cymaheal manual

Overview

cymaheal shows the figure your sound draws. Put it on a track, a return or the master: the sound passes through, and the window draws the cymatic figure it would make on a square plate, a disc or a water surface, after Ernst Chladni, Hans Jenny and Alexander Lauterwasser. Each reading is matched against Solfeggio, chakra-scale and Cosmic Octave records and a library of 1,266 researched records, so you see the frequency, the note, the closest tradition and its body point.

cymaheal can also sound a tone into the track: pure, binaural or pulsed (isochronic), with a breath guide and the planetary day and hour for your location. It fingerprints whole songs, writes a session scroll of every lasting figure, sends the figure to a projector or to Syphon, records QuickTime videos that follow your DAW's transport, and exports sacred tunings for Live 12 and Scala.

cymaheal is an audio effect (VST3, AU) and a Standalone app. Binaural tones need headphones.

Installation

Install

1. Download the cymaheal installer (.pkg) from the link in your purchase e-mail, or from the product page for the free trial.
2. Double-click the .pkg and follow the steps. You can choose which formats to install:
   • VST3 goes to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 (Ableton Live, Bitwig, Cubase, Reaper, FL Studio and others).
   • Audio Unit goes to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (Logic Pro, GarageBand, Ableton Live).
   • Standalone app goes to /Applications and runs without a DAW.
3. Open your DAW and rescan plug-ins. cymaheal appears from the manufacturer Sacred Audio as cymaheal.

cymaheal runs on macOS 11 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Windows versions are coming soon.

Ableton Live

Open Settings > Plug-Ins. Turn on Use VST3 Plug-in System Folders (and Use Audio Units if you prefer AU), then press Rescan. Put cymaheal on any track, a return or the master. The sound passes through unchanged.

Logic Pro

Logic uses the Audio Unit. If cymaheal doesn't appear, open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager, select cymaheal and click Reset & Rescan Selection. In Logic, insert it as an Audio FX on any track, an aux or the stereo out.

Trial and licence key

The first time you open any Sacred Audio plug-in you accept the licence agreement once for the whole suite. Because cymaheal works with entrainment (binaural beats, isochronic pulses and moving visuals), the health & safety notice follows. Please read it; you'll find it again on the About page. After that cymaheal runs as a full 14-day trial, counted from the first time you open it. The header shows Trial 14d and counts down.

When the trial ends without a key, cymaheal keeps working in demo mode: the header pill turns to Activate, the licence panel opens once per DAW session, and the output dips to silence for 4 seconds once a minute. Your sessions always reload with all their settings.

To enter your licence key, click the trial pill (or open the menu and choose Enter licence key...), then do one of these:

• Paste the key into the field and click Activate. The key starts with SA1.
• Click Paste to paste the key from the clipboard, then Activate.
• Click Load licence file... and choose the .salicense file from your purchase e-mail.
• Drag the .salicense file straight onto the plug-in window.

The key is checked on your computer, offline. Nothing is sent anywhere and you don't need an internet connection. One key unlocks every Sacred Audio product it covers, in every plug-in at once: if you bought The Temple bundle, entering the key in any one of the four unlocks all four. The licence panel then shows your serial and what the key covers. Remove licence takes the key off this computer again.

The Sacred Audio header

Every Sacred Audio plug-in has the same 40 px header strip across the top. Learn it once and it works the same everywhere.

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1. 1Sigil and name open the About page.
2. 2Undo / Redo, one step per knob gesture.
3. 3Previous / next preset. The right arrow sits after the preset box.
4. 4Preset name opens the preset browser. A * means you changed something.
5. 5Save your sound as a preset.
6. 6A / B compares two versions of your settings.
7. 7Trial pill: days left, or Activate. Click to enter your key.
8. 8Menu: presets, window size, Settings, licence, updates, manual, About.

Presets

The browser lists All presets, Favourites, Factory and My presets, by category. Search by name or tag, click a preset to hear it, and star the ones you use most. Your own presets are saved as .sapreset files in ~/Documents/Sacred Audio/<plug-in>/Presets/<category>/. You can rename and delete your own presets; factory presets stay as they are (use Save to make a copy).

Import and export: export one preset as a .sapreset file, or a set of your presets as a .sapack pack. To import, use Import presets or packs... in the menu, or drag .sapreset, .sapack or a folder of presets onto the plug-in. Presets made for a different Sacred Audio plug-in are refused with a clear message.

Presets are mix-safe: they never touch the plug-in's level controls (listed in the Presets section below), so loading one doesn't jump your mix.

Window size and Settings

Choose 75 % to 200 % from Menu > Window size or in Settings, or drag the bottom-right corner. The size is remembered for each plug-in.

Settings are shared by all Sacred Audio plug-ins on your computer: window size, Reference tuning (A4 = 440, 432, 444 or 436 Hz), your preset author name, tooltips on or off, the daily update check (on or off) and a button to open your preset folder.

Controls

cymaheal is an audio effect: the sound passes through unchanged, and the window shows the figure it draws. The figure fills the centre, with Kindred figures below it. The top bar picks the medium and colours, a side panel has seven tabs, and a footer holds the main knobs and buttons. Every control that is a parameter can be automated from your DAW.

