WINDIALS
Windials are devices specifically designed to allow communication through clear and intentional control of wind. This communication is accomplished through symbols created by the movement of two sails that, when moved, drag a needle (or some other marking tool) across some medium, and in the process creating symbols called windoglyphics.
In The Gods of Wind, windials are used to communicate between universes. Inter-universal communication aside, windials are fun to design, build, and play with. Scroll down to learn more about how windials work, the types of windials that can be made, and to create your own windoglyphics.
Free plans are availble if you’d like to build your own windial. Custom windials are available to order.
Lastly, read The Gods of Wind to learn how and why windials were invented.
HOW DO WINDIALS WORK?
Windials work by distinguishing the difference between natural wind and intentional control of wind — something their design allows them to do. By using two sails configured perpendicular to one another, windials can move in ways that couldn’t realistically be caused by natural wind. When moved in this way, windials create circular shapes in or on the recording medium (usually sand or paper). The main components and how they work are depicted below.
TYPES OF WINDIALS
The windials in The Gods of Wind are used to communicate between universes, and use an alphanumeric character set to create symbols representing words and sequences of letters. Other character sets can be used to create symbols that represent things like mathematical equations, pieces of music, recipes, or many other pieces of information.
WINDOGLYPHICS
Windoglyphics are the symbols created by windials, that can represent any piece of information corresponding to their character set. (words, pieces of music, equations etc…)
EXAMPLE WINDOGLYPHICS
WINDOGLYPHIC GENERATOR
The Windoglyphics Generator creates windoglyphics that could be made with a windial using an alphanumeric character set. Follow the instructions to create your own symbols. Use a thinner “line thickness” setting to create symbols that use larger numbers of characters (a setting of 9 only allows for seven characters, while a setting of 1 allows for almost 100).