The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul

by Jill Purce

As the inward-winding labyrinth, it constitutes the hero’s journey to the still center where the secret of life is found. As the spherical vortex, spiraling through its own center, it combines the inward and outward directions of movement.In this original and engrossing book, Jill Purce traces the significance of one man’s central symbols from the double spirals of Stone Age art and the interlocking spirals of the Chinese Yin Yang symbol to the whorls of Celtic crosses, Maori tattoos and the Islamic arabesque. Many of the superb images here were intended as objects of contemplation; for the spiral is a cosmic symbol.Art and Imagination series : These large-format, gloriously-illustrated paperbacks cover Eastern and Western religion and philosophy, including myth and magic, alchemy and astrology. The distinguished authors bring a wealth of knowledge, visionary thinking and accessible writing to each intriguing subject.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Art, Philosophy, Mythology

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 1974

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book packs a tremendous amount of very densely written information into a concise package.

While there are only about 24 pages of text the discussion is so rich and compact that it's best read just a page or even a few paragraphs at a time. Likewise, the 100 pages of images and description is best lingered over and reviewed again and again.

The spiral and associated shapes encode some of the deeper esoteric teachings and this book is a valuable guide to assimilating this knowledge on a deep level.

But it's not a quick and easy read, or at least it wasn't for me.

[Anneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and unusual book with an excellent variety of plates (loved 40, 41!) demonstrating many religious as well as secular representations of the labyrinth/spiral within global cultures. Not necessarily a beginner-friendly book, often name-dropping writers etc as though you were already supposed to be familiar with their work/oeuvre. I’m glad I took that Irish Literary Renaissance class last year so I could have greater context for Yeats’ diagrams. What a weird dude… Anyways, I also thought that the diagrams in the margins were a playful and effective way to make layout work in your favor. Made me think of the tradition of marginalia in religious transcription practices. I thought it was really compelling to consider how these kinds of religious diagrams and spiral representations are only man’s attempt at visualizing the infinite. Because of our own finite nature, we necessarily find ourselves limited in our capacity to imagine this. Cool writings on the argument of god being immanent vs transcendent. Who freaking knows, man…

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

die Bilder im Anhang sind ganz ok aber sonst

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love these thames and hudson books. here is a very good introduction to sacred geometry . a self initiation if you will. from the spiral calics on the back of a babies head to the structure of whirlpools and star clusters , from Pythagorean examinations to modern dna molecules

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic overview of the meaning of the spiral through various religious and spiritual beliefs over time. Quickie informative read.

[Monzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dense summary of a topic that spreads across all cultures and religions; a topic that appears across millennia, from art and holy books to literature and the occult. The author did an amazing job condensing it, and every word counts

[Silvio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, super dense and all over the place, but very inspiring!

[Laurel]

Loved it.