Stone-henge in England, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, The Parthenon from Ancient Greece, the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Great Sphinx were all constructed by hand, with precise accuracy, and with similar mathematical alignments to sacred geometry symbols.
Explaining how some of these structures were built, is still to this day, shrouded in mystery.
What we do know, is that when these ancient structures were built, they were built with similar ratio’s, proportions, alignments, and geometry. Thousands of years before hydraulics or electricity.
Sacred geometric shapes are formed by illustrating repeating mathematical patterns and ratios which are deeply ingrained in both our DNA, and human minds.
The very same ratio’s, proportions, alignments, and geometric shapes are found everywhere in nature, and are behind the science, mathematics, and physics that govern the laws of the universe.
Sacred geometry comes from the universal laws of mathematics and physics that dictate the creation of the molecules, planets, galaxies, and the universe as a whole. Sacred geometry is present from the ‘micro level’ in tiny molecules, to the ‘macro level’ of the entire cosmos.
Either that, or it’s just a bunch of random shapes.
In modern times, and with modern technology, we’ve learned that these very same ratio’s, proportions, alignments, and geometry were used thousands of years ago. Sacred geometry can be found scattered through-out history, in modern day music, architecture, fashion, and in cutting edge technology.
In this article we’ll look at expert perspectives to gain a deeper understanding and explore the origin and meaning behind sacred geometry.
Let’s Dive In.
What Is Sacred Geometry? History (origin) Of Sacred Geometry
(basic geometry explained)
For all my ‘non-math’ readers, here’s a basic 101 refresh on geometry.
Geometry is a branch of mathematics that deals with connecting points with lines to create shapes.
The earliest written records of complex geometry date back to 3,100 BC in Ancient Egypt (over 5,000 years ago).
The Ancient Greeks were also expert mathematicians. In fact, the modern day word “geometry” comes from combining the Ancient Greek word “geo” (meaning Earth) and the Ancient Greek word “metron” (meaning measure). Smash the two words together and “geometry” was born as the mathematical field for measuring the Earth.
The Greeks may have been expert mathematicians, but not until around 600 BC (near 2,500 years after the first written Egyptian geometry)
But sacred geometry wasn’t created. It has always existed for billions of years, and was only discovered by humans in the last 10,000 or so years, possible dating back to the Ancient Gobekli Tepe site (dated around 8,000 BC).
Sacred geometry is the symbolism of the mathematical patterns that have always existed since the birth of the universe.
Sacred Geometry: Fractal Patterns
“as above – so below”
This is the fundamental idea behind fractal patterns and fractal geometry.
Ever notice how the universe, our cities from above, and our brain cells look almost identical, at 3 very different size scales? These are fractal patterns.
Understanding fractals is an important part of understanding sacred geometry, your own self-awareness, and the surroundings of your environment, because you, me, and everyone on Earth might be living in a fractal.
The Fibonacci Spiral Sequence –
The Fibonacci sequence is a specific type of fractal pattern which can be identified by it’s spiral shape.
The mathematics that were discovered by Leonardo (Fibonacci) Bonacci in the Fibonacci sequence appear unexpectedly often in mathematics and in the universe, so much so that there is an entire journal dedicated to their study.
Have you ever noticed that the swirl of a galaxy, the swirl of a hurricane, and the swirl of a snail shell are all the exact same shape, and in the exact same ratio, but at vastly different scales?
Some scientists now believe that the universe we live in may be one big repeating fractal on an unimaginable scale. But this isn’t a new idea either.
The ancient geometric symbol known as the “Flower of Life” is a fractal pattern, and is said to represent the origin of the universe. The flower of life goes all the way back to the mysterious “Vedas Texts” dating back to the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization over 3,000 years ago.
The Golden Ratio: A “Must Know” –
The Golden Ratio is a naturally occurring mathematical ratio and formula that is found in nature, with-in the Fibonacci sequence, and also in all sacred geometry.
