We’re sure we don’t need to tell you that math is awesome. It’s surprising; it’s useful; and in fields like geometry, it can be really, really pretty. But for some people, that’s not enough. The study of shapes isn’t just cool and nice to look at, they say – it has to be magic as well.
For those who believe in it, this “sacred geometry” is not just a spiritual framework through which to understand the universe – it’s a veritable life hack. So what’s all the fuss about? What do people mean when they talk about “sacred geometry”? And is there any scientific basis for it at all?
What is “sacred geometry”?
There are in fact two answers to this question: an ancient one, and a modern one. Perhaps surprisingly, the older definition is probably more coherent and rational than the newer one.
“Western Classical architecture, such as that of Greece and Rome, as well as the Eastern architecture of Hinduism and Buddhism considered the circle, the square, and the triangle to be the most perfect of building forms,” explained Richard Cooler, professor emeritus of art history at Northern Illinois University, in the class notes for a course on religious architecture.
“These geometric forms are directly expressed in architecture, but especially in religious structures,” he wrote.
Similarly, “in Greece and Rome the same forms, the circle, square, and triangle, were used as the measure of the perfect physical body,” he continued. “This belief was revived during the Renaissance and was the subject of several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.”
For a very long time, if you were to talk about “sacred geometry”, this is the kind of thing you’d be referring to: the underlying forms and patterns found in religious buildings and artwork. There’s a lot of it out there – though not as much as some people would like you to think.
The Parthenon, for example, is often touted as a standout example of the Golden Ratio in architecture, but upon closer inspection, this claim falls apart. “To support this claim authors often include a figure […] where [a] large rectangle enclosing the end view of [a] Parthenon-like temple is a golden rectangle,” wrote George Markowsky, now professor of computer science at Missouri University of Science and Technology, in his 1992 essay Misconceptions about the Golden Ratio. “None of these authors is bothered by the fact that parts of the Parthenon are outside the golden rectangle.”
Similarly, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, built more than 4,500 years ago, is commonly stated as following the Golden Ratio. It was built, Herodotus apparently wrote, so that “the area of a square whose side was the height of the great pyramid equaled the area of a face triangle.”
If this were true, it would undeniably show that the Egyptian architects were chasing that particular ratio in their design. The problem is, there’s no evidence it happened – it seems to originate (as many myths do) with some Victorian dude claiming it out of nowhere; there’s no record of Herodotus actually recording this tale, and even if he had, there’s no particular reason why the Egyptians would have considered this construction so important.
“This idea sounds like something dreamt up to justify a coincidence rather than a realistic description of how the dimensions of the Great Pyramid were chosen,” Markowsky concluded. “It does not appear that the Egyptians even knew of the existence of [the Golden Ratio] much less incorporated it in their buildings.”
The new age of sacred geometry
So, here’s the thing: if “sacred geometry” had remained just the slightly esoteric study of which mathematical constants may or may not turn up in various holy sites, then we wouldn’t have a problem.
Unfortunately, starting around the 1970s, the term started taking on a new meaning.
“All consciousness, including human, is solely based on sacred geometry,” declares the 2000 tome The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life: An Edited Transcript of the Flower of Life Workshop Presented Live to Mother Earth from 1985 to 1994. “Because it is, we can begin to see and understand where we have come from, where we are now and where we are going.”
Written by Drunvalo Melchizedek, a “channeler” and non-mathematician who claims to have received visions from the Egyptian god Thoth, this book is one of the foundational texts of modern sacred geometry. The idea, basically, is that the entire universe follows certain geometrical laws – not in the real, very cool way that it actually does, but in a sort of very basic way that involves pointing at circles and going “look! Pretty!”
One of Melchizedek’s favorite geometrical figures is what he calls the “flower of life” – he named his book after it, after all. It’s formed out of 19 overlapping circles arranged so that they look like, well, a flower, and it actually has a long history before it was adopted by the New Age movement.
“At baseline, it is a geometric form of perfect – and some would say divine – proportion,” Cyndi Dale, described as an “intuitive energy healer” and author, told mindbodygreen in 2023. “The flower of life is a beautiful and ancient symbol that has been depicted in many cultures across time. It’s found in Egyptian, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Judaic artwork, religious structures, and manuscripts.”
It’s certainly mesmerizing, and it has indeed garnered fans throughout world history – but that’s about it. Well, unless you ask Melchizedek – who tells us that “it is the key to time, space and dimension as well as consciousness itself.” And why would Thoth lie?
Why do people obsess over sacred geometry?
Given this modern origin, it might seem surprising that sacred geometry has so many die-hard fans. But really, it’s not all that unexpected: falling for this kind of thing is pretty baked-in to the human experience, it turns out.
“Our minds tend to seek out and detect patterns; that’s basically an adaptive tendency, as it helps us to make sense of our often bewildering worlds and to avoid danger,” Scott O. Lilienfeld, a psychology professor at Emory College and editor of Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology, told Gizmodo in 2019. “We are prone to seeing order in disorder and sense in nonsense.”
And when it comes to patterns, order, and sense, you can’t get much better than geometry. The “flower of life” isn’t divinely designed to resemble a fertilized zygote; that’s a coincidence – but doesn’t it look good? Doesn’t it make you feel good? Doesn’t it make sense that it would, as author Emma Mildon told mindbodygreen in 2021, represent “creation, and how everything is interconnected in some shape or form”?
Of course, the answer is no: it makes no more sense than the idea that adding up the numerical values of your name will reveal something deep about your personality. But both beliefs hang on – and as the world grows ever more fraught and unpredictable, perhaps we’ll see their devotees only grow in number.
“We […] shouldn’t underestimate the role of emotion” in these beliefs, Lilienfeld cautioned. “Many of these beliefs […] afford us a sense of control, even if this sense is illusory; for example, astrological horoscopes reassure us that we can forecast the otherwise unpredictable events of the forthcoming day.”
“We all harbor deep-seated wishes for greater hope and control over our lives,” he said, “so it’s not surprising that many of us are prone to these beliefs.”
