What makes geometry sacred?

There are many symbols we use when engaging in any form of “spiritual” practice or belief. Often, we feel certain symbols belong to certain faiths. I feel most of them belong to us all. To better understand what I mean, we must take a brief look at creation through the lens of sacred geometry.

I have written about this topic in depth in my second book Crystals: book two – Owning Your Path, it is available here if you are interested.

In the beginning…

The story starts with nothing, a void. Something so vast and endless we can’t conceive of this nothing. The creation process began with awareness, the recognition of existence. Be it God, energy, spirit, or a more scientific version; whatever you want to believe can typically fit the narrative here, but I will call it “one”. This one recognized it was floating through the void of nothing. As it did, it defined where it ended, and where the void of creation began. This is often depicted as a circle with a dot.   

One simply can’t make a mistake.

Now, the one had no awareness of anything but itself, it was all it knew. Like the circle it was perfectly even, and no one point more significant than another. You could travel from its center to any place on its border and it would be the same. One was equal and whole. It was aware of only itself and the void, until one replicated itself. The beautiful part of this is that the one simply can’t make a mistake. It doesn’t matter where it starts, because all areas are equal. No matter where the one begins. it can’t be wrong; no error can be made. (Sound familiar?) It brings its awareness to the edge of itself and defines itself again. Creating a second circle.

Through this act we get the vesica piscis which is associated with the number two and the act of creation. Right here it is important to realize that creation is not manifest. Manifest is the moment when what we wish to create is born into the physical world. Creation is the start of the process. The moment of change, but change is not always instant, and manifest has many steps. From two until step seven we are in the act of creation. Even after that, there is always movement and always more to create.

Two has created something new, but also longs for what it was

The two circles have something new but they also long for what they no longer have. They are no longer one. They no longer feel whole. Fueled by the feeling of lack that is created out of both longing to be whole and wanting to create more; the two replicates itself again and makes three. Three brings harmony and communication between one and two and with it we get a the Reuleaux triangle and the triquetra. Symbols of cooperation, stability, and balance, this third circle helps bridge the gap between the first two. It provides an area of communication for them both, sort of like an objective third party that can see both sides with the clarity needed to bring about resolution. As it does this, they create again.

Three bridges the gaps as it brings some balance to one and two

We now have four circles and this one holds the most polarizing symbol in sacred geometry (in my opinion). It is symbol that many claim as their own and it brings aversion to those who don’t align with the faith that has staked this claim of ownership.

Before we get to that symbol though, let’s recognize the number four is pretty significant. It plays a big role in the Tetractys and the foundation of the math we all know today; but we also see it in the four seasons, the four cardinal directions, and some say the elements. It is thought to be the number of manifest but not because it is the moment of manifest, but because it separates the building blocks needed to make something new. The four seasons together create a year, the four directions create one space, the elements create all we know. It is not the end or final product, just as the end of a year is not the end of all years, but it is a moment of definition so that order can be maintained.

The number four is associated with the square, the square also is aligned with the cube and the cube is representative of stability and the Earth or physical world. Many believe this is the part of the story when the physical world begins to form.

Let’s take a look at that cube for moment and we will see that if we unfold it, we have the ever-polarizing symbol that belongs to no faith and no people alone as it belongs to all. Representing stability, bringing order and manifest to the physical world is the cross.

Four gives us the building blocks for everything we wish to create

At this moment there is again a moment of replication, and we end up at five as we make our way to the other very polarizing symbol. I find it interesting to see them back-to-back like this. The influence of one still lingering on the next. However, no single group of people can own a number. They belong to us all. The fifth circle brings about the pentagram and with it, it brings the platonic solids. I talk about sacred geometry in depth in my book Crystals: book two – Owning Your Path and the following is a tiny section from that work.

Excerpt from Crystals: book two – Owning Your Path

“What are they? The simplest way to explain the Platonic Solids is that they are each a shape that fits within a circle, with the faces of the shape all being the same, and all sides and angles equal, with all points touching the edge of the circle but not surpassing it. There are only five shapes that fit this description and these five shapes have been associate with the elements.

