#uillean

It's hard to know where to start with this. Spirals represent so many things for me. At the most fundamental level, it's a circle that is constantly expanding and contracting. It is an implied infinity, one with a specific perspective, that cuts off where we can no longer see.

We can only see from our own position and perspective in the universe. From our position in the present, our past exists inside of us and our future spirals outwards in front of us. Most of life is this way.

I believe time is a cycle, a wave of infinitely smaller and larger fractals, depending on different factors. There's the cycle of one's life, the cycle of ups and downs, the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of progression and regression, etc. etc. There's so many different cycles inside the full cycle of time. Some believe the time cycle is a perfect circle, always starting and ending the same way, with no possibility of change or progression. Personally, I disagree. I think with each cycle we (meaning all beings during all of time) have the opportunity to turn the spiral inwards or outwards. Time marches on, and while it circles back on itself, (I personally believe) it is different each time.

Time is a progression of cause-and-effect. Each choice made creates a spiral outwards of changes and adjustments made to the rest of the universe, like ripples in a pond. This is what creates and shapes fate (or wyrd).

I believe in the transmigration of the soul (reincarnation), which means I believe that our souls are immortal, spending each life in a different body. This inherently means life cannot be a circle, it must be a spiral, as the soul changes its position in the universe to begin the circle again.

As we learn and grow, our knowledge and talents begin spiraling outwards, cycling through the same systems of absorption, synthesis, interpretation, and application, growing larger in scope with each cycle. This is just as true for personal growth, emotional maturity, social skills, recovery, etc.

As we touch each other, and the world around us, it creates a feedback loop that either pulls us together or pushes us apart. We feed off of each other, what the other brings into our lives and how it affects us, but it cannot be in a straight line. Because as the other changes us, so do we change the other—cycling back and forth as we shift together in expansion or regression. There is no better symbol for this than two intertwining spirals, each pulling the other into itself, each shaping the other's next move.

Spirals are binding, not only on an occult/symbolic level, but literally—in the material world. Three-dimensional spirals are particularly binding. Vines wrap themselves in a spiral around another object, pulling it close to them and using it for stability. We wrap rope around and around two things we want to keep together, creating a spiral up and down the objects. To keep hair out of our faces, we spiral it around itself, either a simple two-strand twist, or three (or more!) sections in more intricate patterns, but its all still fundamentally spiraling around itself. Spirals are strength, spirals are security, spirals are reinforcement.

Spirals to me are the rounds we take on sacred sites, or to reinforce boundaries. It is an ancient Irish tradition to circle our friends or sacred sites in greeting, three times in a sunwise (clockwise) direction. On sacred sites, there are usually concentric circular banks, with depressions in the bank to move from one to the next. This inherently means that in walking each round, you spiral closer to the centre. It is most polite and/or auspicious to make these circles in a sunwise direction, with anti-sunwise being used for cursing. I personally (along with many others) believe that anti-sunwise circles bring us closer to the Otherworld, while sunwise circles moves us closer to this world. On a sacred site, anti-sunwise could be used to reach the Otherworld yourself (which is dangerous, leading to a taboo). Sunwise could equally be used to pull Others here, to visit us in this world. If my theory is correct, then spirals are perfect for this, as they draw things together.

I connect all of these concepts with the Ogham fid of Uillenn, whose symbol is a spiral— ᚗ. Uillenn means "elbow" and is connected to honeysuckle (uilen in Old Irish, and uilen can also mean "the whole, everything"). That is probably outside the scope of your question, however😅

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I hope this was at all helpful or relevant, or at the very least—interesting! Honestly, I could go on and on, but this answer is long enough😮‍💨