The Real Magic Behind the Vesica Pisces and the Occult Perversion of Sacred Geometry
Edgar Poe as Culture Warrior Part 18
The following is the sixth and final part of a series. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here and Part 5 is here.
At the very start of this series exploring black magic ritual underlying the murders at Whitechapel in 1888, we established the startling fact that the bodies of the five ‘canon’ Ripper victims were positioned according to the the geometry of the Vesica Piscis.
In part 13 of this series, it was established that the feature of the Vesica Piscis appears widely across sacred art, and architecture of cultures of both the west and east.
The symbolism derived from the Vesica Piscis has been used to showcase at different times, the vaginal womb, at other times, the fish (itself a symbol for the age of Pisces and Jesus), while at other times a metaphor for all dualisms or for the conjunction of heaven and earth while at other times a symbol for the cross (meaning sacrifice and reconciliation). One may even recognize the construction of Opus Dei emblem within the Vesica Piscis (pictured bottom right).
It is worth pointing out that the Vesica Piscis is also embedded in the angles forming the famous icon of freemasonry. Some might say that this at least is a sign of its evil… or is it?
Not exactly. As we noted in part 7 of our series, a battle has raged within freemasonry for centuries over the question of interpretation of the meaning of these geometric relationships built into the laws of the universe and human society… most specifically, are those geometries to be made intelligible for all, or mystified and used only by an elite caste of masters lording like hedonistic gods over a world of superstitious slaves?
While it is obvious that perverse occultists have fetishized this geometrical pattern over the millenia, it would be an error to treat it as intrinsically evil as some may be inclined to do.
The Rational Beauty of the Vesica Piscis
From a purely rational standpoint, there is a simple beauty contained in the case of two overlapping circles sharing a common radius.
This relationship is both simple and an essential construction on the path to any proper study of constructive geometry. By taking this first step after drawing a circle of any given radius with a compass, an astute student will quickly be able to make an important array of subsequent discoveries.
For example, once the vesica piscis is constructed the student will very quickly discover intelligible representations of the square roots of 2, 3 and 5).
Expressed mathematically (ie: from a 1 dimensional framework of simple linear extension or contraction), attempts to render these symbols intelligible fail completely as they are based upon incommensurable elements that are inexpressible within a one dimensional domain. For example, the square root of two expressed mathematically is 1.4142135623… (to infinity) and square root of 3 is expressed as 1.73205080757… (to infinity) and square root of 5 becomes 2.2360679775… (to infinity).
It is clear that a mathematical mind will never be able to wrap itself around the simple universal truth of the conjunction of the infinite and the finite expressed in the Vesica Piscis which can only be understood when one learns to not treat geometry as a sub-class of mathematics, but rather as the domain of transcendentals.
What are Rational Transcendentals?
If approached from the standpoint of constructive geometry, as was done by such great minds as Plato, Luca Pacioli, Leonardo da Vinci or Johannes Kepler, those terms found within the Vesica Piscis- with special emphasis upon the golden section (which is a term coined by DaVinci and located within the square root of five ratio)- become extremely intelligible and even the foundation stones upon which all higher discoveries can now be made.
Within the Vesica, we find the side of an equilateral triangle, and the hypotenuse of a cube (both square root of 3) and the side of a pentagon (square root of 5 minus 1) all contained within these two overlapping circles.
With these proportions, all elementary shapes can be constructed, as can the five platonic solids studied by Plato over 2300 years ago.
The golden section contained within the construction of the pentagon, and dodecahedron, can also be removed from the domain of irrationalist worship of Scottish rite freemasons and can thus be understood and examined using the light of reason.
The mind’s ability to understand transcendental numbers without turning into brain jelly mystics is key for any higher discoveries of a Johannes Kepler who worked through these geometric relationships in order to discover the harmonic proportions organizing the behavior of the solar system within his 1619 Harmonies of the World, and cited by Poe in his 1849 treatise Eureka.
The Mystical Trainwreck of ‘Sacred Geometry’
However, in the mindless world of occult mysticism, such approaches to constructive geometry are replaced with the nearly meaningless term “sacred geometry”.
