2 Responses To "Introduction To The Square Root of Two"

29/06/2016 IntroductiontotheSquareRootofTwonature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
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IntroductiontotheSquareRootofTwo
Thesquarerootoftwo,atitsmostfundamentalarchetypallevel,representsnothinglessthantheoriginal
eventthatgenerated,andcontinuestogenerate,theuniverseashumansperceiveit.Tounderstandwhy
thisisso,wemustlookatwhattheultimateessenceoftwonessmeanstousandourunderstandingof
theuniverse.Butfirst,inordertogainabasicunderstandingofthemeaningbehindthisnumber,letus
turntothegeometricproductionofthesquarerootoftwo.
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content/themes/naturesword/page.phponline25
2ResponsestoIntroductiontotheSquareRootofTwo
1. dianesays:
April1,2010at3:38pm
ilovethisstuff
2. AGGELIKIsays:
August25,2010at7:29am
Iwanttolearn
materialscopyright2010,AidrianO'Connor
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/thesquarerootoftwo/introductiontothesquarerootoftwo 1/2
29/06/2016 IntroductiontotheSquareRootofTwonature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/thesquarerootoftwo/introductiontothesquarerootoftwo 2/2
29/06/2016 TheSquareRootofTwoinGeometrynature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
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TheSquareRootofTwoinGeometry
Thesquarerootoftwoisgeneratedfromtheperfectsquaresymboloftheunifieduniverse,aswe
learnedinthelastchapter.Asstatedatthattime,thesquarerepresentstheunifieduniversepoisedfor
manifestation,anditisherethatweshallfindoutwhythisisso.Thesymbolismisquiteobviousonce
understood,althoughthisisnottosaythatitsimplicationsarenotprofound.Infact,thetruthisquite
theopposite.
First,startwiththeperfectsquare.
Nowdrawalinefromonecornerofthesquaretothecornerdiametricallyopposedtoit.
Ifweassumethatthelengthofanygivensideofthesquareisequaltoone,thenthelengthofthe
diagonallinethatwehavejustdrawnequalsthesquarerootoftwo.Itisassimpleasthat.
Onemustunderstandwhatthetermsquarerootpertainstoinordertobegintounderstandthenature
ofthisnumbersmeaning,andinthisparticularcase(thenumbertwo),thatalsomeansunderstanding
irrationalnumbers.Formostofus,thetermsquarerootissimplywhichnumbertimesitselfequalsthe
numberathand.Asanexample,thesquarerootoffourequalstwo,becausetwotimestwoequalsfour(2
X2=4).Inanother,morepertinentexample,thesquarerootoftwoequals1.4142,because1.4142
multipliedbyequalstwo.
Ofcourse,thisnumberisirrational,havingnodefinitevaluebecauseitsintegerscontinuepastthe
decimalpointforaninfinitenumberofdigits.Thuswecouldneveractuallymultiplythesquarerootoftwo
timesitselfandobtainthenumbertwoourendproductwouldbevery,veryclosetotwo,butwouldnot
actuallyequaltwo.Irrationalnumberssuchasthisone,andotherssuchaspiandphi(3.1415and
1.6180339,respectively),possessedspecialsignificanceforancientsacredgeometers,andthisis
especiallytruefortheGreeksandtheirablepredecessors,theEgyptians.Bothbelievedthatirrational
numbersalwaysrepresentarchetypalprinciplesofsomesort,whereasrational,definitenumberswere
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/thesquarerootoftwo/thesquarerootoftwoingeometry 1/4
alwaysrelatedtoformthematerialworld.Inotherwords,numberswhichcannotbemeasureddefinitely
relatetothearchetypalrealm,whichalsocannotbemeasuredwithdefinition,whereasdefinitenumbers
relatedirectlytothefinite,materialworld,whichonthesurfaceappearstobemeasurablewithrelatively
precisedefinition.
Butletusreturntounderstandingwhatmakesasquarerootasquareroot.Thetermsquarerootismuch
moreliteralthanmostpeoplerealize,becauseitdenotesalinewhoselengthcanbeusedtogeneratea
squarewithanareaequaltothenumberinquestion.Inotherwords,alinewhichmeasures1.4142
canbeusedtogenerateasquarewhoseinternalareaisequaltotwo.Hereshowwesimplytakethe
linemeasuring1.4142andmakeitthesideofanewsquare(seefigureatleft).Asmostpeopleknow,
theareaofanysquareorrectanglecanbedeterminedbymultiplyingtheshapeslengthbythewidth,in
thiscase1.4142multipliedby1.4142Aswealreadyknow,ourequationequalstwo.
Herewecomeacrossoneoftheperfectparadoxesofsacredgeometry,mentionedearlierinthetext.Ifwe
takeunity,theperfectsquarewhosesidesandareaareequaltoone(thesquareintheupperleftcorner
ofthediagramatleft),andweconnectitsoppositecornerswithadiagonalweobtainthesquarerootof
two.Thenwetakethatsquarerootoftwolineandmakeanewsquareoutofit,usingitasthenew
squaresedge.Asweseeinthediagramatleft,thenewsquaresareaequalstwo,beingmadeupoffour
halvesofouroriginalsquare,whoseareawasequaltoone.Inthisway,wehavedividedunityinhalfby
cuttingitwithoursquarerootoftwoline,andyetimplieddoubleoftheoriginalunityintheprocess.
Here,withthefirstdivisionofunity,wefindafingerpointingusinthedirectionofunderstandingthe
paradoxthatmultiplicitywithinunityisnotonlypossible,butinfactisdirectlyimpliedbyitsvery
existence.
Partlybecauseofthisdoublingeffectitisnotonlythenumbertwothatrelatesdirectlytotheideas
inherentinthesquarerootoftwo,buttwotimestwo(four),andtwotimesthat(eight),andtwotimes
that(sixteen),andonandon.Also,ifweworkwiththeactualgeometricfiguresthatproducethesquare
rootoftwoanditsrelatednumbers,wefindthattwoautomaticallyimpliesfour,whichimplieseight,and
eightsixteen,etc.Iwillleavethisdiscovery,andthemanyotherswhichspawnfromworkingwiththe
geometryofthesquarerootoftwo,tothereader.
6ResponsestoTheSquareRootofTwoinGeometry
1. KiasHenrysays:
October22,2010at10:48pm
Thankyouforthisgreattutorialwhatanintriguingparadoxofmath!!thiswillkeepmegoingfora
while!
2. santiagosays:
October27,2010at8:53am
Excellenttutorialandveryinspiringtome.Ialwayslikedandunderstoodgeometry.AtpresenteIm
doinggeometricalart(paintinggeometricalformsonthecomputer).Thistutorialwillcertainlybeof
help!
Thankyou!
3. StephenBetzsays:
July3,2011at8:08pm
Ihavebeenlookingfor2weeksforawaytoshowmy14yroldsonthegeometricrepresentationof
irrationalnumbers,especiallysqr(2).Thankyouforthisexcellenttutorialthisissimplestandmost
elegantwaytodoit.
4. SimonJensensays:
February1,2012at7:46am
Havealookatthis:http://blogoff.simonjensen.com/#post4
Bestregards,
Simon
5. ghassanalkadrisays:
February9,2012at8:19pm
UPTILLNOWWEDONTKNOWTHEREALFACTSOFMATH
6. Brutissays:
February17,2012at5:15am
IfoneusesthePythagoreanrighttrianglewithsideaalways=1,then2istheonlyxthathasan
angleof45.Onthesamerighttriangle,ifa=1andb=2thenthehypotenuse=5.Theangleofthe
5willgivethePhiratio,geometrically,foranylengthofaline.Also,onceyouhavethe2thenext
xor3caneasilybefoundbymakingthelengthof2thenewmeasureofbontherighttriangle.
Thenewhypotenuse=3,andsoonforallthes.Inthisprocess,youcancheckyouraccuracy
againsttheperfectsquaresof3,4,5,etc.