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1. 1Top bar: medium, colour, planetary hour, A4 reference and Hold.
2. 2The figure the sound draws.
3. 3Kindred figures below it.
4. 4Side panel tabs: Reading, Print, Library, Tone, Scroll, Stage, Tune.
5. 5Resonance: the strongest frequency.
6. 6Correspondence: the matched record.
7. 7Documented figures like this one.
8. 8Footer knobs: Tuning, Gain, Response, Delicacy, Partials.
9. 9Sound, Breathe and Inscribe.

Top bar

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1. 1Square / Disc / Water: the medium.
2. 2Colour opens this panel.
3. 3Planetary hour for your location.
4. 4440 / 432: the A4 reference for note names.
5. 5Hold freezes the figure.
6. 6Figure colour: Theme, Spectrum, Chakra or My colour.
7. 7Hue, Depth and Light for My colour.
8. 8App colour: Follow medium or My colour.
9. 9Glow around the figure.
10. 10Reset and Done.

Footer

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1. 1Tuning: how the plate answers frequency.
2. 2Gain for the analysis only.
3. 3Response: how quickly the figure follows.
4. 4Delicacy of small detail.
5. 5Partials: how many frequencies shape the figure.
6. 6Sound turns the tone on, showing its frequency.
7. 7Breathe turns the breath guide on.
8. 8Inscribe saves the figure as your own record.

Reading tab

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1. 1Tabs: Reading is open.
2. 2Resonance: the strongest frequency in Hz.
3. 3Its note name and the plate mode.
4. 4Correspondence: the matched record and its tradition.
5. 5Body point on the seven-point ladder.
6. 6What the tradition says it is for.
7. 7Other close matches.
8. 8Documented figures like this one.

• Resonance: the strongest frequency in Hz, its note name and the plate mode.
• Correspondence: the matched record (from the Solfeggio, chakra-scale and Cosmic Octave records and the library), its tradition, its body point on a seven-point ladder, and what the tradition says it is for. Other close matches are listed below.
• Documented figures like this one: figures from the library that resemble the current one.
• Hold each reading: Live, 2 s, 4 s or 8 s. How long each reading stays before the next one replaces it.

Print tab

Song fingerprint listens through a whole track and records which cymatic figures it makes, how much each one dominates, which frequencies of the traditions it touches and how its body map leans.

• Start print begins listening. Follow play (on by default) starts and stops with your DAW's transport.
• The results: Dominant figures, Frequencies touched, Documented kin, Body map, Symmetry and energy.
• Save print: give it a track name and save it as a PNG card and a JSON file. Show in Finder opens the folder.
• Resembles your saved prints: compares the track with prints you've saved before.

Library tab

The cymatic library holds 1,266 researched records from many sources: what each frequency or figure is, and what its tradition or research says it is for. Families include Chladni plates, wave physics, CymaScope, Cosmic Octave, tuning forks, chakra, Solfeggio, Hans Jenny, Tama-Do, brainwave, voice and mantra, gongs, singing bowls, music of the spheres, Lauterwasser, Schumann and more. Some families are marked historical.

Search by number, word or name (for example 528, heart, hexagon, Jenny, OM), or filter by family. For each record you can Show figure, Play tone or Open source.

Tone tab

Sound a tone into the track. The tone is added to the audio passing through.

Planetary hour: the current planetary day and hour, when it ends and the next hour. Hours run from your sunrise and sunset in the Chaldean order. Enter your place name, latitude and longitude (north and east positive). Sound the hour sets the tone to the Cosmic Octave tone of the current hour's planet and starts it.

Scroll tab

Session scroll: while a session runs, every new figure that holds for a few breaths is written to the scroll, with its tone and correspondence.

• Begin session starts writing. Press again to end.
• Save scroll saves the scroll as a PNG image and a JSON file to ~/Music/cymaheal/Sessions. Show in Finder opens the folder.

Stage tab

Recording and Syphon capture the plug-in window on macOS 12.3 or later. The first time, macOS asks for screen recording permission: allow your DAW under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, then restart the DAW.

Tune tab

Sacred tunings: save a scale as a Live 12 tuning (.ascl, load it in Live's Tuning section) or as a Scala file (.scl) for Pigments, Vital, Surge and other microtonal synths. Files go to ~/Music/cymaheal/Tunings.

Where files go

Prints, scrolls, videos and tunings are saved under ~/Music/cymaheal/. Your inscribed records and settings live in ~/Library/Application Support/cymaheal/. The open tab and other window settings are saved with your DAW session.

Presets

cymaheal has 13 factory presets in four groups. Presets set the figure and the tone. Input gain, Tone level and the A4 reference stay as you set them.

