8 years ago (9/11) I was pregnant and just finished film school...I watched the twin-towers collapse via live news coverage. At first I thought it was a hoax...I wondered if I would ever see my family grow up and have a career...
In the world and my personal life, illusive veils lifted.
Red Deer Formation - September 18, 2001:
Seven days after the 2001 mayhem in the U.S., a hexagram crop formation appeared in a field outside of Red Deer, Alberta. I didn't know that until years later...a
link to that image is included below.
The hexagram was an instrumental storytelling tool for me in 2005/06. I used it to create a web of interconnecting character arcs...long story...
"The Aquarians - Starstone Chart" (Winter 2005)
Starstone concept and graphics - Rebecca Christenson
"AQ" Logo - Jennifer Christenson (Autumn 2003)
Shortly after creating "my"
Starstone chart, I found the Red Deer formation while surfing the web.
Healing Hotspot:
Many authors aid my transformation from outer to inner being. Eckhart Tolle writes at length about "The Power of Now". A recent Now moment, was my first visit to a crop formation.
My Mom and I ventured to the small Alberta town, Stettler. It is quiet and agri-based. Along with neighbouring towns Red Deer, Lacombe and Ponoka, Stettler has an undercurrent of energy workers; amidst oil, gas and farming industries.
A New Swirled Order?
The above title is the name of a documentary available on the web.
Smallest circle - part of the Stettler formation - 9/11/9
During the long weekend in September, I returned my focus to Agri-Art. I began cross referencing notes, books, web information and publications...My thoughts were all over the place!
Ie: the Diatonic scale v. diatoms...electromagnetic propulsion theory...organic machinery...the Cathie grid and particular attention was paid to the formation catalogue set up by Colin Andrews...
I wondered how many people would need to focus on this art before we see a Julia set in Alberta fields? AND when will we receive or decipher a Rosetta Stone for all the imagery? What questions aren't we asking?
Mom at the SW edge of formation - Lens flare for Dramatic Flair - 9/11/2009
Source Speculation:
The fear-based bunch cling to the "pranksters-in-the-field-with-a-rope-and-board..." rationale.
When we delve into science...Facts begin to surface: underground aquifers are speculated to be a requirement for attraction.
Soul (excuse the typo) A-hem...SOIL samples have included uncommon or unlikely compounds from the formations.
Plant studies have shown stalks that are clearly bent, rather than broken, during the creation process. Nodes also increase in size and appear to have been manipulated by microwave type radiation. The plants also continue to grow after the fact.
I looked at the Stettler plants closely, they appeared to have been gently arranged. One thing I noted, was the grain appeared to be raked, with swirling striations from the centre point to the outer edge. I have a theory as to how that could happen, but will do more research on that...
I have no prior experience to base my findings on. I am not an agrologist, nor a geologist, nor will I be testing the soil. I am a bigger picture girl, interested primarily in the photography, geography and geometry...Others will study what interests them most.
As you can see in the photos below, the circle "force" seems to have laid a swath of grain down. Even in the rings, grain was striated in small ridges twirling to the outer edge.
Smooth track of ring circling Southern-most circle - 9/11/9
The photo below is a human track for access to the top ring. People stepped gingerly about, but the track is crude in comparison. The plants lining it, are crushed in every direction and affected by intrusion.
Products and Lore:
Going back in recorded history, there was the inception of the mowing devil as a creator of these formations. The only devil I acknowledge is a dust devil...which is incidentally, one old farmer's belief as to the source of this formation.
Me in the centre circle checking stalks and feeling things out - 9/11/2009
Activity and acceptance surrounds this topic in the UK. Some collect grain from formations to make a Crop Circle Ale. Tourist gimmick or healing nectar? Grain harvested from formations are proven to have larger heads, increased proteins and such.
Don't take my word for it, it's all on Google...
Building a Benchmark:
I have always loved blueprints, construction and building projects. My Dad is a builder -- a Jack of All Trades, Master of One. Dad imparted his knowledge with patience and empowered us to create the world we want to live in.
