Sacred geometry
From Free net encyclopedia
Sacred geometry can be described as attributing a religious or cultural value to the graphical representation of the mathematical relationships and the design of the man-made objects that symbolize or represent these mathematical relationships.
The term is also used for geometry which is employed in the design of sacred architecture or art. The underlying belief is that geometry and mathematical ratios discoverable from geometry also underly music, cosmology and other observable features of the natural universe. This belief was held in ancient and medieval times and influenced the construction of temples and churches and the creation of religious art.
A contemporary usage of the term describes New Age and occult theories that assert a mathematical order to the intrinsic nature of the Universe.
Contents |
Music
The discovery of the relationship of geometry and mathematics to music is attributed to Pythagoras, who found that a string stopped halfway along its length produced an octave, while a ratio of 2/3 produced a fifth and 3/4 produced a fourth. Pythagorians believed that this gave music powers of healing, as it could "harmonize" the out-of-balance body, and this belief has been revived in modern times[1]. Hans Jenny, a doctor who pioneered and named Cymatics (the study of geometric figures formed by wave interactions), is often cited in this context. However, he himself did not make healing claims for his work.
Cosmology
At least as late as Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a belief in the geometric underpinnings of the cosmos persisted among scientists. Kepler explored the ratios of the planetary orbits, at first in two dimensions (having spotted that the ratio of the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn approximate to the in-circle and out-circle of a triangle). When this did not give him a neat enough outcome, he tried using the Platonic solids. In fact, planetary orbits can be related using two-dimensional geometric figures, but the figures do not occur in a particularly neat order[2]. Even in his own lifetime (with less accurate data than we now possess) he could also see that the fit of the Platonic solids was imperfect[3], a fact not always mentioned in current New Age discussions.
The connection between geometry, cosmology and music is through the so-called Music of the Spheres[4].
Natural Forms
Many forms observed in nature can be related to geometry (for sound reasons of resource optimization). For example, the chambered nautilus grows at a constant rate and so forms a logarithmic spiral, and honeybees construct hexagonal cells to hold their honey. These and other correspondences are seen by believers in sacred geometry to be further proof of the cosmic significance of geometric forms.
Art and Architecture
The golden ratio and other geometric figures and geometrically-derivable ratios were often used in the design of Egyptian, ancient Indian, Greek and Roman architecture, and medieval European cathedrals incorporated a great deal of symbolic geometry. Examples of this use of sacred geometry can be found in:
- Labyrinth (an Eulerian path, as distinct from a maze)
- Mandala
- Parthenon
- Taijitu (Yin-Yang)
- Tree of Life
- Rose Window
- Celtic art such as the Book of Kells
Contemporary Usage
Modern New Age and occult movements use the term sacred geometry to refer to the religious and spiritual use of geometry and ratio. Common subjects include:
- the alleged religious underpinnings of crop circles and ancient architecture such as the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge
- metaphorical meaning of geometric concepts such as Platonic Solids and the Golden Ratio
Flower of Life Workshops
The Flower of Life Research organization uses sacred geometry in meditation techniquies based off of the teachings of New Age author Drunvalo Melchizedek. These teachings focus primarily on the Flower of Life, the merkaba and Metatron's Cube as a spiritual allegories. FOL facilitor Simon Prone describes sacred geometry as "meditation for the logical side of our brain".
The MERU Project
The MERU Foundation focuses on geometric properties of the Hebrew alphabet and geometric metaphors in the Bible discovered by Stanley Tenen.
See also
External links
- Souls of Distortion Home Page
- Sacred Geometry Home Page by Bruce Rawles
- Sacred Geometry: The Architecture Of The Universe
- Sacred Geometry of Islamic Mosques
- Geometry in Art & Architecture
- Dodecahedron by Jason Martineau
- Sacred Geometry & Images by Mika Feinberg
- Kepler's Triangles
- Johannes Kepler and the Music of the Spheres
Further reading
- George Bain. Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction. Dover, 1973. ISBN 0486229238.
- Robert Lawlor. Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice (Art and Imagination). Thames & Hudson, 1989. ISBN 0500810303.
- Michael S. Shneider. A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science. Harper Paperbacks, 1995. ISBN 0060926716