Sacred Geometry is an ancient science that seeks to understand how the universe and creation unifies all things. It is considered the starting point of all form. There is a precise way that Creation organizes itself - every natural pattern of growth or movement can be seen to manifest within one or more geometric shapes.
The shapes are simple, beautiful and profoundly symbolic. Play with them, meditate on them, daydream with them. You will be surprised where they may lead you!
THE TETRAHEDRON (PYRAMID): 3-SIDES - ASSOCIATED WITH SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA
The Tetrahedron classically represents Fire, and each face is also the alchemical triangle of fire. The Golden Dawn called it the Pyramid of Fire, and used it as the admission badge for the path of Shin. The three upper triangles represents Solar Fire, Volcanic Fire and Astral Fire, while the bottom triangle, often hidden from view is the latent heat. The upper triangles are also linked to the three fire-signs Aries, Saggittaurius and Leo.
THE OCTAHEDRON: 8 SIDES - ASSOCIATED WITH HEART CHAKRA
The Octahedron corresponds classically to Air. It has 8 faces, 6 vertices and 12 edges. The edges naturally correspond to the zodiac. They can be arranged in such a manner that the four triplicities border a triangular face each without overlap. These faces cover half the surface, leaving 4 incomplete faces with signs from three elements along each edge (this may signify an absence of the left-out element. The octahedron thus consists of both the abundance of each element and its absence). At each corner two elements meet (creating the same planetary correspondences as in the tetrahedron, with the sun at the centre as usual). In this arrangement, each square "equator" corresponds to one quadruplicity.
THE HEXAHEDRON (THE CUBE): 6 SIDES - ASSOCIATED WITH BASE CHAKRA
The Cube (hexahedron) naturally corresponds to Earth. It is stable, the basis of western architecture and salt crystallises into cubes. It has six faces, making some groups attribute it to Tiphareth. The six faces naturally fit the sephira, and can of course be linked to the planets except for the sun, which is placed in the centre. Another natural link is the folded out cube, which forms a cross.
The eight corners of the cube neatly corresponds to three complementary dualities. When two dualities interact, the four elements are created. Now the four elements are dualized again, and we get eight corners representing the relative absence and abundance the each element. This is naturally dual to the faces of the octahedron. In the same way the six faces correspond to the six vertices of the octahedron (i.e. meetings between two quadruplicities). It is however not possible to arrange the three quadruplicities along the edges to enclose whole faces without overlaps. Does this signify the imperfections and limitations of the material world?
THE ICOSAHEDRON: 20 SIDES- ASSOCIATED WITH SACRAL CHAKRA
This polyhedron traditionally corresponds to water, possibly because it rolls quite easily. Its 20 faces could correspond to the sephiroth and qlippoth, but I have so far not found any significant arrangement. While the octahedron and cube, belonging to 4.3.2 have many symmetries involving the four elements, trinities and dualities, the icosahedron and doedecahedron, belonging to 5.3.2 have links to the five elements and the trinities and dualities. Thus they correspond closer to the whole system than the more material elements, which deal with just the four elements.
These symmetries are harder to discern, since traditionally we humans have a tendency to avoid high-order groups, especially odd symmetries (its worth noting that the number five is sacred to the Discordians since it is the smallest number of factors the human mind is unable to handle at once).
THE DODECAHEDRON: 12 SIDES - ASSOCIATED WITH THIRD EYE CHAKRA
This solid is classically attributed to spirit, probably because it was the last discovered and because of the pentagonal faces. Its twelve faces has naturally been attributed to the zodiac, and there have even been dodecahedral calendars. The symmetries discussed above exist in a dual form here too.
The dodecahedron can be seen as the union of five intersecting cubes, whose corners touch the vertices of the dodecahedron (this is a rather complex structure and hard to visualize). At each vertex three different cubes meet. Along each side of the dodecahedron an edge from a cube runs, creating a rather neat system of correspondences between the five elements and the edges like the system mentioned above for the icosahedron.
The evolution of the Quinta Essentia into the four elements may thus be described as follows: The original form of the Tetrahedron is created out of the primordial chaos by being the simplest and most stable form. It combines in various ways with itself, either by moving and mixing, forming the Dodecahedron and Fire, or by linking together and building the Icosahedron and primordial Water. However, while both polyhedrons are close to being perfect spheres, they don't fit together. These imperfect interactions betwen the growing numbers of polyhedrons force them to order themselves according to cubical symmetries, and Earth and Air are formed.
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