“Many young men and women have come to adulthood in fine ranch houses in good neighborhoods. They would seem to be at the peak of life, the product of the best America has to offer. They never had to work for a living, perhaps. They may have attended colleges — but they are the first to realize that such advantages do not necessarily add to the quality of life, for they are the first to arrive at such an enviable position. The parents have worked to give their children such advantages, and the parents themselves are somewhat confused by their children’s attitudes. The money and position, however, have often been attained as a result of the belief in man’s competitive nature — and that belief itself erodes the very prizes it produces: The fruit is bitter in the mouth. Many of the parents believed, quite simply, that the purpose of life was to make more money. Virtue consisted of the best car, or house or swimming pool — proof that one could survive in a tooth-and-claw world. But the children wondered: What about those other feelings that stirred in their consciousness? What about those other purposes they sensed? The hearts of some of them were like vacuums, waiting to be filled. They looked for values, but at the same time they felt that they were themselves sons and daughters of a species tainted, at loose ends, with no clear destinations.” – The Seth Material
The Perennial Philosophy, the esoteric stream of knowledge and the study of sacred geometry speak to those ‘other feelings that stir in the consciousness’; those ‘other purposes they sensed’.
The esoteric understanding has been too long hidden. It is time for it to come out into the open so that, at long last, it may be fully understood by all.
Remember, by definition occult means ‘that which is concealed from view’ just as esoteric means ‘that which is hidden and lies within the individual.’
As Keith Critchlow writes, “For those who have forgotten, or those who are convinced otherwise, we need to restate our own conviction that life is a miracle.”
Cosmic Core distills the information of the esoteric stream of knowledge into understandable articles that attempt to explain the symbolism of many important concepts of this knowledge. We use information from a broad range of esoteric and mainstream sources to show the similarities among traditions throughout the world, and to show that beneath varied traditions there lay a common ground of understanding.
This is the Perennial Philosophy.
As Mark Booth writes, these myriad streams of information from various spiritual sources, “carry a unified view of a cosmos that contains hidden dimensions and a view of life as obeying certain mysterious and paradoxical laws.”
Sacred geometry is at the root of the Perennial Philosophy and the Perennial Philosophy is the study of unity. It is a unification of science and spirituality; ancient wisdom and modern understanding; rational thinking and intuition; the physical and metaphysical; the seen and unseen.
For millennia humanity has gathered experiential data from both the seen realm of the physical senses, and the unseen metaphysical realm of the intuition. Modern science has essentially cut off humanity from the metaphysical realm, even though it is absolutely essential to be able to access both sides, physical and metaphysical, in order to fully understand the universe we are living in, and to fully understand the nature of our Selves.
Nikola Tesla said, “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.”
Manly P. Hall puts it another way:
“The obstacles which confront present-day scientific research are largely the result of prejudicial limitations imposed by those who are unwilling to accept that which transcends the concrete perceptions of the five primary human senses.”
Sacred Geometry as Modern Esoteric Philosophy
Mark Booth, author of The Secret History of the World wrote, “Modern science tries to enforce a narrow, reductive view of our consciousness. It tries to convince us of the unreality of elements, even quite persistent elements in experience, that it cannot explain. These include the shadowy power of prayer, premonitions, the feeling of being stared at, the evidence for mind-reading, out-of-body experiences, meaningful coincidences and other things swept under the rug.
Science in [its] reductive mood denies the universal human experience that life has a meaning. Some scientists even deny that the question of whether or not life has meaning is worth asking. It is a natural human impulse to wonder if life has a meaning, and esoteric philosophy represents the richest, deepest, most concentrated body of thought on this subject.”
Sacred Geometry is the seed that ties together the various elements of esoteric philosophy and mainstream understanding. We will explore these elements in great detail over the course of these articles.
Before we go any further, it is important to note that there are four different positions or perspectives for viewing any subject. These include:
The material level refers to the physical form of what we are studying. It involves sense data that is immediate and constantly changing.
The social-psychological level refers to how physical forms or symbols affect us as people actually and symbolically. It involves information that works on a somewhat longer timescale than sense data.