Creating a blueprint is tons of work in and of itself (without AutoCAD and Illustrator). Building a structure in the middle of nowhere from said plans...even more of a challenge.
I have laid out shapes on soil...circles in fact...for grain bin storage systems and concrete pads...We worked off a blueprint for days...laid in rebar grids on completely flat clay...marking sites with paint and stakes...In addition to help using electronic sight and leveling tools...
It seems unlikely this was plotted and woven in swirls, as it was laid down in wheat, by local yocals...from one yocal to another!
I don't have rights to an aerial photo, but you can see it (and the Red Deer formation from 2001) on:
The Medium is the Message?
Formation imagery speaks to many. For some it's spiritual, others feel they are looking at music, others believe it's a sign "we are not alone", some use them as meditative tools.
In keeping with the idea of Agri-Art...Crop circles evoke emotion, inspire and stimulate. Visuals bypass limitations of language and can be "felt" by all visitors, inclusively.
Visitors at the Stettler formation - 9/11/2009
There is no denying crop formations. Something makes them. People walk to and through them. They are increasingly complex with each growing season.
Mom on the far South Eastern edge of the formation - 9/11/2009
This is a simple formation compared to those logged in the UK and still many symbols are involved.
I was struck by the size. Aerials remain best for an overall sense of shape and geometry. If this was a hoax, it's no less impressive. It is only 100 yards off a major highway. No one saw anything and there was a working rig nearby.
Is it possible the earth was saying, please stop drilling!?! Did the circle coincide with the arrival of the rig to stop it, OR do Roughnecks moonlight in sacred geometric science expression?
Rig behind Mom at South Eastern Circle - 9/11/2009
Expansion Philosophy:
One school of thought is that formations are another way the universe is becoming aware of itself. This visit served to raise more questions, which I believe is the point. Expansion theories propose there are no absolutes, no "answers", no "the end" with a tidy set of rolling credits.
Life is what it is -- in each moment -- what it means to you is...what it means to you.
Each visitor to the site was interested in sharing views of what could have made the formations. I chose not to identify with or offer an opinion...I don't know, until I know -- for me. It's a bit like arguing whose God is more real. Real in what sense? Define real...and so on.
Harvesting Memories:
September is beautiful
hear, here (in Alberta).
Coyotes yipped in the southern treeline as I measured the formation. 3 Canadian geese honked as they followed a migratory route (aligned with formation orientation - a possible connection?). The din of combines was steady and distant, while stubble crunched underfoot.
Scents of autumn hung in the air; grain dust, stale leaves, drying grasses, cooling atmosphere and retreating tree life. You wouldn't think plants approaching dormancy have a smell, but they do.
I worked for two hours in front of a hazy horizon...yet no time seemed to pass.
I remembered; eating supper in the field with Dad and my late Papa, a storyteller of old. You had to lean in, be patient and wait for the punchline...and his rumbling chuckle.
I honour; deeply wrinkled faces, weathered skin, giant hands, enlarged knuckles, scarred fingers, crinkled crows feet and farmers' tans...of BOTH men and women who brought me to these lands.
Layers of Awareness:
Awakenings happen in unlikely ways.
I had a preconception about visiting a crop circle, much like the one I formed before seeing Stonehenge.
I forgot about the multi-sensory aspects of experience. My sister and I marveled on sheep bleeting behind us, and the smell of canola, as we walked on Salisbury Plains.
At both Stonehenge and Stettler, I was awestruck by unreal creation, partnered by immediacy to nature.
Ongoing Attraction:
I am grateful this formation was close enough to visit immediately. I am glad people are interested and unafraid; from all backgrounds and walks of life.
People gathered in a steady stream. My parents returned the following weekend and a man, directly from church, brought his daughter and dowsing rods. The rods spun wildly, whilst visitors on site took turns. Forces of magnetism were at play.
Formations are beautiful, intriguing and humbling.
I reflected on another cycle of activity and prepare for winter's quiet. Illuminated by a waning sun and moon...I was a lady in a wheat field at dusk; with some papers, a tape measure, my Mom and mosquitoes.
"Centering"
Then we went for a teen burger. When in Alberta...
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