Myth 101: The Battering Ram and the Spiral Tendency

The Ram’s horns are so often associated with a powerful and vigorous vitality displayed in the image of the Ram, who has become a rich symbol for, among many things, power and/or sexual, creative energy. Similar to Pan, the goat-god, the zodiacal sign of Aries, or Amun-Re, Egyptian sun-god, these figures tell of a solar illumination of both Earth and consciousness.

However, if we focus on the shape and curvature of the spiraling horns, something feminine also shines forth. Goethe, in his development of The Metamorphosis of Plants, deepened his observation on the repeating patterns of the spiral found in the natural world, calling it the Spiral Tendency. In these forms, manifesting in the vine and seed, for instance, he found a feminine drive that worked to balance and support the upright, linear line – the stem of the plant – Goethe experienced as being masculine in nature.

In the spiral there is energy both masculine and feminine. In it’s curvilinear form, we find a graceful strength – a burrowing, supportive structure; while through the Ram’s battering horns arise not only an onslaught of  hierarchy and violent bravado, but also a music echoing throughout mountain ranges, heralding signs of the creative spirit.

 

  1. Linda Buzzell-Saltzman

    Wonderful post, Gabrielle. Made me think of Spiral Dynamics, the theory that evolution itself spirals forward…

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