The intricate circular pattern known as the seed of life carries deep spiritual meaning that has fascinated people for millennia. At first glance it looks like a simple arrangement of overlapping circles yet contains profound secrets related to creation, consciousness, and our interconnectedness.
In short, the seed of life represents the seven days of creation in Genesis when God brought the world into existence. The outer circles symbolize the first six days when the physical and material realms were created, culminating with humanity on the sixth day.
The center circle represents the seventh day, when God rested and imbued creation with spirit.
What Is the Seed of Life
Definition and overview of the pattern
The Seed of Life is a sacred geometry pattern comprised of seven overlapping circles arranged in a flower-like shape. At the center is one larger circle, surrounded by six smaller circles that overlap at equal intervals.
This elegant yet simple design carries profound spiritual meaning in many cultures and religions.
Some key facts about the Seed of Life:
- It serves as the foundational template from which the larger, more complex Flower of Life pattern is constructed by adding additional concentric circles.
- The seven circles are believed to represent the six days of creation plus the day of rest, encoding major stages in the genesis of the universe according to Genesis.
- In Buddhism and Hinduism, the Seed of Life symbolizes primordial geometric harmony and the essence of the metaphysical Order underlying our reality.
Common depictions and interpretations
The Seed of Life has been discovered imprinted in stone temples and religious structures across the ancient world, suggesting it held vital meaning for our ancestors.
Common depictions include:
- Adorning doorways and ceilings in tombs and crypts in the Temple of Osiris in Egypt, perhaps symbolizing death and rebirth.
- Atop stone pillars and architectural supports in early Vedic and pre-Vedic Hindu temples, encoding cosmic order.
- Woven into Celtic metalwork and stone tablets, linking earthly and celestial realms.
In many cultures, the Seed of Life has been associated with:
- Origins – symbolizing the genesis of forms and life arising from a primordial void or singularity.
- Fertility – connected to seeds, germination, fruition, and the sacred feminine.
- Interconnection – representing the fundamental Oneness underlying Nature’s diversity.
Judaism | Encodes the 7 days of Creation |
Islam | The 6 days of Creation + Muhammad as the day of rest |
Buddhism | IllustratesDependent Origination and cyclic existence |
Relation to flower of life and tree of life patterns
The Seed of Life serves as the origin point for other expanded sacred geometry patterns:
- Adding concentric circles around each circle constructs the elaborate Flower of Life.
- Rendering all the possible lines reveals the enigmatic Tree of Life diagram beloved by Kabbalists and mystics.
Thus, the Seed of Life introduces concepts reiterated at greater scale and intricacy in subsequent patterns, while condensing universal principles into seven elegant circles readily appreciated by the eye, heart, and mind.
History and Origins of the Seed of Life Symbol
Earliest known depictions and connections
The earliest known depictions of the Seed of Life pattern date back to around 200 B.C. in ancient Egypt. The pattern was found engraved on marble tiles in temples and tombs across Egypt, suggesting it held deep spiritual meaning in their culture.
There is evidence it may have represented the cycle of life and featured prominently in creation myths of ancient Egypt.
Intriguing connections have also been drawn between the geometric angles in the Seed of Life and the dimensions of the Great Pyramids. While not conclusively proven, some theories posit the Egyptians who built the pyramids may have incorporated the same geometric code found in the Seed of Life into the pyramids’ construction.
Use in religions and spiritual practices throughout history
The Seed of Life continues to appear throughout history in spiritual texts and practices across the world. In the Jewish mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah from 12th century Spain, an similar symbol called the Flower of Life was studied as containing ancient secrets of the universe.
Later, in 15th century Turkey, the pattern was engraved on amulets.
Some researchers also point to the Seed having been a secret symbol used by early Christians to represent their faith, possibly alongside the fish symbol. The geometric perfection and balance of the Seed connecting multiple circles was seen as divine by many cultures.
In modern times, New Age teachers and books have brought a resurgence of interest in the Seed of Life as having universal harmonies that can bring health, peace, and connection with the source of creation.
Found in cultures across the world
Across ancient cultures spanning the globe – from Asian artwork to Native American artifacts – the Seed of Life has appeared with uncanny consistency. No direct communication or trade networks can explain how far and wide this specific pattern emerged.
This had led some archaeologists and historians to speculate whether the Seed of Life is an important energy structure embedded in our collective consciousness.
One table shows the prevalence of the Seed of Life across eras and regions:
Ancient Egypt | 200 BC |
Jewish Kabbalah Texts | 1200 AD |
Turkish Amulets | 1500 AD |
Native American Art | 1400-1900 AD |
While the earliest and most robust evidence begins in Egypt, later appearances across medieval Europe, India, Tibet, and extending into the Americas reveal meaningful commonalities. Decoding this pattern may still reveal untold spiritual secrets across peoples divided by time and distance.
Metaphysical Meaning of the Circles
The outer six circles represent physical creation
The Seed of Life symbol features six outer circles in a circular formation, representing the six days of physical creation according to Genesis in the Bible. These circles symbolize the material world manifested into form – the creation of the heavens, water, land, plants, creatures of water and air, creatures that creep on the land, livestock, wild animals, and finally human beings. The outer circles depict the tangible, visible aspects of our reality.
