1947. His body was cremated and its ashes buried on a slope facing the mountains he loved and portrayed in many of his nearly seven thousand works.

As he wrote: 'Let us be united—you will ask in what way? You will agree with me: in the easiest way, to create a common and sincere language. Perhaps in Beauty and Knowledge.'"

 - All quoted text above was sourced from Roerich.org. - the first (and most comprehensive) port of call for all things Roerich. But, the story of Russian Symbolist painter, Nicholas Roerich and his wife Helena is unusually extensive. The couple's Neo-Theosophical spiritualism was particularly influential in the States in the earlier half of the 20th century; so influential that there is actually a term for it: Roerichism. It is hard to believe that the Roerichs somehow faded into obscurity in America during the latter half of the century but they did.

(Note: Nicholas Roerich was first introduced on this blog in the Nijinsky post.)

"In December 1923, Roerich and his family arrived in Darjeeling, India in search of a mythical kingdom called “Shambhala”. Not to be found on any map, the Roerichs travelled across 25,000 kilometres of uncharted road to find the Kingdom that the Buddhists, Hindus, Tibetans and local healers so firmly believed in.

According to legend, with the spread of materialism, humanity would deteriorate and the people of Earth would unite under an Evil leader. This leader would attack the Kingdom of Shambhala with  terrible weapons and that’s when he would be defeated, ushering in a new Golden Era of peace and harmony. "

- Via the fascinating article: Explore the Himalayas : Paintings by Nicholas Roerich. Regarding the legend of the "evil world leader"... well, if prophetic, the question might be: which one?

The Hunt, 1937, Nicholas Roerich.

"Through the desolate summits swept raging intermittent gusts of the terrible antarctic wind; whose cadences sometimes held vague suggestions of a wild and half-sentient musical piping, with notes extending over a wide range, and which for some subconscious mnemonic reason seemed to me disquieting and even dimly terrible. Something about the scene reminded me of the strange and disturbing Asian paintings of Nicholas Roerich, and of the still stranger and more disturbing descriptions of the evilly fabled plateau of Leng which occur in the dreaded Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred."

- A paragraph from At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. Interestingly, Lovecraft references Roerich's "strange" paintings of the Himalayans several times during the tale. The painting above might be an example of what Lovecraft had in mind.

"Through his spiritual journeys into the Himalayas, Roerich also developed a deep sense of the role that the feminine principle had in the evolvement of humanity. Several of his paintings depict this importance, particularly, The Mother of the World. The Letters of Helena Roerich, written by his wife, explains the importance of this work: “The ‘Mother of the World’ is at the head of the Great Hierarchy of Light of our planet. Read in the Cryptograms of the East the narrative about the Mother of the World, and accept it as the highest reality.”

Helena Roerich further explains the inspiration for the painting, 'The star of the Mother of the World is the planet Venus. In 1924 this planet for a short time came unusually near to the Earth. Its rays were poured on Earth, and this created many new powerful and sacred combinations which will yield great results. Many feminine movements were kindled by these powerful rays.'"

- Via this Theosophical article: Nicholas Roerich: The Treasures Within.

Roerich was very close to his wife Helena. One might say they enjoyed a soul-mate relationship. Both were feminists and it was their belief in the World Mother that brought them into conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church (see: Sophiology) . Inset left is one version of the Mother of the World painted by Roerich in 1937.* The reference to Venus as the Mother's Star is interesting, and in the course of this post we will meet another reference.

***

There's something very special about the woman in Roerich's Song of the Morning.

To begin with, she's extremely beautiful. She's a brown woman... possibly Mongolian... with a fruit-of-the-earth, nuts and berries kind of beauty... but, she has another outstanding feature...