29/06/2016 IntroductiontotheSquareRootofThreenature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
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IntroductiontotheSquareRootofThree
Inessence,thesquarerootofthreerepresentstheideaofthecorecreativeforceinherentinallthings
inourlives,innature,andineveryotheraspectoftheuniversethatweperceive.Inallcases,thesquare
rootofthreederivesitscreativesymbolismfromthefactthatitservestotietogetheropposites.Whereas
thesquarerootoftwodefinesoppositeswithinunity,thesquarerootofthreeservestotiethose
oppositesbacktogetherintoaunifiedstateonceagainbutonethathassomehowadvancedfromthe
orininalstateofunitybyhavingexperiencedtheprocessofbeingsplitintotwodefinedsides,andthen
conjoinedoncemoretoastateofbalance.Itisforthisreason,aswellasgeometricreasonsthatwewill
soondiscover,thatthesquarerootofthreeiscloselylinkedwiththeideaoftheTrinity,whichisan
archetypalsymbolofcreationresultingfromthebalancingofextremesthatisfoundthroughoutthe
mythologiesandreligionsoftheworld.
Fornow,letthissimpleintroductionsufficetodescribethisparticulartranscendentirrationalproportion.
Wewill,ofcourse,showexactlyhowandwhythesquarerootofthreecanbeunderstoodtorepresentthe
ideaofcreationasaresultofbalancebetweenforcesinthenextfewpages.
Commentsareclosed.
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/thesquarerootofthree/introductiontothesquarerootofthree 1/1
29/06/2016 TheSquareRootofThreeinGeometrynature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
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TheSquareRootofThreeinGeometry
Thesquarerootofthreeisgeometricallygeneratedbytwoseparate,yetrelated,figurestheperfect
cube,andashapeknownastheVesicaPiscis.Togainanunderstandingofthisnumberanditsinherent
meaning,letsstartwiththeperfectcube.
Thecubeis,asnotedinChapterOne,anexcellentrepresentativeoftheinherentunityofallthings.This
isduetothefactthatitmeasuresoneinallwayseveryedgeequalsone,asdoesthevolumeofthe
spacedefinedbythecube(lengthtimeswidthtimesheightequalsvolume,inthiscase1x1x1=1).
Thesquarerootofthreeisgeneratedbythisthreedimensionalobjectinmuchthesamewaythatthe
squarerootoftwoisgeneratedbythetwodimensionalsquare.Intheinstanceofthesquarerootoftwo,
thelineinquestionisgeneratedbyconnectingoppositecorners,andsoitiswiththesquarerootofthree.
Byconnectingthemostopposingpointsacrossthevolumeofthecube,wecreatealinethatmeasures
1.732,orthesquarerootofthree.
Theinferencegeneratedbythisideaisverysimilartothatofthesquarerootoftwooppositeshave
beendefinedwithinunityandinrelationtooneanother.Thefundamentaldifferencebetweenthesquare
rootsoftwoandthreeisthatwiththeexampleofthesquarerootoftwoweweremakingarelationona
twodimensionalplaneaflat,premanifestationlevel,withthetermmanifestationherereferringto
actualcreationinthethreedimensionalphysicalworld.But,inthecaseofthesquarerootofthree,we
arecrossingathreedimensionalgap,connectingnotonlyoppositepointsonatwodimensionallevel,but
alsojoiningopposingplanesi.e.thetopandbottom,leftandright,andfrontandrearsidesofthecube.
Theimplicationisofthejoiningofadoubleduality,ifyouwill.
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/thesquarerootofthree/thesquarerootofthreeingeometry 1/6
Anotherextremelyimportantaspectofthesquarerootofthreelineisdepictedintheanimationatleft.At
thebeginningoftheanimation,weseeaperfectsquarelaidonahorizontalplane,representing,as
always,unity.Bycreatingaperfecttwodimensionalsquare,weareimplyingunity,butthatunityisnot
representationaloftheactualmanifesteduniverse,whichweallknowexistsinthreedimensions.Because
ofthisfact,wecansaythatatwodimensionalsquarerepresentspremanifestationalunity.Thispre
manifestationalunityhastakenafundamentalstepfromtheoriginalstateofselfcontainedunity,which
isrepresentedbyapointorsphere.Thestepthatdifferentiatesthepremanifestationalstatefromthe
selfcontaintedstateisthepresenceofdualitywithinunity,whichisimpliedbythesquarerootoftwoas
discussedinthelastchapter.
Inordertotakethenextexponentialleapforward,however,somethingmuchgreaterisneeded.That
stepistheleapfromtwodimensionstothree.Ineverystepandcomplexificationofunity,itmustbyits
verynatureremainaunity.Itisherethatoursquarerootofthreelinecomesintoplay.Ifwemeasure
upwardsfromanyoneofthecornersonourtwodimensionalsquareadistanceequaltooneofthe
squaressides(effectivelyequalto1thebluelineintheanimation),andthenconnectthetopofthis
linebackdownacrossthesquaretothecorneroppositeit(theredlineintheanimation),thenthatnew
lineequals1.732,orthesquarerootofthree.
Byfindingthisnewcornerpointaboveeachcorneroftheplaneoftheoriginalsquare,weautomatically
implyanidenticalsquareonthenewplanewhoselocationwehavejustdetermined.Intheanimation,we
seethatafterallfourcornerpointshavebeentriangulatedbyusingthesquarerootofthreelines,anew
prefectsquareonahigherplaneisdefined.Ifweexaminethisimage,itisclearthatwehaveeffectively
projecteddualityintothreedimensions,bycreatingandupperandlowerrealm.Ourunityisstill
present,however,ifwesimplyconnectadjacentcornersfromupperplanetolowerthuscreatinga
perfectcube,measuringoneonallsidesandinvolume.
Itisbythisexamplethatweseethefundamentalcreativeaspectofthesquarerootofthreeline.Once
unitytakesitsfirststepintoactualthreedimensionalexistence,thesquarerootofthreesimultaneously
comesintoexistence.Thecreationofthreedimensionalitycannotbesaidtobecausedbythesquareroot
ofthree,andthesquarerootofthreecannotbesaidtobecreatedbythreedimensionalitybothimply
oneanotherperfectly,simultaneously,andautomatically.
LetusturnourattentionsnowtotheveryspecialovalshapeknownastheVesicaPiscis.Tobeginwith,
thetermVesicaPiscisisaLatinterm,translatingtoFishBladder,ormoreaccurately,Fishlike
Bladder.ThereasonbehindthisnamebecomesclearwhenwefindouthowtheVesicaisgenerated.
Ifwetaketwoperfectandsimilarcircles(effectivelytwounitys),andoverlapthemsothattheir
circumferencescrossexactlythroughthecenterpointsofoneanother,anovalshapeiscreatedbythe
spacewhichissharedbythetwocircles.ThisovalshapeisourVesicaPiscis.Theovalshapeissimilartoa
sideviewofthebodyofafish(withoutfinsortail),whichishowthisshapeobtaineditsname.
Ifweassumethattheradiusofeachofthecirclesisequaltoone(theyellowlineintheimage),thenthe
linethatconnectsthetopandbottompointsinourovalshapeisequaltothesquarerootofthree(the
purplelineintheimage).Onceagain,thisisapparentlyaverysimpleoperation,butonethathascomplex
implications.Letsthinkalittlebitmoreabouttheimpliedsymbolismofthisshape,andtakeapartwhy
exactlyitdescribesthecreativeprocessinthesamewaythatthecubedoesinourexampleabove.
Asstated,wearetakingtwounitysandcrossingthemoveroneanotherinsuchawaythatthereisa
perfectbalancebetweenthem.Becausewehavetwocircles,andonlytwo,itissafetoassumethatthey
representabasicduality,inmuchthesamewaythatourtwosquaresonparrellelplanesintheexample
abovecouldbetakentorepresentupperversuslowerrealms.Toillustratethispointmoreclearly,lets
considerthecoloraspectofourimagecolorbeingsuchahandyexamplewhendealingwiththeideaofa
duality.Onecircleisfilledwithred,andtheotherwithblueWherethetwoopposingcrossinthecenter
theymixtogetherhalfandhalf,tocreatesomethingcompletelynewnamelypurple.
