  We investigate the radiative transfer of Lyman alpha photons through
simplified anisotropic gas distributions, which represent physically motivated
extensions of the popular 'shell-models'. Our study is motivated by the notion
that (i) shell models do not always reproduce observed Lyman alpha spectral
line profiles, (ii) (typical) shell models do not allow for the escape of
ionizing photons, and (iii) the observation & expectation that winds are more
complex, anisotropic phenomena. We examine the influence of inclination on the
Lyman alpha spectra, relative fluxes and escape fractions. We find the flux to
be enhanced/suppressed by factors up to a few depending on the parameter range
of the models, corresponding to a boost in equivalent width of the same
amplitude if we neglect dust. In general, lower mean optical depths tend to
reduce the impact of anisotropies as is expected. We find a correlation between
an observed peak in the -- occasionally triple-peaked -- spectrum at the
systemic velocity and the existence of a low optical depth cavity along the
line of sight. This can be of importance in the search for ionizing photons
leaking from high- redshift galaxies since these photons will also be able to
escape through the cavity.
