◇ Category · Esoteric Systems
Structural frameworks from older traditions — each a different way of mapping the layers of experience. Click any item for its full structure.
The seven centres of the subtle body — each a location, an element, and a quality of consciousness. Every entry aligned to each centre →
Muladhara
Svadhisthana
Manipura
Anahata
Vishuddha
Ajna
Sahasrara
Ten stations of the Kabbalistic tree, ordered by the lightning flash. The full Tree, with every path →
Unity
Pure Being
Eheieh, I Am, Metatron, Chayoth Ha-Qadesh, Holy Living Creatures
Dynamic Force
Pure Masculine Energy
Yah, The Lord, Raziel, Secret Of God, Auphanim, Wheels
Form Giving
Pure Feminine Receptivity
YHVH Elohim, Lord God, Tzaphkiel, Beholder Of God, Aralim, Thrones
The Abyss
Non Sephira Gateway
None Or All Combined, None Traditionally, Da'At Is Not A Sephira But An Absence—The Abyss Itself
Expansive Mercy
Loving Kindness
El, God, Zadkiel, Righteousness Of God, Chasmalim, Brilliant Ones
Restrictive Judgment
Divine Strength
Elohim Gibor, God Of Battles, Chamuel, Severity Of God, Seraphim, Fiery Serpents
Harmony Balance
Integrated Self
YHVH Eloah Va-Daath, God Made Manifest In The Sphere Of The Mind, Raphael, Michael, Malakim, Kings
Emotion Desire
Creative Force As Feeling
YHVH Tzabaoth, Lord Of Hosts, Haniel, Grace Of God, Elohim, Gods
Intellect Communication
Creative Force As Thought
Elohim Tzabaoth, God Of Hosts, Michael, Raphael, Beni Elohim, Sons Of God
Astral Plane
Etheric Template
Shaddai El Chai, Almighty Living God, Gabriel, Kerubim, Strong Ones
Physical Manifestation
Manifest Reality
Adonai Ha-Aretz, Lord Of Earth, Adonai Melekh, Sandalphon, Ashim, Souls Of Fire
Forms that carry their own meaning — structures that show up across cultures.
Infinite line with no beginning or end, representing unity, wholeness, and the divine
Protection, Unity, Cycles, Casting Circles
Mandalas, Crop Circles, Wheels
Full entry →Perfect three-dimensional form representing the cosmos, completeness, and divine perfection
Wholeness, Cosmic Connection, Perfection
Crystal Balls, Planets, Bubbles
Full entry →Three-sided form representing trinity, the number three, and manifestation into form
Manifestation, Trinity Work, Stability, Balance
Pyramids, Trinity Symbols, Deltas
Full entry →Four equal sides representing stability, earth, the four elements, and material foundation
Grounding, Stability, Four Elements, Foundation
Altars, Foundations, Mandalas
Full entry →Five-sided form representing human form, five elements, and life force
Life Force, Human Work, Five Elements
Pentagram, Flowers, Starfish
Full entry →Six-sided form found in nature, representing harmony, balance, and efficient structure
Harmony, Balance, Natural Order, Structure
Honeycombs, Snowflakes, Crystals
Full entry →Two circles overlapping, creating almond shape of creation and sacred feminine
Creation, Portals, Sacred Feminine, Intersection
Yoni, Fish Symbol, Mandalas
Full entry →Nineteen overlapping circles forming flower pattern, representing creation pattern of all life
Creation, Life Force, Unity, Manifestation
Ancient Temples, Sacred Art, Crop Circles
Full entry →Complex sacred geometry containing all five Platonic solids, representing creation matrix
Protection, Creation, Cosmic Order, Balance
Kabbalistic Art, Sacred Geometry
Full entry →Spiral based on golden ratio, representing natural growth and expansion
Growth, Expansion, Natural Flow, Manifestation
Nautilus Shells, Galaxies, Flowers
Full entry →Donut-shaped form representing self-sustaining energy flow and natural field dynamics
Energy Work, Field Creation, Sustainability, Flow
Energy Fields, Apple Core, Magnetic Fields
Full entry →Star tetrahedron representing light body, spiritual vehicle, and ascension
Ascension, Light Body Activation, Protection, Travel
Meditation, Sacred Art, Crystals
Full entry →Nine interlocking triangles forming sacred Hindu diagram of cosmos and manifestation
Manifestation, Prosperity, Cosmic Connection, Meditation
Hindu Art, Meditation, Yantras
Full entry →The simplest of the five regular solids: four equilateral triangles on six edges, meeting four at a time. Plato gives it to fire, on the argument that fire is the sharpest and most penetrating of the bodies, and the tetrahedron is the sharpest solid, with the smallest volume for its surface. It is the only Platonic solid that is its own dual.
