The Fibonacci series has been called the fingerprint of god. That is because they are a sequence of numbers found ubiquitously in nature. I’ve been thinking up new names for it. It is a progression created by adding each number to its previous number after starting with the number one. It looks like this:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and so on to infinity.
The Fibonacci Sequence was first described in the 12th century by Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, an Italian mathematician. His nickname was Fibonacci, which translates to “son of Bonacci.” He has been called the Leonardo of Pisa, the city of his birth. The series is unique. When you take the ratio of any two successive numbers in the series (after the three), the resultant numbers have a pattern. They fall into an increasingly narrow range with the sequence revolving around a ratio called the Golden Mean, the golden ratio, or the golden number. It is 1.618. Below is an example of how the number sequence works:
5 / 3 = 1.666
8 / 5 = 1.600
13 / 8 = 1.625
21 / 13 = 1.615
34 / 21 = 1.619
55 / 34 = 1.617
Professor Nikhat Parveen who had been at the University of Georgia wrote about why this is so special: the Fibonacci numbers are considered to be “Nature’s numbering system. They appear everywhere in Nature, from the leaf arrangement in plants, to the pattern of the florets of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the scales of a pineapple. The Fibonacci numbers are therefore applicable to the growth of every living thing, including a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, and even all of mankind.”[1]
The sequence also creates the shapes in the spirals of many shells, the spiral of the inner ear, spirals of the Milky Way, the shape of a ram’s horn, the DNA strand.
This pattern of knowledge also shows up in spiritual teachings, reminding us of the adage “as above so below, as within, so without.”
Here is a well-known verse from the Tao Te Ching (#42)
Tao gives birth to One,
One gives birth to Two,
The Two gives birth to Three
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.[2]
This narrative mirrors the Fibonacci pattern as descriptive of the processes of creation. In the chart below, I compare the number sequence with the Tao Te Ching passage and add in verses from Genesis. It is harder to decipher the Genesis teachings, but they are there.
1st word: Tao
Fibonacci; 1
Description: Greatest Mystery
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning.
Line 1: Tao gives birth to One
Fibonacci – 1 1
Description: The process described as Creation begin
Genesis 1:3: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (light = 1 and light = 1)
Line 2: One gives birth to Two
Fibonacci: 1 1 2
Description: Duality, a necessary step for life to exist on earth, begins to form
Genesis 1:4: God divided the light from the darkness
Line 3: The Two gives birth to Three
Fibonacci –1 1 2 3
Description: The blending of duality (opposites) which give birth to a trinity.
Genesis: This concept is not expressly stated in Genesis although throughout the beginning of Genesis there are many passages of triplets which denote the progression of creation. For example; El, light and darkness in Genesis 1:4; El, sky and land in Genesis 1:19
Line 4: The Three gives birth to all universal things.
Fibonacci –1 1 2 3 5
Description: Creation as we know it. Humanity – Yin and Yang plus the trinity make five.
Genesis 1:27: Male and female created he them.
There are many fascinating aspects to this. When “god speaks” this is a vibratory essence that began the process of creation. When air passes through a conch shell or a ram’s horn, both structured on the Fibonacci pattern, we get what has been considered in many cultures a sacred sound. And we are also able to hear that sound because it travels through our ears which are also Fibonacci based spirals.
Here is where the connection to the Goddess symbology comes in:
The labyrinth, and its relation, the spiral have been called the birth canal of the great goddess. Part of the reason is because it follows the same Fibonacci pattern of energy coming to earth. When a baby is born from the body of their earth mother the baby spirals through the birth canal and into the world. In cranio-sacral teachings, they advise that a baby born via Cesarian be cuddled and turned in order to give them that experience of a spiral which they teach activates important movements in the brain. It could be said that our bodies spiral through our earth parent to come to earth and our spirit spirals through the labyrinthine spirit canal of the goddess to ensoul our bodies.
When the bible talks about creation in the image of divinity, the patterns created by the Golden ratio, fit this teaching. We all carry within us the patterns of divinity. It’s in our DNA and it’s embedded in our bodies.
I’m thinking that the Fibonacci series needs a new designation rather than fingerprint of god.” How about “the emblem of the goddess?” “the hallmark of creation?” Or perhaps my favorite, “the impresa of Great Mystery?”
[1] Nikhat Parveen, Parveen gives the following chart that analyzes the number of petals of many common flowers:
3 petals lily, iris
5 petals buttercup, wild rose, larkspur, columbine
8 petals delphiniums
13 petals ragwort, corn marigold, cineraria
21 petals aster, black-eyed susan, chicory
34 petals plantain, pytethrum
55, 89 petals michelmas daisies, the asteraceae family
[2]Translation by Hu Xuezhi /http://taoism.about.com/od/taoteching/a/Tao-Te-Ching-Verse-42.htm/ consulted February, 2014.
feminismandreligion.com 
I have been fascinated by Nature’s number system ever since I first learned about it… Nature equals Goddess. They are One… If we took this knowledge seriously it might help us develop an ‘earth consciousness’, that is, an awareness that ALL BEINGS ARE SENTIENT. Perhaps then it would be possible to begin to FEEL that we are just one species after all –
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I like your phrasing Sara “Nature equals Goddess. They are One.” I wonder though, one species, or perhaps different species, deeply connected at our core?????
