The golden ratio in the pineal gland is not as cut and dry as some would have you believe. Those of you who are my readers know that I like to use peer reviewed research but for substantiating the structure of the pineal gland we have more history than science. Golden ratio properties in the structure of the pineal gland are determined by the extent that the pineal gland actually mimics a pinecone. The photos are dodgy, but the lore is rich.
The main way the pineal gland shows the golden ratio is if we assume the structure truly is analogous to a pinecone. Now we know for sure pinecones are Fibonacci-based. We are more unsure of the extent to which the pineal gland replicates the structure of pinecone. For example, they might even look similar but have different processes ruling them. Let’s look at what we know.
Main Connections to Golden Ratio in the Pineal Gland
We will see… what evidence do we have that the pineal gland is actually a tiny crystal pinecone?
In my golden ratio in plants list we have 3 categories of how golden ratio can appear in nature. The pinecone fits type A & B (having both a golden spiral & Fibonacci number of structures). Pinecones have the golden spiral looked at from the top, two spirals going opposite directions like in a pineapple. The pinecone also has the Fibonacci number of shingles. This helps confirm that there is a logarithmic (golden) spiral driving the formation of the pinecone. But what about the pineal gland?
The best evidence that the pineal gland is indeed shaped like a pinecone comes from a few papers from around the 1990’s. Researchers imaged the gland without any sectioning. The scientists called these “mulberry-like” formations. To get enough samples to demonstrate sweeping conclusions would prove pretty difficult. So we look at the limited images we do have. But first, the history.
Culture & History Mentions of the Pineal Pinecone
In both Hindu culture and Buddhism, the pineal gland is known as the third eye. Again, they referenced it as an organ of sight, but one that sees differently than the eyes do.
Then, Descartes said “pineal gland is the seat of the soul” in his 1664 Treatsie of Man. This gives some substantiation to the pineal gland being an organ related to the soul or non-physical self.
Egyptian carvings commonly contained pinecones and it is the main feature of the staff of Osiris. In the staff two snakes intertwine with a pinecone on the top. We see the pinecone in the staff of Osiris in artifacts dating back to 1224 B.C. This is symbolic of something similar to Kundalini dragon energy circulating up to the pineal gland. Specifically the eye of horus symbolizes the pineal gland and like the Hindu’s third eye serves as a bridge to “higher awakening.”
Dionysus in Greek culture of Bacchus in Roman culture was known to carry a staff with a pinecone as well. This was the goddess of revelry and people could access divine or altered states in the festivities of Dionysus. In Catholicism, there is a giant pinecone statue called the court of the Vatican that was taken from Roman times. The pope has his own pinecone staff as well.
Jesus used to say “the lamp of the body is the eye, therefore if the eye is sound your whole body will be filled with light“. Some take this to refer to the pineal gland, meaning if you maintain pineal function you can collect and interpret light appropriately. This coincides with how the pineal gland has non-image forming vision receptors such as melanopsin.
Science of Pineal Shape
The best paper showing the shape calls them mulberry like, found in the sources as Lang 1996. This paper looked at various pathologies as well.
The studies imaging actual pineal glands is limited. First of all, it is hard to get samples, understandably. When samples are obtained, often the research needs to centrifuge, section, and stain in order to assess levels of different compounds. Thus, most studies skip over the imaging while the gland is fully intact. The above is one of the only images I could find in the literature.
Calcifications and Shape for Golden Ratio in the Pineal Gland
The pineal gland experiences calcification because of its anatomic structure. It is extremely rich in vasculature, and receives a disproportionate amount of blood flow compared to the rest of the brain and body. The functions of the pineal gland are melatonin synthesis and circadian signal factors. When the pineal gland is overly calcified, the ability of it to make melatonin goes down. Melatonin disruption correlates with a lot of neuronal diseases. (Tan 2018)
Researchers still try to articulate is the exact mechanism of pineal calcification. The best guess is that it is similar to bone formation and that ambient conditions confuse the process to take place when it’s not needed. Conditions would have the pineal believe it is time to form bone, especially when certain chemicals in the blood are pumped through this highly vascular organ. My personal theory is that ambient electromagnetic fields facilitate this. In Robert Becker’s The Body Electric, he explains how electromagnetic fields control bone healing.
Golden Ratio may be involved in Pineal Structure
The best we can do is compare the limited images and the lore. Do you think it looks pinecone like?
Most importantly, if there were the “influence” of golden ratio in such a delicate gland as the pineal gland, what would this mean? Well, the golden ratio in the pineal gland implies a fractal structure, since the golden ratio always encodes fractality. The fractal structure combined with the piezoelectric crystals in the pineal gland would then imply some kind of interesting functions and possibilities not yet articulated. Fractals also compress information without distorting it.
For example, if the fractal arrangement of piezoelectric crystals in the pineal gland can densely encode information as its structure would imply, then we could explain some of the cultural lore. Maybe those dense informational structures can be interpreted as “unexplainable” experiences, such as perception dimensional structures that can’t be represented with visual sight.
Sources
Tan, Dun Xian, et al. “Pineal calcification, melatonin production, aging, associated health consequences and rejuvenation of the pineal gland.” Molecules 23.2 (2018): 301.
Lang, S. B., Marino, A. A., Berkovic, G., Fowler, M., & Abreo, K. D. (1996). Piezoelectricity in the human pineal gland. Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics, 41(2), 191–195. doi:10.1016/s0302-4598(96)05147-1
Further Reading
Stehle, J. H., Saade, A., Rawashdeh, O., Ackermann, K., Jilg, A., Sebestény, T., & Maronde, E. (2011). A survey of molecular details in the human pineal gland in the light of phylogeny, structure, function and chronobiological diseases. Journal of Pineal Research, 51(1), 17–43. doi:10.1111/j.1600-079x.2011.00856.x