Take for example a popular sample from a modern spirit medium named Ronna Verzane “channeling” a message from a character she believes to be the Archangel Michael: “The vesica pisces image is a symbol of our unified father/ mother god as the two major aspects of the supreme creator with the cosmic womb of creation, the vesica piscis, in the center. The vesica piscis is a portal of light. It is the womb of creation and the source of unity consciousness. Creation consists of ever-expanding, greater, intertwined circles, with the vesica piscis portal in-between, which creates the flower of life symbol.”
The symbolic leaps which occultists make when speaking about the Vesica is as irrational as it is dangerous, and when these fanciful leaps become sacred lore among esoteric magicians, it can become deadly.
A perfect example of this deadly perversion of something beautiful can be found in Aleister Crowley’s book ‘Magic’ where 'the great beast’ describes the “temple” (both literal and the structure of the inner temple/soul of his initiates) as “this shape is the Vesica Piscis but it is only the greatest of the Magicians who can thus fashion the Temple. There may, however, be some choice of rooms; this refers to the power of the Magician to reincarnate in a suitable body.”
What is Crowley seeing within the Vesica which he believes should assist the “Magician” to “reincarnate into suitable bodies”?
Within his chapter ‘The Altar’, Crowley writes that his Magician: “should endeavour to make geometrical constructions to symbolize cosmic measurements. For example, he may take the two diagonals as (say) the diameter of the sun. Then the side of the altar will be found to have a length equal to some other cosmic measure, a vesica drawn on the side some other, a “rood cross” within the vesica yet another. Each Magician should work out his own system of symbolism – and he need not confine himself to cosmic measurements…. The top of the Altar shall be covered with gold, and on this gold should be engraved some such figure as the Holy Oblation, or the New Jerusalem, or, if he have the skill, the Microcosm of Vitruvius, of which we give illustrations.”
Without EVER HAVING CONSTRUCTED the actual Vesica or engaged in any other troublesome demonstration of any constructive geometry, Crowley launches directly into an occult interpretation of the Pentacle (ie: a Pentagon circumscribed by a circle).
The Beast states:
“All Pentacles will contain the ultimate conceptions of the circle and the cross, though some will prefer to replace the cross by a point, or by a Tau, or by a triangle. The Vesica Pisces is sometimes used instead of the circle, or the circle may be glyphed as a serpent…
The duality of consciousness is also sometimes represented; and the Tree of Life itself may be figured therein, or the categories. An emblem of the Great Work should be added. But the Pentacle will be imperfect unless each idea is contrasted in a balanced manner with its opposite, and unless there is a necessary connection between each pair of ideas and every other pair.”
Here we find the crux of what turns geometry from something truly sacred, rational and beautiful into something perverse… I mean of course, the fallacious effort to infuse moral opposites into unity.
It is no wonder that the Vesica Piscis has been used as a sacred symbol by all Dionysian-Apollonian cult systems of worship from ancient times to the modern Hellfire Club and Golden Dawn.
Where the Apollo/Helios solar deity represents a stoic “male dominant” energy indicating cold logic and the imposition of “will” over desires in the day time, the carnal lusts of the animal spirit become free to emerge in orgiastic bliss under the feminine energy of the moon at night.
Rather than the Judeo-Christian concept of each individual endowed with a unique immortal soul that could be made better or worse according to the vices or virtues we pursue in life, the gnostics, Rosicrucians and Theosophists have promoted the existence of two different souls which can only be “harmonized” by rites and rituals that integrate evil with goodness.
Take for instance, Swiss occultist, Kabbalist and Rosicrucian Johann Bachofan’s writings on the Vesica Piscis:
“A striking feature of the Vesica symbol is that it depicts bodily organs, apertures and functions as bridges to spiritual transformation: The inner eye, the sacred womb, the Yoni of the goddess, the mouth of the creator god Ra, who spat out the first life form after having intercourse with himself”.
The “Yoni” referred to by Bachofan above is the sanscrit word for “womb” or vagina and is typically portrayed in conjunction with the phallic term “Linga”. Both feature prominently in Shakti/Shiva traditions in Hinduism and also throughout the tantric studies of Crowley, Blavatsky, and Bachofan.
The conjunction of the Yoni (womb) and Linga (phallus) has also guided the architectural decisions of occultists in the 16th century designs of St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City and 2004 renovations of the Washington Monument in the USA.
Carl Jung, who did the most to spearhead the gnostic revival in the 20th century, spoke about the dual significance of Vesica’s representation of the womb of the feminine and the puncture wound of the masculine, as well as the Shakti-Shiva rebranding of Christ when he said that the Vesica expressed: “Christ’s androgenous nature that the traditional church suppressed”.