The golden ratio can be found in every culture on the planet. This ratio can be found in art, music, religion, and even in the construction of your own body.
For reasons unknown, the golden ratio represents a pattern that is both captivating and aesthetically pleasing to the human eye (and ear in music).Recent studies have shown that simply by looking at fractal patterns (which contain the golden ratio) it can actually reduce stress.
Because the human eye is constructed from a fractal pattern, Dr. Taylor says that “The stress-reduction is triggered by a physiological resonance that occurs when the fractal structure of the eye matches that of the fractal image being viewed.”
The Golden Ratio Explained –
In its most simplistic form the golden ratio represents the relationship between a “small segment” vs. a “large segment” vs. the “whole segment”.
For example, in nature, a twig is to a branch, as a branch is to the whole tree. Make sense?
Here’s an example of how this would look in a simplistic math equation.
The golden ratio is also know as a fractal pattern, which we covered in an article here if you want to dive more into fractals.
Sacred Geometry And Cosmology
In the eyes of the Mathematical Association of America and Harvard mathematician Professor Shing-Tung Yau –
“geometry is one of the main avenues available to us for probing the universe. I would go so far as to say that geometry not only deserves a place at the table alongside physics and cosmology, but in many ways, it is the table”.
While cosmology is the study of the stars, cosmos, and universe, geometry is the ruler we use to calculate and measure them (and also measure ourselves is comparison to the cosmic universe).
Remember, “As Above – So Below”
It has been proven (and widely accepted by the scientific community) that a vast majority of ancient and sacred sites were not only constructed using the principle of sacred geometry, but also aligned with the sun, the moon, and the stars above.
Sacred Geometry Patterns In Nature (examples)
Sunflower –
Most plants in general blossom and grow in accordance with the sacred geometry. But some plants like sunflowers, pinecones, and pineapples display obvious signs of alignment with the Fibonacci sequence.
When you look up close, most if not all flower petals, leaf patterns, and seed distribution are all perfectly arranged. Under a microscope, even plant cells are organized in a geometric sequence.
The pattern of seeds within a sunflower follows the Fibonacci sequence perfectly. According to PopMath, the spirals you see in the center are generated from two series of curves winding in opposite directions in order to optimize the filling of the seed structures in the most efficient manner possible.
Nautilus Shell –
The nautilus shell is one of the best examples of the Fibonacci spiral formations in nature. The natural formation and growth of nautilus shells are an ideal example of a Golden Ratio spiral and it matches the mathematical ratio perfectly, confirming the existence of the sacred geometry principles in nature.
Peacock Feathers –
Peacocks are one of the most extravagant birds on the planet, and the laws of sacred geometry are evident in the peacock’s beautiful feathers.
Starting at the base of the bird, the peacock feathers spiral in a sequence that perfectly matches the golden ratio. The peacock’s ‘eye-like shapes’ go from smaller and denser, to larger and further-set, confirming the spiraling essence and golden ratio present in sacred geometry.
DNA Double Helix –
Plants and animals are not the only creatures on Earth that grow according to the mathematics of sacred geometry. Humans are no exception.
Sacred geometry is the ultimate blueprint of everything that surrounds us, including our human DNA.
The double Helix DNA structure matches the Golden ratio perfectly. Our DNA construction directly matches the Fibonacci sequence. If you were to look at a section of a DNA coil from the top down, it too would resemble the sacred geometric symbol known as the Flower of Life.
Snowflakes –
Fractal patterns play a vital role in snowflakes and the golden ratio can be found in how snowflakes develop. The fractal pattern provides structural stability, uniqueness, and beauty that can be found in every individual flake of snow.
While different in appearance snowflakes form from the center, and their dimensions expand outwards in all directions. As the process continues over time, each shape iteration keeps getting more compact, and more detailed, contributing to the complexity of the shape. Geometric patterns define snowflakes as we know them.