Fire Work, Will, Protection, Beginnings
The Tetraktys As Solid, Crystal Lattices, Dice
Full entry →Six squares on twelve edges, three meeting at each vertex. Plato gives it to earth, because the cube is the stablest of the solids and the hardest to move, and earth is the element that holds. Of the five it is the one that sits flat, which is why the tradition uses it for foundation and for the built world rather than for anything that moves.
Grounding, Foundation, Protection, Manifestation
Altars, Temenos, Dice, Crystal Lattices
Full entry →Eight equilateral triangles on twelve edges, four meeting at each vertex. Plato gives it to air, the element that moves most easily and fills whatever it is put in. The octahedron is the dual of the cube, so the pair is a study in the same information seen from inside and from outside: eight faces against six, four meeting at a point against three.
Air Work, Clarity, Communication, Balance
Crystal Lattices, Dice, Sacred Art
Full entry →Twenty equilateral triangles on thirty edges, five meeting at each vertex. Plato gives it to water, the most mobile and least bounded of the elements, and the icosahedron is the roundest of the five, with the most faces and the largest volume for its surface. Because five triangles meet at each vertex it carries the pentagonal symmetry, and the golden ratio enters with it.
Water Work, Flow, Healing, Dream
Crystal Lattices, Viral Capsids, Dice
Full entry →Twelve regular pentagons on thirty edges, three meeting at each vertex. Plato does not give it an element: he says the fifth construction was used for the whole, to embroider the universe with figures. The tradition afterwards filled the gap with aether, or with the zodiac, since the faces are twelve and five-sided. It is the solid of the whole rather than of a part.
Cosmos, Wholeness, Protection, The Year
The Zodiac, Sacred Art, Dice, Keplers Nesting
Full entry →Ten points arranged in four rows of one, two, three and four, summing to the decade. The tetractys is the Pythagorean figure of the number ten and the compact statement of the whole doctrine: the one that is not a number, the two of the first division, the three of the first complete figure, and the four of the first solid. The Pythagoreans swore by it, and the oath calls it the source that holds the root of ever-flowing nature.
Number Work, Oath, Initiation, Contemplation
Pythagorean Symbols, Number Magic, Sacred Art
Full entry →The ratio in which a line is cut so that the whole is to the greater part as the greater is to the lesser. Its value is about 1.6180339887 and it is irrational, which is why it can be approached but never reached by any whole-number division. What makes it remarkable is self-similarity: a rectangle of those proportions can be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle of the same proportions, indefinitely, and the same ratio governs the pentagon and the pentagram.
Proportion, Harmony, Growth, Design
Parthenon Claims, Nautilus Claims, Sacred Art, Architecture
Full entry →Seven equal circles: one at the centre and six around it, each outer circle passing through the centre of the middle one. The figure is the core of the flower of life, and in modern sacred-geometry teaching it is read as the pattern of creation, the six days of making around a still centre.
Creation, Protection, Unity, Meditation
Flower Of Life, Metatrons Cube, Temple Ornament
Full entry →A circle and a square of equal area, or of equal perimeter, drawn together. In geometry the first is impossible with compass and straightedge, and that impossibility is part of what the figure means: the circle is the infinite and the square the manifest, and the operation that would make them equal cannot be completed. The alchemists took it as the emblem of the work, the making of the fixed out of the volatile.
Union, Completion, Grounding The Infinite, The Great Work
Vitruvian Figure, Alchemical Emblems, Temple Plans
Full entry →The five-pointed star traced by joining every second vertex of a regular pentagon. Because the diagonals cut one another in extreme and mean ratio, the pentagram is the golden ratio drawn rather than computed, and it was the Pythagorean sign of recognition. In the Western magical tradition it is the figure of the five elements and the standard mark of a consecrated space.