The cultural-mythological level refers to the deeper cultural significance of forms and symbolism. This of course, differs by culture. It involves knowledge that is of a much longer timescale and usually refers to qualities that can be referred to over many centuries or millennia.
The inspirational level is that which moves or inspires all human life. It involves true wisdom – that of the unchanging qualities of the ‘ever true’ as Socrates called it.
Keith Critchlow tells us, “This final level is the motivating energy of all the rest.”
“Among the essentials needed to turn mere survival into the art of living, perhaps none are more important than wisdom and knowledge. In a certain sense, these two human aptitudes are almost indistinguishable from each other; in another sense they are polar opposites. Wisdom is a putting together, knowledge a taking apart. Wisdom synthesizes and integrates, knowledge analyzes and differentiates. Wisdom sees only with the eyes of the mind; it envisions relationships, wholeness, unity. Knowledge accepts only that which can be verified by the senses; it grasps only the specific and the diverse.
Both wisdom and knowledge are based on experience, but wisdom more so than knowledge, which frequently retains experience only through the filter of conceptual thought, at times discarding the seeds of life. In contrast, wisdom often stammers, or speaks in images, symbols, paradoxes, or even riddles.
Knowledge and wisdom are equally essential dinergic diversities that should complement each other. If we could unite them, we and our world would become more whole.”1
Keith Critchlow writes in The Hidden Geometry of Flowers, “Geometry can be considered from at least three viewpoints. First as a technical exercise mostly serving industrialization. Secondly as a purely mathematical function. Thirdly, and most importantly, as a science of the soul. This has to be performed with the human hand and is fundamental to a deeper understanding of the Platonic wisdom tradition. Geometry is only fully understood by doing it.”
Types of Geometry & Mathematics
Secular Mathematics is essentially what is taught in schools: Adding costs, measuring ingredients, counting votes, telling time, designing a bookshelf or skyscraper, measuring land boundaries, stock market economics…etc. It is a strictly quantitative approach.
Symbolic Mathematics: “Identifying shapes and patterns and knowing what principles they represent allows us to understand what nature is doing in any given situation and why these principles are applied in human affairs…Symbolic mathematics provides a map of our own inner psychological and sacred spiritual structure.” Michael Schneider, A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe
Robert Lawlor adds: “The practice of geometry was an approach to the way in which the Universe is ordered and sustained. Geometric diagrams can be contemplated as still moments revealing a continuous, timeless, universal action generally hidden from our sensory perception. Thus a seemingly common mathematical activity can become a discipline for intellectual and spiritual insight.”
Sacred Mathematics is grounded in the experience of self-awareness, self-discovery, discovery of the Source of reality, and the realization of the interconnection of all things.
Iknan al-Safa writes, “Know, oh, brother…that the study of sensible geometry leads to skill in all practical arts, while the study of intelligible geometry leads to skill in the intellectual arts because this science is one of the gates through which we move to the knowledge of the essence of the soul, and that is the root of all knowledge.”
Socrates speaks many times of the role of geometry in turning the soul inward to its original, remembered state.
Sacred Geometry is the path towards the infinite cosmos, which is the path to our own inner Selves. When the Sacred predominates, “the war horses are put out to grass” as Lao Tzu says. Peace and disarmament are the objectives, not defense. The relationships between peoples are increased in harmony and understanding. This is turn raises up and gives birth to expression in the arts in the form of inspiration and beauty.
What exactly is Sacred Geometry?
“Sacred Geometry is a mirror of the Universe, and as such, it is timeless.” ~ Freddy Silva
Randall Carlson, master builder and architect, says this about it: “Sacred Geometry is a philosophical and psychological system that aids in understanding the nature of reality, stimulates and inspires the creative faculties and reveals an ethical basis for living with virtue and due proportion in the world.”
Bruce Rawles, artist and author, states it this way: “Sacred Geometry is the blueprint of Creation and the genesis of all form. It is an ancient science that explores and explains the energy patterns that create and unify all things and reveals the precise way that the energy of Creation organizes itself. On every scale, every natural pattern of growth or movement conforms inevitably to one or more geometric shapes.”