Galaxies –
As Above – So Below
From plants and animals, to Humans and Human DNA, to the smallest snowflakes, all the way up to the largest galaxies, sacred geometry is present.
Galaxies, including our own Milky way Galaxy, form the golden spiral.
Although different in size, with different chemical makeup and a different number of space objects, galaxies all take the same Fibonacci spiral shape.
Sacred Geometry In Music
Music is sound. Sound is frequency. Frequency is wavelengths. Wavelengths are math. Math is geometry.
You don’t have to be Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones, or Motzart to know if something sounds good or not. Although you may not be able to detect the “key” you can tell if something sounds pleasing or if something sounds like clashing noise.
As it turns out, the golden ratio can be converted into frequencies of individual notes. When these individual notes are played together at once, their different frequencies combine to form a perfect harmony (this is what a musical chord is).
Pythagoras of Samos was a angled Greek Philosopher and Mathematician who lived around 500 BC. Pythagoras is famous for his mathematical discovery, the Pythagorean theorem, which was used to calculate the length of the sides of a right triangle.
But Pythagoras also created the Pythagorean Scale of Music, which is still used in modern music today.
Pythagoras is credited as the first person to write down that, a string on an instrument that is exactly half the length of another string, will play a pitch that is exactly 1 octave higher than the string that is twice the length.
In order to create the Pythagorean Scale, Pythagoras took basic geometric shapes (triangles, squares, pentagons, ect.) and calculated the sum of their angles which he turned into different wavelength frequencies.
By following this pattern, Pythagoras found that it was possible to create a sound that represented each shape (triangle, pentagon, hexagon ect.) and he used these patterns to create perfect harmonies.
Pythagoras found that by adding an additional side to the shape it increases the octave of the notes (from a triangle to a square – or from a square to a pentagon).
The Pythagorean Scale is living proof that sacred geometry discovered by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago produces musical harmony.
Sacred Geometry In Ancient Architecture
The Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt –
When the Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, they did so with astonishing geometrical precision and solar alignment.
The Great Pyramid itself is built in direct proportion with the golden ratio, directly aligned with the Earth’s North, South, East, and West directions, aligned with the sun’s equinoxes, and experts believe it’s also aligned with the constellation of Orion.
Aside from the pyramid’s golden ratio construction, the entire Giza Plateau itself (including all 3 Great Pyramids and the Sphinx) is also constructed on a larger scale, in accordance with the principles of sacred geometry.
Stone Henge in England –
The Stonehenge structure in England derived its design from geometrical knowledge and features a 56-sided outer structure. The inner structure contains two 30-sided polygons and two 40-sided concentric polygons.
According to Archaeologist Anthony Johnson, from Oxford University, the construction of stone henge “shows the builders of Stonehenge had a sophisticated yet empirically derived knowledge of Pythagorean geometry 2000 years before Pythagoras,”
The Angkor Wat in Cambodia –
The Angkor Wat was built around the year 1200 by King Suryavarman II. The temple of Angkor Wat was built according to a square mandala plan with a man-made mountain that the tallest tower at its center was built upon.
According to professor Richard Cooler (founding Director of the Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University), The Angkor Wat is now used by Buddhists although it was originally built and used by Hindu’s.
Professor Cooler and his colleagues agree that it’s very cool to see that the same building can be used by both religions with little change in the most significant images.
Experts agree that this is possible because both religions believe in the same cosmological beliefs that assign the same meaning to the center of the sacred geometric forms – the square, the circle and triangle.
The Parthenon from Ancient Greece –
The Parthenon is a marble temple built between 447 and 432 B.C. during the height of the ancient Greek Empire and was constructed by the Greek statesman Pericles.
Since the Parthenon has fallen from grace, the exact dimensions of the original structure require an educated guess. Because of this, it is debated among archeologists if the original construction was intentionally based on the sacred principles of the golden ratio, or not.
