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well-attended lectures. Indeed, Silent Circle is now the first port of call for most Wiltshire circle adventurers keen to get a reasonably unbiased assessment of the latest wonders and the informed fine detail on how to find them (see wwwssilentcircle.co.uk). The season unfurls The 2008 season began near Avebury on 19th April with a straightforward but attractive sixfold wheel in rapeseed, but the raised profile of the phenomenon was helped enormously on Ist June by the arrival of the first majorly significant formation of the year. Lying below the ancient hill fort of Barbury Castle, the perfectly ratcheted spiral in green barley was a more complex echo of the spiral incorporated into the famous triangular pictogram at the same location way back in 1991. This time, however, it embodied perfectly the mathematical principles of pi (the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter) —something very unlikely to occur The Ridgeway, near Avebury, Wiltshire. Reported 15th June. by chance or without perfect precision of placement, and Image: www.temporarytemples.co.uk © 2008 something which even the UK newspapers couldn't ignore. Several papers featured the thoughts of retired US astrophysicist Michael Reed, who made the following impressive observation, as reported by Earthfiles.com and Crop Circle Connector: "The ratcheting arcs starting at the centre and proceeding outward express pi as increments of a circle divided into tenths, or 36 degrees. If you proceed outward from the centre, the multiples of 1/10 of a rotation (including the small circle as a decimal) are 3.141592654..." This development was mostly reported, unusually, without the traditionally sneering "humorous" tones of the media that tend to accompany remarkable formations and instead bore tones of almost begrudging respect. The observations of an astrophysicist took cerealogy (the study of crop circles) back within the sphere of the officially approved scientism that grips the mainstream, just for one day at least, and therefore : propelled it into the limelight. As a result, general interest in Avebury Manor, near Avebury, Wiltshire. Reported 15th July. the circles rose a little and added to the curiously heightened Image: www.temporarytemples.co.uk © 2008 excitement within the "croppie" community in 2008. Although nothing quite this mathematically significant was to follow, the fields of Wiltshire were then gifted with an eclectic mix of emblems and mandalas throughout the next few weeks, the best of which were perhaps the "wheel hub" at The Ridgeway, near Avebury, on 15th June and the elaborate, huge design at Furze Knoll on 20th June. July, however, saw the second most talked about formation of the year with the arrival of a very sharply rendered and astronomically themed nest of thin rings and circles near Avebury Manor on 15th July. It didn't take long for croppies to realise it was a diagram of our own solar system, with all the planets shown in the positions they will take on 21st December 2012—the winter solstice believed by some to herald the arrival of the "great shift" anticipated by several ancient cultures around the world, most notably the Maya. Although some of the planets were very slightly misplaced from their expected positions (which in itself caused debate south Field, Alton Priors, Wiltshire. Reported 22nd & 23rd July. about coming orbital perturbations amongst some, and about Image: www.temporarytemples.co.uk © 2008 The Ridgeway, near Avebury, Wiltshire. Reported 15th June. Image: www.temporarytemples.co.uk © 2008 South Field, Alton Priors, Wiltshire. Reported 22nd & 23rd July. Image: www.temporarytemples.co.uk © 2008 NEXUS ¢ 59 OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2008 www.nexusmagazine.com