“Critchlow takes four different perspectives to explore how flowers connect us to deeper truths: material, social, cultural and inspirational. His thesis is illustrated with striking photos of plants, together with drawings, diagrams and quotes from Eastern and Western writers, classical philosophers and religious teachers…. The result is a feeling of harmony, the subject of the Prince’s own book.” - David Lorimer, Network Review, winter 2011 This is highlighted by the Prince of Wales in his foreword, when he talks about the perception of beauty as a resonance with the patterns which we ourselves are made of. Reading the book is a form of living education which means that you will never respond to (I did not say ‘look at’) flowers in quite the same way again. “This remarkable and beautiful book is the culmination of years of research into the nature and geometry of flowers, drawing on the author’s extensive understanding of Platonic philosophy as a means of expressing and understanding the Good, the Beautiful and the True…. “Anyone who gives proper attention to will feel that they are indeed brought closer to the mysterious form-creating life-processes that emanate from the world of spirit, and for this reason it is an enormously valuable contribution to all who are endeavoring to work towards a more holistic and spiritual awareness of the plant world.” - Jeremy Naydler, New View It is also a major contribution to the holistic science of the plant world, complementing studies by Goethean and anthroposophically inspired researchers into the formative forces at work in the plant kingdom…. The Hidden Geometry of Flowers is a wonderful gift to the growing number of people who, dissatisfied with the impoverished and disenchanted worldview of materialistic science, are seeking to relate to the spiritual in nature once again. “Like many people, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of this book, and I have to say that it has been a real delight finally to read its inspirational thoughts and also to contemplate the large number of beautiful images and geometrical diagrams that is contains…. “I have been waiting thirty-five years for this book.” - Julian Barnard, author of Bach Flower Remedies: Form and Function And I admire the honest circularity of its plot that begins in mystery, passes through much knowledge, and returns again (in fact again and again) to mystery.” - Wendell Berry It is a fascinating book, full of things useful and pleasing to know. “This is less a book for what we call ‘reading’ than a book to be lived with as a delightful and instructive companion for a long time. The plentiful illustrations help make this a book of inspiration and insight.” - Dr. “I’ve been looking at plants all my life and it’s one of my great pleasures, Keith Critchlow”s book adds new dimensions to this enjoyment and shows how number and geometry are made manifest in the forms that we see in every garden, in wild flowers and in the cut flowers that decorate our rooms…. His illuminating study attempts to re-engage the human spirit in its intimate relation with all nature. Working from his own flower photographs and with every geometric pattern hand-drawn, the author reviews the role of flowers from the perspective of our interrelationship with the natural world. What is evident in the geometry of a flower’s face can remind us of the geometry that underlies all existence. In this sense, Critchlow tells us, we can treat flowers as sources of remembering-ways of recalling our own wholeness, as well as awakening our inner power of recognition and consciousness. The flower becomes a teacher of symmetry and geometry (the “eternal verities,” as Plato called them). In this beautiful and original book, renowned thinker and geometrist Keith Critchlow focuses on an aspect of flowers that has received the least attention. Flowers also speak to us in the language of the plant’s form, provide cultural symbols in different cultures, and, at the highest levels, offer inspiration. The Hidden Geometry of Flowers: Living Rhythms, Form, and NumberĬan we imagine a world without flowers? Their beauty offers us delight in their color, fragrance, and form, and their substance offers medicinal benefits.
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