Interestingly, the German word — Wirbelsaule — for the
spinal column, the fundamental supporting structure of the
human body, literally means a 'spiral' column. Similarly each
of the vertebrae is referred to as a whirlpool or vortex.
Clearly the Germans have long had a completely different
view of the central structure of our bodies. Whereas we see
it as a stiff, more or less rigid, physical structure, they
understand it more as an energy path. This has obvious
associations with the Hindu concept of Kundalini, the name
given to the two serpents that metaphorically dwell at the
base of the spine, whose rising energizes that spiritualize
the various higher chakras (energy vortices) of the physical
body and whose entwinement on Mercury's staff (the
caduceus) empowers him as Messenger of the Gods. Nature
too, provides us with countless examples of dynamic spiral
growth and movement in the form of galaxies, cyclones,
whirlpools and tornadoes, of which we, in our blindness and
arrogance, fail to take note in our pursuit of mechanical
perfection.^4Types of motion
All natural dynamic motion consists of one or more of three basic
types of movement — orbital, rotational and circulatory (see
Fig. 6.3). When these are put together they produce a complex
form we call spiral-vortical motion which Nature uses to build,
structure and purify.
Viktor distinguished two forms of spiral-vortical motion —
radial—> axial (or centripetal) and axial—> radial (or centrifugal)
motion. In Fig. 1.2, axial —> radial motion is shown initially as a
movement around a centre, changing to a tangential movement as
it moves outward. There is no motion at the centre but, with
increasing distance from the centre, the speed of movement and
the degree of disintegration also increase. The wooden wagon-
wheels of yore had an iron band around them for this reason. The
'tie-er' (tyre or tire) held the wheel together.
The form of movement employed by our technology produces
excess energy in the form of heat or noise. Initially, with no move-
ment at the centre, velocity and resistance increase with the out-
ward 'explosion.' This axial -> radial centrifugal form of motion can
- MOTION — THE KEY TO BALANCE