The Universal Motif that Unites Biology, Herbalism and Soul

The Sacred Geometry of Spirals

The spiral is one of Nature’s most persistent signatures, a pattern that repeats itself from the tiniest shell to the galaxies overhead. Its recurrence suggests not mere chance but a deep principle of organisation, a geometry of becoming. Spirals are not confined to one dimension of life; they are etched into waters flow, into the growth of plants, into the architecture of our own bodies and into the very course of our healing journeys. To walk the spiral path is to move forward while circling back, to evolve not in a straight line but in widening arcs that return us again and again to familiar ground, each time at a higher turn of the coil.

The Recurring Motif

Water itself, the cradle of life, prefers the spiral. The eddies of a stream, the roll of ocean waves, the spinning vortex of a whirlpool, all reveal the same choreography. Plants too bear this imprint: the curving tendrils of vines, the phyllotaxis of succulents, the tightly ordered spirals of pinecones, sunflowers and ferns. The spiral appears wherever life seeks efficiency, beauty and resilience. As Pablo Neruda wrote, “At night I dream that you and I are two plants that grew together, roots entwined, and that you know the earth and the rain like my mouth, since we are made of earth and rain.”

Science gives us many ways to understand this phenomenon. The physicist sees spirals as the most energy-efficient form, the chemist describes reaction-diffusion processes that create spiral waves, the biologist observes how spiral leaf arrangements optimise access to sunlight. The mystic, however, perceives something beyond efficiency: a symbol of infinity woven into the fabric of the finite, a sign that life never merely repeats itself but unfolds in cycles of renewal. Spirals grow outward without losing their form, embodying permanence amid change. As Rumi reflected, “We sit inside the cypress shadow where amazement and clear thought twine their slow growth into us.”

The Human Spiral

The spiral lives within us. At the most fundamental level, our DNA forms a double helix, encoding life in coiled ladders of possibility. Our fascia, the connective tissue that envelops every organ, muscle and vessel, also follows spiral dynamics, transmitting subtle movements and tensions across the whole body. This web makes us not a machine of separate parts but a seamless organism where a twist in one area reverberates through the whole.

Yoga recognises this spiralic architecture: twisting postures wring toxins from tissues, restore fluidity to the spine and reawaken the body’s inner intelligence. Our very circulation and nervous system follow branching, spiralling routes that mirror the winding patterns of climbing vines. Healing, too, unfolds in spirals. We circle through old wounds, returning to them not as we were but as who we are becoming. Each recurrence is a deeper integration, a wider embrace of what it means to be whole. As Mirabai sang, “Within the body are gardens, rare flowers, peacocks, the inner music; within the body a lake of bliss, on it the white soul swans take their joy.”

The Plant Spiral

Herbalism reflects this spiralic truth. A herb never acts in a linear fashion; it spirals through the systems, influencing digestion, circulation, nerves, immunity and spirit all at once. Its chemistry moves through the body in interconnected ways, activating pathways that loop back to nourish the whole. Healing with plants is rarely a straight course, it is a spiralic process of discovery, where remedies lead us not simply forward but inward, downward, upward, outward, until we find ourselves transformed.

Trees remind us that spirals are not only patterns of growth but also strategies of survival. Conifers twist predominantly clockwise, hardwoods counter-clockwise. Spiral grain allows for sharing of resources throughout the organism; water carried from a single root distributed evenly to all branches, sugars from one branch feeding the entire root system. Bristlecone pines, ancient beings rooted in the most exposed mountain ridges, twist themselves into spirals to endure the harshest winds and sun. Their spiralic form is an expression of resilience, a slow-motion yoga aligning themselves with the forces of the earth and sky.

As Thomas Myers observes, “The collagenous net (connective tissue) is to animals what cellulose is to plants, the scaffolding around which everything else is built. Plant cellulose maximises stability over movement, whereas collagen favours mobility with the price being a more dynamic stability. Our stability requires constant maintenance.” The spiral provides this maintenance, a way to remain flexible yet whole, dynamic yet grounded.

The Spiral Path of Growth

To grow is not to progress in a straight line but to spiral. Healing is rarely linear; it curves back through memory, habit and old pain, yet each return arrives at a new vantage point. Spiritual development too is a spiral; we revisit familiar lessons, but with each turn the circle widens, encompassing more awareness, more compassion, more depth.

Herbalism belongs to this spiralic worldview. Just as plants spiral toward light, their medicine spirals through us, weaving body, mind and spirit into coherence. To heal with herbs is to align with Nature’s own geometry, to enter into a pattern of growth that is fluid, recurring, and eternal. The spiral teaches us that we are not bound to linear time or fixed identity but are always in motion, always returning, always becoming. In the words of the mystics, the spiral is a mirror of life’s eternal dance, a rhythm of beginnings that never end and endings that open into new beginnings.