Phoenix & The Dust Devil

Wiltshire in England has long been home to some of the most amazing crop circle configurations ever seen. One way of thinking associates the formation of crop circles to electromagnetic energy – that being, waves of energy moving through the globe or along the Earth’s magnetic field, leaving patterns of its waveform on the planet’s surface. Wiltshire is considered by crop circle enthusiasts to be one such hot-spot of electromagnetic energy that exist all over the globe, leading to the frequent formations in the area. Either that, or the most skilled crop circle hoaxists happen to reside in the Wiltshire region.

A recent crop circle was discovered in a barley field in Yatesbury, depicting the mythical phoenix as it rises, reborn, from the ashes. The 400-foot design has had enthusiasts in a spin, sighting other recent formations that seemingly point toward an apocalyptic event due to occur on or around December 21, 2012 – coinciding with the end of the ancient Mayan calendar, a subject receiving much attention in recent years.



Meanwhile, in some parts of the United States, tornadoes are a way if life and during 2008, over 180 twisters ripped through the state of Kansas. Photographer Jim Reed has been capturing natural phenomena for over 15 years and the picture above appeared in this month’s issue of National Geographic. It shows what is known as a “landspout’ – a weak, short-lived and extremely photogenic tornado.


by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)


(Sources: The Telegraph, UK; National Geographic Society)

MINDBOGGLING CROP CIRCLE

Mathematicians were confounded after a crop circle formation was discovered in a barley field near Barbury Castle in Wiltshire, England on the 1st June 2008. The circle is, apparently, a coded image representing the first ten digits of pi.


Measuring 285 feet in diameter, the formation had experts and enthusiasts perplexed until it was eventually identified by retired astrophysicist, Mike Reed.

Maths codes and geometric patterns have long been important factors in crop circle formations – the most famous of which was a formation in a field near Stonehenge some 12 years ago which depicted a complex set of fractals known as The Julia Set.

Yet despite the abundance of crop circle formations each year, their occurrence is rarely mentioned in the mainstream media, if at all. Most people still consider the crop circle phenomenon a hoax, regarding as proof the infamous TV demonstration many years ago of a circle being formed by a couple of guys with some rope and board. However, as most crop circle researchers attest, the most intricate geometric and mathematical formations (such as the recent pi formation in Wiltshire) would be impossible to create with such precise detail and on such a scale.

Other factors which should not be dismissed include the magnetic energy often recorded in the centre of crop circles and the biological changes that occur in the affected crops. These and many other factors cannot be explained by the ‘rope and board’ theory.

So what the hell are they? Who or what causes the formations to appear? Many theories have been extrapolated regarding crop circles, from electromagnetic fields to extraterrestrial meddling. Perhaps it is beam weaponry technology – maybe some bored NASA geeks using orbiting satellites fitted with invisible beam weapons are making their ‘hoax marks’ on the Earth’s surface.

Then again, maybe the extraterrestrial theory is more plausible.

by Max Drake


(Max Drake is a freelance designer for GritFX. Max has an interest in all things weird and will have weekly posts on this blog.)

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For more on the crop circle phenomenon, including a more intricate explanation of the 1st June Wilshire formation, visit http://www.cropcircleconnector.com