Sri Yantra appears in Oregon dry lake bed


Earth Etching Appears in Oregon Dry Lake Bed

A wonderful mystery! Over the past two decades there has been much speculation about the origin of the 1990 Sri Yantra earth scraping that appeared in a remote dry lake bed in Oregon, near the Idaho border. Nearly as soon as the discovery was made tales of illuminated objects–spheres of light, made headlines along with claims by individuals asserting to have made the design.

Might it ALL be connected?

Among the related phenomenon called, crop circles, it is well noted by researchers that the appearances of light phenomena is often repeatedly sighted in the same fields where both natuaral and man-made formations have been created. Might this phenomena also have played a role in the Sri Yantra earth etching? What motivating stimulus inspired the builders to select the site, and pattern? History has shown that one need not be aware of the phenomena in order to be deeply interacting with it.

The Discovery

A very large, perfectly formed, ancient Hindu mandala called the Sri Yantra was discovered inscribed into the dry lake bed by an Air National Guard pilot on a normal training run from a base near Boise, Idaho. This symbol was over a quarter of a mile in length, and consisted of over 13 miles of lines etched into the impacted mud 3”-10” deep. No human or tire tracks were found anywhere near the site. A group of 5 artists from Iowa claimed responsibility for the symbol’s appearance saying they carved the entire design with a garden cultivator during a nine-day period. No other pilots or anyone else reported seeing the design at any stage of construction.

“Analysis of the formation’s line indicated that the soil had been removed, whereas the artists’ garden cultivator / plow method produced small mounds of dirt on either side of their demonstration lines left from where they plowed,” according to ICCRA.

Stranger Yet

Two researchers, Don Newman and Alan Decker visited the site on September 15, 1990, and reported the symbol as being furrowed into the dry lake bed about 3″ deep, noting that the area was noticeably missing any signs of tire tracks or foot prints even though their own tire tracks left 1/4″ deep marks on the crusty surface of the dry lake bed. After further investigation their colleague, Jim Deardorff, wrote the story for UFO Magazine.

A little over a year later, Deardorff learned from Jennifer Brown-Jacobs, who at the time had been head of the Portland UFO Group, that two men had a UFO sighting in the area during this same period. They’d been camping with a sail-plane group at the western edge of the Alvord Desert near that dry lake bed. Their sighting took place the evening of July 5 or 6th around 10 pm. They reported seeing an array of three bright lights, the color of sodium-vapor lamps, forming an equilateral triangular with the apex facing upwards to the northeast. The array occupied about three degrees width and lasted ten minutes.

They didn’t think much of it at the time and when they looked that way again 20 minutes later the lights were gone. However, they noticed a strange small puffy cloud where the lights had been. Extending from the cloud were two straight appendages positioned at 2:30 and 8:30 respectively at 12 degrees overall. They estimated its location as eight miles away and 15 degrees above the horizon. This placed it directly over the dry lake bed. They watched the stationary cloud for about an hour. Due to the eyewitness accounts, the sighting was classified as an unidentified, and was later associated with the Sri Yantra earth scraping. After the story broke, a group of artists claimed they had created the Sri Yantra.

Speculation continued after reviewing all the evidence of this case and researcheres wondered at the improbability of a group of older, well dressed men from another state, would go to such great lengths to convince the public that they were responsible for the design.

What Others Are Saying . . .

“For some time this event was treated with the head scratching bewilderment that accompanies crop formations. On the ground investigations revealed no tell tale signs of vehicles or human intervention. Word spread fast that it was an extra terrestrial event. People were intrigued and fascinated but got stuck on the how? and the wow? The event was debated for some time and then rumour spread that a man named Bill Witerspoon had created it as a work of art…this is where the story starts getting really interesting. Witerspoon said that he and a group of friends chose the site for its beauty and remoteness. The design was made without modern machines or tools. They used a handplough and the ancient principles of geometry alone. They took ten days to complete the design and entered and left the site on foot in order to keep the area vibrationally pure.

The Sri Yantra as you can see is drawn from nine triangles, four pointing downwards and five pointing upwards, forming 42 triangular fragments around a central triangle. There is probably no other set of triangles which interlock with such integrational perfection. This is why the design is the most revered of tantric diagrams.

As soon as they had finished the design the weather in the valley changed and a rainstorm hit the parched valley. Bill Witherspoon spent the following couple of years monitoring the changes in the formation. There was an increased feeling of harmony in the area and two years later, with the lines almost gone, the structure of the soil had changed. The overall result was increased rainfall and more organic matter. He claims there is an inverse correlation between the lines disappearing and an increase in the enlivened laws of nature (parallel to the increased dilution imparting increasing levels of strength in homeopathy). This I believe could have some mysterious correlation with the power of reciprocals but I’ll leave someone more scientific to pick up on that idea.

