Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code [Hardcover]

Stephen Skinner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

The Da Vinci Code has awakened the public to the powerful and very ancient idea that religious truths and mathematical principles are intimately intertwined. Sacred Geometry offers an accessible way of understanding how that connection is revealed in nature and the arts. Over the centuries, temple builders have relied on magic numbers to shape sacred spaces, astronomers have used geometry to calculate holy seasons, and philosophers have observed the harmony of the universe in the numerical properties of music. By showing how the discoveries of mathematics are manifested over and over again in biology and physics, and how they have inspired the greatest works of art, this illuminating study reveals the universal principles that link us to the infinite.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Skinner, credited with introducing feng shui to the West, continues his search for the underlying order of the world with this beautifully illustrated examination of the notion that some geometries reveal hidden truths about the way the universe operates. Beginning with the Greeks, such as Euclid and Pythagoras, who, Skinner explains, invented geometry as a means of constructing sacred buildings in a way that was pleasing to the gods, the text explores a variety of natural and human-made examples of sacred geometry, including the construction of Stonehenge, the shapes of crystals, and the idea of "living spirals" (the horn of a goat, the shell of a nautilus, or DNA). While some parts of the book are harder to accept than others--see, for example, the discussion of crop circles--Skinner argues persuasively that many aspects of art, architecture, and science are linked through mathematics to universal principles that govern the universe. The book's success depends entirely on how much stock one puts in this basic premise, but Skinner makes a remarkably elegant case. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Skinner makes a remarkably elegant case.”—Booklist

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 1ST edition (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402741294
• ISBN-13: 978-1402741296
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #838,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Skinner wrote, with Francis King, the classic "Techniques of High Magic" in 1976. He followed that with "Oracle of Geomancy" and "Terrestrial Astrology: Divinatory Geomancy", which has become the standard work on Western divinatory geomancy. Highly illustrated books on "Nostradamus" and "Millennium Prophecies" followed. He also edited "Aleister Crowley's Magical Diaries" and "Astrology".

In the 1970s Stephen was responsible for stimulating interest in John Dee and Enochian magic by publishing through his imprint Askin Publishers the first reprint of Meric Casaubon's "True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Yeers between Dr John Dee and some Spirits.." and Dr Donald Laycock's key reference book on the angelic language "The Complete Enochian Dictionary".

He is currently working with David Rankine to reproduce the best available source books of practical ceremonial magic, particularly from old never before printed manuscripts owned by practising magicians.

His latest book on magic, "The Complete Magician's Tables" is a book of correspondences, which with more than 800 tables, is the most complete tabular book of magical correspondences in print.

Stephen is also the author of eight books on feng shui, including the first English one in the 20th century.

He has written more than 27 books translated into 20 different languages. He lives in Johor Bahru, near Singapore, where he researches both feng shui and classical magic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty book of mystical lore related to geometry, but weak on math, November 15, 2006

By 

W. C. Lang (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code (Hardcover)

This book is pleasant to browse, containing various lore about geometry, history, geography and the occult. It is very attractive visually, containing many nice photographs and diagrams. Unfortunately, given the important place of mathematics in the book, I am afraid to say that the author appears to know rather more about art and mysticism than he does about mathematics. For example, on page 52 we read: "For modern mathematics irrational numbers are those that cannot be pinned down to a few digits. They are, in fact, repeating decimals that go on forever." In fact, of course, irrational numbers are characterized by having decimal expansions that do not repeat. Also, on page 51, it is apparent that the author does not understand the construction of the mathematical curve known as the Conchoid of Nicomedes. This is a pity, because it would have been very easy to give the correct description since the relevant diagram is already included on the page.

60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that changed my view of the world around me!!, July 10, 2007

By 

Stephen Pletko "Uncle Stevie" (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code (Hardcover)

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QUESTION: What do the following have in common? A daisy, an eagle's beak, snowflakes, structure of DNA, Egyptian pyramids, crop circles, the stable elements of the periodic table, and Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper."

ANSWER: They are all based on geometry or numbers that are considered "sacred."

This is exactly what "world-renowned expert" Stephen Skinner shows the reader in this beautiful and informative book: how certain types of geometry (a Greek word that means `measurement of the Earth') and numbers are considered sacred.

Geometry was one of the first branches of mathematics to be extensively developed. Long before the Christian era, the Egyptians and later the Greeks had made exhaustive studies of the properties of geometrical figures. While the Egyptians were concerned mainly with practical applications (witness the pyramids), the Greeks were interested in the mental exercise involved in the study of Geometry. Many of these ancient Greek scholars believed that if they pursued the study of geometry far enough they would unlock some of the deepest mysteries of the universe.

