The spiral, eternal symbol of change and life
A continuous line that wraps around a fixed point, without ever returning to itself: this is how dictionaries define it spiral. In reality, it is not just an element of geometry: the spiral it is a recurring form in nature and for this reason it is also found in many cultures, from arts to religions, with strong symbolic meanings. Since ancient times, in fact, it has been used to represent cyclicality, evolution, the movement of life and the connection between the human and the divine.
The spiral in nature: the path of life
The symbolism associated with this form over the centuries arises from observation of the natural world. There are many examples, in the animal and vegetal kingdom: the petals of many flowers, such as roses, or the shells of molluscs often follow a spiral. This immediately made us think, since ancient times, of a connection between this curved line, wrapped around itself, and the manifestation of life as cycles of change and transformation.
It is a recurring shape even outside our planet: in the cosmos many galaxies, such as the Milky Way, are made spiral, with arms wrapped around a central core. And it is also found, inversely, in the infinitely small: DNA, which contains the genetic information of human beings, has a double helix structure.
There is an interesting link between nature and mathematics: often, in fact, the shapes of plants or shells are logarithmic spirals, which follow a precise series of numbers called Fibonacci sequence, from the name of the Italian mathematician who discovered it in the early 1200s. This sequence of numbers is linked to the golden number, which is often found in nature, such as in the shell of the Nautilus mollusc, and which represents an ideal of beauty and harmony.
In art: from a symbol of aesthetic perfection to an expression of creativity
For this reason, scheme a spiral which derives from the Fibonacci sequence has also been applied by numerous artists. A famous example is Leonardo da Vinci, who used this structure in the famous portrait of Gioconda, but also in the fresco ofLast Supper and in the design ofVitruvian Man.
But the spiral returns in many works of art from different eras. Two famous examples are the Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh (1898) and the works of Gustav Klimt from the early twentieth century.
In the first painting, Van Gogh places beams of light in the night sky that wrap around themselves, giving a sensation of movement that contrasts with the other fixed stars.
Klimt, among the recurring geometric shapes in his paintings, often uses the symbol of spiral, linked to the curved forms of Viennese Secessionism: dominates in the branches ofTree of Life, all composed of scrolls of different sizes, but often returns in the decorative details of the clothes of his female characters, as in Bacio or Judith. In Virgin the spiral is in the decoration of the dress in the foreground, but it is above all in the composition of the seven female bodies protagonists of the painting.
The spiral as a spiritual symbol of rebirth and connection with the divine
In many religions this symbol represents man's spiritual path and his connection with divinity.
In ancient cultures the spiral was used in sacred buildings, such as in the Ionic capitals that decorated Greek temples, or in artefacts dedicated to funerary rites. In Christianity it was associated with the vine branch, symbol of Christ and eternal life. In the Celtic tradition, one of the best-known icons is the triskelion, made up of three identical spirals united in the centre, which indicates the cyclical nature of life in the union between the past , present and future.
Eastern philosophies and religions associate the spiral to the concept of rebirth and the eternal cycle of life. One of the symbols of Buddhism is the conch (Sankha in Sanskrit), which represents strength and protection from evil and is also used as a musical instrument at the beginning of Buddhist ceremonies. The wheel of Dharma also recalls the spiral, which represents the law of the universe and the path to enlightenment.
The Spirals collection
The Spirali collection is a great classic among Daverio1933 jewels. A symbol devoted to beauty for a timeless collection.