Obviously,purpleisnotredorblueitisacompletelynewentitywhichstandsseparatefromthetwo
halvesthathavebeenjoinedtocreateit.Becauseourcirclesareoverlappingoneanotherinperfect
balance,neitherhalfofthedualityisdominatingtheothertheyarebeingbroughttogetherinperfect
balance,andtheresultissomethingcompletelynew,andheretoforeunknownintherealmofour
example.Ifwereconsiderthepriorexampleofhowthesquarerootofthreeisgeneratedfromthecube,
wewillrememberthatitisgeneratedbyjoiningtheopposingcorners(thetwooppositesrepresenting
duality)withaline,i.e.,makingtherelationbetweenthetwo.Intheexampleofthecube,itisthetwo
cornersthatrepresentourredandbluecharacteristics,andthelinethatstretchesbetweenthemthat
wouldbeourpurple,sharedportion.Herewefindtheexactsameideacreativitybutrepresented
withadifferentgeometricfigure.Coincidentallythatfigurejusthappenstoimplythesquarerootof
threeaswell.
AnotherinterestingcoincidencethatoccurswhenwegeneratetheVesicaPiscisisthatitautomatically
impliesperfectequilateraltrianglesaswell.Thereareafewwaystocreatetheequilateraltrianglefrom
thevesicapiscisthefirstisbysimplyconnectingthecenterpointsofthetwocirclestooneanotherand
connectingthesesamepointstothetop(orbottom)pointoftheVesica(yellowlinesintheimage).Note
thattwoequilateraltrianglesareimmediatelyimpliedwhenthevesicaiscreated,onepointingupwards,
andtheotherdown.
Itcanbeseenquiteclearlyintheillustrationthatthepurplelinethatcutsfromtheapexofthelower
triangletotheapexoftheuppertriangleisdividedinhalfbythesharedyellowlinethatformsthatbase
ofbothtriangles.Thismeansthattheheightofanyequilateraltriangleisalwaysthelengthofthe
trianglessidetimesonehalfofthesquarerootofthreeaformulathatoftencomesinhandywhen
workingwithequilateraltriangles.
Inanequilateraltriangle:
height=edgelengthx1/2ofthesquarerootofthree
Theequilateraltrianglehasoftenbeenusedasasymbolformovementtowardsanideal.Asanexample,
theupwardpointingtrianglehasbeenusedtorepresenttheelementfireinvariouswesterntraditions,
whereasthedownwardpointingtrianglerepresentswaterfirebeinghereunderstoodastheactiveforce
(hot,dry,radiant,etc.)andwaterasthepassiveforce(cool,wet,contractive,etc.).Thesixpointedstar,
knowntoJudaismastheStarofDavid,butknowntheworldover,iscreatedbyconjoingthetwoopposing
forcesrepresentedbythetwoequilateraltraingles.Assuchitisinterpretedasasignrepresentingperfect
balancebalancebetweenduality.Ifwetakethissameideatothevesica,weonceagainfindtwo
opposingequilateraltrianglesthatareinastateofbalancethistimetiedtogetherandplacedinastate
oftotalequilibriumbythesinglelinethatformstheirmutualbase.Again,wefindanaptexpressionof
balanceofopposingforceswithinthevesica.
Thesecondmethodusedtocreateequilateraltrianglesfromthevesicaistoextendtheedgesofthe
trianglesthatwehavejustdescribeduntiltheytouchtheoutercircumferenceofbothcircles,andthento
addalineconnectingthesepointstoformthebaseofthetriangle(greenlinesintheimage).Noticethat
thebaselinecutsdirectlythroughthelowerpointofthevesica,andtheapexofthetriangleislocatedat
theuppermostpointofthevesica.
Ifweextendallofthesidesofouroriginaltwoyellowtriangles,wefindthattheyquitedirectlydefinetwo
perfecthexagonsthatsharethetwotriangleswithintheconfinesofthevesica.Wecandeducequite
directlyfromtheimagethatitisthenatureofaperfecthexagonthateverysideandeverylineradiating
fromcenterpointtothesixcornerpointsmeasuretheexactsamelength.Inotherwords,everypie
pieceofaperfecthexagonisanequilateraltriangle.Thereisnostrongerstructureonaflatplanethan
anequilateraltriangle,duetothefactthatanystressonthestructureisimmediatelydispersedequallyto
allpointsofthestructure,andthesmallestamountofmaterialshavebeenusedtodistributethatstress.
Withthisinmind,itiseasytounderstandwhythehexagon,beingacomposedofsixequilateraltriangles
thatsharecommonsides,wouldbeanextremelystrongandefficientform.Thisisexactlythereasonwhy
beesemploythehexagonalgridinthecreationoftheirhivesthemaximumstructuralintegrityis
achievedwiththesmallestamountofmaterial.Itisalsowhytheequilateraltriangleisgainingpopularity
inmodernstructuralarchitecture,suchasthegeodesicdomesorginallypopularizedbyBuckminsterFuller.
Ifwemarkallofthetransversalsthatspanfromtheapexofonetriangletoanotherinourcombination
vesica/hexagonalmatrix,webecomeawareofthefactthatthevesicadoesnotonlyimplyoneline
measuringthesquarerootofthree,butinfactimpliesmany.Alsonotethatbycreatingthesemultiple
squarerootofthreetransversals,wecreatetwooverlappingStarsofDavidtheverysymboldescribed
aboveasrepresentingbalancebetweenopposingforces.
Theconnectionscontinue,butwewillleavethereaderatthispointtopickupcompassandstraightedge
todiscovertheseontheirown.
Itisimportanttonotebeforemovingontheeasewithwhichonecancreateanequilateraltriangleusing
thevesicapiscis.Asstatedabove,inorderfortheproportionbetweenthehorizontalandverticalaxesof
thevesicatoequalonetothesquarerootofthree,wemustassumethattheradiusofthetwocirclesare
equaltoone.Continuingwiththatassumption,itisclearthateachsideofthetrianglealsomustequal
one,aseachoneofthesidesisnothingotherthanaradiusofoneofthecircles.
WhenitisconsideredthattheTrinitytakesamajorroleinnearlyeveryancientmythologyandreligion
spanningtheglobe,thenitbecomesclearwhytheuseofequilateraltriangleswereusedintrinsicallyin
theartworkandarchitectureofmanycultures.IfwepayheedtothewritingsofSydneyKlein,the
ancientsfoundthatitwasnothingshortofmiraculousthataperfectequilateraltrianglecouldbe
generatedbysimplyoverlappingtwoperfectcirclesthroughoneanotherscenterpoints.Indeed,whocan
saythatitisnotahighlyconvienientcoincidencewhenattemptingtocreatesacredartworkthatallone
needdoisstartbyoverlappingtwounitys(circles),andfromtheresimplyconnectingthedots,never
havingtomeasureorrefertoanypointthatisnotautomaticallyimpliedbytheoverlappingofthecircles?
Theresultinggeometricgridistotallyselfreferencing,andautomaticallyimpliesthesquarerootofthree
anditsrelatedproportionsintrisicallynottomentionthatstructuresbaseduponthisgridhavemaximal
structuralintegrityfortheamountofmaterialsused.
OneResponsetoTheSquareRootofThreeinGeometry
1. ShimonHurwitzsays:
August10,2010at8:35pm
Yourexplanationofthesquarerootofthreeanditsapplicationtothecubeandtwocircleswasvery
fascinatingandthoughtprovoking.
IhavewrittenashortbookaboutgeometricshapesinJudaism,andIwouldfeelveryprivilegedifI
couldincludewhatyouvewritteninanaddendumforreaderswhowouldenjoythemathematical
intricacieswhichyouhavediscovered.Ofcourse,Ineedyourwrittenpermissionandtobepreparedto
payareasonblefeeforyouraquiescence.Ihopethatyouwillfeelamenableandbepleasedthateven
morepeoplewillhaveaccesstoyourinsightandwisdom.
