Fibonacci Spiral – Classic

Ammonites are a naturally formed example of the Fibonacci Spiral – a soothing, balancing geometric progression of life.

This specimen is colloquially called a tractor ammonite.

Here I’ve photographed it with its shadow self – a symbol of the yin/yang of all life on our planet, composed of what we can see/cannot see, what is positive/negative, what exists openly/is hidden. This image is a gentle reminder that all we see is not all there is, in any situation.

Ammonites are the colloquial name for ammonoids, a group of extinct marine mollusc animals. Nowadays Morocco is a popular place to cull these specimens – they exist in the millions and can be found in many sizes and sub-species. Wikipedia states that “Pliny the Elder (d. 79 AD near Pompeii) called fossils of these animals ammonis cornua (‘horns of Ammon’) because the Egyptian god Ammon (Amun) was typically depicted wearing ram’s horns.” Pliny likened the ammonite spiral to tightly coiled rams horns.

The term “tractor” was added in modern times, because this particular species resembles large tractor wheels.

The Fibonacci Spiral is a geometric progression that mathematically graphs the unfolding of life from a central point, spirally outward. Above is a graphing of it.