by Stephen Braun
Forms All Around Us – And Within Us
As one pursues their Theosophical inner quest, concepts of geometry surround the knowledge seeker and are to be found throughout the ancient wisdom. Mathematics, geometry, and form are indeed at the heart of the world we experience and who we are in our Earth-based consciousness:
Sloka (4). (Then) THE THREE (Triangle) FALL INTO THE FOUR (Quarternary). THE RADIANT ESSENCE BECOMES SEVEN INSIDE, SEVEN OUTSIDE. THE LUMINOUS EGG (Hiranyagarbha),WHICH IN ITSELF IS THREE (the triple hypostases of Brahma, or Vishnu, the three Avasthas) CURDLES AND SPREADS IN MILKWHITE CURDS THROUGHOUT THE DEPTHS OF MOTHER, THE ROOT THAT GROWS IN THE OCEAN OF LIFE.
For many of us, the immediate inroad to these concepts is to think of them in relation to the physical plane we became familiar with early in this lifetime. It is worth noting, though, that these forms apply to all manifested planes including the emotional, volitional, and intellectual planes of our ego consciousness (our “lower selves”). Geometric forms and ratios are fundamental building blocks of our personalities and how we interpret and respond to relationships among our inner and external worlds. It is astrological charts which make this interpretation and response clear and accessible to us.
A study of how such forms interact within our personalities reflects our past-life achievements and failures and the present-life learning intent of the Soul. How wonderful that this most essential aspect of the ancient wisdom – forms – applies not only to our external world, but to our very essence, our most inner selves.
This is where astrological charts help us to understand – by portraying consciousness using geometric relationships, with complimentary or contrasting energies indicated by angles within forms. At its most fundamental level, the “three” in the Stanzas would be represented by what are called the quadruplicities: Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable energies, a perfect triangle. Where the three becomes four in the Stanzas is reflected as the four elements of the chart: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air, completing the basis needed to portray our consciousness at this stage in the development of humanity.
Astrological charts show us the internal and external energies we face during a particular lifetime, how they interact, and how we are capable (or not) to respond. The ratios and aspects of the forms indicate where in life we can take advantage and where we will have challenges. Our interaction with them is rooted in the unique combination of forms imprinted on our consciousness at birth and which we call our personality.
Working with Energies – Our Human Development
Among the planes of personality, the angles of some energies may or may not be harmonious. Therein lies our destiny as humans – to restore harmony with conscious effort. This is analogous to following our Dharma. The angles indicated may be too wide or not wide enough to be impactful, or they may be at angles which manifest consciously in traumatic or challenging ways. This is something we will address later.
More broadly, when we consider the shape of the astrological chart, we may think of the circle around the chart as a symbol of the “ring pass not” of our consciousness, a boundary we cannot surpass by definition. Within this boundary the energies and elements of our conscious world may be accounted for, and it is forms which are the fundamental building blocks for doing so.
We will start with the meaning of the Triangle in the world of form and within ourselves for our next post.