A schematic image of the evolution of the universe. It is also a classical
form symbolizing the orbit of the moon (50), and a symbol for growth, related to
the Golden Number (32), arising (so Housay maintains) out of the concept of the
rotation of the earth. In the Egyptian system of hieroglyphs the spiral—corresponding to the Hebrew vau—denotes cosmic forms in motion, or the relationship between unity and multiplicity. Of especial importance in relation to the
spiral are bonds and serpents. The spiral is essentially macrocosmic (19). The
above ideas have been expressed in mythic form as follows: ‘From out of the
unfathomable deeps there arose a circle shaped in spirals. . . . Coiled up within the
spirals, lies a snake, a symbol of wisdom and eternity’ (9). Now, the spiral can be
found in three main forms: expanding (as in the nebula), contracting (like the
whirlwind or whirlpool) or ossified (like the snail’s shell). In the first case it is an
active sun-symbol, in the second and third cases it is a negative moon-symbol
(17). Nevertheless, most theorists, including Eliade, are agreed that the symbolism of the spiral is fairly complex and of doubtful origin. Its relationship with
lunar animals and with water has been provisionally admitted (18). Going right
back to the most ancient traditions, we find the distinction being made between
the creative spiral (rising in a clockwise direction, and attributed to Pallas Athene)
and the destructive spiral like a whirlwind (which twirls round to the left, and is
an attribute of Poseidon) (51). As we have seen, the spiral (like the snake or
serpent and the Kundalini force of Tantrist doctrine) can also represent the potential centre as in the example of the spider’s web. Be that as it may, the spiral is
certainly one of the essential motifs of the symbolism of ornamental art all over
the world, either in the simple form of a curve curling up from a given point, or in
the shape of scrolls, or sigmas, etc. Parkin observes in his Prehistoric Art that ‘no
ornamental motif seems to have been more attractive than the spiral’. Ortiz (41)
suggests that, from a semantic point of view, the spiral is an emblem of atmo- spheric phenomena and of the hurricane in particular; but the fact is that the
hurricane in its turn is a symbol of secession from the creative (as well as destructive) functions of the universe, that is, of the suspension of the provisional but
pacific order of the universe. He also points to the connexion between breathing
and the creative breath of life. He goes on to suggest that the volute in ancient
cultures was a spiral form symbolizing the breath and the spirit. It is for this
reason that the Egyptian god Thoth is represented with a large spiral on his head.
Finally, by virtue of its significance in connexion with creation, with movement
and progressive development, the spiral is an attribute of power, found in the
sceptre of the Egyptian pharaoh, in the lituus of Roman augurs and in the presentday walking-stick. In addition to the above, it is also possible that the spiral may
symbolize the relationship between the circle and the centre. For the spiral is
associated with the idea of the dance, and especially with primitive dances of
healing and incantation, when the pattern of movement develops as a spiral curve.
Such spiral movements (closely related to the pattern of the mandala and to the
spiral form that appears so frequently in art from the Mesolithic Age onwards—
particularly in France, Ireland and England) may be regarded as figures intended
to induce a state of ecstasy and to enable man to escape from the material world
and to enter the beyond, through the ‘hole’ symbolized by the mystic Centre.
Striking examples of such spirals are those of Gravinias (Morbihan), New Grange
(Leinster), Carnwath (Scotland) and Castle Archdall (Ulster).

Seeing a spiral in your dream indicates that some situation in your waking life is spilling out of control with end. Alternatively, it may mean your creative power and new ideas.