The art of Spiral staircases

Most of these photos depict the design and the art of Spiral staircases with their hypnotizing forms. Spiral staircases are appreciated by architects and designers, stairs inspire artists and musicians, film directors and philosophers. Stairs are used as a symbol and a part of a religious ritual, they emphasize the importance of climbing. Equivalents to stairs are a golden thread, axis of the world, the world tree, the world mountain, rainbow, etc. Stairs cross three cosmic zones, linking the world of gods, humans, and the underworld. A staircase is connected with the vertical movement. Often the stairs set hierarchy of deities.

Staircase symbolizes:

transition from one existence to another form,
breakthrough to another ontological level,
Message from earth to heaven in both directions: the ascent of man, and the descent of a deity.
The world axis, which connects it with the Cosmic Tree and pillar
represents access to reality, absolute, to the transcendent, moving from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. This transition is the way to another world through death,
Makes Sky available, but can be removed. Originally there was a staircase in the garden, and between God and man was constant communication, but with the fall it was lost,
bridge, associated with rites of passage. Like a bridge, it can have sharp edges. (eastern fakirs’ stairs have the shape of knives)
hierarchical pyramid, a successful career mark (“move up the ladder”).
Leading up – bravery and courage; leading down – cowardice and meanness.

Steps represent:

arriving power of human consciousness, passing through all the stages of life
initiation stage. Their number varies from seven to twelve. During the initiation of people in knowledge and implementation, descends into valor.

For American Indian a rainbow is a staircase giving access to another world.

In Buddhism, Sakyamuni staircase depicted with a trace of Buddha on the top and bottom steps. Shakyamuni descends from heaven to earth by Tushita stairs brought him by Indra.

In Tibet, the relationship between man and heaven performed by mu – threads, ropes or ladders, which could take the form of column of smoke, a gust of wind or light beam. Tibetans before the body dissolves into light and through mu ascended to heaven. But once a man accidentally cut mu with a sword, and ever since people began to die, and their bodies remained on the ground.

In Christianity, the staircase is a symbol of Christ’s suffering. In the early Italian Renaissance Christ climbs stairs or is already at the cross, and executioners, climb the ladder to nail arms of the Savior to the cross. Jacob on his way to Haran dreamed ladder that reached to the sky, on which the angels scurried up and down. Benedictine monk holy Romuald dreamed dressed all in white monks of his order climbing up the stairs to the sky. Stairs were depicted in the Emblem of St. Alexis. Ladder of St. John Climacus has become a symbol of ascent from one to the other virtues and struggle against the passions. Stairs was a symbol of the suffering of St. Benedict.

For the Egyptians stairs – symbol of Horus and is under the patronage of the god Ra. It towers over the material world, and associates with the heavens. “I made ​​a journey from earth to heaven, God helped me, gave me strength on both sides of stairs, and the stars which never come, sent me to the top of the path and helped to avoid destruction” (Book of the Dead). In Egyptian tombs found amulets in the form of stairs.

Jews staircase – a means of communicating with the person of the Lord by the angels.

In Islam staircase seen by Muhammad leads the faithful to the Lord.

The Japanese staircase – the attribute of the god of thunder, personifying a means of communication between heaven and earth.

In Mithraism initiated goes on a seven planetary ladder, symbolizing the passage of the soul through the seven heavens. Shaman climbs stairs or poles with seven notches to communicate with spirits. Mithras sanctuary located in the dungeons, and in every sanctuary was a stairs with seven steps by which ascended to the abode of bliss.

Siberian peoples represented world (shaman) tree as a ladder, or pole. When Evenk shaman enters the upper world, he climbs the tree-stairs. In the suit of shaman there are the attributes required to travel to different worlds, among them – small iron staircase.

XVIII century naturalists built hierarchical view of the world, by defining the “ladder of authority, relevance and primacy in the development of abilities of creatures.”

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