It would appear that Gaia expresses herself fully when consciousness is connected. In the vibrant and responsive link between Nature and the Human is a conversation of vibrations. A couple of years after the formation of the Sri Yantra a geyser spring appeared 12 miles away. The only natural geyser spring in Oregon! For 4 months it spouted 210 feet into the air. Could the presence of geometric form, which after all is at the foundation of life and the interface between different phases of matter, be Nature’s way of ensuring plenty?

Bill Witerspoon is convinced that the intelligence lies within the geometry in some deep and mysterious way. The geometry is but the visible form of the invisible and powerful energy form. The Sri Yantra is the physical magnet to draw blessings from the mystery. It is a pity and an irony that the creativity of the artist was rewarded with a large fine for desecrating the land…” – Allie Allbright

Blogger, Robert Zwemmer, writes, “I was involved with Osho Rajneesh for ten years in the 80s, who lived in Oregon for four years, from 1981 to 1985. I believe the Sri Yantra appeared in honor of Osho for several reasons. One is that he died seven months earlier and left the US 57 months earlier. Note that 57 can be analysed as 3 ( 5+7=12=3 ), and it seems the Overworld again and again seem to use these two numbers ( 3 and 7 ) as ‘marks’ ( together with 12 ), as if to say ‘we were here’, and/or : ‘we exist’ .”

Well, now. You Decide!

“It has been noted that certain geometric structures enliven and amplify specific laws or forces of Nature.  When these laws or forces of Nature become stronger, they consistently influence the total environment, including human physiology and consciousness.”

Sri Yantra Symbology, see Dee Finey’s Great Dreams.

The Sri Yantra is a sacred geometry that orginated in India
It is composed of 9 interlocked triangles
It is very difficult to draw without errors at the intersections
There a many variations of the Sri Yantra
There are many different methods to draw it
Nobody seems to know what the original configuration is
More . . .

Sri Yantra and Crop Formations

Crop circles are geometric patterns that suddenly appear in fields during the night. Some believe that crop circles may be created by acoustic vibration and are believed to be messages from higher intelligence. The geometric shapes are often considered frequency gates. See our related article on the 16-rayed Star Petroglyph in Machu Picchu with similar geometry to the Sri Yantra and based on 16-fold hypercube tesseract physics.


Yantras are expressions of the Deity in geometrical form. Among Shakti worship, the Sri-Yantra is considered the holiest and the most significant of these.


A Yantra is an instrument, or a talisman or a mystical diagram usually in silver or copper. It is also drawn or illustrated sometimes on a special paper using various colors and symbols pertaining to the method of the Yantra to be made. It is a technique or path, considered the simplest and shortest, through which one can attain one’s desires, and fulfill one’s wishes. It is said that the ‘Devas’ (Gods) or Deities (Goddess) reside in the Yantras and by performing ‘Puja’ or worship of Yantras, one can appease the Deities, remove the malefic effects of planets, and increase the flow of positive influences.

Just as each planet has a mantra, a special sound energy, each planet also possesses a yantra or special energy pattern. The Yantra is a special geometric design, the visible form, the energy body of the mantra, and the planet to which it corresponds. Sometimes Yantras supplement the power of mantras, and are as strong as the mantras themselves. If a mantra is the invisible driving force, the yantra is the visible means to gain power and wealth and ward off evil and illnesses, nullify the ill effects of planets, and bring good fortune. They are said to enhance your capabilities and bless one with material comfort and spiritual benefit.

The elements of Yantra:

According to Vedic philosophy the natural elements produce different effects in the Yantra when energized through worship and meditation.

The five elements in this universe are: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether (Akash). To energize a Yantra sit on the ground in an open space, where you can have a clear vision of the sky, holding the image in your minds eye.

The Sri Yantra is composed of a square on the outside with four projections forming a T-shape structure, circles, a row of Lotus petals, and triangular forms inside the Lotus petals. Sometimes there are two triangles overlapping each other, making a six pointed star; sometimes many triangles are superimposed on each other in a pyramid form; and inside all these geometrical forms is a point or a sound.

The Point (Bindu):

A point, called Bindu in Tantra, holds a very significant position in the Yantra and is the center of the geometrical structure. The point signifies unity, the origin, and the principle of manifestation and release of the supreme consciousness. The point has great metaphysical significance and is the point of the union between the aspirant and divine. It gives to invisible form a substance, and manifests the invisible enabling the aspirant means to connect with the divine.

