On the Nautilus 2 December 2017 – Posted in: Reflections – Tags: , , , , , , ,

So many things have been said about the nautilus shell, that there’s hardly anything new I can bring to the table. Its shape is majestic, spiritual and iconic when it comes to “sacred geometry”, Pi and Phi, it is also symbolic of progression. It tells us that we cannot change what has already happened and we cannot return to where we once were – whether we like it or not and no matter how much we may resist it we evolve. What I can do, however, is to tell you about how it came into my life and why I chose it as a symbol for my new beginning.

Many people have seen, or may even have, across sections of the nautilus fossil, the nautilus coils around itself in ever-increasing sections. As the nautilus creature grows within the shell, it seals off each chamber, leaving a pocket of air which gives it buoyancy in the water. The cross-section of the shell that you see shows the Golden Mean spiral, which is represented by the Greek letter Phi. I remember a Disney production as a child that showed phi and pi in shapes and music. It was magical to watch them, and all these years later, through life’s experiences, I find myself inspired by the Golden Mean, the Nautilus and the repetition of Pi and Phi in nature, buildings, maths and science, our DNA – pretty much everything in life and the universe.

Several years ago, I was given a cross-section of the nautilus shell as a piece of jewellery. It came at a time when I was going through what I can only describe as a spiritual growth spurt. It also impacted my personal life, emotionally, as it meant making a hard and painful decision – ultimately for the best. The gift of the nautilus shell was and still is precious! I was so struck by it, that I felt compelled to look up the symbolism. Reading through what others had written was both painful and beautiful – it was as though the spiritual metaphor spoke to me personally. Even now, it still symbolises that period as well as other times of my life that I would never be able to go back to or change, including leaving Australia for England. However, each experience has given me strength (buoyancy) in an unexpected way, to continue to grow and move forward.

Oliver Wendell Holmes saw the metaphorical significance of the chambered home of the Nautilus a century and a half ago. The nautilus shell is spiral in shape and consists of a series of ever-larger chambers in each of which the sea creature lives for a season until it outgrows that space. The Nautilus then enlarges its shell by the addition of a new chamber suitable for the next stage of its life.

The spiral shape of the nautilus shell suggests that it can keep growing forever. There is no design for a “final” chamber. The creature must keep building new chambers as long as it lives. It cannot go back to the previous ones; they no longer fit. It cannot stay in its present space or it will die. It has no choice but to move on. And on.

If you delve further into sacred geometry and how it is found in nature you will discover the Golden Ratio or the Fibonacci Sequence. What I find fascinating is the key to this is the link between progression of growth and proportion – pi/ phi.  This connection must get you thinking about the interconnection of all things.

L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, Paris, France.
Photo by Won Young Park on Unsplash

As mentioned above, as I started to write about this, I googled the Walt Disney film on sacred geometry – it’s called ‘Donald Duck: Mathmagic Land’ and I managed to find it on YouTube! Have a look when you get a second, at about 9 minutes in it mentions the sacred spiral Pi and the Fibonacci sequence and shows how from a mathematical perspective all these things fit – music, architecture, plants, shapes, nature and so on, I particularly love the fact Donald Duck is speaking to Spirit! Just for fun, I also came across this music representation of Pi, a few years ago.

As a spiritualist, I know life is progressive, I know that I will survive physical death. Saying this, it does not stop me from feeling the growing pains of life. I chose the Nautilus as inspiration for a symbolic design to remind me and perhaps those of you who read this, we are always evolving, expanding and growing.

Remember, we can never go back, we can only move forward.