Cymatics: Part 2 | Sacred Geometry
If you are unfamiliar with the term Cymatics, please go and read part 1 of this series, which is linked below.
Ancient Roots
Cymatics is a modern term for an ancient truth. The researchers I discussed in the first blog post in this series may have contributed to the scientific proof of this phenomenon, but they did not discover it. For centuries, throughout many different ages, empires, civilisations, and schools of thought, this was already a very well understood spiritual concept. In fact, it is said to have a history that stretches back at least at thousand years, with an early example found within the divination practices of ancient African tribes. Sprinkling their drum skins with small grains, we can see that if the drum skins are akin to the Chladni plates and the small grains akin to the sand, then the vibrations of the drum skins would affect the sand particles, creating the cymatics-like patterns that would become the source of their divination.
As I mentioned before, we are currently at a point where modern science is catching up with ancient spiritual beliefs, with Cymatics being an example of this. Modern science, such as quantum physics, holistic medicine, and even neuroscience, are now uncovering the evidence that goes towards proving the truth of what ancient civilisations discovered and believed intuitively. We are at a point where we are starting to see the union between two very different schools of thought, the scientific, based in logic and fact, and the spiritual, based in intuition and belief. For so long these perspectives have been separated and seen as polar opposites, with science focussed on using the visible to prove the invisible, and spirituality focussed on using the invisible to create the visible. And yet, centuries before us, science and spirituality were not so separated, but seen as necessary aspects of a holistic understanding of the universe. To our ancestors, understanding the cosmos, the natural world, and the human soul was a unified quest, not a divided one. Science and spirituality were not opposing forces, but two different ways of perceiving the same mystery, the mystery of existence.
However, from around the 17th century, things began to change, and science and spirituality started to separate. With Rationalism on the rise, anything non-material was seen as suspect, increasing a preference for the ‘evidence of the senses’. Add to this the Industrial Revolution, a time fixated on technological advancements and material progress and gain, and we can see that the feeling of the time was set towards the external rather than the internal. Colonialism suppressed the ancient wisdom that stemmed from Indigenous and non-Western traditions, deeming it unscientific. This is because much of ancient spiritual knowledge appeared to have been received through meditative states, inner visions, intuition, or direct revelation rather than trial-and-error or external observation alone. Consciousness was viewed as a gateway to truth and there was the belief that the most profound knowledge came not from the outer world, but through the inner one. This made it very difficult to ‘prove’ in a rational, scientific way, and so those more disposed to logic and reason, sought to diminish the veracity of many spiritual claims.
Sacred Geometry
Found in art, architecture, and nature, Sacred Geometry is seen as the fundamental blueprint of creation, ascribing symbolic meanings to geometric shapes, proportions, and patterns. Despite our more recent history having turned away from this knowledge, there still remains evidence from earlier times that there was a period when it was understood incredibly well. This evidence lies within the oldest buildings that surround us. When you look closely, you can see that many motifs carved on buildings or tombstones, or fashioned into beautiful stained glass windows, follow the ornate designs of sacred geometry. And yet, as these buildings were erected in centuries before the assistance of modern technology, it can only be assumed that this knowledge was innate. That these geometrical patterns were understood well enough to be seen as an important part of creation. Important enough to be carved into the structures built by the societies that held these beliefs.
Since, sacred geometry is seen as the building blocks for the structure of our universe, it is no surprise to find corresponding shapes and patterns within cymatics. Intimately connected, both are an exploration of the fundamental link between form and vibration. Cymatics make visible the hidden geometry of sound, while sacred geometry reveals the universal patterns behind creation. One could say that cymatics is sacred geometry in motion; sound creating form. Therefore, the geometry seen in cymatics is not random, but instead a reflection of the fundamental law of vibration, the same law symbolised within sacred geometry for millenia.
Together, Cymatics and Sacred Geometry unite the visible and the invisible, the seen and the heard. They bridge a gap and give evidence of the interconnectedness between all things. By revealing the sacred geometry within sound, cymatics gives further proof that these shapes and proportions are all around us, even when we can’t see them, meaning that it isn’t too far-fetched to believe that they could be within us too. These patterns, within both areas, often blend ratios and proportions that are highly symmetrical, perfectly harmonised, and incredibly balanced, a collection of attributes that enhance their beauty and elucidate their connection to divinity.
Looking at some historic carvings and ceilings (a couple I have shared below), it isn’t too difficult to find examples where the designs are eerily similar to those found through cymatics. Could it be coincidental? Could it be a deep understanding of sacred geometry, that we can now see reflected in cymatics? Or could it be a deep understanding of sacred geometry and cymatics, that we are simply only catching up to now? What do you think? It can be easy to try to explain the synchronicities away as merely chance or accident, as many of us would.
That is until you read about the music cypher discovered in the Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Suddenly, it becomes very possible that this knowledge was much more deeply understood centuries before we had the technology to see it, which is why it will be the topic for the third part of this blog post series, so stay tuned!
Sources:
What architecture does sound orchestrate? by Tanya Harris
Cymatic Music by John Telford
