The Shape of God: On Sacred Geometry

Introduction

Welcome back, this blogpost will cover sacred geometry, its history and uses, and how I incorporate it in magic system of the Phoenix Diaries.  

What is scared geometry?

Well, it’s the belief that certain geometric shapes and proportions have symbolic and religious significance, and that God used these shapes to create the universe and everything in it. Below is an illustration of a few shapes considered scared.

This next illustration is of Fibonacci’s Spiral, which uses the proportions of Fibonacci’s numbers.

A brief history of the concept

The concept of sacred geometry dates back to the Greek mystery schools, wherein it was believed that by studying the shapes found in nature you could better understand it and its creator. Plutarch attributes Plato with originating this belief, and according to Greek philosophers of the day each shape has a different property and significance.

The Platonic solids are said to be the building blocks of creations, with the triangle representing balance, harmony, completion and a rising action. Whereas the circle represents wholeness, oneness, cycles, and the eternal constant. And squares are said to represent foundation, stability, grounding, and earthliness.  

The concept can also be found in Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. In the former, churches were built according to these sacred shapes.

“The construction of Medieval European cathedrals was often based on geometries intended to make the viewer see the world through mathematics, and through this understanding, gain a better understanding of the divine. These churches frequently featured a Latin Cross floor-plan.

“At the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe, views shifted to favor simple and regular geometries. The circle in particular became a central and symbolic shape for the base of buildings, as it represented the perfection of nature and the centrality of man’s place in the universe.^[8] The use of the circle and other simple and symmetrical geometric shapes was solidified as a staple of Renaissance sacred architecture in Leon Battista Alberti‘s architectural treatise, which described the ideal church in terms of spiritual geometry. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_geometry#In_Christianity)”

“The geometric designs in Islamic art are often built on combinations of repeated squares and circles, which may be overlapped and interlaced, as can arabesques (with which they are often combined), to form intricate and complex patterns, including a wide variety of tessellations. These may constitute the entire decoration, may form a framework for floral or calligraphic embellishments, or may retreat into the background around other motifs. The complexity and variety of patterns used evolved from simple stars and lozenges in the ninth century, through a variety of 6- to 13-point patterns by the 13th century, and finally to include also 14- and 16-point stars in the sixteenth century.

“Geometric patterns occur in a variety of forms in Islamic art and architecture including kilim carpets, Persian girih and Moroccan/Algerian zellige tilework, muqarnas decorative vaulting, jali pierced stone screens, ceramics, leather, stained glass, woodwork, and metalwork.

Islamic geometric patterns are used in the Quran, Mosques and even in the calligraphies. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_geometric_patterns)”

 Sacred geometry is often also used to represent important Islamic figures, such as the Prophet Muhammad, whose explicit depictions are prohibited.

Within in Hinduism the construction of temples, creations of idols, and making of sculptures are all governed the Agamas, in which sacred geometry plays a large role.

The Mathematics of Sacred Geometry

The reason belief in sacred geometry persists is because many of its shapes and proportions have analogies in both nature, mathematics and the sciences. For example, the spiral shape of a nautilus shell can be graphed using logarithmic functions. Likewise, the growth and shapes of snowflakes can be modeled with fractals, and the growth of tree limbs and leaves and flower petals can be modeled using Fibonacci’s number sequence, which I’ve mentioned before.

Also, the golden ratio, a mathematical proportion that compares the large to the small, lies at the heart of sacred geometry. We can find examples of both in the human body, such as the growth of finger and toe bones or   the shape of people’s faces. But nature, science, and math aren’t the only places where sacred geometry can be found.

Uses in Magick

One of the most common shapes used in different magickal practices is the circle; from placing yourself in a ring of salt to ward off evil spirits, to the pentacle, circles are ubiquitous in magick, often featuring in sigils or talismans or in mandalas. Shapes like Metatron’s Cube and the Kabbalah Tree of Life are made with interconnected circles

Triangles play big roles, too. The hexagram, or Star of David, is made by combining an upward (masculine) triangle, with a downward (feminine) one.  

Another common sacred geometric shaped used in magick, especially alchemy, is squaring the circle, which consists of a circle inside a square, inside a triangle that’s inside a larger circle.

These sacred geometric shapes are also used as foci when mediating. Chakras are said to be pools of energy in the body symbolized as different colored circles, starting at the base of the spine and rise toward the crown of the head. The triangle is also said to represent the trinity of the Goddess as maiden, mother and crone.

But these shapes are also used as foci when invoking energies for spells and rituals, and it’s in that capacity that they are used in my series.

Uses in the Series

Sacred geometry pops up in The Phoenix Diaries primarily in the magickal sense. They are used in wards and enchantments, and as foci for when tapping into ley line magick, a dangerous and difficulty discipline to master.

These shapes give form to the primordial energies spellcasters work with, allowing them to rewrite the laws of physics and bend reality to their will. The more complex the shape used, the more powerful the spell and the greater the price it exerts on you. These shapes are drawn in the air with an athame, a double-edged dagger usually with a black handle. This is done first by picturing the shape in your mind and then by directing energy into it with the athame.

Conclusion

 Thanks for reading. For more information on sacred geometry click here.

Next week I’ll be delving into part one of the science of the fiction. If you’ve liked this series of posts let me know in the comments. And be sure to like, share, and, join my mailing list.

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