- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part One
- Part Two
- The Luo Shu - 3x3 Magic Square
- The Enneagram and the Lo Shu
- 5x5 Magic Square
- 7x7 Magic Square
- 9x9 Magic Square
- 11x11 Magic Square
- 13x13 Magic Square
- Discussion - 13x13 Magic Square
- 15x15 Magic Square
- 17x17 Magic Square
- 19x19 Magic Square
- 21x21 Magic Square
- 23x23 Magic Square
- 25x25 Magic Square
- 27x27 Magic Square
- The Significance of the 27x27 Luo Shu Magic Square
- Part Three
- Bibliography
Chapter Nine
The Symbolism of the Sacred Mountain and the Significance of the Center
The significance of the center as a ritual of archaic religions is the point where humankind can access the spirit world and achieve the perfect harmony between man, earth, and Heaven. The sacred mountain represented the center of the world and served as an altar for communities to make offerings to the gods. The mountain represented the closest humankind could be with Heaven, this was the place that was considered the meeting point of Heaven, earth, and the underworld. This concept is referred to as the axis mundi, the most sacred point in the universe.
The Meaning of Ariel
The Babylonian word for world-mountain and underworld is aral(l)u. The etymology of the Hebrew word ariel comes from this Babylonian word and occurs several times in the Bible. Ariel has several meanings but the most common accepted definition is altar-pillar, altar-hearth, and Lion of God. In Ezekial (43 15), instructions are given as to the size and ornaments used of the place where sacrifices are brought; the altar is regarded as the symbol of the world-mountain, or mountain of God. The three stage altar, or ariel, was the model for the Babylonian ziggurat which was the model for the Egyptian pyramid.
The Chinese word for the central mountain of the universe is K’un-lun, or cosmic mountain, and carries the tradition of a mountain at the center of the earth. The K’un-lun of Chinese cosmology is the meeting place between Heaven, earth, and the underworld. (The world mountain concept in Buddhist cosmology is referred to as Mt. Meru.)
In the Bible, ariel appears both as a name for Mount Zion (mountain of the world) and as a place of respect for the dead of the underworld. In this context, ariel is accepted to mean Jerusalem, city of the dead or necropolis, as the word for dead in Hebrew is salem and is used accordingly in the Book of Isaiah .
The deeper significance of ariel has to do with death or the dead as the Sumerians referred to the abode of the dead Arali, just as the Babylonian Aral(l)u. The Talmud describes the arrelim as a class of angels (watchers, attendants, messengers, heroes) who are the attendants of the underworld, in other words, the angels of death.
In Gnostic lore, Ariel is the third arcon of the winds, and was another name for Ialdobaoth. Ariel can also mean gazelle in arabic and it was common to sacrifice a gazelle at the altar. Ariel can also mean the armentarium of a portable altar: the ark, the tent, the palladium, the table of the sacrificed, the animal to be sacrificed, the three staged altar, and the guardians (warriors, giants) of the unit.
Archaic religions connected to Babylonia, Assyria, Palestine, and Egypt used the model of the sacred mountain as a symbol of the center and the place recognized as the earth’s origin. As humankind evolved, structures such as the ziggurat, the pyramid, and the mosque replaced the mountain or altar as the symbol of the place where heaven, earth, and the underworld converged.
Early civilizations of the Near East refer to the central mountain as the qubba, meaning dome or navel center, as their tribal shrines have two major characteristics: the shrines are domed shaped and mounted in a square frame. In Kabbala mythology, the two come together in a structure referred to as the merkabah - a chariot the illuminated travel in. In early Chrisian church design, the cupola or dome would represent the qubba or navel center.
In summary, the dome of the church symbolized the heavens and male energy and the square foundation symbolized the universal center of the four cardinal directions on earth, the seasons, and female energy. This model closely resembles the early Chinese Shang dynasty cosmology except one would never find a domed temple in China. However, the square and circle symbology is well represented by the temple designs, city layouts, TLV bronze mirrors, and sacred burial areas.
Cathedrals, mosques, and Chinese temples were intentionally designed to represent the universe in microcosm.
Some examples of the incorporation of these concepts in temple design are:
1. The Church of St. John, second state (Ephesus)
2. The Oratory of Christ Latomos (Salonica)
3. The Church of St. Marks (Venice)
4. The Hagia Sophia (Istanbul)
5. The Church of San Lorenzo (Milan)
6. Vagharshapat, Hripsimeh
7. Church of the Apostles (Ani)
8. The mausoleum of Theodoric
9. The mausoleum of Galla Placidia
10. The Dayan ta, the Big Goose Pagoda, in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
11. The White Dagoba, Baita
GALLA PLACIDIA, 475 AD