Mayyoubeblessedwitheverysuccessandhappinessinallyourendeavors,
Sincerely,
ShimonHurwitz
29/06/2016 IntroductiontoPhi/TheGoldenProportionnature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
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IntroductiontoPhi/TheGoldenProportion
DefiningProportion:
Itiseasytobecomedistractedbytheactualnumericalvaluesthatthevariousnumbersofsacred
geometryareattributedto,suchas3.142forPi,1.732forthesquarerootofthree,and1.414for
thesquarerootoftwo,andtherebyplaceimportanceonthosenumbersasabsolutesthemselves.
However,weareremindedbythefactthatthesenumbersareallirrational(theyhaveaninfinitenumber
ofintegersafterthedecimalpointwithnoapparentpatterndiscernableinthatinfinitestring)thattheyin
facthavenoabsolutevaluewhatsoever,andassuchwecannotfixateonthespecificvaluesofthese
numbers.Instead,wemustkeepinmindthatthesenumbersrepresentproportionsinotherwords,
theyarerelativevaluesthataredelineatedbythegeometricfiguresthattheyappearin.Asanexample,
thediagonalofaperfectsquaremeasuresthesquarerootoftwo(1.414)onlybecausewecanassume
thatthattheedgelengthofanyperfectsquareequals1,anditistherelation(orproportion)betweenthe
twolinesthatgivesthesquarerootoftwoitsvalue.Tostateitsimply,ifweweretopresentalinethat
measures1.414inches,itwouldmeannothingatalltoasacredgeometerunlessofcourseitwas
presentedalongsidealinethatmeasures1inch,inwhichcaseitwouldcomeclosetovisually
approximatingthesquarerootoftwoproportion.
BeforewedealwiththenumberPhi,or1:1.618,wemustbesurethattheideasofproportionareclear
inourminds.Proportion,asmentionedabove,isofcentralimportancewhendealingwithanysacred
geometricnumber,buttheideaofproportiontakesonaparticularlypertinentrolewhenworkingwiththe
numberPhi.Assuch,letsdiscussourunderstandingofproportionbeforewegetintothedetailsofthis
mostastonishingnumber.
Ingeometry,aproportionisarelationbetweenvariousnumbers.Asastraightforwardexample,
1:2::6:12,whichisverboselystatedasonerelatestotwointhesamewaythatsixrelatestotwelve.
Geometricallyspeaking,thestatement1:2::6:12isdescribingtwosetsoftwolines.Thefactthatthisisa
trueproportiontellsusthatthetwosetsoflinesaresharingasimilarrelationshipwithoneanother
namelythatinbothsets,thesecondlineistwiceaslongasthefirst.Ifweweretolookatthetwosetsof
lineswithoutbeinggivenanyspecificlinelengthvalues,itwouldbepossibletosaythatbothsetshave
equalproportionatevalues.Inotherwords,theactuallengthsofthelinesdonothavetobeassignedin
ordertounderstandthattheysharethesameproportionatevalues.
Assuch,themostimportantpieceofinformationthatwecangleanfromourproportionisnotthe
numbers1,2,6,or12,whichcouldinfactbeanyvaluesthatfallinlinewithourgeometricfigures.
Insteadourcentralpieceofinformationisthefactthatthesenumbersaretiedtogetherbytherelational
knownasdoubling,i.e.,inbothsetsthesecondlineistwicethelengthofthefirst.Ifweweretoassume
thateachdotalongthelinesinourimageatleftrepresentedtwounitsinsteadofone,ourproportion
wouldread2:4::12:24.Theactualmeasuredvaluesofthelineswouldchange,buttheproportionate
valuebetweenthetwosetswouldremainexactlythesame.
Inthisway,itisthenumberthatrelatesthelinelengthstooneanotherthatstandsinthespotlight
whenconsideringaproportion,withthespecificlinelengthsthemselvesbeingofsecondaryimportance.
Onceagain,thisissimilartoourearliermentionedexampleofthesquarerootoftwoandthesquareit
isnottheactualmeasureofeitheredgelengthordiagonalthatisofprimeimportance,butinsteadisthe
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/phithegoldenproportion/introductiontophithegoldenproportion 1/7
relationshipofthetwolinelengthstooneanotherthatdelineatesourunderstandingofthefigure.
Strivingasevertorelatetheideasofgeometrytoouractualexperiencesoflife,wemustfindpersonal
meaningwithintheconfinesofthelanguageofproportion.Infact,itisnotmuchofastretchtodosoif
weconsideronewordthathasalreadybeenusedseveraltimesinthisintroductiontodescribeproportion
thatwordisrelation.Separategeometricentitiesarebeingtiedtogetherintoarelationshipbya
proportion,withthelinelengthsrepresentingtheentitiesinageometricproportion.Butifwestepoutof
theboundsofgeometry,thenwenolongerhavetousenumericalvalueswithinourproportion.Instead
wecoulduseproportiontodescribeanyfourvariablesthatrelatetooneanotherinasimilarmanner
eithernumericallyorotherwise.Torepresentourproportioninthisnew,broadersense,wecansimply
replacethespecificnumberswithlettervariables,i.e.,A:B::C:D.Withgeometry,ofcourse,itisamuch
moresimpleissuetoprovewhetherornotthefourvariablesinvolvedinaproportiondoinfactsharea
commonrelationship(eitherthetwosetsofnumbersarerelatedtooneanotherbythesamenumberor
theyarenot),butthisdoesnotmeanthatwecannotuseproportiontocomparecommonrelationships
amongstanyvariablesthatwechoosetouse,betheynumbervaluesornot.Andwhosaysthatweneed
mathematicalprooffordescribingrelationshipsbetweenthings,anyway?
Inthecaseofourpreviouslymentionedproportion(A:B::C:D),wehavefourseparatevariablesbeingtied
togetherbyonerelational.Thistypeofproportionhasbeencalledadiscontinuousproportion,duetothe
factthatwearerelatingtwocompletelyseparatesetsofvariablestooneanother,withAandB
representingonesetandCandDrepresentingtheother.Numericallyspeaking,manysetsofvariables
canbetiedtogetherinsuchawayinfact,aninfinitenumberofsetscanberelatedtooneanother
throughadiscontinuousproportion.Asanexample,ifweknowforcertainthatAequals3andBequals9,
thenwealsoknowforcertainthatourrelationalisatriplingofthefirstvariabletoobtainthevalueofthe
second.ButcanwesayforcertainwhatvaluesCandDmusthave?Inpointoffact,thereareaninfinite
numberofpossiblevaluesthatCandDcouldhave.Grantedthosenumberswouldhavetorelatetoone
anotherbytripling,butthatonerestrictioncouldapplytoanytwosetsofnumbersfrom1/3:1(and
smaller)to1,000,000,000,000:3,000,000,000,000(andbeyond).Thusadiscontinuousproportionisnot
averyrareorcomparablyspecialtypeofrelationshiptoformbetweenvariables.
Ifwewishtoformwhatisknownasacontinuousproportion,wemustlinktwosetsofvariables
togetherwithnotonlytherelationalthatdescribestheirinteraction,butalsowithacommonvariable
betweenthetwosets,i.e.,A:B::B:C.Herewefindthatoneelement(namelyBinourexample)isonehalf
ofbothsetsofvariablesthatarebeingrelatedtooneanotherwithintheproportion.Asthenameimplies,
thereisacontinuousrelationshiprepresented,fromAtoBandfromBdirectlytoC.Thenumberof
possibilitiesherehasbeengreatlyreducedfromourearlierdiscontinuousproportion,andamoresolid
understandingofhowArelatestoCcanbetakenaswell.Toreturntoournumericalexampleabove,ifwe
haveacontinuousproportionandweknowthatAandBequal1and3respectively,wecansaywithall
certaintythatthevalueofCmustbe9.
Thusacontinuousproportionisinsomewaysafarmoredesirableproportiontoworkwith,asthe
relationshipthatitisdefiningisfarmorespecificthanthatofadiscontinuousproportionallvariables
involvedarerelatingtooneanotherthroughacommonvariable,asopposedtorelatingtooneanother
strictlythroughtheproportionsrelational.