Protection, Banishing, Invocation, Consecration, Elemental Work
Pentacles, Talismans, Ritual Geometry, Flags
Full entry →A circle with nine points on it and two inner figures: a triangle joining 3, 6 and 9, and a six-pointed path joining 1, 4, 2, 8, 5 and 7 in that order. Gurdjieff used it as a diagram of process, a way of showing that a sequence of events has law in it. The later personality typology that borrowed the figure reads the nine points as nine character structures, which is a different use of the same drawing.
Process, Self Observation, Typology, Study
Gurdjieffian Study, Personality Typology, Sacred Art
Full entry →A modern figure built by doubling around a circle of nine points. The doubling sequence 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 reduces by digit sum to 1, 2, 4, 8, 7, 5, 1, which closes a six-point loop on the nine-point circle; the remaining three points, 3, 6 and 9, are then held to be outside the loop and are given a special status. The claim made for the figure is that it describes the shape of energy flow in space, and coils wound to its pattern are sold for that reason.
Energy Work, Symbol Contemplation, Modern Occulture
Rodin Coil, Vortex Math Diagrams, New Age Design
Full entry →Animal medicines — each carrying a teaching, and a shadow alongside it.
Courage, Healing, Solitude, Motherhood
Aggression, Isolation, Stubbornness
Protection, Grounding, Courage, Healing
Artemis, Odin
Full entry →Loyalty, Intuition, Freedom, Communication
Lone Wolf Syndrome, Pack Mentality, Predatory
Loyalty, Instinct, Teaching, Pathfinding
Odin, Mars, Apollo
Full entry →Clarity, Courage, Wisdom, Healing
Arrogance, Detachment, Aloofness
Vision, Prophecy, Spiritual Connection, Rising Above
Zeus, Jupiter, Horus
Full entry →Seeing Through Deception, Wisdom, Transition, Silence
Fear Of Unknown, Secrets, Omens Of Death
Wisdom, Prophecy, Night Magic, Seeing Truth
Athena, Hecate, Blodeuwedd
Full entry →Magic, Healing, Creation, Knowledge
Trickery, Theft, Darkness
Magic, Prophecy, Transformation, Shadow Work
Odin, Morrigan, Apollo
Full entry →Transmutation, Wisdom, Patience, Healing
Venom, Deception, Danger
Transformation, Healing, Kundalini, Shedding Old Self
Asclepius, Quetzalcoatl, Shiva
Full entry →Gentleness, Peace, Compassion, Innocence
Timidity, Oversensitivity, Victim
Gentleness, Grace, Connection With Nature, Heart Opening
Artemis, Diana, Cernunnos
Full entry →Power, Freedom, Travel, Grace
Wildness, Untamed, Restlessness
Freedom, Travel, Power, Journey Work
Epona, Poseidon, Odin
Full entry →Transformation, Joy, Color, Soul
Fragility, Impermanence, Superficiality
Transformation, Joy, Soul Work, Beauty
Psyche, Quan Yin
Full entry →Creativity, Weaving Fate, Patience, Writing
Manipulation, Entrapment, Fear
Creativity, Fate Weaving, Writing, Manifestation
Arianrhod, Anansi, Athena
Full entry →Breath, Sound, Rhythm, Community
Escapism, Avoidance, Too Playful
Joy, Communication, Healing, Breath Work
Poseidon, Aphrodite, Apollo
Full entry →Courage, Leadership, Family, Strength
Arrogance, Aggression, Dominance
Courage, Leadership, Strength, Solar Magic
Sekhmet, Apollo, Durga
Full entry →Independence, Psychic Powers, Mystery, Flexibility
Aloofness, Selfishness, Unpredictability
Independence, Psychic Work, Magic, Nine Lives
Freyja, Bastet, Hecate
Full entry →Loyalty, Protection, Service, Unconditional Love
Codependency, Blind Loyalty, Aggression
Loyalty, Protection, Guidance, Companionship
Hecate, Anubis, Cernunnos
Full entry →Magic, Shape Shifting, Creation, Mystery
Thief, Trickster, Bad Omen
Magic, Change, Sacred Law, Messages
