The Magician King

The Sphinx has mystified travellers since the dawn of time.

Although this monument has suffered over the centuries the archetype itself is perennial. Today it remains the most enigmatic sculpture on Earth and has influenced many cultures around the world—versions can be seen in Greece, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. Below is an example from an Attic grave monument:

There is much disagreement over the age of the Sphinx but the water erosion around the enclosure would suggest that it predates dynastic Egypt. Indeed, the age is so great that even the pharaohs considered the Sphinx to be ancient. By studying the weathering, geologists concluded that this monument was carved during the archaic Zep Tepi.

The pentagram above is the shadow of a 4D shape called a hypertetrahedron. Also referred to as a 5-cell, this polytope is analogous to the tetrahedron in 3D and a triangle in 2D. So the 5-cell is a like a 4D pyramid with a tetrahedral base and four tetrahedral sides. The pentagram is therefore not merely an arbitrary symbol imposed upon the 5-cell; it is the visible two-dimensional trace of its complete fivefold geometry.

Indeed, the A₄ Coxeter plane projects the 5-cell into a regular pentagon and pentagram. The A₃ Coxeter plane projection of the 5-cell is that of a square pyramid. Spiritually, the hypertetrahedon is one octave above the tetrahedron so it remains a symbol of power. As the tenth chakra and a symbol of completion, it is therefore associated with Atum.

However, the Hight Heart is also present because the 5-cell is SELF DUAL. In other words, this polytope does not need to produce opposing shapes like the star tetrahedron. The tenth and eleventh chakras then, both project an identical shape in 2D:

Above: the lyre of Hermes aka the lute of Pythagoras

The Sphinx was inspired by the inverted pentagram that crosses key points in the body. Since the demonic third eye is “all power” the angelic heart is “all love” and we might say that the our third eye is the serpent and our heart is the leopard. So the “beast’s” strengths are perception and truth while “beauty’s” qualities are intuition and faith. At centre lies the nose, or spirit.

So if we breathe “power as love” via the nose, then this leads naturally to deeper levels of awareness. In other words, they are complimentary—for within the depths of power, love finds its strength and within the tenderness of love, power finds its purpose.

Carl Jung put it like this: “As opposites never unite at their own level, a supraordinate ‘third’ is always required, in which the two parts can come together…it is able to unite them both, reconciling their conceptual polarity through its form and their emotional polarity through its numinosity.” In other words, the spirit within the physical body that anchors opposing forces is really eternal life:

Above: consciousness as a mirror

This is the Ankh or the Circle of Willis. The Ankh was often held up to the nose in Egyptian reliefs; nasal breathing balances our energy and hence our state. Life is resonance in golden ratios—not a metaphor but a literal description of what living systems do. Where Φ is present, waves nest without destroying each other, energy compresses without chaos and structure sustains itself through time.

This is the geometric precondition for anything we would recognise as alive. At the centre of this self-sustaining resonance sits the Ankh—not merely a symbol of life but a mirror, the precise point where the vibrating system folds back on itself and becomes aware of its own song.

As the Circle of Willis ensures the brain never loses its own blood supply, the Ankh’s loop ensures consciousness never loses its own reflection. Life does not just resonate—it listens to itself vibrating. That self-listening is awareness. The golden ratio is the proportion and resonance is the process when life becomes conscious of itself.

When it comes to the unification of the opposites, our demons will only give up their names when they are loved; if the shunned aspects of ourselves feel safe enough to step from the shadows. Loving the darkness then, is really a leap of faith—the hero’s journey towards reconciliation. In other words:

SELF-LOVE BREEDS SELF-AWARENESS

In truth, our psyche is not really full of demons but rather the disassociated parts of ourselves that we have not yet learned to love. We must therefore transmute the grief, the fear and the pain. We never know when our demons will show up, though they normally rear their heads when we’re emotionally vulnerable. Perhaps now we can introduce the Riddle of the Sphinx:

I am the dance of Sun and Moon,
Of day and night, death and bloom.
In every facet I am there,
In every breath, in every prayer.

When I wake I feel the thrill,
Of renewing my eternal will.
Through mortal eyes I see it all,
As empires rise and ever fall.

Within my heart a leopard’s might,
A serpent’s eye burning bright.
Devoted love and sovereign power
Guide my steps, hour by hour.

In the darkness I learned to see,
The living image inside of me.
I am the spirit in the void—
The gleam of gold, unalloyed.

Beauty and the beast combine,
Faith as truth, a duet sublime.
So who am I of earthly strife,
The essence of eternal life?

Ma’at then, balances the polarities of Aquarius and Leo. This is the individuated Jungian person—the whole, authentic, Magician King. This is what was expressed in the teachings of many famous Alchemists. They didn’t want anyone to follow Them—instead, They wanted all of us to awaken. This was the living image expressed in human form.