Sacred Geometry

by Miranda Lundy

Overview

Miranda Lundy gives us a beautiful glimpse into the world of shapes and the geometry behind some of mankind's most famous creations.

Geometry is one of a group of special sciences - Number, Music and Cosmology are the others - found identically in nearly every culture on earth. In this small volume, Miranda Lundy presents a unique introduction to this most ancient and timeless of universal sciences.

Sacred Geometry demonstrates what happens to space in two dimensions - a subject last flowering in the art, science and architecture of the Renaissance and seen in the designs of Stonehenge, mosque decorations and church windows. With exquisite hand-drawn images throughout showing the relationship between shapes, the patterns of coin circles, and the definition of the golden section, it will forever alter the way in which you look at a triangle, hexagon, arch, or spiral.

Wooden Books was founded in 1999 by designer John Martineau near Hay-on-Wye. The aim was to produce a beautiful series of recycled books based on the classical philosophies, arts and sciences. Using the Beatrix Potter formula of text facing picture pages, and old-styles fonts, along with hand-drawn illustrations and 19th century engravings, the books are designed not to date. Small but stuffed with information. Eco friendly and educational. Big ideas in a tiny space. There are over 1,000,000 Wooden Books now in print worldwide and growing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802713827
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/01/2001
Series:	Wooden Books
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	374,533
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 6.99(h) x 0.29(d)

About the Author

Miranda Lundy is a designer and artist. She lives and works in Cornwall, England.

Read an Excerpt

Sacred Geometry charts the unfolding of number in space and differs from mundane geometry in the sense that its moves, concepts and products are regarded as having symbolic value and meaning. Thus, like a good melody, the study and practice of geometry can facilitate the evolution of the soul. As we shall see, the basic journey is from the single point, into the line, out to the plane, through to the third dimension and beyond, eventually returning to the point again, watching what happens on the way.
These pages cover the elements of two-dimensional geometry— the unfolding of number on a flat surface. The three-dimensional geometrical story is told in another book in this series. The material is this book has been used for a very long time indeed as one introduction to metaphysics. Like the elements of its sister subject, music, it is an aspect of revelation, a bright indisputable shadow of Reality and a creation myth in itself.
Number, Music, Geometry and the study of patterns in the Heavens are the four great Liberal Arts of the ancient world dealing with quanta, or whole numbers. These simple universal languages are as relevant today as they have always been, and may be found in all known sciences and cultures without disagreement. Just above the entrance to Plato's Academy was a sign: “Let none ignorant of geometry enter here.” So let's do some research.

Table of Contents

Point, Line and Plane 2

Sphere, Tetrahedron and Cube 4

One, Two and Three 6

Six around One 8

Twelve around One 10

The Five Elements 12

Circling the Square 14

The Canon 16

Pyramid Pie 18

Halves and Thirds 20

The Shapes of Sounds 22

The Golden Section 24

Some Special Spirals 26

The Pentagon 28

The Heptagon 30

The Enneagon 32

Rabatmenr 34

Simple Tilings 36

Further Tihngs 38

The Smallest Part 40

Islamic Designs 42

A Church window 44

Trefoils and Quatrefoils 46

Stone Circles and Churches 48

Delightful Arches 50

A Celtic Spiral 52

Pentagonal possibilities 54

The Seventeen Symmetries 56