Spirals & The Sun: The Art & Science of Newgrange

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Last week I debuted the first lecture in my new series – The Artist as Alchemist: Spirituality, Science & Magic in Art – to a wonderfully engaging collection of Zoom participants. The first lecture in this series – Spirals & The Sun: The Art & Science of Newgrange – was devoted to learning more about the mysterious Stone Age megalith in Ireland known as Newgrange.

I became familiar with Newgrange years ago because of my lifetime dream of visiting Ireland and my personal fascination with spirals. If you are wondering how those two seemingly random interests intersect, then you are at the exact starting point of where my research began all those years ago!

Newgrange predates the pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge and is, incidentally, a prominent example of megalithic art. The Stone Age symbols and designs carved into stone that is over 5000 years old include chevrons, wavy lines, triangles, scooped out “dots” and… you guessed it… spirals!

While we may never know the exact purpose of a monument like Newgrange, it is very interesting to note that it has a unique solar alignment. On the Winter Solstice (occurring approximately between December 18th and 23rd), the rising sun sends a beam of light into the inner depths of this prehistoric mound. Incidentally, there is an additional triple-spiral design located in the interior chamber of Newgrange.

Could this solar alignment have some connection to the inclusion of spirals in its prolific artwork? This is just one of the many mysteries that we attempted to “solve” over the course of our lecture discussion. If this topic is of interest to you, I strongly encourage you to continue researching Newgrange as new revelations are being made with each passing year.

Here’s a great place to begin your research…

https://www.newgrange.com/

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.