Michael Glickman, author and crop circle researcher says, “For me, sacred geometry is a component of that eternal human impulse that aspires to make symbolic bridges between matter and spirit, between the world and the divine, between earth and heaven.”
Dan Winter, physicist and author, explains to us that Sacred Geometry is a pathway to understanding who you are, where you are from and where you are going. It is an interface between the seen and unseen, the manifest and the unmanifest, the finite and infinite.
All actions obey distinct patterns, and sacred geometry describes these laws through shapes, forms and ratios. It is a universal language of pure truths based on the inner workings of nature.
To truly understand sacred geometry we have to understand that everything in the universe is made up of energy and this energy is in a continual state of transformation.
In mainstream science, energy is defined as the capacity or ability to do work.
Energy, however, always travels in waves. Waves are the way energy moves from place to place. Waves result from vibrations or oscillations.2
In the deepest sense, according to the esoteric stream of knowledge, these vibrations or oscillations are created by consciousness.
Waves are either transverse or longitudinal. Transverse waves move perpendicular to the medium. Longitudinal waves move parallel to the medium.
All waves are defined in terms of wavelength, amplitude and frequency.
The wavelength is the distance between two like parts of a wave – that is, between two crests, or two troughs.
The amplitude is the height of the wave. The higher the amplitude, the greater the energy of the wave.
The frequency is the number of waves passing a point in 1 second, although other units of time can be used.
The greater the energy, the higher the frequency and the shorter the wavelength.
Harmonics are also involved with waves. Harmonics are component frequencies of a wave. This means there are multiple frequencies embedded in a single wave. Higher harmonics equals shorter wavelengths, and therefore greater energy.
Take a look at the image below of the harmonic series chart. Harmonics are related to precise mathematical intervals of a whole note.
In sacred geometry, therefore, energy can be defined in terms of wavelength, frequency and harmonics.
In the esoteric stream of knowledge and the new understanding of science, everything is composed of ‘energy’ – that is waves (oscillations and fluctuations of consciousness). There are no ‘things’ only ‘discrete energy events’. Wavelength, frequency, and harmonics are essential in understanding how this can be.
Freddy Silva writes, “This ancient understanding of vibration is also the view taking hold in the enlightened physics community today, which now sees the invisible world of frequencies, rhythms, and magnetic fields as the fundamental principles behind reality. Twentieth-century data show that our solar system is a harmonically interrelated musical instrument composed of more than forty octaves – the frequency gap between audible sound and visible light.”
To use an example posited by Buckminster Fuller and explained by Amy Edmondson in A Fuller Explanation:
Fuller “reminds us of the radio waves of all different amplitude and frequency, filling the room wherever you happen to be reading this page.
These waves are as much a part of physical reality as the chair you are sitting in, but the specific energy pattern is such that you cannot tune in to the programs without help from a radio. Information and energy are scattered chaotically throughout your room, mostly undetected, except for the small fraction (chairs, visible light, and so on) that can be directly perceived by human senses. You can turn on the radio and thereby tune in to one program (one system), temporarily ignoring the rest.
Boundaries change all the time as new elements are incorporated into a system, or as the focus zooms in to investigate a component in greater detail. New levels of complexity reveal distinct new systems.”
Understanding energy in terms of wave structure is a fundamental necessity in order to understand the esoteric stream of knowledge, the new scientific paradigm, sacred geometry and the Perennial Philosophy. Waves and wave structure will be covered in great detail as we progress through this series.
We want to make a point that in Cosmic Core we are not using the word energy in a nebulous way. We are explicitly defining energy in terms of wavelength, frequency and harmonics. This will carry through over the course of the entire Cosmic Core project.
Credit: Walter Russell
Sacred Geometry is the Foundation of All Science
Randall Carlson shared an Old Masonic lecture that stated it thus:
“If we consider the symmetry and order which govern all the works of creation, we must admit that geometry pervades the universe. The ancient philosophers placed such a high estimate upon this science that all who frequented the groves of the sacred academy were compelled to explore its heavenly paths and no one whose mind was unexpanded by its precepts was entrusted with the instruction of the young.