Morrigan, Odin, Apollo
Full entry →Cunning, Stealth, Adaptability, Invisibility
Trickery, Deception, Slyness
Cunning, Stealth, Adaptability, Shape Shifting
Inari, Loki
Full entry →Patience, Protection, Earth, Longevity
Slowness, Withdrawal, Rigidity
Patience, Protection, Grounding, Longevity
Gaia
Full entry →Determination, Inner Knowing, Instinct, Rebirth
Exhaustion, Swimming Against Current
Determination, Wisdom, Persistence, Return Home
Pride, Grace, Connection, Antlers Of Power
Arrogance, Aloofness, Aggression
Pride, Independence, Forest Magic, Horned God
Cernunnos, Herne, Artemis
Full entry →Joy, Healing, Energy, Adaptability
Hyperactivity, Inability To Rest
Joy, Lightness, Sweetness, Impossible Possible
Huitzilopochtli, Xochiquetzal
Full entry →Cleansing, Emotional Healing, Tears, Rebirth
Stagnation, Toxicity, Emotional Overwhelm
Cleansing, Transformation, Rain Magic, Fertility
Hecate, Heqet
Full entry →Perspective, Clarity, Messages, Focus
Narrow Focus, Missing Details, Aggression
Vision, Messages, Clarity, Focus
Horus, Apollo, Circe
Full entry →Elemental Power, Ancient Wisdom, Protection, Treasure
Hoarding, Destruction, Greed
Power, Elemental Magic, Protection, Treasure Guardian
Tiamat, Quetzalcoatl
Full entry →Community, Fertility, Productivity, Sweetness
Overwork, Hive Mind, Sting
Community, Productivity, Sweetness, Pollination
Aphrodite, Demeter, Ra
Full entry →Rebirth, Facing Fear, Intuition, Navigation
Fear, Darkness, Vampire
Rebirth, Shadow Work, Transition, Night Vision
Hecate, Persephone
Full entry →Ancient Wisdom, Memory, Loyalty, Patience
Never Forget, Stubbornness, Dominance
Wisdom, Memory, Strength, Removing Obstacles
Ganesh, Indra
Full entry →Fertility, Abundance, Quick Movement, Moon
Fear, Timidity, Victim
Fertility, Abundance, Speed, Moon Magic
Eostre, Freyja, Chang E
Full entry →Grace, Surrender, Transformation, Beauty
Vanity, Pride, Aggressive
Grace, Transformation, Beauty, Love
Aphrodite, Apollo, Zeus
Full entry →Cleverness, Endurance, Improvisation, Laughter
Deceit, Scavenging, Mischief
Trickster Work, Survival, Adaptation, Humour
Coyote, Anansi, Loki
Full entry →Abundance, Gratitude, Community, Sacrifice
Scarcity Thinking, Stubbornness
Abundance, Community, Gratitude, Provision
Gaia, Ceres, Pachamama
Full entry →Play, Joy, Flow, Community
Distraction, Idleness
Joy, Play, Water Magic, Community
Poseidon, Yemoja, Brigid
Full entry →Memory, Song, Depth, Ancient Knowledge
Isolation, Drowning In The Past
Ancestor Work, Memory, Sound Work, Depth
Poseidon, Olokun, Sedna
Full entry →Trust, Return, Shapeshifting, Soul Work
Losing The Skin, Betrayal
Shapeshifting, Soul Work, Return, Sea Magic
Sedna, Aphrodite, Poseidon
Full entry →Power, Passion, Will, Stealth
Cruelty, Isolation, Rage
Strength, Passion, Protection, Will
Durga, Kali, Sekhmet
Full entry →Shadow Work, Stealth, Reclaiming Power, Silence
Repressed Anger, Hidden Agenda
Shadow Work, Protection, Stealth, Power
Hecate, Lilith, Morrigan
Full entry →Shamanic Journey, Night Sight, Fearlessness, Transformation
Predatory Control, Ruthlessness
Journeying, Divination, Protection, Transformation
Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Sekhmet
Full entry →Courage, Provision, Confrontation, Grounding
Aggression, Pigheadedness
Protection, Courage, Provision, Confrontation
Cernunnos, Freyr, Ares
Full entry →Initiative, Leadership, Drive, Courage
Headlong Rush, Domination
Leadership, Beginnings, Courage, Drive
Ares, Amun, Hermes
Full entry →Sure Footedness, Independence, Fertility, Climbing
Stubbornness, Wandering
Independence, Fertility, Climbing, Grounding
