Enlightenment

Your own illumination is the greatest service you can render the world.

This quote from Atum invites us to savour life every time we breathe. In this way we inhale prana into the very essence of our being—to live with truth, beauty and power. This includes feeling the dazzling heights and disturbing depths of our spirit as we walk the path to enlightenment.

Through the grace of the divine, we are invited to gaze deeply into the unconditional love that exists at the centre of our beings that reflects the wonder in all things. As we come to recognise ourselves as flowering beings within the Tree of Life we will embody the Egyptian Ennead.

As we evolve, the baser instincts within our brains, hearts and guts are slowly refined into the higher elements of light, spirit and soul. This triquetra was used to reflect the archetypal forces of creation, all of which were observed in nature and applied to human affairs. So the Hermetic spinning of the Merkaba invited alchemists to recognise the triple nature of consciousness:

LIGHT-SPIRIT-SOUL
Spiritual Man

MIND-EMOTION-INSTINCT
Emotional Man

BRAIN-HEART-GUT
Physical Man

Above: can you see three interlocking equilateral triangles?

Each of these aspects has specific notes that resonate with each other like musical chords. When all three tones are played simultaneously, then we have harmony. Being aware of the atomic ripples within your physicality all the way to the light waves of your spirituality invites the emergence of divinity.

Any potential for transformation occurs through awareness. When reading through each of the Nine, be honest, open and aware. Which do you still need to identify, accept and resolve? The awareness that all Nine exist within you, to be used at any time, means that you become a fully responsible co-creator with Atum, on Earth, now. At their height, this is how the Egyptians lived, creating an awakened civilisation from the basis of the 9/3 enneagram:

One day soon, you will use all of the Nine to regain consciousness. This is also how we are designed to operate: as a co-creative part of life here on Earth, understanding that we are each composed of the Nine. You come to “know thyself” by experiencing and becoming the Nine in physical form, with this journey leading into every facet of human and divine awareness so that you may activate your Merkaba.

Above: can you see nine irregular pentagons within?

Above: the geometry of consciousness

This realisation of deeper layers of unconditional love was the basis of Egyptian civilisation at its height. This alchemy of life harmonised the spiritual, emotional and physical bodies to allow the full descent of life into time and space. Recognising some of the Nine indicated the neophyte—knowing them all heralded the Magician:

Buddha’s revelations occurred beneath a fig tree—the Bodhi. In religious iconography, this tree is recognisable by its heart-shaped leaves which are prominently displayed. So this “tree of awakening” played a key role in the peace of Buddha. This was the state of bliss that blossomed from within due to conscious breathing.

Figs have a rejuvenating effect on the body and combat the aging process because they are rich in flavonoids, polyphenols and anthocyanins. These are also known for their powerful antioxidant effects in neutralising free radicals. Regular consumption improves memory, relieves sleep disorders and works wonders for anemia. Figs are also a strong immune stimulant and have been a favourite of doctors since at least 10,000 BCE.

These aphrodisiacs are also rich in copper and vitamin B6. Copper is a vital mineral that’s involved in energy production as well as the formation of blood cells, connective tissues and neurotransmitters. Figs also improve blood pressure and blood fat levels, which can help boost vascular health and decrease the risk of heart disease. As a “superfood” they have the highest mineral and fibre content of ALL common fruits, nuts and vegetables.

Figs are also symbolic of rebirth but more specifically the human uterus. In ancient Egypt, Ficus sycomorus was associated with the goddess Hathor whose face resembled a womb. The fig was also portrayed as the Egyptian Tree of Life and its timbers richly adorned the tombs of the pharaohs. Later, the fig was reborn in the Middle East within the hamsa—a womb symbol that promoted fertility, lactation and pregnancy:

Figs are technically not fruit—they are actually inverted flowers. So fig trees don’t bloom like apple trees because they flower inside the pod, which later matures. The result is a hard fruit called achene―which gives the fig the “crunch” we love. Certain types of fig are different sexes and require a special wasp to pollinate the females.

