Unity in the Circle and the Square

P.12  The Circle

The Circle symbolises Unity in the Heavenly state.

As Robert Lawlor says in his book on Sacred Geometry: ‘the notion of Unity remains, literally unthinkable; simply because in order for anything to be, to exist, it must, in the very positive affirmation of itself, negate that which it is not’. But from that concept, all other numbers are derived from it.

The symbol of the Circle is the primary shape. It represents Heaven. It is unknowable. It is beyond measure, as any calculation of its circumference must include Pi, and Pi is an irrational, transcendental number.

Symbols have a very profound meaning because they seem to work vertically: what is true on one level of understanding is also true on another. So just below the drawing of the Circle, there is a short description of how the circle unfolds. 

The drawing begins with the compasses brought down vertically, and the point touches the blank sheet of paper (awakening the void). This action creates an invisible point: it is the seed, the ‘bindu’: the potential from which all creation springs. The compasses at this stage are acting as a single item. Then, as the arms of the compasses open; the essence contained within the point flows - through the radius - and is smeared throughout the circle as it is drawn. The essence implicit in the invisible centre is now made visible in the completed circle. 

The power of this understanding can only happen through a kind of enactment - an embodiment. As we draw circle we are directly engaged with the action. We open the arms of the compasses and become aware of the two different aspects: the point and the marker; but the hand on top of the compasses guiding the work tells us that these two apparent differences are really two aspects of one item. The line we see is the outward appearances of invisible forces: the creator and the created are one.

However, there is a paradox here. If a line, a radius, is drawn joining the centre and the circle, that line connects and divides them: suggesting they are the same but different. The paradox of sameness and difference, constancy in change is one of the essential threads that runs through the whole of this book.

A point has no dimension, but it has presence, position, potential. Take away the compasses, and the circle appears to be empty. So also in the manifest world in which we move and have our being: we see evidence of the created world, but not of the creator. The centre can exist prior to the cycle, but the circle cannot exist without the centre.

Some Further Metaphors and Notes

Through the process of enactment, we become very alive to the act of action of mark making: the bite of the of the pen on the paper, the balance of the two arms of the compass and the tension between them; and of the pressure of emphasis. In drawing the circle and using it as a metaphor for our daily lives, if the emphasis is too much on the visible transitory aspect of our lives, we lose our centre. We also block the flow - we get stuck without a grounding anchor. Conversely, if the emphasis is too much on the inner realm, nothing can happen: the essence from the centre cannot manifest properly in the outer visible world.

Though the circle is a symbol of Oneness and Unity, is has within it the seeds of the potential of duality: the invisible point of no dimension: the unmanifest, and the manifest one dimensional line of the circle.

P. 13  The Square

The Square symbolises Unity in the Earthly state

The Square also has perfect symmetry and represents wholeness. But here Unity is formed by two pairs of exactly equal and opposing straight lines. The Square is knowable, measurable, rational; it is defined by precise number.

The Square signifies orientation: the four principles of direction - North, South, East, West.

It also generates the principle of squaring: any number multiplied by itself is a square. When a vertical line is crossed with a horizontal equal length of line, this generates a square surface: a measurable, tangible entity comes into being. This crossing of opposites can be transferred symbolically to the crossing of any contraries: the crossing of warp and weft creates a cloth, of male and female that gives birth to a child - and indeed of spirit and matter that creates the miracle of life. Nature comes from the Latin Natus: that which is born - into this material world.

In the practice of Sacred Geometry, the only instruments used are the compasses which generates curves, signifying Heaven; and the straight edge representing Earth. So all the drawings that are made are the result of spirit and matter working together.