READING THE SIGNS...
What's behind the symbolism found in formations?
PART THREE
It's often said that a picture paints a thousand words, for they frequently appear to express many things on many levels. And similarly through the picture-power of symbolism, there's much that can be visually expressed in what can seem like an infinite number of ways. One man's pentagram for instance, could also be regarded as someone else's "Texaco sign".
Much of the symbolism employed in crop circles is of the "mix & match" variety. Jewish stars have been found in bed with Islamic crescents, and whilst that might seem like a somewhat sensitive pairing at first, it really isn't when you reason beyond that. For are we not on the receiving end of spiritual messages here which intentionally cut through division and blinkered dogma? With yet perhaps another nod in the direction of the past, could it be that "The Circlemakers" are trying to make us aware that despite such deep division between two major religions, they both share along with Christianity, the same Abrahamic source?
Trying to make sense of these transmissions that have undergone a re-mix isn't easy at times, but much of what they have to say is certainly tied to the past...that being the common denominator in fact! Time and time again they acknowledge a mystical yesteryear and wherever they land on the planet you can be sure it's upon ancient hallowed or sacred ground. Where they appear in Australia for instance is on old "Abbo" land and where they park themselves in North America is usually upon ancient Indian land. Therefore it really shouldn't come as any sort of surprise that we find them clustering around the Avebury/Silbury environs. And what's more in common with other locations that have a similar pedigree, they seem to insist on leaving their calling cards on an annual basis! To gather is to share...and it now seems that many of us are gathered in a sense to the same old fields year in year out by "The Circlemakers", just as our ancestors were drawn by ritual to stone circles. Without a doubt it seems, "The Circlemakers" are intentionally luring us back to our forgotten past...
The thoughts of the ancients that are locked forever within simple lines of expression are continually being placed before us. One such symbol that's as old and as common as the circle itself is...
THE RING
The above diagram illustrates a ringed circle (or double ringer) that appeared at the "Devils Punchbowl", Cheesefoot Head in Hampshire during July of '87. Although ringed circles or concentric circles were reported as far back as the '60's, it wasn't until the late '80's that they became quite commonplace. Whilst they now appear less frequent these days, they still nonetheless remain an essential ingredient in "The Circlemakers" repertoire.
A ring is the outline of a circle, so it's little wonder that we find that its symbolism appears to have much in common with the circle. Where the symbolism of a ring differs though, is that basically it's a binding symbol. A wedding ring for instance binds to a new state of union...a covenant or a vow of fulfilment. That which binds joins together, and because a ring is a line drawn that's without end, it's said to be for all eternity. The ring is often symbolised in crop circles as a message of the eternal marriage between spirit and matter.
A ring also acts as a boundary...it encircles, offers protection and craves attention for all that lies within. A number of crop circles over the years have been found encircled by an outer tracer ring that's often no more than a couple of stalks wide. Take for instance the thirteen-fold that appeared near Huish in Wiltshire during late July of 2003. The thin outer ring on this occasion had encircled a truly mesmerising event...
West Stowell nr. Huish, Wiltshire 2003 © Steve Alexander
Concentric rings that share the same centre, are separate rings with separate divisions. Likened to waves rippling outward from a single pebble thrown in a pond, here we have a transmission from a single source. When back in the late '80's early '90's when "ringers" were more commonplace, circles were often surrounded by five or six rings or so upwards (Fig.1 & Fig.2).
Fig. 1 Devizes, Wiltshire 1990 Fig. 2 Cheesefoot Head, Hampshire 1990
One interpretation is that each separate ring is a binding marriage of faith or religion if you like, that's separated by division. The message being that although they're many obvious differences between them, in reality they're never really separate from the source they're all derived from.
Surrounded by today's "jawdroppers" simple ringers don't appear to be a dead ringer for attracting attention. I'm sure "The Circlemakers" realise that though because these types have often been found in very prominent places of late, such as at Beckhampton along "Crop Circle Alley", and at the ancient Ridgeway near the Sanctuary etc. On one occasion in 2005 at Collingbourne Kingston in Wiltshire, they laid one down in a beautiful bluish-purple borage field... Now how's about that for attention seeking!
Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire 2005 © Steve Alexander
Now that they're less common though, it seems that by them undergoing a few subtle changes in basic appearance of late, we're now on the receiving end of some geometric fireworks! Take for example the beautiful set of concentric rings that appeared at Beckhampton Wilts, during July of 2003. Once again its outer ring was very narrow, and right at the very edge of the formation a small satellite/grapeshot circle was discovered that uncannily seemed to indicate precisely the direction of the nearby Avebury circle.
Now whilst I could never claim I was the first in this circle, I was definitely the last! But whilst this formation had obviously taken a well-trodden bashing by then, it still managed to retain some of its interesting features before the grim reaper had his wicked way!
Beckhampton, Wiltshire 2003 © Steve Alexander Fig 3
Although my sketches are a bit like the circles at times in that they're not perfectly precise, (Fig.4) below clearly shows that we have at the heart of this formation a Vesica Pisces that specifically defines the central circle. And whilst some might just look upon this formation as a bunch of rings of varying thickness separated by oddly measured distances, geometrically it clearly reveals it has an underlying sense of purpose. There's much more to it than that for as on many other occasions... what you see just isn't what you get!
Researcher Rod Bearcloud** looked upon it in terms of being a "stargate", in that it goes on to reveal five, six, (Fig.5) seven and even eight-fold stars with stunning precision.
Fig 4 Fig 5
A ring is a symbol of continuity...an eternal repeated time-cycle. Often this is symbolised as a serpent devouring his own tail. Of profound importance to many ancient cultures, this unique symbol has long been known as...
THE OUROBOROS
Condemned never to escape this cycle, the serpent is said to continually re-create itself, reflecting in a sense how nature in a self-sufficient manner continually creates and destroys.
Hill Barn, Badbury Wiltshire 2001 © Steve Alexander Fig 1
In alchemy a serpent illustrated as eating its own tail is not only seen to be sustaining itself but in so doing is also transferring matter...which in ages past was common alchemic practice. Because the Hill Barn formation had also presented us with a checkerboard floor as a three dimensional centrepiece, were "The Circlemakers" suggesting the imminent transference of matter from the third to the fifth?
G.T.© 2006 Text & Diagrams
* For more beautiful photographs of crop circles look no further than Steve Alexander's website at:
** In part two (Stargate) of his excellent DVD series "Seven Sacred Fires of the Star Nation People" Rod Bearcloud runs through a mind-blowing sequence of what he discovered within this formation.