By geometry we may curiously trace nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses; by it we discover how the planets move in their respective orbits and demonstrate their various revolutions; by it we account for the return of the seasons and the variety of the scenes which each season displays to the discerning eye…
By it we discover the power, wisdom and goodness of the Grand Artificer of the Universe and view with delight the proportions which connect the vast machine. Numberless worlds are around us all framed by the same Divine Artist, which roll through the vast expanse and are all governed by the same unerring law of nature.”
Sacred Geometry is the key to understanding science and Nature’s harmonic unity. It is the underpinning of reality. It involves sacred universal patterns and proportions used in the design and creation of everything in the universe, seen and unseen.
“The universe cannot be read until we have learnt the language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word.” – Galileo Galilei
As Samuel Colman wrote in Nature’s Harmonic Unity, “The mistake which is made by many people, and it is a vital one, of questioning the value of the geometric theory of proportion, is this: that they consider geometry to be an invention of man involving his formally constructed equations only…The truth is that the system is simply the logical expression of one of the methods man has borrowed from nature by means of which he can more easily investigate scientific questions. It is as much a part of Nature as the very air we breathe.”
Therefore, I will show extensive data through this series that the same geometry, mathematical ratios, harmonics and proportions are found in sound, music, light, Aether (space-time medium), subatomic particle interactions, atoms, molecules, DNA, minerals, water, ice, viruses, plants, insects, animals, humans, planets, solar systems, stars, galaxies, galactic clusters, space and time.
Geometry, and specifically the Five Platonic solids are the seeds of all branches of science: cosmology, astronomy, astrology, chemistry, biology, botany, zoology, genetics, physics, geology, meteorology, and anatomy.
All life forms that we know emerge out of timeless geometric codes.
“Life itself as we know it is inextricably interwoven with geometric forms, from the angles of atomic bonds in the molecules of the amino acids, to the helical spirals of DNA, to the spherical prototype of the cell, to the first few cells of an organism which assume vesical, tetrahedral, and star tetrahedral forms prior to the diversification of tissues for different physiological functions.
Our human bodies on this planet all developed with a common geometric progression from one to two to four to eight primal cells and beyond…Almost everywhere we look, the mineral intelligence embodied within crystalline structures follows a geometry unfaltering in its exactitude.” Bruce Rawles
By connecting with the basic patterns of existence, one contemplates the Great Mysteries of the universe – the core of the esoteric stream of knowledge and the Perennial Philosophy.
Bruce Rawles commented, “The ancients believed that the experience of Sacred Geometry was essential to the education of the soul.”
These patterns and ratios show up in many ancient sacred mystery schools and are recognized as a common global heritage of the Inca, Mayans, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Tibetans, Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Australian Aborigines, Native Americans and tribes of Africa.
They are also seen in the ancient masterworks of the Middle East, Africa, China, India & Asia; the Pyramids and temples of Egypt, South and Central America; the stepped Ziggurats of ancient Sumeria; the temples and structures of classical Greece; the Gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe, and the Stone Circles of Great Britain, among others.
“A study of Sacred Geometry requires an immersion into the history and meaning of the archaic cultures for whom it provided a vehicle to produce some of the most awe-inspiring demonstrations of symbolic and sacred architecture to have been conceived and executed by the mind and hand of mankind, while at the same time providing a path to a deepened spiritual awareness of the fundamental principles of creation.” Randall Carlson
Robert Lawlor tells us that Sacred geometry starts to return us to “the ancient geometric-harmonic vision of universal order as being an interwoven configuration of wave patterns.”
Full appreciation and understanding of each shape, ratio, pattern and geometric model requires a merging of logic, creativity and intuition, and as Randall Carlson states, “Sacred Geometry has “both a contemplative side and a practical side, and an intuitive and intellectual side, it is an activity both right brained and left brained.”
Keith Critchlow reminds us, “The contemporary rift between Art, Science and Religion can be directly linked to the intellectual neglect of the traditional uniting function of the human soul.”
Gyorgy Doczi writes in The Power of Limits, “Why do apple blossoms always have five petals? Only children ask such questions. Adults pay little attention to such things, taking them for granted, like the fact that we use only as many numbers as we can count on our ten fingers. When we look deeply into the patterns of an apple blossom, a seashell, or a swinging pendulum, however, we discover a perfection, an incredible order, that awakens in us a sense of awe that we knew as children. Something reveals itself that is infinitely greater than we are and yet part of us; the limitless emerges from limits.”