Plates

Water

Stage

Healing tones

Workflow tips for producers

• Put it anywhere: on a track, a return or the master. The sound passes through untouched, so it can stay in the chain while you mix.
• Find the spots that sing: watch the figure while you tune a lead or a kick. The Reading tab names the frequency, the note and the closest tradition record.
• Fingerprint a finished track: run Print over the whole song and save the card. Compare new tracks with your saved prints.
• Visuals for live sets: load Beat Stage or Bar Stage, then Open visuals on the projector, or Send to Syphon into Resolume, MadMapper, VDMX or OBS.
• Music videos: Arm recording and press Play. Each playback becomes a QuickTime movie of the figure with the track's sound, ready for social posts.
• Tune your synths: export Cosmic Octave, Solfeggio or OM just scale from the Tune tab and load it in Live 12's Tuning section or in Pigments, Vital or Surge.
• Automate the look: Medium, Plate tuning, Hold figure, Figure change and the other parameters can be drawn as envelopes, so the figure changes with the arrangement.

Workflow tips for sound healers

• Show the sound: put cymaheal on your microphone input (or run the Standalone app) and play bowls, forks, gongs or voice. Clients see the figure each tone draws.
• Sound a tone: on the Tone tab, pick a tone from the quick list or the Library and press Sound. OM 136.1 Pure and Solfeggio 528 are ready to go.
• Breathe together: the Breathe guide swells and settles the ring around the plate at 3–12 breaths a minute. Heart 639 Breath sets six breaths a minute.
• Headphones or room: Binaural mode needs headphones. For a group in a room, use Pulse mode, as in Schumann Pulse.
• Work with the planetary hours: set your location once, then Sound the hour plays the Cosmic Octave tone of the current planetary hour.
• Keep a record: Begin session writes every lasting figure to the Scroll. Save it as a picture and data file to share with the client or keep with your notes.
• Project it: Open visuals puts the figure alone on a second screen or projector for the room.
• Look things up: the Library's 1,266 records cover Solfeggio, chakra, Cosmic Octave, tuning forks, singing bowls, gongs and more, each with its source.

Troubleshooting

The figure doesn't move

cymaheal draws from the sound passing through it, so the track needs audio. Check that Hold isn't on, and that Hold each reading on the Reading tab isn't set to a long hold. For quiet sources, raise Gain in the footer. It only affects the analysis, not the sound.

I can't hear the binaural beat

Binaural mode needs headphones, with each ear on its own channel. On speakers use Pulse mode, which swells and fades the tone itself.

No tone when I press Sound

Check the tone Level on the Tone tab, and that the track's output reaches your speakers. The tone fades in gently over a moment.

Recording or Syphon shows no picture

Window capture needs macOS 12.3 or later and screen recording permission. Allow your DAW under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, then restart the DAW. Recording starts only when Arm recording is on and the DAW's transport plays.

cymaheal won't load on a track

cymaheal needs the same number of channels in and out, mono or stereo.

cymaheal doesn't show up in my DAW

Rescan plug-ins (Ableton: Settings > Plug-Ins > Rescan; Logic: Plug-in Manager > Reset & Rescan Selection). In Ableton, check that Use VST3 Plug-in System Folders or Use Audio Units is on. Look for cymaheal under the manufacturer Sacred Audio. If you chose not to install a format in the installer, run the installer again and tick it.

The sound drops out for a few seconds every minute

The 14-day trial has ended and the plug-in is in demo mode: the output goes silent for 4 seconds once a minute. Enter your licence key (click Activate in the header) and it stops straight away.

My licence key isn't accepted

The licence panel tells you why. "That doesn't look like a Sacred Audio licence key": copy the whole key, starting with SA1., with nothing missing at the end. "This key isn't genuine or was changed while copying": copy it again from your purchase e-mail, or use Load licence file... with the .salicense file, which avoids copy errors. "This key is valid, but for another Sacred Audio product": the key is for a different plug-in. If you've lost your key, use the Licence page on the website to have it sent to your e-mail again.

A preset won't import

Presets and packs only load into the plug-in they were made for. A .sapreset from another Sacred Audio plug-in is refused with a message saying so.

Health & safety

cymaheal can produce binaural beats, isochronic pulses, slow modulation and moving visual patterns designed to influence how you feel. Most people find them relaxing. The full notice appears the first time you open the plug-in and is always available on the About page. In short:

• Don't listen while driving, cycling, operating machinery, or doing anything that needs your full attention.
• Ask a doctor first if you have epilepsy or a history of seizures, a heart condition, a pacemaker or other implanted device, a psychiatric condition, or if you are pregnant. People with photosensitive epilepsy should also avoid flashing visuals.
• Stop listening if you feel dizzy, anxious, nauseous, disoriented or unwell. Most effects fade within minutes.
• Keep the volume moderate, especially on headphones. Binaural beats need headphones, and they work at low volume.
• Not for children without supervision.
• When you guide others (sound healing sessions, classes), let them know what to expect and that they can stop at any time.

cymaheal is a creative and relaxation tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, and it is not a substitute for professional care. Descriptions of frequencies, brainwave bands, chakras and intentions in this manual and in the plug-in are artistic and cultural, drawn from sound healing practice and tradition, not medical claims.

Support

Open About in the plug-in and click Support for a pre-filled e-mail with your version and macOS, or contact us through the website.