The Earth and the Moon

p.24

This astonishing diagram was discovered by John Michell,  in his book The Dimensions of Paradise. 

The drawing begins with a Square and a Circle.

Bringing together the circle and the square was an action that had spiritual significance, as it was a metaphor for the bringing together of heaven and earth: the reconciliation of opposites.  There are four ways of doing this: a square inscribed within a circle, a circle inscribed within a square; a square and circle of equal perimeters and lastly, of equal areas. 

In this drawing, the outside circle is equal to the perimeter of the square. A square is drawn with a length of 11 units, making a perimeter of 44 units.

On the top right-hand edge outside the square a Pythagoras triangle is constructed with sides 3.4.5.  On the 3 unit edge, a square is drawn with 3 units on each side. A similar triangle to the previous one is drawn on the left-hand side. So units 4+3+4 = 11 units of the side of the square. A circle is inscribed within it.  With the radius of the square + the radius of the small circle, draw a large circle to make an equal perimeter with the square 

( Square = 44  units, Circle = 14 x 22/7 = 44 units).

Then draw a circle within the larger square. The relation of these two circles defines the relationship between the Earth and the Moon. 11:3 . Radius of Earth  = 3960 miles, radius of Moon 1080 miles.

The diagram also reveals a plan of Stonehenge: the perimeter ring corresponds to the Sarsen stone ring: and the Earth circle reveals the diameter of the bluestone circle and a hexagram is drawn that defines the inner bluestone horseshoe. The perimeter of the hexagram, 23,760 miles is a tenth part of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. 

It is to be noted that the green triangle in the diagram describes the profile of the Great Pyramid at Giza: the angle being about 51 degrees from the baseline.

The Cosmic Connection

p.25

Stonehenge and other sacred buildings are reflections of the cosmic order, and it is interesting to note the connections between number and geometry, man-made buildings and the manifestations of nature.

The page starts with an outside upper border, around the central square. Outside the inner square there are drawings that show how the circle can unfold to yield further important proportions and shapes: triangles, the √3 rectangle, the ‘octave’ circle, and how geometrically the earth/moon proportion is revealed from a foundation of five circles.

Inside the inner red square on the top right is shown the four subjects of the Quadrivium of Mathematics which combined with the Trivium of Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric were called the Liberal Arts, so named as they were designed to release the soul from the bondage of ignorance. Formulated by Pythagoras around 500 BC, the concept blossomed in the medieval period, and still forms the basis of a classical education. The subjects of the Quadrivium were Arithmetic - pure number, Geometry - number in space, Music - number in time, and Cosmology - number in space and time.

Also inside the red square, there is at the top left a diagram which relates to the Earth/Moon drawing on the previous page no 24, the first Pythagoras triangle: the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. This triangle has sides 3,4,5, which makes an area of 6 units.  The chart goes on to explore the properties of the number 6, which is interesting as 1,2,3 added and multiplied = 6. 

Continuing, 3+4+5=12, and 3 x 4 x 5= 60;  which added = 72, and multiplied = 720.  And 720 /2 = 360. 

These are all significant numbers, representing our many important divisions of time and space. The Babylonians used 60 as their base number unit - perhaps as it has so many divisors.  

In the middle section of the inner red square is listed some measurements of the relationships between the Earth, Moon and Sun in miles, and how these numbers correspond to the numbers in feet at Stonehenge. 

Interestingly the radius of Earth and Moon together  in miles (see p.24)  50406 which is 1x2x3x4x5x6x7, and the diameter of Earth in miles is 7920 which is 8x9x10x11. 

 The lower section of the inner red square continues with the theme of significant number in the Cosmos. ‘ The Harmony of the Spheres: the Universal Order, starting with more relationships of the heavenly bodies.

All this information was found in John Michell’s book The Dimensions of Paradise.

Underneath the red square, there are some diagrams showing how some ancient measures correspond to basic geometric shapes. Also there is a link between Time and Space in that 1 foot = 1000th part of a degree of arc along the Earth’s surface divided by 365.25 - the number of days in a Solar year.

The page ends with a quotation form Plato: ‘ Every diagram and system of numbers, and of every combination of harmony, and  the agreement of the evolution of the stars must be made manifest as One in All to him who learns in the proper way…..keeping his eye on Unity….for it will be manifest to us, as we reflect, that there is natural bond linking them all’.

Other information on these pages was gleaned from the Wooden Books series edited and published by John Martineau.