The Circle
The circle is a
two-dimensional shadow of the sphere which is regarded throughout cultural history as an icon of the ineffable oneness; the indivisible fulfillment of the Universe. All other symbols and geometries reflect various aspects of the profound and consummate perfection of the circle, sphere and other higher dimensional forms of these we might imagine.
The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, Pi, is the original transcendental and
irrational number. (Pi equals about 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937511...) It cannot be expressed in terms of the ratio of two whole numbers, or in the language of sacred
symbolism, the essence of the circle exists in a dimension that transcends the linear rationality that it contains. Our holistic perspectives, feelings and intuitions encompass the finite elements of the ideas that are within them, yet have a greater wisdom than can be expressed by those ideas alone.
The Point
At the center of a circle or a sphere is always an infinitesimal point. The point needs no dimension, yet embraces all dimension. Transcendence of the illusions of time and space result in the point of here and now, our most primal light of consciousness. The proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" is being validated by the ever-increasing literature on so-called "near-death experiences". If our essence is truly spiritual omnipresence, then perhaps the "point" of our being "here" is to recognize the oneness we share, validating all "individuals" as equally precious and sacred aspects of that one.
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 (double) 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. The lattice patterns of crystals all express the principles of mathematical perfection and repetition of a fundamental essence, each with a characteristic spectrum of resonances defined by the angles, lengths and relational orientations of its atomic components.
The Square Root of Two
The
square root of 2 embodies a profound principle of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. (The square root of two equals about 1.414213562...) The orthogonal dimensions (axes at right angles) form the conjugal union of the horizontal and vertical which give birth to the greater offspring of the hypotenuse. The new generation possesses the capacity for synthesis, growth, integration and reconciliation of polarities by spanning both perspectives equally. The root of two originating from the square leads to a greater unity, a higher expression of its essential truth, faithful to its lineage.
The fact that the root is irrational expresses the concept that our higher dimensional faculties can't always necessarily be expressed in lower order dimensional terms - e.g. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (from the
Gospel of St. John, Chapter 1, verse 5). By the same token, we have the capacity to surpass the genetically programmed limitations of our ancestors, if we can shift into a new frame of reference (i.e. neutral with respect to prior axes, yet formed from that matrix-seed conjugation. Our dictionary refers to the word matrix both as a womb and an array (or grid lattice). Our language has some wonderful built-in metaphors if we look for them!
The Golden Ratio
The
golden ratio (a.k.a. phi ratio a.k.a. sacred cut a.k.a. golden mean a.k.a. divine proportion) is another fundamental measure that seems to crop up almost everywhere, including crops. (The golden ratio is about 1.618033988749894848204586834365638117720309180...) The golden ratio is the unique ratio such that the ratio of the whole to the larger portion is the same as the ratio of the larger portion to the smaller portion. As such, it symbolically links each new generation to its ancestors, preserving the continuity of relationship as the means for retracing its lineage.
The golden ratio (phi) has some unique properties and makes some interesting appearances:
- phi = phi^2 - 1; therefore 1 + phi = phi^2; phi + phi^2 = phi^3; phi^2 + phi^3= phi^4; ad infinitum.
- phi = (1 + square root(5)) / 2 from quadratic formula, 1 + phi = phi^2.
- phi = 1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/...)))))
- phi = 1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + ...)))))
- phi = (sec 72)/2 =(csc 18)/2 = 1/(2 cos 72) = 1/(2 sin 18) = 2 sin 54 = 2 cos 36 = 2/(csc 54) = 2/ (sec 36) for all you trigonometry enthusiasts.
- phi = the ratio of segments in a 5-pointed star (pentagram) considered sacred to Plato and Pythagoras in their mystery schools. Note that each larger (or smaller) section is related by the phi ratio, so that a power series of the golden ratio raised to successively higher (or lower) powers is automatically generated: phi, phi^2, phi^3, phi^4, phi^5, etc.
- phi = apothem to bisected base ratio in the Great Pyramid of Giza
- phi = ratio of adjacent terms of the famous Fibonacci Series evaluated at infinity; the Fibonacci Series is a rather ubiquitous set of numbers that begins with one and one and each term thereafter is the sum of the prior two terms, thus: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144... (interesting that the 12th term is 12 "raised to a higher power", which appears prominently in a vast collection of metaphysical literature)
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