So let us not forget what Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead — his eyes are closed.”
Sacred Geometry as a Technique for Self-Awareness, Self-Development & Evolution
Robert Lawlor, author of the essential book Sacred Geometry, Philosophy & Practice, states:
“By seeking the invariable relationships by which forms are governed and interconnected we bring ourselves into resonance with universal order. Methods such as yoga, meditation, concentration, prayer, the arts, the crafts, are psycho-physical techniques to further this fundamental goal. The practice of Sacred Geometry is one of these essential techniques of self-development.”
Scott Olsen, in his wonderful little book, The Golden Section, says:
“Nature holds a great mystery, zealously guarded by her custodians from those who would profane or abuse the wisdom. Periodically, portions of this tradition are quietly revealed to those of humanity who have attuned their eyes to see and ears to hear. The primary requirements are openness, sensitivity, enthusiasm, and an earnestness to understand the deeper meaning of nature’s marvels exhibited to us daily. Many of us tend to walk through life half asleep, at times numbed, if not actually deadened to the exquisite order that surrounds us. But a trail of clues has been preserved.”
A vast number of these “clues” are found in the wonder and mystery of sacred geometry.
Why is it called “Sacred”?
We use the term ‘sacred’ because it involves the profound mystery of our consciousness, and is grounded in the experience of self-awareness.
What is sacred? That which brings us closer to understanding our true nature – who we are; where did we come from? where are we going? What’s the meaning of life – the point of existence?
We are talking about the Source of reality – called by any name you choose. In the Perennial Philosophy that Source far transcends any one religious, scientific or philosophic belief system; yet harmonizes with and contains them all.
Keith Critchlow writes: “The material world is subject most dramatically and universally to the laws of gravity – in human experience that which “pulls down” to earth. The realm of life, however, is dominated by levity, a word meaning “uplift”, that has significantly fallen out of use in the English language since the Industrial Revolution. If the material world is essentially about “Pulling down” (entropy?) then the human world, particularly as understood in the inspiring philosophy and ideals of a sacred tradition, is essentially about “lifting up.” As all life draws up to the light, so is the human psyche attracted to the elevating principles which act as constant regenerators to the forms and beings of our world.”
Hermann Hesse, in Steppenwolf, speaks poetically about finding levity, the Source and achieving a higher level of self-awareness:
“You have often been sorely weary of your life. You were striving, were you not, for escape? You have a longing to forsake this world and its reality and to penetrate to a reality more native to you, to a world beyond time. You know, of course, where this other world lies hidden. It is the world of your own soul that you seek. Only within yourself exists that other reality for which you long.”
Sacred Geometry is NOT a Religion
Sacred Geometry is not a religion, but the essence of it runs through all religions. There isn’t a religion today, either mainstream or fringe, that doesn’t incorporate sacred geometry into its belief system in one way or another. We will discuss this aspect in great detail as we move forward.
If you are a devoted follower of a certain religion, sacred geometry is not meant to replace that. Sacred geometry and the Perennial Philosophy only add to a religious belief system, expanding it and allowing harmful dogmas to fall away. They do not take away from it.
Of course, you do not have to be religious at all to understand or benefit by this knowledge. This is philosophical knowledge for everyone and it speaks equally as powerfully to those who are religious-minded as well as those who are science-minded.
At its core, Sacred Geometry is a metaphysical/physical model of the Universe that encompasses all branches of science and spirituality and strives to create greater harmony in the world.
“In Sacred Geometry the artificial split between science and spirit is healed, and the foundations for a new healing science of the future arise out of the ancient wisdom of the past.” Robert J Gilbert PhD
Freddy Silva reminds us, “Geometry – being a universal language – does not align with any one individual, any one religious system, ethnic group, academic curriculum, or political belief. Like flowers responding unquestioningly to the Sun, those who open their hearts to unconditionally embrace the melody of [a sacred geometric pattern] become atoned – they become at-one, and like an unplanned meeting with a holy person, the encounter can irreversibly change their view of life…reminding us that we are not egocentric, but cosmocentric.”