Eveninthecaseofcontinuousproportions,therearestillabsolutelyvastnumbersofpossibilitiesforthe
numericalvaluesthatcouldbeassignedtothevariablesA,B,andC.ByremovingDfromtheinitial
discontinuousproportion,wehavecertainlynarroweddownthepossibilitiesandcreatedamorespecific
statementinvolvingthevariablesinquestionyetwestillcannotstateanyvalueforcertainunlesswe
defineatleasttwoofthethreevariablesintheproportion.Thequestionmustarisethenifitissomehow
possibletoremoveonemorevariablefromtheproportion,andbydoingsocreateaproportionthat
expressesanextremelyspecificrelationship.Buthowcoulditbepossibletorelateonlytwovariableswhen
twosetsoftwovariablesarerequiredinordertoformatrueproportion?BysimplystatingA:B::A:Bor
A:B::B:A,wearenotstatinganythingatallinaproportionalsense:AistoBjustasitistoitself.
Thoughthestatementistrue,therelationshipisnotbeingdefinedasitrelatestoanythingbesidesitself,
andthusnoproportionalstatementisbeingformed.
Variousancientculturesaskedthequestioniftherewassomewaytoformatrueproportionbyusingonly
twovariables,andtheyfoundthatthereisindeedawaytoformsuchaspecificandexactproportion.The
proportionisknown,assomemayhaveguessedoralreadyknow,astheGoldenProportion,orthe
numberPhi.Thereisonewayandonlyonewaytocreateaproportionwhereinthereareonlytwo
variables:A:B::B:(A+B).Toensureourunderstanding,letstakealookatagraphicexampleofthismost
rareofproportions:
Astheimageillustrates,theGoldenProportiondefinesaproportionwhereinthesmallerlinesegment
relatestothelongerlinesegmentinthesamewaythatthelongerrelatestothesumofbothshorterand
longersegments.Ifweassumethatthelongersegmentisequalto1,thentheentirelinemustmeasure
1.618,orifweassumethetotallength(A+B)toequal1,thenthelinethatdividesthetotality(often
labeledtheGoldenDivision)fallsat0.618Iftheproportionisbrokendownalgebraically,itwillshow
thatthedivisionmustalwaysfallatthespecificvalue0.618,or1:1.618,whichisthevalueknownas
Phi.
Well,itisveryinterestingthatitisactuallypossibletocreateaproportionsuchthatitonlycontainstwo
variables,andthatthereisonlyonepossiblewaytodosuchathingnumerically,andthatthenumber
happenstomeasuretheirrationalvalueof1.618Butwhatisthemeaningofthisnumber?
PhiandtheHumanExperience:
ToexplainthemeaningofPhi,wehavetogobacktoourearlierideathatproportiondoesnothavetobe
restrictedtonumericalvalues,andcaninsteadbeusedtoexpressrelationshipsbetweennonnumerical
variables.Forourexample,weshalluseproportiontodescribearelationshipthateveryonecan
understandtherelationshipbetweenthemselvesandtheworldaroundthem.Tokeepitsimple,wewill
calltheconsciousawarenessthatexperiencesthephenomenaoftheworldtheobserverandthe
phenomenathattheobserverexperiencestheobserved.
Letsstartwithadiscontinuousproportion:A:B::C:D.Tohelpusunderstandtheideaofthisdiscontinuous
proportion,letussdefinewhateachofthesefourtermscanbetakentorepresent:Bequalstheobserver
rightnowandAissomespecificphenomenathatisbeingobservedinthepresent,whereasCandD
wouldhavetorepresentsomethingthathashappenedtosomeoneelsetheourobserver(B)isawareof.
Althoughthissoundsodd,itisinfactnotthatrareofanoccurance,ifwetranslatethisintothe
statement,Theobserverisrelatingtothecurrenteventinthesamewaythathe/sheheardthat
someoneelserelatedtoaneventintheirlife.Inotherwords,theobserverisrelatingtowhatis
happeningtothembycomparingittosomethingtheyhaveheardabouthappeningtoanotherperson.It
soundsabitoddwhenspelledoutinthismanner,butthisisexactlythewayinwhichmostchildrenlearn
torelatetotheirenvironmentbyremeberingwhattheyhaveheardandbeentaughtbytheirparents.
So,tostepabitclosertodirectrelationwiththeobserved,wecanrelateviaacontinuousproportion:
A:B::B:C,orTheobserverrelatestotheobservedinthesamewaythattheobserverrelatedtoan
observationoftheirowninthepast.
ContinuousProportion:

A:B::B:C

where,
A=acurrentobservation
B=theobserverinatthepresenttime
C=apastobservation
Thekeyfactorthathaschanged,ofcourse,isthatitistheactofrelatingtotheirownpastexperience
thathelpsthemtounderstandwhatishappeningtotheminthepresent.Thisisanextremelycommon
typeofrelation,andinfactdescribesquitewellthetypeofrelationshipthatmostpeoplehavewiththeir
environmentsonadailybasis.Tostatetherelationshipthroughthelanguageofproportion:Theobserver
relatestotheobservedjustastheobserverrelatedtoasimilarobservationsinthepast.Inotherwords,
assoonassomethinghappensinourenvironment,wecyclebackthroughourpastexperiencestofinda
comparableevent,andthenwereacttothenewphenomenainasimilarfashiontothewaythatwe
relatedtothepastevent.Allinall,itisntaparticularlybadwaytorelatetoonesexperiences,exceptfor
thefactthatthereisnotaverydirectrelationshipoccurringobserverandthepresentphenomena.
Wecansaythatbothdiscontinuousandcontinuousrelationsarenotverydirectrelationsbecauseatype
ofprejudice(literally,toprejudge)isintrinsicwithbothtypesofrelationbasingonesunderstandingof
whatisoccurringnowonwhatonealreadybelievesfrompastexperienceisprejudiceinitsmostsimplified
form.Inadiscontinuousproportionrelationship,weareactingontheprejudicesformedbyotherpeople
thathavebeenpassedontous,andinacontinuousrelationshipweareactingontheprejudicesthatwe
haveformedfromourownexperience.
So,eveninacontinuousproportionrelationship,wearerelatingeverythingasitishappeningtoourpast
experiences,andassuchweareprejudgingit,neverallowinganyroomfornewgrowthandnewrelation.
Worstofallisifweconsiderthatthistypeofprejudgmentoccursbeforeweevengivethephenomena
enoughtimetomanifest,andassuchwearenotreallyprejudgingitforwhatitis,butprejudgingiffor
whatwebelieveittobe,thusmakinganytypeoftrueanddirectrelationtowhatisactuallyoccurring
extremelydifficult.
Thosewhoarefamiliarwitheasternphilosophy(particularlyBuddhism)willknowthattheprocessofpre
judgingthatisbeingdescribedhereisnothingotherthanthatpartofourconsciousnessknownasego.
Becausetheunderstandingofegoanditsdeleterioussideeffectsareofparticularimportancetothis
discussion,wewillgiveaquicksummaryforthosewhoarenotfamiliarwiththeseideas.
Simplyput,egoistheproductofadualisticunderstandingofonesrelationshipwiththeirenvironment
(pleaseseeLessonTwoformoredetailsondualisticunderstanding).Inotherwords,theobserverviews
himorherselfasintrinsicallyseparatefromtheobserved.AswelearnedinLessonOne,however,allparts
oftheuniverseareinfactunitedatthebaselevel,andassuchegoisconstantlyunderthreatofbeing
destroyedbyunity.Quiteliterally,thedualisticmindsetthattellstheobserverthatheorsheisseparate
fromtheworldaroundthemisafraidofbeingconsumedanddissolvedbackintoonenesswiththe
universe.Attheveryearlydevelopmentalstagesthewarbetweenegoandtheenvironmentismuch
morepronounced,butasegogrowsinstrengththebattlebecomeslessandlessaggravatedduetothe
factthatasegohasgrowntodominatethesituation.Onceegoisfirmlyestablished(andthusthedualistic
mindsetisdeeplyingrainedontheobserversawareness)itinfluencestheprocessofobservationby
instantlyrelatingallphenomenatopastexperiencesofsimilarphenomenainotherwords,itrestrictsall
understandingofrealitytoitsownpersonalsystemofcategorizationandorganization,whichithas
developedfrompastexperiencesofsimilarphenomena.Allnewphenomenaarejudgedaseitherdesirable
orundesirable,threateningornonthreatening,andthendealtwithaccordingly.Byrestricting
understandinginthismanner,egomanagestokeepitselfcentraltoallphenomenathatitobserves,
literallybasingallunderstandingoftheoutsideworldonhowthatworldrelatestotheseparateand
individualobserverthatithasconvinceditselfexists.
