"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
-- John Muir
What is sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry identifies mathematical principles and patterns in geometric shapes and proportions, many of which are found in nature -- leading to the belief that there is a “method to the madness” in our world, presumably by a creator or higher power. Sacred Geometric ratios can be found in the spirals of a cauliflower, the shape of our DNA, sea shells, and the measurement of distant galaxies. Mind.Melted. And once you're aware of it, suddenly you notice it everywhere.
If you understand sacred geometry, can you unlock the secrets of the universe and creation itself? We won’t get you that far in this article, but you’ll know enough to sound smart at cocktail parties (by saying things like "universal interconnectedness").
Some Examples
Nautilus Shell: Having survived almost unaltered for over 450 million years, the Nautilus dates back to the age of the dinosaurs.
Each chamber of the shell grows out in a logarithmic spiral (consistent changes in the distance between the turnings). Logarithmic spirals are often found in things that grow, and have been identified in everything from vegetables (cauliflower, pine cones) to cyclones to faraway spiral galaxies.
Ancient Architects: Architects across almost every ancient civilization incorporated the same geometric principles to their structures - many completely isolated from each other - how were the builders behind the Egyptian Pyramids, Stonehenge, Angkor Wat, Chichen Itza, the Parthenon and Gothic European Cathedrals all speaking the same mathematical language?
Leonardo Da Vinci: Our main man Leo compiled the sacred geometry principles of the human body into the Vitruvian Man in the 15th century. The rediscovery of the mathematical proportions of the human body is considered one of the great achievements of the Italian Renaissance.
PS. Pythagoras (ancient Greece) was another Sacred Geometry master you should know about - his contributions span far beyond the Pythagorean Theorum we all begrudgingly learned in high school.
Flower Of Life: The flower of life is a geometrical shape composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles arranged in a flower like pattern with six fold symmetry like a hexagon. The perfect form, proportion and harmony of the FOL has been known to philosophers, architects and artist around the world as the visual expression of the connections of life that run through all sentient beings.
We think the flower of life is so cool, we made it part of our logo for our sister brand, TribeTokes, and made a tattoo of it in our Cannabis Tattoo Collection.
The Golden Ratio: A "Must Know"
The golden ratio is the mathematical proportion 1:1.6180339...to infinity. It's mathematical name is phi, but it is also known as the Divine Proportion - and is the math behind almost every example referenced above. It is so integrated into everything around us that many philosophers, artists, mathematicians, and scientists have see it as an essential aspect of life itself. The Egyptians believed it was in the creative process and the fire of life, and Plato considered it key in the understanding of the cosmos.
The golden ratio is found by dividing a line (AC) at a particular point to give two unequal sections, where the smaller one (AB) is proportionate to the larger one (BC) as the larger one (BC) is to the entire line (AC). The ratio is expressed as AB/BC = BC/AC. It is easy to produce this ratio geometrically - for example in the five-pointed star: every outside line on the pentagon is in a phi ratio to any line of the star. Also, every line on the star has 3 segments. One side segment is in a ratio of 1:1.618 to the rest of that line. Supposedly (ready for all religions to melt together?) this ratio results in the focusing of universal energy ("prana") at a particular point, which helps in rejuvenation of life, which has been associated with the rising or rejuvenation of Christ.
Another aspect of the golden ratio is the Fibonacci Series. Each number in the series is the sum of the two before it: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, ... The amazing thing is that the ratio of each successive pair of numbers is approximately 1.618 (phi). The higher the numbers, the more accurate they get. 8 divided by 5 is 1.60, but 89 by 55 is 1.61818. Once again, this series is found abundantly in nature, like the way that plant stems branch out.