Spiral

The spiral is essentially a circle approaching its center, symbolizing the indirect path toward the goal. The journey to the goal is not straight but "apparently cyclical"; in reality, it is a spiral.

In, for instance, dream series dealing with personal growth or individuation, one can observe how the same themes tend to recur, but with "higher" (or sometimes lower) content, as the process moves toward its center. However, one can also reverse the perspective: With growth, there is a broadening of awareness; one seemingly returns to the same place, but with an expanded consciousness compared to the last time.

The mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, who discovered the mathematics of the spiral, requested a spiral on his gravestone with the inscription: "I am always changing in the same way, yet I rise." A spiral staircase is a clear image of this very idea. (See also Circle, Labyrinth, Goal, and Stairs.)

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