Thus we have geometry and numbers that they and other civilizations considered sacred. Why sacred? Because they arrange systematically the hidden order of creation.

The book itself is divided into parts. These are entitled (1) The hidden order (2) The geometry of nature and (3) The geometry of the [human] made world. Each part begins with a brief overview (in italics) that summarizes a particular part.

Each part itself is divided into chapters. Here are the chapter titles for part (3): (i) Sacred geometry and the landscape (ii) Sacred geometry in architecture and (iii) Sacred geometry in art.

Each chapter is divided into sections. The sections for the chapter entitled "Pure arithmetic" are as follows: (I) Pythagoras and the worship of number (II) Music, vibration, and whole numbers (III) The value of fractions (IV) Measuring the Earth with two sticks (V) Original units of measurement (VI) The curious nature of prime numbers and (VII) The Golden Mean--the arithmetic of growth.

A highlight of this book are the many mainly color and truly beautiful pictures and illustrations. I counted almost 200. By the way, the picture on the book's cover (displayed above by Amazon) is a "nautilus shell," a "living spiral" actually found in nature.

Another highlight of this book are its numerous tables of significant numbers that reveal a pattern. My favorite is entitled "The [Egyptian] Pyramids and their Dimensions."

Yet, another highlight are the numerous isolated (from the main narrative) boxes that contain information the author feels is important for the reader to know. My favorite is entitled "Visual tricks" that describes "one of the unique tricks of geometry incorporated into the [ancient temple called the] Parthenon [of Athens, Greece]."

Want to know how to draw a special type of snowflake (called a Koch snowflake)? How about a special curve known as the logarithmic spiral? This book provides step-by-step constructions (in isolated boxes outside the main narrative) on how to draw (using a compass and ruler) these geometric figures and others.

Fans of Dan Brown's book "The Da Vinci Code" should find the material in the last chapter entitled "Sacred geometry in art" very interesting.

There are a few non-serious typos in this book. Unfortunately, a typo occurs for a definition of irrational numbers. The author states:

"Irrational numbers are those that cannot be pinned down to a few digits. They are, in fact, repeating decimals that go on forever." Examples include the square root of 2, the square root of 3, and the square root of 5."

The second statement in the above quotation is actually incorrect. But this is a typo. How do I know this? By the third statement above. The square root of 2 is 1.4142136..., the square root of 3 is 1.7320508..., and the square root of 5 is 2.236068.... The typo is that they're non-repeating decimals (not repeating decimals).

I make it a policy not to condemn books that have a few typos unless they're in too many key spots.

Finally, the only problem I had with this book is that I don't really know anything about the author, Stephen Skinner. We're told on the book's back cover that he's a "world-renowned expert" and that's it! I would have liked to have known more about the author.

In conclusion, this remarkable book changed my view of the world around me!!

(first published 2006; introduction; 3 parts or 7 chapters; conclusion; main narrative 150 pages; bibliography; index; acknowledgements)

<<Stephen Pletko or "Uncle Stevie," London, Ontario, Canada>>

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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful review of the Mathematics of Nature and Magic, December 1, 2006

By 

M. R. N. Shackelford "mark shackelford" (Worthing, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code (Hardcover)

This glorious book has been written by Stephen Skinner - who introduced Chinese Geomancy (or Feng Shui if you prefer) to the West in the 1960's with his ground-breaking (literally!) book "The Living Earth Manual". Since then he has produced a number of highly respected books on a variety of Feng Shui, Geomancy and Magical topics.

This new book brings together his broad knowledge of many different religions, sacred philosophies and magic, and his expertise in mathematics and geography.

Dozens of different sections with glorious photography and elegant line drawings show you how nature is based on elegant equations and then leads you through the millenia of ancient mathematics, as the geniuses of the past 2 or 3000 years intricately link mathematics and architecture. Whether it is the Fibonacci series, or the Greeks PI, or the circles of Dante's Hell - everything is clearly explained - you are thrilled at how Nature takes advantage of some of the most beautiful pure mathematics and the scale of the intellects who designed and built these magical places.
Stephen Skinner's book is a wonderful place to start - and will, no doubt, be the spur for many trips and explorations.

If you enjoyed the "Da Vinci Code" - get this book and read about REAL codes, enigmas and mathematics that can be found hidden in some of the world's most amazing buildings.

This book is for those of us who revel in the glorious elegance and simplicity of mathematics as applied to ALL good design (whether Natural or Human) - and is not aimed at mathematicians specifically.