Elements of Sacred Geometry - Forms and the Divine

This work presents an introduction to one of the most beautiful, profound and fascinating topics of mathematical symbolism: the use of geometric forms in the worship of the divine. The eternal and immutable character of Geometry has always fascinated the human intellect. Its ability to produce incorruptible forms, unassailable by time, independent of places and the transience of cultures, has from the beginning placed this science among those closest to the divine, so much so that it made Plato say that God himself geometrizes. According to Plato, geometric forms are true geometric forces - living forces that the soul must acquire by making them its own in order to reach Truth. Geometry channels forces, evokes them, organizes them, arranges them according to an archetypal order and helps the soul assimilate them, making it increasingly participatory in Truth and therefore increasingly Beautiful. The study of geometry is, in the final analysis, the study of Beauty. If with abstract numerical formulas the mathematician seeks to penetrate the meaning of numbers in search of truth, with the power of geometric forms he seeks realization, that is, beauty. This appears to be the marvelous purpose of geometric symbols, true helpers for ascetics who stimulate the transforming process of consciousness. In this context, this work provides essential material and insights that can serve as a springboard for readers to continue their symbolic studies independently. The book is divided into three essential parts: a theoretical part that clarifies some fundamental characteristics of Geometry in general, its function and action in consciousness; a brief overview of some principal symbols and universally known rules considered traditional; and a practical part with simple examples of using geometric forms in divine worship. Geometry is eternal, shining in the mind of God, as Kepler expressed it. When we approach the study of symbolic and ritual use of geometric forms, we must refer to a theological and philosophical context that is generally very distant from the ordinary vision of contemporary geometry. Geometric symbolism blossoms spontaneously in Platonism and in the Judeo-Christian tradition, as in all philosophies of the transcendent that imply decisive symbolism - a reduction to the sensible of celestial realities. Number, absolute, transcendent, eternal, without figure and form, has in geometry its first and universal language. Geometric forms and figures constitute a silent language of visualized Numbers. They are the natural forms of Number. In the theological context we consider, Number is not simply a product of the human mind but a true metaphysical reality, transcendent and immanent, at the disposal of the Creator of the Universe who through it structures and regulates Creation.