It certainly appears to have multiple elements of sacred geometry if not completely based upon it.
The Great Sphinx in Egypt –
Whenever the Sphinx was built, it’s builders were familiar with geometry, as the Sphinx also falls into alignment with the principles of sacred geometry.
The head of the Great Sphinx falls dead center of the “viscus pisces” geometric shape formed by two overlapping circles. The viscus pisces is also one of the beginning stages of the ‘flower of life’.
Gobekli Tepe –
Just a decade ago archeologists thought it was impossible to find a civilization older than 10,000 years old. And then Gobekli Tepe was unearthed as the oldest temple ever discovered built some 11,000 to 12,000 years ago.
According to a 2020 article by LiveScience, Gobekli Tepe was built with a “precise geometric plan”, based on new findings.
Professor Archaeology Professor Avi Gopher has found that the builders of Gobekli Tepe aligned the centermost pillars exactly with the midpoint of the circular structures. When they drew an imaginary line connecting the centerpoints of three of the structures, they found that it made a nearly perfect equilateral triangle with three equal-length sides.
This suggests that these three structures were planned together in advance and built according to a “geometric design,”
Most Common Sacred Geometric Shapes (And Their Meaning)
Flower Of Life Contains The Seed Of Life –
The exact meaning of the flower of life is difficult to pin down, similar to the meaning of life itself.
It has been theorized by many that the flower-of-life is believed to illustrate the universal concept that all life comes from a singular source (possible going back to the ‘big bang’).
Many scholars also believe that there is a “secret symbol” hidden within the Flower of Life. This secret symbol is said to hold the “most significant and sacred patterns of the universe”.
The flower of life is believed to be a blueprint for all life, containing the fundamental patterns for everything in the universe from the smallest atoms to the largest galaxies. It is also a representation that everything is connected.
Constructed simply from an array of overlapping circles, the flower of life contains complex mathematical formulas that are present throughout the universe, including the Fibinocci sequence, the golden ratio, the mathematical formula for pi, and even the formulas for musical scales.
The Eye of Horus –
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the ‘sky god’ Horus lost his left eye in a struggle with his Uncle Set (Seth), the god of the desert, and murderer of Horus’s father, Osiris.
Horus’s eye was magically restored by the sky goddess Hathor. And the restoration of Horus’s eye came to symbolize the process of healing and protection.
The Eye of Horus sysmbol represents, as a whole, the entire control center of the brain, also known as the ‘third eye’. The third eye (or 3rd eye chakra) contains the pineal gland, pituitary gland, and hypothalamus.
These glands are important because they control everything you do, whether you’re consciously aware of it or not.
Yoga Symbols –
There’s a bunch of commonly seen symbols in the world of yoga and meditation, but what do all these ancient symbols even mean?
Every yoga studio has, at the very least, a lotus design, the om symbol, the dharma wheel, and probably the word namaste written somewhere. There’s seemingly 100 more symbols and in this article we’ll break down the ancient origin and meaning behind all of them.
Ancient symbols are mysterious, fascinating, and captivating. In today’s culture, millions of people wear ancient symbols on their clothes and get symbolic tattoos, but not many people truly understand the deep-rooted origins and meanings of these symbols.
Using Sacred Geometry To Your Advantage
Yoga, Meditation, And Sacred Geometry
There’s a reason why ancient and sacred geometric shapes have survived the test of time. There’s a reason why these patterns can be found in all cultures and religions for thousands of years.
Understanding the fundamentals of the building blocks and forces that make up the world around you can give you a serious advantage in life.
By understanding the repeating patterns, fractals, and vibrations that underpin the basic building blocks of the universe, you can use that pattern recognition to identify patterns in your own life and behavior.
By understanding that fractals repeat in nature, you can start to understand repeating behavioral fractals that manifest themselves in different areas of your life.
Have you ever FELT that something is a bad idea, but THOUGHT it was a good idea so you did it anyway only to wish you hadn’t.
