Category: Heart shape

My new speculative fiction novel: The Legacy of Jaarqub the Atlantean

I am excited to announce that I have just published my first novel, The Legacy of Jaarqub the Atlantean.

It is a work of speculative fiction aimed at unpacking some of the lessons of Atlantis and how they might pertain to today’s society.

I drew inspiration for a number of elements of the story from papers that I researched and posted here on my WordPress sites over the past several years. So don’t be surprised if you find some familiar topics woven into the plot! At the end of the novel I provide a fairly detailed list of selected sources that served as inspiration.

It was a refeshing change to write a work of fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I hope you get as much pleasure from reading my novel as I did writing it.

You can find my novel online as an ebook at several retailers, including Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Here are 2 easy links if you would like to enjoy a good read:

Aggregated bookstore links: The Legacy of Jaarqub the Atlantean

Buy on Amazon: The Legacy of Jaarqub the Atlantean

It is around 55,000 words and considered a 4 – 5 hour read.

Synopsis:

Long forgotten secrets of Atlantis and Lemuria are revealed in this engaging story of spiritual awakening told across three intersecting timelines and spanning thousands of years.

This short novel is a work of speculative fiction inspired by spiritual, cultural, scientific and scholarly themes. It follows the transformative journey of ambitious, quirky anthropologist Jamie Tawnhill and his three friends, Reiki Master and holistic health practitioner Tiana Raymond, sceptical geologist Sarah Rosans and spiritually inclined legal academic Paul Mannix. Revelations about long forgotten civilisations and peoples of the ancient past reveal deeper truths about humanity’s interconnected relationship with other animals and the underlying reality that if we are to survive, we must accept that that we are all part of one natural world, one unity.

The Legacy of Jaarqub the Atlantean is the first work of speculative fiction by widely published cross-disciplinary author Dr Philip Jamieson. With undergraduate degrees in Law (with First Class Honours) and Arts (majoring in Anthropology), his interdisciplinary doctorate crossed the fields of history, philosophy and law. A cross-pollinator of ideas, he has been widely published over the past 40 years across a range of disciplines and subjects, contributing to numerous journals and magazines including Ancient Origins, Nexus and New Dawn. Born in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, he is honoured to have been initiated (to the first stage) into the local Tolai community.

At the Heart of the Matter

Dr Philip Jamieson (with Marianne Schmidt)

Feature image by Oliver Peters from Pixabay

This is the original version of the paper that Marianne and I wrote considering the ancient origins of the classic heart symbol published with some editorial changes in Ancient Origins on 27 October 2025 under the title, Tracing the Ancient Spiritual Journey of the World’s Most Popular Emoji. The paper as published is available at https://www.ancient-origins.net/tracing-ancient-spiritual-journey-worlds-most-popular-emoji-00102251

On World Emoji Day 2025, the classic red love heart was identified as the most popular emoji used by the global online community. One of the most well recognised symbols on the planet today, it is commonly associated with love and romance. This association is normally identified as developing only from the 13th century. There are however some ancient representations of the now classic heart shape that appear not only to share at least some relationship with the modern image, but that we believe may ultimately link to a profound spiritual truth.

Sexual association

The heart shape is found in antiquity most commonly depicting various seeds, leaves and other botanical forms with which it has a close visual appearance. One commonly referenced example is the heart-shaped seed of the silphium plant. Alkaloid substances in its seed were effective in ancient Greece and Rome as both a contraceptive and aphrodisiac, with the suggestion that this association with sex may have been a foundation for the heart shape’s later romantic association.

An association of the heart symbol with sex may actually be of far more ancient origin. Palaeolithic rock art from central Sahara includes examples of what have been described as a “simple heart-like sign” (similar in styling to the modern heart symbol) which are thought associated with an erotic (or sexual) meaning.

Anatomical inspirations?

The shapes of various aspects of female and male anatomy resembling the heart symbol have also been suggested as providing its foundation.

One such anatomical relationship is the similarity of the heart shape to the heart-shaped pelvis (more prominent in males). Marianne also points to the energetic association of the pelvic girdle with the Sacral chakra, the location of both the female and male reproductive organs, the ovaries and womb in women and the testes in men. The Sacral chakra is connected with fertility, the creative impulse and emotions such as joy, care and love.

Continue reading “At the Heart of the Matter” →