The Study of Geometry
Geometry literally means “Earth measure”. It is the study of spatial order through the measure and relationships of forms.
Buckminster Fuller explains geometry as “the science of systems – which are themselves defined by relationships. (Geometry is therefore the study of relationships; this makes it sound relevant to quite a lot!)”
Geometry can be traced back at least four thousand years to the Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations. It also figures heavily in ancient Hindu-Vedic traditions. Two millennia later, geometry flourished in ancient Greece. There it is traditionally associated with the great figures of Pythagoras, Plato and Euclid (who wrote the first textbook on the subject – Elements).
Plato regarded geometry and number as the ideal, philosophical language, the ‘art of the ever-true’. He also recommended it as the clearest model by which to describe the metaphysical realm.
He writes, “You amuse me, you who seem worried that I impose impractical studies upon you. It does not only reside with mediocre minds, but all men have difficulty in persuading themselves that it is through these studies, as if with instruments, that one purifies the eye of the soul, and that one causes a new fire to burn in this organ which was obscured and as though extinguished by the shadows of the other sciences, an organ whose conservation is more important than ten thousand eyes, since it is by it alone that we contemplate the truth.” Plato, Republic, VII, 527 d, e
Key Aspects of Sacred Geometry: Dynamic Symmetry & Scale Invariance
Randall Carlson defines dynamic symmetry as a way of dividing space such that there is a specific relationship between the parts of a spatial composition and the whole of that composition.
Dynamic symmetry contains a specific relationship that can be expressed by certain constants of proportionality such as:
- Pi (π) or (1: 3.14…)
- square root of 2 (√2) or (1:1.414…)
- square root of 3 (√3) or (1:1.732…)
- square root of 5 (√5) or (1:2.236…)
- golden phi ratio (Φ) or (1:1.618…)
- the musical octave (2:1)
- the musical fifth (3:2)
- the musical fourth (4:3)
In other words, dynamic symmetry is the idea of dividing space such that the proportions of the whole are found in the parts. Dynamic symmetry creates self-similar fractal structures that are found throughout nature. The image below is a golden spiral.
“In all realms of our experience,” writes Gyorgy Doczi, “we are finding the need to rediscover proper proportions. The proportions of nature, arts, and architecture can help us in their effort, for these proportions are shared limitations that create harmonious relationships out of differences. Thus they teach us that limitations are not just restrictive, but they also are creative.
“As above, so below.”
This is the core idea of the Fractal-Holographic Nature of Reality. In essence, every point of space contains all the information of the universe because it is connected to all other points in the universe. This implies our minds and bodies also holographically contain all the information of the universe.
Dynamic symmetry, square roots, the golden ratio, and the fractal-holographic nature of reality will all be covered in great detail over the course of this series.
That brings us to scale invariance.
Scale Invariance is also known as fractal self-similarity. Objects or laws that do not change if scales of length, energy, or other variables are multiplied by a common factor are scale invariant. In geometry this means the shape is the same, but the size is different.
Two geometric figures are similar if they have the same shape, but different size. See the image below.
Two geometric figures are identical if they have both the same shape and size. See the image below.
“Geometric shapes actually represent the manifest stages of ‘becoming’. To see and work with unity and wholeness in geometry can help abolish our false notion of separateness from nature and from each other. Through Sacred Geometry we can discover the inherent proportion, balance and harmony that exists in any situation, all manifest reality and even the circumstances of our day-to-day life.” Bruce Rawles
Thomas Taylor writes, “Geometry enables its votary, like a bridge, to pass over the obscurity of material nature, as over some dark sea to the luminous regions of perfect reality.”
“Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine, in the midst of this life we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, with its architecture, its business, its politics, its men!” Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf
Nonetheless, peace, harmony and justice are inexorable human rights. Geometry and the Perennial Philosophy can point the way.
- Doczi, Gyorgy, The Power of Limits, Shambala Press, 1981
- Bite-Size Physics, http://www.bitesizephysics.com/energywaveslesso.html
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