The Circle:

A circle is the expansion of a point. The point is the most condensed form of energy, and a circle is its extension. With the radius of desire, this point draws a circumference around itself and it expands. This expansion is growth in dimension, which broadens the scope of a point, yet it also imprisons the point as an individual unit, creating individual consciousness out of cosmic consciousness. Thus, you can connect your individual desires to the cosmic consciousness by concentrating on the circle during the energizing worship.

The Triangle:

A triangle, composed of three lines, is needed to make a pattern or form. A horizontal line representing inactivity and stability forms the base of the triangle. The two vertical lines meeting at a point on the box of the horizontal line represents the principle of movement: transition from static to dynamic. A triangle pointing upwards draws the attention up and away from the world. It represents the male energy or the Yang forces. A triangle pointing downwards takes the attention down and represents the female energy or the Yin forces. Equilateral triangles represent balance or harmony between the Yang and Yin forces. As our desires take shape or form, we do not loose our balance.

The Square:

A square is made of four lines, two of which are vertical lines representing movement and two are horizontal lines representing stability. Together it creates a balance. Thus the confined space inside the square represents our materialistic need in life, stability, solidity and contentment.

Lotus Petals:

A Lotus represents the 5 natural elements of the universe; Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Ether in its purest form. The lotus petals in a Yantra usually appear in a circle, which itself is inside a square. These lotus petals are known as the lunar mansion or Chandra (Moon) Mandal and the circle outside is known as the Solar Mansion or the Surya (Sun) Mandala.

The Surya Mandal is portrayed by 12 lotus petals. This represents the twelve signs of the zodiac that the Sun will move through during the year.

The Lunar mansion is shown with sixteen petals. The Moon has 16 phases or 16 kalas during its cycle from new moon to full moon.

If the petals do not represent either solar or lunar mansions in the Yantra, then it refers to the manifested reality; which is eight fold. This eight fold manifested energy is the phenomenal world consists of fire elements of Universe. Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Ether together with mind, intellect and ego. A Lotus represents these elements in its pure form.

Concentric Circles:

Finally, the concentric circles around or inside a triangle represent the three Gunas. These are the three primal qualities of nature called “SATWA”, “RAJAS” and “TAMAS”.

“SATWA”, is the highest quality and is the nature of light, lightness, clarity, harmony, balance and intelligence. It is the divine quality that brings about the upward movement of the soul. It creates peace, love, and faith and brings the person into the spiritual life.

“RAJAS” is the intermediate quality and is the nature of energy, action, turbulence, distraction, disturbance, violence and passion. It is the demonic quality and keeps the soul in the middle worlds. It creates aggression, competition and drives the person to seek worldly acquisition and achievement as the main goal in life.

“TAMAS” is the lower quality and is the nature of inertia and darkness. It is the animal quality that keeps the soul bound in the lower and unconscious realm.

Each of these three qualities is necessary in nature. “TAMAS” give stability as in the roles of the Earth and the physical body. ‘”RAJAS” give energy, drive and desire as in the atmosphere and the vital body. “SATWA'” gives light as in the place of heaven and mind. The insertion of concentric circle in the Yantra creates the right mix of “‘SATWA”, “RAJAS” and “TAMAS” in a person.

The Sri Yantra consists of a series of nine triangles superimposed around a small central circle known as Bindu, forming forty-three Konas (or triangular projections). Four of them called Srikanthas (or the shiva triangles), having their apex upwards. The other five are superimposed upon the former with apex dowards. They are the five shiva-yuvatis (or shakti-triangles).

The Bindu, represents shiva-shakti in union in the casual state from which all the other parts of the diagram, representing the cosmos, are evolved. These are surrounded by two circles of lotuses, one with eight petals (Vasudalam) and the other with sixteen petals (Kalasram). The whole mandala of 16 petals is called ‘Fulfiller of Desire’. The the red devi is Tripureshi, her vidya is Aim Klim Sauh. She is described as ornamented with all gems, carrying a book and a rosary. The 16 yoginis are associated with the attainment of desires by the cultivation or strengthening of power over mind, ego, sound, touch, sight, taste, smell, intellect, steadiness, memory, name, growth, etheric body, revivification, and physical body. Outside these, are three circles (mekhalatraya) around and a rectangular enclosure (Bhupura) of three lines for the whole figure, with four entrances on the four sides.

Sri Yantra An Ancient Divine Symbol of Sound
by Christina Sarich




There are other places that this ratio exists. It is in nature, for example, and quite prolifically displayed. It is in nautilus shells, in the formation of leaves and petals of innumerable plants. The divine ratio shows up in ocean wave patterns, and you guessed it, sount Divine sound oscillates at perfect ratios for our optimum health and recent studies in DNA prove that divine sound can even change our DNA.



The Primordial Sound of Aum