And modern gnostic academic Elaine Pagels followed in Jung’s footsteps writing that “the divine is to be understood in terms of a harmonious dynamic relationship of opposites”.
The rituals associated with the convergence of opposites (life/procreation and death/murder or femininity with masculinity… or simply the blunt unification of good and evil are not only applied internally by practitioners of “spiritual alchemy” as those outlined above, but are also applied externally within society.
One of those rituals happened to be the Kabbalistic serial murder overseen by Freemasonic Grand Master Charles Warren, King Edward VII, Rosicrucian Robert D’Onston Stephenson (and leading members of the Theosophists) whose mutilated victims were located in the formation of the vesica piscis over the course of 9 weeks in 1888.
This was Apollo-Dionysian/Solar-Lunar cultism that was embedded in all monastic Orders over the past two millennia- including the Esoteric inner core of the Benedictines, Cistercians, Templars, Anglicans and Jesuits… through to the rise of the 19th century Plymouth Brethren of John Nelson Darby which birthed such Satanists as Sir Robert Anderson and Aleister Crowley.
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Matt - Within the limited ( by man ) concept of learning, this is fascinating in especially the Masonic
portion of the most informative article or discussion. My great Grandfathers were Masons, while they kept the oaths, they did not consider the group malovent. I note one, simplistic issue in that the repression of the time, ( travel ) being one, that their had to be a language that allowed both travel and protection in each town. The masonry work was common, news needed passing, so
the use of symbols was imparted for "in your face" protection. Just one tiny bit for your reservoir
of knowledge. My apologies, being 80, and not of good economic structure now, funding is not an option. My sincere trust others have the abilities to support you amazing works. Be blessed.
It’s kinda funny how “un-profound” the occult favorites are, the forms remind me of static Lego blocks, Aristotelian toys for children.
Kinda like having the cool car with the cool air-inlet scoops, but inert, non-functional. Even as a kid, I rejected fake air-scoops.
Contrast the occult’s favorite “shape worship” (worshipping idols, heh) with how the fetus morphs into a baby.
There is a whole world of ultra-profound processes we haven’t figured out yet.
My thoughts are that they are related to how form is encoded through the pipeline, how one unfolding is pregnant with another.
The dynamic and periodic, seem much closer to the hidden forms than any of the mystery schools’ favorite symbols, perhaps allowing that most of the important proportions can be found in standing wave interaction patterns, which also hints at a bridge between the static and periodic or cyclic. There are many interesting relationships, including the boundary conditions of the standing waves, like the static non-moving part contrasted to the moving part. Coincidence of Opposites!
Are these forms alternated to extend design intent across morphology? Would appear like noun-verb-noun on the surface.
I used to code. A lot. I keep thinking of how a program (perhaps not digital in the familiar sense) can write another more specific or “lower-scale focused” program, and so on, like nested Russian dolls. The spiral of creation? Even the question of how these chains would “settle” into least-action optimums in lawful ways, boggles the brain, but approaches the more profound questions from yet another angle.
One quasi-digital model is the completion of a cycle, or loop. It’s related to the quantum, or quantized anything; period closure is implied.
One interesting interpretation is called by a favorite AI teacher “the condition of satisfaction”. Its purpose is to “know” when to quit doing a cycle, because it has accomplished its local goal within the system.
This is akin to, well, reaching any goal. So therefore it’s directly relevant to my pet subject, “bootstrapping”, where goals are pursued in lawful sequences, by creating the conditions necessary to do so first.
When one goal is reached to a certain degree of satisfaction, you move on to the next bigger one, generally. Not unlike growing a garden, or a small business, or anything that resembles “rising to the occasion.” A big part of keeping momentum on a project, is knowing when to “shift to a higher gear”; the condition of satisfaction, again.
But a developing life form is like a whole new ballgame. Just for a simple question, how does it know when to stop a given growth ensemble? What is life’s “condition of satisfaction? It it related to least-action, or least-entropy?
So much to learn in that set of possibilities…
Thanks, Matt, for giving us a mini-tour of how these get perverted and labeled “secret knowledge” after being hollowed-out.
The real question is what symbols does life use to do its thing, beyond the famed “golden ratio”. We are not there yet.