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Thanks so much for this essay that explains so well the immense power of spirals and why they are so important to Goddess spirituality. I immediately thought of Marija Gimbutas’s excavation of artifacts from all over Old Europe (approximately 7000-3500 BCE) that are covered with spirals of all kinds. Gimbutas says in her book “Language of the Goddess,” “The energy inherent in the continually moving forms awakens dormant life power and moves it forward…On figurines, spirals sometimes replace the Goddess’s eyes, are incised next to her breasts, or are placed in the center of a band on her back. Clearly they are not there for decoration but rather for the enhancement of her energy; the spiral or serpent-force is the Goddesses energy” (pp. 281-282).
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Thank you, Carolyn for adding Gimbutas’s most excellent quote to the conversation. Yes to “the enhancement of her energy . . .” I’m thinking about enhancement to the energy of us all.
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This is fascinating, Janet. Thank you for posting it. Seems we (humans) have a penchant for looking for (and finding) patterns as we experience the world.
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LOL Esther, or maybe patterns have a penchant for wanting to be discovered?????
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This is fascinating Janet. I’m a great lover of flowers and labyrinths and as you know I have also been a Labyrinth Keeper which gave me many opportunities to walk it myself as well as facilitate walks for others. The spiral path called to me the first time I saw it. After 3 drastic changes in my life spanning just over a year, and the time spent coping with the fallout, during which which time, I continued to read some of the FAR blog posts without commenting because I just couldn’t find the heart to participate. I was drawn back in by your spiral path, today. The path of the quest is a spiral, the wheel of the year is circular rather than a straight line. I fractured my ankle in May last year, which took some time to heal, my husband suffered a major stroke in early October, spent 4 months in hospital and then because of the severity of his disability and medical problems, he had to be transferred to a good nursing home which is thankfully only 5 minutes away, but nonetheless a very major life change, where I have to learn to be with him but learn enough independence to cope and make a new life alongside it. Finally my 94 year old mother died and we had a funeral on 8th April. I wrote her life story for the Celebrant, come music from her youth and wrote two poems which I read. It was a gentle day full of loving kindness catching up with people I haven’t seen for so long. A sense of belonging again. Somehow with that, a door opened for me. As you say, the 3 gives birth to all universal things. I am teaching myself to drum and move in a spiral to the beat. I begin to feel more whole in myself, in my Arthurian Tarot this is illustrated by the Sovereignty card, the triple Goddess. Thank you for posting this essay, it really spoke to me on another level. And by the way, Flower Heart Productions is a great name.
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Wow Iona, those are 3 drastic changes. Condolences on your mother and sorry to hear that your husband needs the long-term care. And what a spiral journey you describe for yourself! I am delighted a door opened for you and you are finding ways to be in the world that are filled with depth and meaning for you. That pathway you are on is a beacon for all of us.
“The path of the quest is a spiral.” – love that line! And so true.
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And thanks for the FlowerHeartProductions shout out!
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I love the name Impresa of the Great Mystery for this great mystery! I love reading your beautiful pondering and explication of this series and all the forms it takes from the conch shell and ram’s horn to our inner ear. My tai chi teacher invoked the same when teaching us the commencement of the form aka the creation of all that is. Many thanks for writing about the Impresa of the Great Mystery with such poetry and precision.
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Thank you Elizabeth I appreciate your words. I don’t know what the “form aka” is although I can make a good guess about it.
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We learned about the Fibonacci Sequence when I was studying music, and now I see (and hear) it everywhere! Fractals display the series infinitely. Thanks so much for the new connection, “the emblem of the Goddess!”
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So fascinating Annelinde. I did not know this, so I did a quick google search (This from a Lancaster University site): An octave on the piano consists of 13 notes: 8 white keys and 5 black keys. A scale consists of 8 notes, of which the 3rd and 5th notes make up a basic chord. In a scale, the dominant note is the 5th note, which is also the 8th note of all 13 notes that make up the octave.
Thanks for adding such an important element.
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Janet I loved reading this and wanted to add that the symbol of the spiral is so powerful that people are drawn to it in so many intuitive ways without knowing anything at all about the sacred mathematics within. In my book, The Spiral of Creativity- Mastering the Art of a Spirited life, I never mention any of the profound information that you have provided here and encourage people to explore their relationship with the spiral as a creative exploration. Now I can refer them to this article and further support creative unfolding. Thank you!
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Oh right Brecia, your most excellent book The Spiral of Creativity – Mastering the Art of a Spirit Life (just had to note the full title here). You certainly do explore the spiral as a creative exploration and in doing it yourself 9and writing about it), encourage others. Thank you.
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This is fascinating, Janet! Thank you so much.
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Thank you Beth, glad it spoke to you.
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