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patterns are released.
The mandala, an ancient symbol, is an example of the way in which an archetypal content may be
manifested as an image. It consists, in its simplest form, of a circular design which, according to Jung,
represents psychic wholeness and appears in chaotic situations, when there is a need for a focus, to
prevent disintegration. At the close of this century the confusion and complexity of human affairs, the
apparent inability of government to deal with pollution, famine and the threat of nuclear war, provide
the climate in which we might expect to see mandala symbols. This was Jung's interpretation of
reports of flying saucers in the post-war period; circular objects seen in the skies at a time of
collective psychic need. He drew historical parallels from previous centuries to show that visionary
Sightings of aerial objects were nothing new.
Barbury figure construction
The relevance of these ideas to crop formations is in their basic circular shape, which provides the
ideal vehicle for the projection of unconscious contents. The appearance of these shapes may affect
people at a deep level, because of a collective hunger for signs of order amongst the chaos of the
world. Their circular shape corresponds to a pre-existing 'template' in the psyche and, consequently,
just as 'flying saucers' do, the circles are capable of exercising an attraction which can amount to a
compulsion. They are events which are neutral in themselves, but which we invest with meaning.
Human - Environment Interactions
The process, whereby events occurring in the natural world are interpreted and given significance has
an ancient history, stretching back to our origins. Flights of wild birds, the movements of animals,
shooting stars and so on have traditionally been understood as ways of predicting the future. The inter-
relationship between human consciousness and the natural world has been explored by Paul
Devereux, in his book Earth Lights (see Further Reading), where he proposes a natural explanation for
many UFO Sightings, in terms of geophysical processes associated with fault lines.
An example of this occurred in Wales, in 1904-5, when the area around Barmouth became known for
Sightings of coloured lights, in the form of balls or columns, which were sometimes seen to emerge
from the ground. Devereux postulates that these were caused by ionized gases escaping from the
major fault line in the area. He used an impressive amount of solid research to support his ideas, citing
research by Dr Michael Persinger, a Canadian scientist, who has studied neuroscience, psychology
and physiology. He has shown how exposure to magnetic fields and electrical charges can affect
human consciousness. Thus humans in the vicinity of earth tremors, fault lines or atmospherically
produced field effects may experience perceptual disturbances.
The fascinating aspect of this outbreak of lights, the 'earth lights' of his title, was the close connection
between the lights displays and a religious revival that took place at the same time. This was centred
around a charismatic individual, Mary Jones. Contemporary accounts describe how some witnesses of
the lights would end up at her chapel seeking spiritual guidance. The lights were incorporated into the
prevailing religious beliefs of the day, as a response to the sense of awe that they created. Devereux
speculates that these events might demonstrate what happens when a sacred site becomes 'live'.
Fifty years later, the same kind of stimulus - lights seen in the sky -was interpreted in a different way,
one which reflected the change in perception of a population who had seen the space race begin. The
events at Warminster discussed in Chapter 2 were, this time, seen as flying saucers, or UFOs. A cult
grew up around the location of the Sightings, just as it had done in Wales earlier in the century. It
appears that we have a predisposition to try to fit anomalous events into some kind of framework and
this tendency usually expresses itself in what can be broadly termed a spiritual sense.
The response of many to the crop circles as they took hold of public consciousness has been to
interpret them as divine or spiritual messages. This has been flavoured by the concerns of the times:
growing ecological awareness and the need for some sense of hope or salvation from the problems we
face. Mary Freeman's sighting at Avebury and the subsequent circles provided the focus for the
development of what can be understood as a cult, complete with its own belief systems, as wary of
any attempts to examine sceptically the foundations of these beliefs.
One way of understanding the common core of these three sets of events, Barmouth, Warminster and
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