SpEmBoM design system - The Wheel ​Implementation

Here you can see the final result of the implementation of SpEmBoM.
Link to High Quality image
There are 5 concentric circles in SpEmBoM. Starting from the centre outward:
LEVEL 1: METAVISION - Self:
               Medicine Wheel
LEVEL 2: MACROVISION - Groups:
​               Dragon Dreaming
LEVEL 3: PROCESS
LEVEL 4: METHODS
LEVEL 5: TOOLS
Level 1 is the deepest level, the one that connects us to our most ancient roots. Level 2 follows the typical terminology of Dragon Dreaming. Level 3 follows Permaculture design processes and adds to them some fundamental points throughout the process. Levels 4 and 5 are a collection of the most well known elements and tools of permaculture design.
  • SpEmBoM follows the cycles of the day.
Even if the most common representation of maps is with North at the top, when we want to orient ourselves in real life we look at the sun, which in the boreal hemisphere is in the South at noon. SpEmBoM follows this cycle in a non anthropocentric way, closer to the natural cycles.
Culture is important too, though: we are accustomed to follow the hands of the clock, which go from left to right, exactly the same as the cycle of the sun in the boreal hemisphere: East (left), South (top), West (right), North (bottom).
As we saw, SpEmBoM follows a natural pattern (the sun) and an established standard (the clock).
  • Red is the color that attracts the human eye the most (the same happens with birds). 'Spirit' is the only word in white and we start from there.                                                                                                                               
       'Spirit' lies on a dark red base and we move toward the outside part of the circle and always lighter red shades. In this case                             'Dream' and then 'Observation'. We also have some dark yellow lines that guide us "vertically" from the centre, when we not only have         to go from a darker shade to a lighter one. In this case, after Observation we will go to the different types of observation: IOSI and to             all the other Observación elements and tools before passing to a shade of red which is a little lighter than 'Observation': 'Visión'.                                                                                                                                                              
  • We follow this same pattern throughout the whole SpEmBoM. After the whole red area, we pass to a first 'Celebration' (yellow) since we completed the first part of the process. If we want to know how to celebrate we go to the corresponding, more developed yellow of 'Mind' connected via the dark yellow centre.
  • After the first 'Celebration' we go on and get to the blue area, following the cycle of the sun and direction of the hands of a clock. In this case too we start from the central and darker 'Emotion' and we move outwards following the dark yellow lines when needed. The steps 'Analysis', 'Objectives' and 'Design' (in the third circle: Process) are connected to 'Planning' and this is fairly intuitive, however the fact that they are connected to 'Emotion' might not feel so logical. Ancient cultures from North America, though, observed that the cycle going from 'Spirit' to 'Emotion' followed by 'Body' and 'Mind' is the most natural and put in their Medicine Wheel which is the 'Metavision' of SpEmBoM. Usually the Medicine Wheel is depicted with North at the top, but the cycle doesn't change. We have to learn to leave rationality aside and be guided by 'Emotion' after passing through 'Spirit'. This is maybe the hardest part of the whole process and this is why 'Design' is the main focus of Permaculture.
  • After this phase we do another 'Celebration' (yellow) since we completed this part of the process. We then go to 'Body' in dark green. We follow the same process we followed in the other areas and we finally get to 
  • 'Mind' (dark yellow) which will give us the opportunity to evaluate and celebrate the whole process. During 'Celebration' we use our 'Mind', we reflect very consciously on all the steps we took before going to 'Spirit' once again in dark red in a circle-spiral of abundance.
 
  • The fous areas (Spirit, Emotion, Body, Mind) are not perfectly aligned with the four main cardinal points (East, South, West, North). In any case they do occupy the four areas identified by these cardinal points (left, up, right, down). The cardinal points give us a guide to navigate the SpEmBoM and add a new layer of meaning to it, while connecting it to a deeper and more profound knowledge.
  • Moreover, EsEmCueM consciously follows the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi, "the beauty of imperfection". This is also why the circle is not perfectly divided in four.​
  • A very important part of the SpEmBoM are the various moments of 'Celebration' after every area of the process. This idea is already present in Dragon Dreaming, however it doesn't appear in the diagrams representing that process. Also, unlike SpEmBoM, the Dragon Dreaming diagrams start at the top right and need to be followed counter-clockwise. I imagine this is because Dragon Dreaming was originated in Australia and in the Austral hemisphere you see the sun rising from East (which is on the right), passing through North (in front of you) and set in the West (on your left). This counter-clockwise cycle was also followed in EMFE, the first version of EsEmCueM, then translated into English with SpEmBoM.
  • In Permaculture we always say that the practical part occupies a minor part of very process (20% of the time, roughly), however you cannot see this clearly in the various design processes. In SpEmBoM this is very clear at a graphical level: the bigger the area, the longer you spend on that area. 'Emotion' is the biggest area, followed by 'Spirit', 'Mind' (combining the various 'Celebration' moments) and 'Body'. Moreover, 'Body' is divided in 'Implementation' and 'Maintenance' and this last step is even bigger than 'Implementation'.
  • With some imagination we can see a person dancing in a Saturday Night Fever fashion in the the three areas of 'Celebration'. In those same areas we can see "Doc" Brown's Flux Capacitor from the Back to the Future trilogy.                                                                            If it's not fun it's not Permaculture!                     ​