By mid July circles were arriving daily, and early on the 17 th Kent received one of its finest ever! This beautiful trefoil was laid out in wheat spanning three tramlines and was approximately 180 – 200 feet across.

Photo 5 – Boxley, nr. Maidstone, Kent – 17th July

Whilst it’s true to say it wasn’t the neatest of formations, it certainly boasted one of the most interesting floor displays we’ve ever seen this side of Wilts! Not only did we view waves crashing upon a shoreline, but we also found ourselves confronted right in the middle of the formation by a standing bunch of stems with a “spikey” top – cool! Whilst the seedheads were bent at their base and allowed to droop down, “The Circlemakers” had somehow twisted the top leaves of the plants into very sharp, spike-like quills.

Photo 6 – Like waves crashing upon a shore

Photo 7 – A “spikey” top!

Meanwhile Wiltshire in its run-up towards the end of the season offered us some very unusual designs this time around…Within a clearing set aside for crops in Savernake Forest, nr. Marlborough, seventy eight triangles with beautiful centre swirls, formed quite an interesting abstract design.

Photo 8 – Savernake Forest, nr. Marlborough, Wiltshire -19th July

And at Aldbourne, nr. Swindon, a formation was discovered that’s best described as being an “interference” pattern…Which in itself is quite interesting because holograms are created from concentric ring patterns that the formation is attempting to illustrate. When a laser is fired at a certain ring pattern images that are found embedded in two-dimensional film surfaces, up pops a perfect three-dimensional shape! Looking back over the recent past, “The Circlemakers” have put down a number of “interference“ patterns before…(now are you thinking what I’m thinking?)

Photo 9 –Aldbourne, nr. Swindon, Wiltshire - 24th July

Without fail, every summer a small number of formations appear close to the giant stone circle at Avebury. Attracting many visitors, those that have come to see the Avebury circle often find themselves pacing up and down a nearby crop circle. During the last week of July, two huge formations arrived as if right on cue for the height of the tourist season! The first was a magnificent “Star of David” (which on this occasion symbolically linked with the twelve tribes of Israel) whilst the other was a gigantic “Celtic Cross”.

Photo 10 –Avebury Henge, Avebury, Wiltshire - 24th July

Photo 11 –Avebury Manor, Avebury, Wiltshire - 27th July

A really massive formation - full of symbolic complexity, spread itself over five tramlines on the 13 th of August at Uffington in Oxfordshire. Uffington is well known for its hillside “white horse” figure, which was uniquely carved out during ancient times. The formation also appeared to pay homage to “Waylands Smithy”, a much visited chambered long barrow that’s also close by.

Photo 12 –Woolstone Hill, nr.Uffington, Oxfordshire - 13 th August

Although the Uffington formation was looked upon by many as the “grand finale”, a much smaller design arriving a few days earlier at Marden in Wiltshire had seriously caught our attention…

Photo 13 –Marden, nr.Chirton, Wiltshire- 9th August

Basically here we have what’s known as a quintuplet, which is best described as a dice five-spot. With the addition of an orbital path slicing through the four satellite circles, we also stare symbolically at a Celtic Cross. It’s hard to believe that back in the late 80’s simple quintuplets and the like were the “jawdroppers” of the day! But hang on a minute, this neat looking retro-piece has something really special to offer…just take a closer look at its centre…

Photo 14 –Close up of centre circle, Marden, nr.Chirton, Wiltshire - 9 th August

This incredible centre was so complex at ground level, that you just couldn’t tell what was going on…you simply had to be above it. As you can see it has a sort of “crocheted” or “knitted” feel about it, and looks almost perhaps as if it’s been sewn into the field! But what exactly is going on here…what are we being shown? Is it an image of an embryo…or a human cell, or could it possibly be an illustration of one of their cells? It’s also been suggested that it might perhaps be an illustration of forthcoming DNA changes...

The inventiveness of “The Circlemakers” never ceases to amaze, and here they are quietly showing us that they’re quite capable of producing pictures in wheat with comparative ease. Perhaps we’re only a season or so away from seeing the more direct messages of “paintings” in the fields which are bound to reach a much larger audience. If that’s the case, are we likely to be confronted with “The Last Supper” in East Field during season 2012?...now there’s a thought!

Graham Tucker © 2005

End Notes

1. Overhead photographs of the Bluebell Hill & Boxley formations, used by kind permission of Andrew King © 2005.

2. Interior photographs of the Boxley formation, used by kind permission of William Betts © 2005. Visit his website at www.culture-crop.com

3. All other photographs used by kind permission of Steve Alexander © 2005. Steve is a professional crop circle photographer who produces a beautiful yearbook illustrating the season’s events. Details are to be found on his website at: www.temporarytemples.co.uk

4. Additional information regarding the Chakra Serpent symbology is to be found at www.rainbowserpent.co.uk