Theunfortunatemajorsideeffectoftheprocessdescribedhereisthefactthattheobserverbecomesless
andlessapartoftheworldaroundthem,andmoreandmorewrappedupintheirownparticular
understandingoftheworld.Naturally,anyphenomenathatmanifestsintheworldthatwouldbreakdown
theegosfundamentalsystemofcategorizationandorganizationispushedawayanddenied,becauseany
threattotheegossystemofunderstandingrepresentsathreattoitsveryexistence.Theactof
continuallypushingawaythosephenomenathatchallengetheegossystemofbeliefresultsinaliteral
ignoreanceoftheworldaroundtheobserver.Whocanhonestlystatethatitcouldbehealthytoignore
theactualeventsofoneslifeinfavorofseeingonlythoseeventsthatmakeonefeelmorecomfortable
withwhatonewantstobelieve?
Thedestructiveeffectsoftheegoontheobserverarewellknowntomanyspiritualdisciplines,andseveral
havedevelopedpractices,suchasyoga,meditation,taichi,andothers,toattempttolessonthecontrolof
egoovertheobserver.Thedesiredeffectistobringtheobserverbackintoadirectrelationshipwiththe
observed,toputthembackintouchwiththerealityoftheirworld,andtherebytoreintroducethe
observersconsciousparticipationwiththeunifiedaspectoftheuniverse.Somewouldsaythatlettinggo
ofonesegotoresubmergeintotheflowofunityfromwhencewecameisthemostnobleofallgoalsfor
ahumanbeingtosetforthemselves.
Sacredgeometry,andinfactahugeportionofnatureitself,backsupthisideaofegolessnessasaprime
goalofhumankind.ItdoessothroughPhi,theGoldenProportion.Intheexamplesprovidedabove,both
thediscontinuousandcontinuousrelationsdescribesituationsinwhichtheobserverisrelatingtothe
observedbypastobservationseitherpastobservationsofotherpeoples(discontinuousrelation)or
observationsoftheirown(continuousrelation).Inbothcases,itistheprocessofrelatingthroughego
throughrelatingtonewphenomenaviaonespreconceivedbeliefsthatisbeingdescribed.
WiththeGoldenProportion,however,secondaryrelationisremoved.A:B::B:(A+B),whereAequalsthe
observerandBequalstheobserved.Inotherwords,theobserverrelatestotheobservedjustasthe
observerrelatestotheobserverandtheobservedconjoined,i.e.,addedtogethertoformaunity.
TheGoldenProportionRelationship:

A:B::B:(A+B)

where,
A=thecurrentobservation
B=theobserveratthepresenttime
Theimplicationisthatallprejudicehasbeenremovednotsimplyprejudiceinthemoderndefinitionof
havingapresetviewonrace,gender,class,etc.,buttheveryactoftakingonesmindoutofthepresent
inordertorefertoanythingexceptforwhatishappeningrightnowisnolongeroccuring.Despitethefact
thattheobserverandtheobserved(AandB)areseperateentities,theyaresocloselyinternitwithone
anotherinthistypeofrelationshipthattheyhavebeentiedtogetheronceagain(A+B)intoaunified
state,allthewhileparadoxicallyretainingtheirindividualstatus.
ThisisonlyoneofthemajorinterpretationsoftheGoldenProportion.Theexampleofhuman
consciousnessasobserverhasbeenusedheresimplybecauseitisasituationthatallofuscanrelateto.
Asweshallsee,thereareothers,althoughallrelatetothesamecentralideaofdiversificationofform
withinunityrelatingbacktounity.Letsturnnowtodiscussaslightlybroaderexample,soasto
understandhowPhicanbeappliedtoideasotherthanhumantranscendence.
PhiasanexpressionofJiJiMuGe:
IthasbeenstatedseveraltimesinthevariousLessonsthattheoriginalstateoftheuniverseisaunified
one,andatsomepointthatunitydividestocreateformandmovement.Buttherehasalsobeenan
insistencethroughoutthisbodyofliteraturethattheoriginalstateofunityisstillexists,despitethefact
thatithasdividedintoaninfinitenumberofforms.Variousexplanationshavebeengiventoexplainthis
paradoxofjijimuge,orThingandthing,nodivision,butitiswithPhithatwefindthemostapt
expressioningeometryoftheparadoxofoneyetmany,manyyetone.
LetstakethemostsimplifiedgeometricexpressionofUnityasinglestraightlineanduseitasan
experimentforcreatingsimultaneousdivisionandunity.IfweweretotakeourUnityanddivideit,we
mightbetemptedtosimplydividethelineinhalf:
Formanythiswouldmakeaverypoeticandjustsituation,whereintwoequalhalvesexist,neitherof
whichdominatestheother.Inmanyways,thisistrueexceptforonemajorproblem:wenowhavetwo
halves,withneithercontainingaproportionaterelationtotheoriginalunity.Ourtwosegmentshavethe
followingproportion:1:2::1:2.Asdiscussedearlier,theproportionisnotatrueproportion,because
nothinghasbeenstatedatall.Bythiswemeanthatnorelationshipbetweentwosetsofvariableshas
beenestablished,becauseonlyonesetofvariablesisrelatingtoitself(1:2),whichdoesntmakea
relationalitmakesasimpleratio.Allwehavenowistwohalves,bothofwhichrelateonlytotheir
division(1:2,i.e.,onerelatestotwoperiod).Thuswehavedividedunity,butinsodoinglostour
relationtounity.
Fromherewewouldhavetostartdividingunityusingfractionsordecimalsotherthan1/2,or0.50.Lets
tryanexample,saydividingunityatthe1/4to3/4mark:0.25:1::0.75:3.Oursegmentscannolonger
bothberelatedtotheoriginalunity,becauseif0.25isto1,theninatrueproportion,0.75hastobe
multipliedby4(therelationalasdefinedby0.25to1),givingus3.Thusinthisexamplewecannotrelate
bothsegmentsofunitybacktounityonlyone,whichautomaticallyforcestheotheroutofrelationto
unity.
Thesameistrueforanydivisionofonethereisnowaytocreateatrueproportionthatwillrelateboth
sectionsbacktounityagain.Except,ofcourse,theGoldenDivision.
A:B::B:(A+B),or0.382:0.618::0.618:1
Thetwohalvesareinthesameproportiontoeachotherasthegreatersegmentistothesumofboth.
Thereisnothingotherthanthetwosegmentsandtheunitythatencompassesthemintheproportion,
andthuswehavedividedunityintotwosegments,thebothofwhichcan(anddo)directlyrelatebackto
theoriginalunityinatrueproportionalsensebothmathematicallyandfiguratively.Wehavedivided
unityintomultiplicityinsuchawaythatthemultiplicitycontinuallyrelatesbacktotheunitythat
containsit,andthusanaspectofjijimugehasbeenexplained.Weshallshortlyseethemanywaysin
whichthePhidivisiondoesindeedleadtoinfinitemultiplicitywithinunity.
Tosummarize,geometricallyspeakingthereisonlyonewaytocreateaproportionthatcontainsonlytwo
variables.Thatproportion,whenalgebraicallyreduced,happenstoequaltheirrationalnumberknownas
Phi0.618or1:1.618Phicoincidentallyhappenstogiveusanaptexpressionforthe
transcendenceofhumankind,andalsogivesustheabilitytounderstandhowitispossiblethattheunified
universecanbedividedintomyriadforms,yetcontinuouslyrelatebacktotheeverpresentunityofall
things.
Nowwaituntilyouseehownatureusesthenumber
Commentsareclosed.
