The Theosophical Seal - Canadian Theosophical Association

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The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon Beth suggests form or generative principle, we may conclude that Gimel is the relationship between the two- the magnetic link which unites them. We may think of it not only as the force which unites the two but also the result of their union. In Nature it is the adhesive principle. It is the form or which in which spirit and matter are united. It is equally the infinitude of living forms which proceed from this union. If we may use a single word to express the intrinsic meaning of this letter it is "link" or "union". Using the human family as the living example of this concept, it is the "love" principle which unites father and mother; and it is also the child or product of this union. Expanding this idea, we may say that it is the link between personality and soul, between animal body and divine spirit. In a later study we shall follow these many relationships into the cosmic or divine realms where they reveal a universal pattern whose symbol is the triangle. Page 28
The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon THE SQUARE AND THE NUMBER FOUR "And the city lieth foursquare". Revelation 21: 16 The first impression we get,when we come to consider the Square and the number 4 is that we have stepped down into another world. I say "stepped down", for our minds have been dwelling in imagination upon a high plane of spiritual speculation. The symbol of the point, the line and of the triangle dealt with the word of spirit,that which Plato called the Noumena. Those thoughts relative to divine things lifted our attention to a world of law and causation above and beyond the physical. But when we come to consider the square (or the three dimensional cube) we come down into the world of things and events round about us. We get a similar impression of down-to-earth stability when we think of the number 4. The square and the number 4 have been linked together in ancient symbolism; and together or separately, always have reference to mundane, in contrast to spiritual, matters. This is not to say that the number 4 and the square refer to physical things only,to the exclusion of non-physical or spiritual ideas. If the emphasis is upon the physical world, there is yet a definite though subtle suggestion or allusion to the a noumenal or ideal world. This relationship is something akin to that of a solid object to its image in a mirror. The reflection may not be a reality; but it is the image of a reality. One is reminded of Plato's cave allegory in which the shadows upon the wall seemed real to those who cast them so long as they kept their eyes upon them- yet were discovered to be unreal the moment they turned they eyes to the light which came through the cave's opening. In general we may conclude that the symbol of the Square (or the Cube) and its numerical sign, the number 4, alludes to the realm of manifestation rather than to those causes and forces behind manifestation. They refer to the form or body rather than to the indwelling life. They symbolise the universe, not in a physical sense only, but as relating to its laws and activities- rather than to an indwelling spirit or an overshadowing creator. And yet we see implied in this symbol a state of being which is surely beyond the physical, a state which has its reality in the subjective rather than in the objective world. We sense in the square a kind of mental or spiritual prototype towards which the present and imperfect state of things is evolving. There is thus implied in this symbol an objective world (in which is included man and his entire social and political structure) which is in the process of evolving toward or of approaching an ideal or subjective state of being, which is perfect and permanent. In connection with this idea we recognise the phrase "Utopia" or "the New Jerusalem" or even "the Kingdom of Heaven". Students of Masonry will recognise the recurring allusions to the square in the teaching and rituals of its degrees as referring to that state of perfection which is the ideal of human character and of society as a whole. We perceive in the Masonic apron of white lambskin with its triangle over the square the thought of man's spirit as being above and in control of his physical nature. We are reminded that his soul is master of his personality. Here the square represents the pattern of purity and rectitude, of justice and brotherhood which is the sign of the ideal man,the true Master Mason. Page 29
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The Theosophical Seal - Canadian Theosophical Association

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