We will study Ezekiel’s Vision of the Tetramorph in Fourteenth-and Fifteenth-Century Manuscripts and Printed Copies of Nicholas of Lyra’s Postilla litteralis around 1410. Here we see many aspects we can understand once we have seen phosphenes ourselves.

Analysis of Ezekiel’s Vision (Illustration) through the Lens of Phosphenes

This illustration, from a medieval illuminated manuscript provides a fantastic visual analogy for a multi-layered phosphene experience.

Let me break down the elements:

1. Overall Radiance and Intense Color (Initial Light / Fields of Color):
   • The entire composition is bathed in brilliant, saturated colors: deep blues, radiant golds, fiery oranges, vivid reds, and rich greens. This immediately conveys a sense of overwhelming internal luminosity and vibrant energy.
   • The gold background pattern behind the central figure (God or Christ) creates a shimmering, almost vibrating field of light.
   • Phosphene Link: This strong, non-naturalistic color palette and pervasive radiance perfectly evoke the initial sensation of phosphenes as fields of brilliant, often non-spectral, colors, or diffuse, pervasive light that fills the visual field when the eyes are closed.
2. Geometric Patterns and Lattice Structures (Geometric Phosphenes: Grids, Tunnels, Kaleidoscopic Figures):
3. “Eyes” and Luminous Points (Bright Shiny Isolated Eyes/Burning Torches Morphing):
   • The wings of the tetramorphs, especially the blue wings of the man-figure and the green wings of the eagle, are densely populated with distinct, round, uniform dots that appear to be eyes. They are consistently sized and evenly distributed.
   • Phosphene Link: This is a remarkably direct visual parallel to your description of “fields with bright shiny isolated eyes everywhere.” In phosphenes, these can appear as shimmering points or distinct dots of light that may or may not seem to “look” back. The way they are embedded within a larger structure (the wings) is also consistent with how phosphenes can appear on surfaces or within patterns. The vivid colors might also relate to “burning torches morphing” if one considers the dots to be mini-flames.
4. Amber-Colored Circles and Jewel Tones (Chromatic Phosphenes):
   • The circular halos around the seated figure and the central large white circle are framed with intense amber/orange/red hues. The overall palette, especially the fiery tones of the lion and ox wings, and the rich blues and greens, strongly resemble “fields of jewels and crystals in many colors” or specific chromatic experiences in phosphenes.
   • Phosphene Link: The specific mention of “amber-colored circles” is almost literal here, seen in the halos. The jewel-like quality of the deep, saturated blues, reds, and greens across the entire image (especially the wings) evokes the vivid, often crystalline appearance of phosphenes.
5. Central Light Phenomena / Kaleidoscopic Points (Hexagrams or Octagonals):
   • While there isn’t a direct hexagram or octagonal shape, the large white circular void at the bottom, framed by a vibrant red-orange ring, creates a powerful central focus point. This could be interpreted as:
     • An emanating source of light, similar to a bright core from which phosphenes might radiate.
     • A “portal” or “tunnel” effect, which is another common phosphene form constant.
   • The overall radial symmetry of the four figures around this implied central axis, combined with the geometric wing patterns, generates a sense of kaleidoscopic organization.
   • Phosphene Link: This central point and the symmetrical arrangement echo the “point-centered” nature that often emerges in more complex phosphene patterns, drawing the eye to a focus, even if the specific polygon is not depicted.

In conclusion, this illustration of Ezekiel’s vision is indeed a remarkable visual parallel to a comprehensive phosphene experience. From the initial wash of intense colors and background grids to the specific details of “eyes” on wings and the central circular focus, it visually embodies many of the stages and forms described in phosphene taxonomies. It’s a compelling example of how ancient mystical visions might have been rooted in universal neuro-visual phenomena, interpreted through the unique lens of their spiritual beliefs.

Here is the text: I highlight all phosphene passages based on my experience and the literature.

I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north — an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

Their faces looked like this: each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: they sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

This is all possible to see and hear! yourself if you emerge yourself in the phosphene world of your own ultrasubjective hyperspace!

In Ezekiel’s vision, several details stand out as remarkably phosphene-like — meaning they strongly resemble what one actually sees behind closed eyes, in entoptic imagery or the early stages of hypnagogic light patterns. Here are three especially telling passages:

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1. “Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.”
👉 Interpretation: The “wheels full of eyes” is one of the classic form constants in phosphene research — concentric circles or wheels covered in dot patterns or “eyes.” This directly mirrors the flickering, ringed, eye-like spots that can appear with pressure phosphenes, migraine aura, or trance vision.

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2. “The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.”
👉 Interpretation: This moving fire, back-and-forth flashing, and sudden “lightning” flickers is very close to the moving points, arcs, or zig-zag patterns of phosphenes — especially during deep meditation or the sudden flickering of retinal noise.

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3. “Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.”
👉 Interpretation: The crystalline vault or dome can be read as the inner dome or “vault of vision” that appears when one looks up with eyes closed — the way phosphenes sometimes form an arched grid, shimmering like crystalline facets.

Shunyam Adhibhu