Many today believe that ancient scholars considered the experience of Sacred Geometry to be essential in order to feel our core self being (soul).
Ancient civilizations understood that these patterns and codes were symbolic of our own inner realm and were significant to higher consciousness and higher self-awareness.
Sacred geometry amplifies our connection to the world around us, and creates harmony within ourselves, and between ourselves and the outside world. It is often called “sacred architecture” because it underlies everything and is woven into the fabric of all creation.
The idea behind sacred geometry is aligning mind and body into a unifying powerful force.
Practicing both yoga and meditation are both excellent ways to harness the power of sacred geometry in a modern world.
Yoga:
Yoga is an ancient practice of aligning the human body with the mind and harmonizing self-awareness with your surroundings.
You don’t need to be flexible, young, athletic, or a monk in Tibet sitting on a mountaintop in order to do (or start doing) yoga.
The idea behind Yoga is to use natural geometry to slowly stretch and massage the bodies muscle groups to work together as a whole instead of individually. This concept has been proven time and time again to have jaw dropping health benefits.
Yoga started off in the Eastern part of the globe and has long been dismissed by the Western world. HOWEVER, new waves of information are spreading yoga into the culture norms across the world.
According to Harvard Medical, yoga is being used to treat depression, arthritis, and even being studied to improve Cancer survival.
The Harvard website says that “Yoga may help bring calm and mindfulness to your busy life”.
I personally went from complete skeptic to total believer when it comes to yoga.
[Check Our My Experience On the Benefits of Yoga and How It May Help Improver Your Overall Mood]
Meditation:
Different than yoga, meditation focuses strictly on the mind. Meditation consists of a variety of techniques all aimed at enhancing overall awareness, consciousness, and self-awareness.
Have you ever been on a long drive and just “zoned out” in your head as the hours passed by while driving and next thing you know you’ve arrived at your destination? This is a form of what mediation is like.
To meditate well, just like anything else, it takes practice. Those who have mastered meditation use it as a tool to focus the mind, clean out distracting thoughts, and see truth in various scenarios with-in the world around them.
But just like sometime long drives seem to drag on forever, it’s not always easy to slip into a meditative state. However, studying, staring, or focusing on sacred geometric shapes act as a lubricant for the mind to easily slip into a meditative mindset.
Conclusion: The Meaning of Sacred Geometry
It’s 100% possible that ancient civilizations had a more advanced understanding of sacred geometry. But what we currently know about sacred geometry is limited by mankind’s current understanding of the universe.
Sacred geometry and the mathematics behind it were not created by man, they were discovered. And still are being discovered as we continue to explore both the macro scale in the cosmos, and the micro scale in nano technology.
What’s clear, is that sacred geometry is the mathematical code found in the cellular building blocks of life on Earth. These geometrical patterns sub-consciously draw the human brain to higher levels of conscious self-awareness.
Check Out Our Other Interesting Articles About Symbolism
- The Flower of Life: Symbolism, Meaning & Origin Explored
- The Lotus Flower Meaning | Symbolism & History
- Archangel Metatron’s Cube: History, Origin & Symbolism
- The Namaste Symbol | Om Symbol Meaning | Yoga Symbols
- Tree of Life Symbol: Meaning & Origin
- The Meaning Behind The Freemason Symbol: History & Origin
- The Dharma Wheel Meaning: Origin Explained
- The Ankh (unk) Symbol: Ancient Egyptian Meaning
- Elephant Symbolism & Meaning Explained
- Scarab Beetle Symbolic Meaning | History & Origin
- Symbolism, Meaning, and Origin of The Serpent
- What Are Sacred Geometry Symbols & Meanings
- What Is The Egyptian Eye Of Ra ? Symbolism Explained
- The Eye of Horus vs. The Eye of Ra | Meaning
- What’s Your Third Eye? How To Open It ?
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