FIRE = Tetrahedron; with the justification being fire feels sharp and stabby like small tetrahedra. 

AIR = Octahedron; with the justification being the points were small and unnoticeable, it feels like moving through the air. 

WATER = Icosahedron; with the justification being the edges were smooth and flowing like tiny balls that would roll through your hands like water.

EARTH = Hexahedron (cube); with the justification being it is very non spherical, and it is the only one of these shapes that tessellates Euclidean Space or the fundamental space of classical geometry.

“SPIRIT” = Dodecahedron. This one is in quotes as it did not originally have a name association. Plato said, “The god used it to arrange the constellations on the whole heaven.” This notion was associated with the fifth element “aithḗr” that Aristotle added to explain what held the celestial bodies- their invisible highway. He, however, did not associate it with Plato’s solids. This association was made later down the road. This is yet again a crossover of beliefs that we will pause to revel in for just a moment.” 

“This is the duality of mankind.”

When we say that the pentagram is associated with the elements, this is the origin of that statement. The birthplace of this idea was in math, not any one organized set of beliefs. This came from a time when spiritual belief was a part of everyday life, not something separate from it.  A time when the great minds of the world debated real topics like medicine, and mathematics right alongside the potential ideas of how existence began and worked. When you see it like that, we see that we are all much more aligned in beliefs than we allow ourselves to accept sometimes. A symbol cannot be any more nefarious than a number. What we do with it and the people who harness those symbols are where the intentions lie. Good and evil is determined by action, and we are all capable of both. This is the duality of mankind.

As for the pentagram, it defines the elements, it gives them a clear pathway to creation. It declares and holds the boundaries so chaos is not in control and can be harnessed for an intention. This step is key in the manifestation of any new creation. It is the moment when we proclaim the plan and begin to execute it. When we know the role every influencer plays, we can then see results from our efforts.

Five is the organization and defined plan for all elements

After five, another circle is added, and we get six. With six we get the hexagram or six-pointed star. Here we see the concept of the interpenetration of spirit and physical. The two begin to blend and influence one another. This is harmony of spirit and body, and it is also conflict of the needs and wants of the physical vs the contentment of the soul. When we align with this symbol, we are working to rise above the desires of the moment, so that we can achieve the needs of the spirit.

Six is a balance between the world of spirit

and the world of physical.

When we add another circle, we arrive at seven. Now, every number is the sum of all that came before it. The various combinations all hold meaning. All are profound, all are necessary, and all are equal.  The cooperation of 3 with the awareness of 1 gives us the building blocks of 4, the building blocks of 4 plus the awareness of 1 give us the control of 5, the will to create of 2 plus the wisdom of 3 helps us bring about the order of 5. Any combination you can pair of the previous numbers gives us the meanings we discuss in the symbols. They are not just ideas or keywords from Pinterest, they have a depth of meaning that is almost too great to articulate. When we arrive at seven this doesn’t change.

We pair the wisdom of 3 with the physical 4, the creation of 2 with the elements and direction of 5, the awareness of 1 and the blending of energy with the physical found in 6; and we get 7- the moment of manifest. We get the seed of life.

The seed is not the end.

There is always more to create. This moment is the first one of “completion”, something has been created here. The seed of life is one of the oldest symbols used by ancient people. It has been found across the globe and that is something pretty significant. It ties us all together and reminds us that while we are different and we have various beliefs, we are all still just one people on one planet. We share existence, just as we share the symbols that we often feel separate us.

From the seed we continue adding and the journey brings us eventually to the flower of life. Even then, the journey continues. Creation is never finished. Yes, sometimes things must be destroyed in order to create something new, but that old something is never really gone. We never again return to that void of nothing. If we have awareness, we are always something. Each of the symbols of sacred geometry have a wealth of meaning, meanings that are more than a few key words. To understand the symbols means you can use them to help you at whatever stage of your journey you may be on. Whatever energy we wish to align with, these symbols can help us resonate where we want to be so we can manifest the reality we wish to participate in.