29/06/2016 Phi/TheGoldenProportioninGeometrynature'sword:musingsonsacredgeometry
all
Phi/TheGoldenProportioninGeometry
BeforewegetintohownatureusestheproportionPhi,letstakealookatsomeofthegeometricshapes
thatgenerateandcanbegeneratedbyPhi.Wellbelookingatafewdistinct(yetrelated)itemshere,
includingtheregularpentagon,GoldenRectangles,GoldenSpirals,andaseriesofnumbersknownasthe
FibonacciSeries.
ThereadermayhavebeenconfusedintheIntroductiontoPhibythealternateuseofeither0.618or
1.618forthevalueofPhiafterall,itwouldseemthatthenumbermusthaveaspecificvalue.Assuch,
weneedtoexplainwhyitisacceptabletotakeeither1.618or0.618asthevalueofPhi.Theansweris
quitesimple:inourproportionA:B::B:(A+B),ifweassumethetotality(A+B)toequal1,thenthedividing
point(theGoldenDivision)betweenAandBfallsat0.618However,ifweassumethatthedividingpoint
fallsat1,thenthetotality(A+B)mustmeasure1.618
Also,ifwedivide1by1.618,ouranswerreads0.618Thus,1overPhi(1.618)givesus0.618,and
assuch0.618wouldbeconsideredafractionwithintheexponentialseriesofPhi.Aswithanyofthe
transcendentalproportionsinsacredgeometry,anynumberthatfallsintheexponentialseriesofagiven
transcendentalproportioncanbeconsideredexpressiveoftheoriginalproportionitself.Thereasonsfor
thisbecomeclearwhenthestudentworkswithcompassandstraightedgetogeneratethetranscendental
proportion,asitisdiscoveredthattheexponentialseriesoftheproportionisautomaticallyimpliedbythe
geometricfigureswhichgeneratetheoriginalproportion.
Asadirectexample,andonethatleadsustoourverynexttopic,letustakealookatthenumberfive
anditsgeometricimplications.
ThenumberfiveandtheproportionPhiareverycloselyintertwinedsomuchsothatitcanbesaidthat
inageometricsense,fiveimpliesPhiautomatically.Letstakealookataregularpentagontofindout
why:
http://www.naturesword.com/sacredgeometry/phithegoldenproportion/phithegoldenproportioningeometry 1/7
Notethatiftheedgeofthepentagon(forthisexampleletsuselineDC)isconsideredtoequal1,then
lineEBmeasures1.618,orPhi.
Inaregularpentagram(fivepointedstar),ifLineEFBistakentoequal1,thenpointFdividestheLineEB
at0.618
Thisimageshowsusalargepentagramwithvariouslinesdefinedwithinitsimplybyconnectingthe
majorpointsofintersectionofthestar.Ifwelookcloselyateachlegofthestar,wecanseethatthere
areaseriesofgraduallydiminishingpentagons,eachofwhichcontainsafivepointedstar.Onceagain,we
findthattheedgelengthofeachpentagonrelatestothenextgreaterpentagonby0.618(orrelatesto
thenextsmallerpentagonsedgelengthby1.618).
Inotherwords,ifwetaketheedgelengthoftheredpentagoninthemiddleofthestarandmultiplyitby
0.618,wefindthattheanswermatchesupwiththeedgelengthofthebluepentagon.Wecanthen
multiplythebluepentagonsedgelengthby0.618,andwefindthattheanswermatchestheedge
lengthofthenextsmallerpentagon.Theprocesscancontinuetoinfiniteintheorywithouteveractually
reachingthefinalpointofthestar.
Astheseexamplesshow,itisimpossibletocreatearegularpentagonorpentagramandnotautomatically
implythePhiproportionandtheexponentialseriesofnumberswithinthePhiseries.Everyobject
portrayingafivepointedstarispracticallyscreamingthePhiproportionattheonlooker,whethertheyare
consciouslyawareofthefactornot.
IfwewishtogeneratealinemeasuringPhifromaperfectsquare,wecandosobythefollowingmethod:
1.DrawaperfectsquareABCD
2.DrawasecondperfectsquareCDEFadjacenttothefirst,sharingLineCDwithSquareABCD
3.DrawadiagonalfromPointAtoPointF,cuttingLineCDatG(notethatifanysideofoneofthe
squaresistakentomeasure1,thenLineAFmeasuresthetranscendentalsquarerootoffive)
4.ExtendLineDCagooddistancepastPointC
5.SetyourcompasspointatGandextenditsradiustoPointA.KeepingthecompasspointatPointG,
bringthecurvefromPointGtowhereitcrossestheextendedLineDC.Labelthepointwherethearc
crossesCDPointH.Ifweassumethatanysideofourperfectsquaresisequalto1,thenLineDH
measures1.618,orPhi.
Hereswhy:
IfLineDCmeasures1,thenLineDGmeasures0.5(LineAFcutsLineCGexactlyinhalf).Asstated,
becauseweareassumingthesidesofourperfectsquaresareequalto1,wecansafelysaythatLineAF
measuresthesquarerootoffive,or2.236BysettingourcompassarctothelengthofLineGAand
addingthisdistancetoLineDG,weareadding1/2ofthesquarerootoffivetoLineCG(GAmustmeasure
onehalfofthesquarerootoffive).ThuswehavethelengthofDG(which,asstated,measures0.5)plus
1/2ofthesquarerootoffive(onehalftimesthesquarerootoffiveequals1.118),or:0.5+1.118=
1.618
Itisofprimeimportancethatthereaderunderstandtheabovegeometricexerciseifanyofthefollowing
geometricexamplesaregoingtomakesense.Please,ifpossible,takeacompassandstraightedgeand
performtheexerciseyourself.Repeatitifnecessaryinordertoensuretotalunderstandingofhowand
whytheproportionofanysideofthesquarestoLineCHequals1.618
Bycontinuingwiththeaboveexercise,itisasimplemattertoextendLineABandcutitatPointIsothat
LineAImeasuresPhiaswell.ByconnectingPointsHandIwegeneratewhatisknownasaGolden
Rectangle,thatbeingarectanglewhosesidesrelatetoeachotherintheproportionof1:1.618Inthe
caseofourexampleatleft,inRectangleAIHD,ifwetooksidesADandIHtomeasure1,thensidesAIand
HDmeasure1.618
WhatisparticularlyamazingaboutGoldenRectanglesisthatifwelookatourRectangleAIHD,wefind
thatRectangleBIHCisalsoaGoldenRectangle.Inotherwords,ifwetooksidesBIandHCtomeasure1
inRectangleBCIH,thensidesIHandCBmeasure1.618Byusingourcompasswecanusetheshort
edgelengthofBI(yellowarc)tocreateaperfectsquarewithinRectangleBIHC,leavingasmaller
rectangleJKHCalsoaGoldenRectangle.Theprocesscanbecontinuedforinfinity(ifonecoulddrawthat
small),forevergeneratingsmallerGoldenRectangleswithinGoldenRectangles.
Itisimportanttonotethatastherectanglesformwithinoneanotherintheparticularwayshownabove
theyturnby90degreesrelativetothenextlargerrectangle.Thisspiralingeffectleadstowhatisknown
asaGoldenSpiralinthefollowingmanner:
Takeacompassandsetitspointinthecornerofthelargestperfectsquare(PointC).Setitsarctothe
edgelengthofthesquare(CD),anddrawacurvefromonecornertotheother(fromPointDtoPointA).
Nowmovethecompasspointtothenextsmallerperfectsquare,setitsarctothesmallersquaresedge
length,anddrawanarcfromcornertocorner.Repeattheprocessasfarasisfeasibleusingthematerials
thatyouhaveatyourdisposal,knowingthattheprocesscouldberepeatedforinfinityifitwerepossible
todrawonsuchascale.
