WINDMILL ROTATES INTO THE 2003 SEASON

Every year we can pretty much guarantee the Circlemakers will produce designs that will make us sit up and think about their possible meanings perhaps for us all, or for the future of our planet. Maybe this is just the ultimate intention of the phenomenon to help perceive a new reality on the horizon. Well, this new formation at Windmill Hill has done just that I feel.  

Situated on the beautiful graceful slopes of the largest known  causeway camp in Britain, Windmill Hill. A site well known for documented formations located less than a mile from Avebury, and dates back to 3700BC.  Its slopes would have been a fresh white colour protruding from the wooded landscape. But today instead of the striking white chalk land, we now have these enormous crop circles to marvel at.  

This year has been a slow start compared to other seasons, but we have witnessed a design that wouldn’t have been out of place in the middle of July, which is the height of the season. It really is a departure from the early designs we are use to seeing at this stage of the season. However it was a welcomed one, and certainly surprising.  

This latest design was certainly a contrast from the others that have graced these slopes 

This particular field has seen a number of contrasting events. Probably the most celebrated was the triple Julia Set back in 1996, which formed on the night of the 28^th of July.   

Windmill Hill, Nr Yatesbury, Wiltshire. Reported 29th July.

http://www.cropcircle.tv/archives/1996/wind96.html 

We then skip forward some 4 years to 2000 where we witnessed some very strange randomly placed set of single circles. I was very pleased with at the time, as they were one of the last to appear in 2000, and had characteristics similar to the very early crop circles of the late eighties and early nineties., 

Windmill Hill, Nr Yatesbury, Wiltshire. Reported 19th July.

http://www.cropcircle.tv/archives/2000/windmill4/windmill2000d.html

This latest design was certainly a contrast from the others that have graced these slopes. Its actual location in the field was placed in a natural depression in the crop, or you could describe perhaps as a bowl. But the formation dimensions actual covered the entire surface area of this depression, which is highly intriguing. It certainly made the journey to this event a tricky one, as on foot you couldn’t see the formation within the field.  

Its representation is certainly in debate, but the closest I can come to, is its uncanny resemblance to the Star of Life and the Maltese Cross. Two symbols, which have close connections to the Fire Service and of course the health service of this country. The Maltese cross is indeed a symbol of protection, but it origins came from the order of St John, during their time in Malta in the 15^th century. There are 18 different crosses used from the 12^th to the 15^th century as part of the Crusader states. However the Windmill Hill cross isn’t part of the 18 crosses, but it is indeed an 8 pointed cross, which is important in the Maltese tradition. We actually received a more accurate representation of the Maltese cross back in 1997 at:  

Morestead, Nr Winchester, Hampshire. Reported 21st July.

http://www.cropcircle.tv/archives/1997/morestead97.html 

There is also a deep religious significance to the cross as indeed the four major points of the Maltese signify Fortitude, Temperance, Justice and Faith. But I do connect to the coiled serpent around the edge, which is encompassing the cross itself. Could it be the serpent of the Star of Life, signifying some kind of protection?  

So what is this design like on the ground? Well I have to say we have witnessed more impressively constructed formation in Barley. But to actually be within a Barley field is indeed a treat at this time of the season, but Barley is quite a brittle crop, and has to be carefully placed. There was evidence of breakage on the stems, and mud in certain places. This however may have been due to other people walking around the formation. The outer pathway around the perimeter of the formation was flattened in a clockwise direction, but everyone sensed that the middle section needed a flattened part for the congregation of visiting people.  

The smaller circles around the edge and on the outer edge of the cross were also messy in their construction. But one thing was certain, the conditions on the night of its creation was dreadful, with rain and very low visibility.  

A very graceful and meaningful formation, to start the season truly off in Wiltshire in style! 

Report by Stuart Dike