The Vesica Piscis, pronounced VES-i-kuh PIE-sees, is an element in Sacred Geometry. The Vesica Piscis is created by drawing two equal circles so that the center of each lies on the circumference of the other. Prior to mechanical drawing and computer aided design, all geometric patterns had to be created with a compass and a straight edge. Incredibly, the points formed by the overlap of these two circles establish the exact mathematical coordinates needed to create any geometric shape (click on the image to the right). The Vesica Piscis is considered the beginning, the sacred symbol of the creative act. This sacred symbol was used by artists and architects from all over the world for thousands of years to create accurate geometric shapes to aid in building temples or crafting jewellery.
The Vesica Piscis, which is pre-Christian in origin, goes beyond geometry though. To the ancients, it symbolized the fusion of opposites which created a portal from the world of preexistent form into the manifested creation. The symbolic intersection of these two circles can represent the common ground, shared vision or mutual understanding between two equal individuals. The power of the symbol is in the intersection or overlap of the two circles and, as in all things – the balance of spirit and matter, the harmony of male and female, or the integration of the conscious and subconscious – the real power is in this uniting of these opposites. It has been noted that the shape of the human eye is itself a Vesica Piscis. The spiritual significance of “seeing eye to eye” to the “mirror of the soul” was highly regarded by numerous Renaissance artists who used this form extensively.
I first encountered the Vesica Piscis in England. The symbol appears on the Chalice Well cover at Glastonbury. It is believed that Joseph of Arimathea (who has been noted as either a relative or disciple of Jesus) placed the chalice or Holy Grail beneath Glastonbury Tor, and since the waters that flow through the hills and in to the well are blessed with healing powers. Another legend is that Joseph of Arimathea, on returning to England after the death of Jesus, is said to have put his staff in the ground on nearby Wearyall Hill where it grew into a thorn tree. This thorn tree blossoms twice a year, spring and early January, the date of Christmas on the old Julian calendar. This whole area is filled with myths, magic and even power! But let’s set aside the myths and legends for a moment. The Chalice Well produces a constant flow of 25,000 gallons of water per day at a constant temperature of 52° F (11° C). The water supply has never been known to fail or falter, even in the severest drought. Is there power at work here?
This particular design of the Vesica Piscis was designed by Bristol architect and archaeologist Frederick Bligh Bond in 1919. A sword crosses the two circles, thought to be a reference to Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur, who is believed to be buried at nearby Glastonbury Abbey. The foliage represents the Thorn Tree. Bond wrote that his design was, “typical of many early diagrams, all having the same object – the rendering of spiritual truth by means of the purest, most intellectual system of imagery conceived by the mind, namely, truth which is ‘aeonial’ or eternal, of which geometry is the best interpreter, since it can figure for us with remarkable suggestiveness those formative principles upon which the Father has built his Creation, principles which shall endure when heaven and earth have died.”
As a matter of interest, the Vesica Piscis has even appeared in Crop Circles in England on a number of occasions.
Julian Luckham
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