The center circle symbolizes divine essence and completion
The central circle represents completion, perfection and the essence of the divine creator. This inner circle ties all the other circles together, implying that creation emerges from and is sustained by a common divine source.
It signifies the underlying spiritual reality behind physical forms. Just as the outer circles emanate from the central circle, so too does all material existence flow outwards from the supreme consciousness at its core.
Balancing the spiritual and material planes
The Seed of Life as a whole represents the harmony between the spiritual source of creation and its physical manifestation. The balance between these two fundamental aspects of reality is embodied in the symmetry and structure of the symbol.
The equal size and spacing of the circles reflects the metaphysical view that neither spiritual nor material realms are inherently superior, but rather complementary expressions of the same conscious unity.
Seeking truth involves developing awareness of both invisible energies and visible forms, understanding their interrelationship, and living in alignment with the creative life force they each reveal in their own unique ways.
By meditating on the Seed of Life and applying its teachings, we bring spirit and matter into greater accord.
How the Seed Relates Stages of Genesis
Circles map to seven days when existence brought into being
The Seed of Life symbol contains seven overlapping circles arranged in a flower-like pattern. This structure has deep spiritual significance, as the seven circles are thought to represent the seven days of creation in Genesis when God brought the world into existence.
According to Genesis, on the first day God created light. This initial spark of creation relates to the central circle of the Seed pattern. The second day saw the creation of the sky and heavens. This space of potentiality maps to the first ring emanating out from the central point.
On the third day, God created the oceans and land to bring form – embodied by the second ring. The fourth day involved the creation of the sun, moon, and stars depicted in ring three. The fifth day saw the creation of creatures to fill the environments – mapping to ring four.
The sixth day culminates with the pinnacle of creation, human beings, represented by ring five. Finally, the seventh day is one of rest and acknowledgment of the divine process, reflected in rings six and seven which complete and contain the entire pattern.
By visually mapping the progression of creation across seven stages, the Seed of Life expresses the genesis of existence emerging from the void through the Word and Will of God. Each circle can be contemplated as a stage when another dimension of material reality manifests.
The whole pattern contains divine geometry ordering the creative life force, with seven as the number of spiritual perfection.
Humans connected to both physical and divine realms
As the fifth ring in the Seed pattern, the placement of humans relates them to the physical realm of living creatures as well as the higher dimensional planes completing the sequence. This signifies that people act as a bridge between heaven and earth.
Within the Seed of Life is encoded the potential to access fuller states of consciousness and awareness through meditation on the deeper patterns of creation.
The five Platonic solids which blueprint three-dimensional space can all be derived from within the Seed of Life. These forms mediate the interaction between the physical and ethereal worlds, indicating an interface through which spiritual energies step down into material form.
Humans exist at this critical intersection point in creation as conscious beings embracing both body and spirit.
The two dimensions encoded in the Seed of Life can be understood as Yin and Yang – feminine and masculine – energies which must come into harmonic balance for right relations between the human and divine.
People play a key role in mediating and unifying these complementary poles as the fulcrum point in creation after which further manifestation continues on higher and more subtle planes described by sacred geometry beyond the Seed.
Website | Description |
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Spirit Science Central | Article exploring symbolic meaning of Seed of Life in spirituality and genesis of creation |
The Seed as a Sacred Geometry Pattern
Mathematical properties like the Vesica Piscis
The Seed of Life is composed of multiple overlapped circles with the remarkable Vesica Piscis shape emerging in the center, formed by the intersection of two circles. This intriguing shape has appeared in religious artwork for millennia.
Mathematically, when the circumference of one circle passes through the center of another circle exactly perpendicular to it, the Vesica Piscis is born with proportions that reflect the “Divine Proportion”.
This seemingly magical ratio, called phi (1.618…), governs the intricate patterns throughout nature, showing up in snail shells, flower petals, DNA molecules, and more.
Harmony between circles reflects balance in nature
The balance and spatial relationships within the Seed of Life symbolize harmony in forms. As the Seed radiates out through the Flower of Life and beyond, the concentric circles illustrate the concept of holism – the interconnected nature of all existence.
The Seed essence is reflected in systems theory – understanding a system by analyzing the linkages and interactions between its components. Just as the circles relate to each other to form a greater whole, so too do cells, organisms, societies, planets, and galaxies relate to each other within giant systems of life.
Basis for constructing multiple geometric patterns
The Seed of Life constitutes the basic building blocks used in a number of mystical traditions to construct patterns related to sacred geometry, like the Flower of Life, Fruit of Life, and Tree of Life motifs.
These expanded patterns were revered for their mathematical brilliance as well as cosmological implications about the creation of the universe. Researchers like Stephen Cook have studied these universal symbols, god’s geometrical blueprint, and many have harnessed their energy by using them in architecture, art, design, and jewelry.
Conclusion
More than a geometrical curiosity, the seed of life represents core truths about life and the universe. Its seven circles reflect the primordial act of creation and humanity’s connection to both mortal and divine planes.
Studying this pattern unveils a profound insight into the hidden harmony underlying all existence. More than mere symbolism, meditating on the seed of life can bring heightened awareness and connection to one’s spiritual essence.