ThethingthatsetstheGoldenSpiralapartfromotherspiralsisthefactthatitscurveisexactlythesame,
nomatterhowsmallerorhowlargeasectionwechoosetoview.Inotherwords,ifweweretozoominto
theinfinitelysmallcenteroftheSpiral,wewouldfindanexactduplicateofwhatwewouldseeifwewere
tozoomouttoviewaninfinitelylargeSpiral.Nootherspiralcanbemathematicallyproduced(orproduced
anyotherway,forthatmatter)thatadhearssocloselytothissimilaritywithinsimilarity.
Thosewhoarefamiliarwiththecomparablyrecentmathematicalconstructionsknownasfractalsmay
benoticingacongruencebetweenthemandthediscussionofPhiupuntilthispoint.Theconnectionis
nottobemissed,becauseitspeakstooneoftheveryfundamentalideaswithinthenumberPhi.That
ideahasbeenknowninsomecirclesasmicrocosm/macrocosmtheory,orthebasicideathatwefind
exactreplicasoftheprocesseswhichaffectthemostminuteofallthingsaffectingthelargestofallthings
inanexactlysimilarproportionatemannerfromtheatom,andsmaller,totheuniverse,andlarger.The
exactsimilarityofthecontinuallydiminishingpentagonsinafivepointedstarthesamedirect
proportionalrelationbetweenaGoldenRectangleandtheinfinitelydiminishingGoldenRectangleswithin
it(nottomentiontheinfintelyexpandingGoldenRectanglesencompassingit)thesameprincipleoftrue
proportionalsimilarityonanyscalefoundintheGoldenSpiralallarepointingtheobservertowardsthe
ideathatthereareunifyingprinciplesthatliebehindtheuniversethatlinkstogethereachandeverylevel
ofperception.
Inthisway,Phiissimplythemathematicaltermthatmostdirectlyexpressesthepossibilityofasingle
unifyingprinciplethattiestogetheracontinuallyunfoldingandexpandingreality,rangingfromthe
infinitelyminutetotheincomprehensablyvast.Thereisnoothernumberthatcanclaimtoexpressthis
ideawithsuchconcisedirectness.Tobringusbacktothevarioustopicsdiscussedintheintroductionto
thisfranklyastoundingproportion,letusnotforgetthatthenumbernotonlyconnectsthetinytothe
vast,butdoessoinsuchamannerthatexpressesnothingshortoftranscendenceandegolessnessin
otherwords,acontinualrelationofthepartdirectlytothewholethatencompassesitthroughout
infiniteexpansionandcontraction.
TowrapupourdiscussionofPhiingeometry,letustakealookattheseriesofnumbersknownasthe
FibonacciSeries.Thissequenceofnumbersisgeneratedsosimplythattheseriesmightbeinitially
overlookedastheworkofasimpleton.ButLeonardoPisanoFibonacci(11701250),thediscovererof
thisseriesandforwhomitwasnamed,wasnosimpleton.Infact,hewasanItalianwhotravelledinand
waseducatedinAfricajustbefore1200.UponhisreturntoEurope,hepublishedabookentitledLiber
Abaci(TheBookofComputation,published1202),whichiscreditedwithconvincingallofEuropeto
switchfromthecumbersomeRomannumeralsystemtotheHinduArabicdecimalsystemthatwestill
usetoday.BesideslearningoftheHinduArabicsystemofnumbers,evidentlyFibonaccilearnedsomething
elsefromEuropesneighborstothesouththatbeing,ofcourse,nothingotherthantheFibonacci
sequence,whichalsowaspresentedforthefirsttimetoEuropeaneyesandmindsinLiberAbaci.
Tobeginthisselfreplicatingseriesofnumbers,alloneneeddoisstartwithatthebeginingofnumber
itselfthenumberone.Itisthenatureofthisselfreplicatingnumericalsequencetotaketwoprior
numbersandaddthemtogethertogeneratethefollowingnumber.Inthiscase,wehaveonlythe
numberone,sowerepeatitasecondtime,givingusourfirstpair:
1,1
Weaddthesetwonumbers,theresultofwhichisofcourse2.Twobecomesthethirdnumberinour
series:
1,1,2
Nowwetakeourlasttwonumbersandaddthemtogethertogeneratethefourthnumber,muchaswe
addedthefirstandsecondintergertoobtainthethird:
1,1,2,3
Addingoutlasttwointergersagain,weobtain5,makingthesequencethusfar1,1,2,3,5.3+5givesus
8,whichisoursixthinterger.5+8=13,etc.,etc.,etc.Theseriescontinuesforinfinity,withanew
numberalwaysbeingtheproductofthetwonumbersthatimmediatelyproceedit:
Soveryclever.Butsowhat?Well,ifwetakeanytwoadjacentnumbersintheseriesanddividethe
smallerintothelarger,wefindthattheresultverynearlyapproximatestheexactinfinitevalueofPhi.
NearthebeginningoftheseriesthevaluesonlygenerallyapproximatePhi,butwefindthatthey
approximatePhiwithincreasingaccuracythehigherweprogressintotheseriesuntilitisuncannyhow
accuratetheybecome.
Letstakealookatafewexamples,justtomakethispointclear.Atthelowendofthescale,theseriesis
fartoogeneraltoderiveanyconclusiveevidencethattheFibonacciseriesofnumbersareanything
seperatefromanyothermathematicallygeneratedseriesofnumbers:
1dividedby1=1
2dividedby1=2
3dividedby2=1.5
5dividedby3=1.666
8dividedby5=1.6
13dividedby8=1.625
Asstated,nobigdealtherethenumbersdohappentocomeoutto1.6orthereaboutswiththelast
threedivisionsbutthiscouldsimplybeacoincidence.Letscontinue:
21dividedby13=1.615384
34dividedby21=1.619047
55dividedby34=1.617647058823529411
89dividedby55=1.618
144dividedby89=1.61797752808988764044943820224719
Ascanbeseen,thequotientsarenotonlyapproachingthetruevalueofPhi,butinfactarealternating
backandforthoneithersideofthetruevalueastheygetcloserandcloser.
Thegridatleftshowsthealternationratherclearly.Thenumbersalongthebottomaxisarethesetsof
Fibonaccinumbersthataredividedintooneanother,i.e.,1strepresentsthevalueproducedbydividing
thefirsttwonumbersfromtheseries.Theredlinecuttinghorizontallyacrossthegraphrepresentsthe
truevalueofPhi.Itcaneasilybeseenthatbyonlythe7thsetofintergersquotientofthedividing
processisextremelyclosetoPhi.Bythe12thsetofnumbersthevalueissoclosethatwecannoteven
decernthealternationfromthevalueofPhiitself.Ofcourse,asalreadystated,thevaluesnevermatch
Phiexactly,butinsteadcontinuetoalternatefromslightlylowertoslightlyhigherthanthetruevalue,
forevercomingcloserandcloserwithoutevermatchingexactly.
Justtodrivethepointhome,letstakealookattheresultofdividingthe19thnumberintheFibonnaci
sequenceintothe20thnumber,andcompareittoafairlyexactvalueofPhi:
6765dividedby4181=1.618033963
Phi=1.618033988
Consideringhowaccuratethequotientisbyonlythe19thand20thnumbersinaseriesofnumbersthat
canbegeneratedinalikemannerforeternity,itisfairlysafetosaythattheFibonacciserieshasarather
directrelationtothenumberPhi.Itisnocoincidencethatwefindthesmallestnumbersintheseriesare
linkedtooneanotherbytheexactsameprocessasthehigher(thatprocessbeingtheadditionofthetwo
priornumbersinthesequencetoobtainthefollowingnumber),andthattheprocessjusthappensto
automaticallyimplyPhibyitsverynature.Onceagain,Phihasspokenitsmessageloudandclear:thatit
istheonlynumberthatcanexpresscontinuousandconstantrelationthroughinfinitegrowthand
expansionassuccinctlyasitdoes.
Now,letsfinallygettoperhapsthegrandestcoincidenceofallthatbeingthatitwouldseemthat
NaturelovesPhievenmorethanthemostdevoutstudentofsacredgeometryevercould.
OneResponsetoPhi/TheGoldenProportioninGeometry
1. CandaceCaplessays:
April3,2010at1:39am
Doyouplantokeepthissiteupdated?Isurehopesoitsgreat!

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