Sacred Geometry in Art Jewelry

We are surrounded by geometric forms. They are part of our everyday experiences. Sometimes we have very personal and deep reasons for loving or bringing these shapes into our homes and daily lives. Many times, however, we don’t ponder their deeper meanings, yet we come back to them again and again: circles, squares, spirals, crosses, rectangles, ovals, and triangles. The power and meaning of triangles has fascinated me for decades. 

At right: Playground equipment along the Riverwalk in Chicago.

While studying abroad in college, I took a course on symbology and spent time learning about sacred forms found in structures in Europe and Africa: circles, spirals, crosses, the egg, triangles, and more. It was a fascinating course and perhaps why I am so focused on geometric forms in my jewelry designs.   

Below: Garnet and Pyrite in Slate Triangle Earrings 

Sacred geometry is part of our collective unconscious. It is the divine order and proportions that define our universe. Represented across world religions and belief systems, these forms carry deep significance throughout time and across cultures. Geometric ratios and designs were part of ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman architecture. Da Vinci explored the notions of sacred geometry in his Vitruvian Man drawing. In Buddhism, mandalas are comprised of geometric shapes. In fact, all the world religions and their sacred spaces make use of sacred geometry.

Sacred geometry is also present in nature.

Consider the arrangement of petals in a flower or the sacred geometry present in the spiral of the nautilus or a pine cone.

Below: Modern architecture along the Chicago River.

 Triangles are one of those sacred symbols. They signify unity, the creative spirit, the number three, fire, the masculine (upward facing) and feminine (downward facing), the elements, as well as so many other meanings.

 Check out my vlog that explores triangles.