Invert nature and you will find that which you seek.
—Mary the Prophetess

Here we return to our triangles and discover the final one—that of Cosmic Man. In this case, truth infers mind (the brain), beauty implies emotion (the heart) and power indicates instinct (the gut). This is the cosmos reflected in man:

TRUTH-BEAUTY-POWER
Cosmic Man

This 9 + 3 format implies a 12 pointed star, referred to as a dodecagram. (This is a 2D representation of a 3D shape: the dodecahedron.) In this case the dodecagram has 12 vertices and can be drawn as FOUR interlocking equilateral triangles:

This 12/4 dodecagram indicates the complete energy system of the human body and the cosmos. Simply put, this consciousness system brings forth our connection to the universe—the premise that all living beings are part of a whole. This can be drawn so:

The microcosm and macrocosm refer to a vision of the universe where the part reflects the whole and vice versa. It is a form of recursion which is a feature present in many esoteric models of philosophy, both ancient and modern. Born in Egypt, this heka was not lost on Pythagoras, who saw the cosmos and the body as a harmonious unity. This idea of “as above, so below” was revived about a century later by Plato and again during the Renaissance by Leonardo da Vinci.

In the Merkaba above, we can see how the dodecagram gives birth to squares, hexagons and hexagrams. Resembling the Crown of Thorns, this is our connection to the divine. It also allows energy to integrate into our physical lives. This white lotus, also known as Sahasrara, is aligned to seek an intimate relationship with the cosmos. It also implies something else—a circle:

In the archetype above, this circle has the same circumference as the perimeter of the square. This is a reference to our left and right brains, cosmos and chaos, masculine and feminine. Next, we can add an outer circle and square with the same properties:

The figure above can be rendered artistically below in a way that shows the pathway home (the way that the smaller circle and square are connected to the larger ones). In this case the rising snakes of life and death (Horus and Set) emerging from the flower of eternal life. Here we see the Magician and his victory over these perceived opposites:

More triangles complete the Merkaba below. This represents great spirit manifesting in matter. Here we are reminded of Hermes, whose immortal voice was implied in the “thrice great” title Mercurius ter Maximus. As a solar messenger, this divine herald was the creative manifestation of God on Earth. This is like one 12-pointed star within another:

Despite the complexity of this image, we are reminded of what lies within. In the case, it is the minimum combination that can produce the geometry of life itself. Here the virgin triangle informs the balanced circle and square. In other words, the Merkaba (above) can be reduced to a fractal (below):

This is the ROYAL CANON that Da Vinci attempted in the Vitruvian Man, except this version includes the triangle of spirit. While the wavelengths of the circle and the square are the same, less obvious is how the inverted triangle relates to them—the ratio is 101/129. Featured as a “winged disc” in Egyptian temples, it indicated the creative force blooming like a fig in the cross of the flesh:

From the geometry above we can draw a final shape below—the Reuleaux triangle. Here we are reminded that this “triangular circle” appears in the triquetra which inspired the Sphinx. This shape is sacred because it demonstrates the shift between formlessness (the circle) and form (the triangle) while preserving the π ratio. The Reuleaux triangle is heart-shaped because it is both dynamic and static, female and male, above and below. In other words, it represents unmanifest unconsciousness becoming manifest awareness:

The Reuleaux triangle above has a reflection which can be drawn below. Together they rotate in opposite directions, thus forming a sexagon (the interior of spirit’s sexagram). When their wavelengths are balanced, they create a flower pattern that we feel as BLISS.

This is the vortex (or gate) that heralds Great Spirit. As major and minor chords the Reuleaux triangles balance each other out, inviting divinity. All we have to do is become conscious of our unconscious breath.

This “resonant flower” then, is a reference to God as man, man as God. Also known as LIFE, this hyperspatial bliss emerges directly from conscious breathing. Now we can become a great sage and recognise the enigmatic face of the Sphinx as our own.

One becomes two,
Two becomes three
And out of the third
Comes the one
As the fourth.

—Mary the Prophetess