Pan, Cernunnos, Faunus
Full entry →Beauty, Confidence, Vision, Integrity
Vanity, Pride
Glamour, Confidence, Beauty, Vision
Hera, Juno, Saraswati
Full entry →Longevity, Grace, Vigilance, Patience
Aloofness, Coldness
Longevity, Patience, Clarity, Ancestor Work
Quan Yin, Amaterasu, Idun
Full entry →Purification, Death Work, Patience, Far Sight
Waiting For The Worst, Coldness
Death Work, Purification, Far Sight, Ancestor Work
Nekhbet, Mut, Nephthys, Morrigan
Full entry →Focus, Speed, Precision, Clear Sight
Impatience, Ruthlessness
Focus, Divination, Speed, Hunting
Horus, Ra, Lugh
Full entry →Defence, Boundaries, Transformation, Shadow Work
Vengeance, Poison
Protection, Boundaries, Shadow Work, Transformation
Serket, Sekhmet, Hecate, Ereshkigal
Full entry →Attraction, Night Work, Transformation, Inner Compass
Self Destruction, Obsession
Attraction, Night Work, Transformation, Moon Magic
Hecate, Nyx, Selene
Full entry →Protection, Home, Emotional Truth, Tides
Defensiveness, Sidestepping
Protection, Home, Emotion, Moon Magic
Amphitrite, Chalchiuhtlicue, Selene
Full entry →Regeneration, Dream Work, Detachment, Adaptation
Coldness, Dropping The Tail
Regeneration, Dream Work, Grounding, Adaptation
Ra, Ptah, Gaia
Full entry →Ancient Power, Patience, Guardianship, Protection
Cold Rage, Devouring
Protection, Guardianship, Ancestor Work, Power
Sobek, Set, Tiamat, Leviathan
Full entry →Industry, Patience, Community, Planning
Relentless Work, Conformity
Work Magic, Community, Patience, Planning
Ceres, Athena, Inari
Full entry →Building, Industry, Family, Resourcefulness
Overwork, Blocking Flow
Building, Prosperity, Family, Water Craft
Ptah, Ogun, Vulcan
Full entry →Tenacity, Defence, Digging In, Independence
Aggression, Entrenchment
Protection, Tenacity, Grounding, Boundary Magic
Cernunnos, Morrigan, Tyr
Full entry →Primal Power, Solitude, Dignity, Walking The Marsh
Loneliness, Unapproachable
Strength, Solitude, Grounding, Protection
Cernunnos, Herne, Njord
Full entry →Gathering, Preparation, Play, Thrift
Hoarding, Scattered Energy
Prosperity, Preparation, Play, Gathering
Ceres, Inari, Fortuna
Full entry →Peace, Love, Message, Grief Work
Naivety, Avoidance
Peace, Love, Messenger Magic, Grief Work
Aphrodite, Mary, Venus
Full entry →Vigilance, Migration, Fertility, Loyalty
Warning Too Late, Restlessness
Protection, Fertility, Travel, Vigilance
Juno, Brigid, Heqet
Full entry →Intelligence, Adaptation, Flexibility, Deep Knowledge
Scattering, Deception
Shapeshifting, Intelligence, Sea Magic, Adaptation
Olokun, Proteus, Poseidon
Full entry →Focus, Survival, Relentlessness, Facing Fear
Ruthlessness, Obsession
Protection, Facing Fear, Survival, Power
Poseidon, Leviathan, Jormungandr
Full entry →Curiosity, Cleverness, Loyalty, Problem Solving
Mischief, Restlessness
Cleverness, Loyalty, Problem Solving, Play
Hanuman, Anansi, Thoth
Full entry →Death Work, Guardianship, Guidance, Resourcefulness
Grave Robbery, Loneliness
Death Work, Ancestor Work, Guidance, Protection
Anubis, Hel, Yama
Full entry →Fertility, Moon Magic, Paradox, Quick Thinking
Fearfulness, Distraction
Fertility, Moon Magic, Divination, Quick Thinking
Eostre, Aphrodite, Artemis
Full entry →Endurance, Humility, Service, Stubbornness
Obstinacy, Self Neglect
Endurance, Grounding, Service, Protection
Vesta, Hestia, Set
Full entry →Endurance, Thrift, Journey, Resourcefulness
Hoarding, Grudging
Endurance, Travel, Prosperity, Thrift
Shamash, Sin, Ningirsu
Full entry →Community, Balance, Endurance, Adaptation
Conformity, Stiffness
Community, Endurance, Balance, Cold Weather Work
Sedna, Nerthus, Cailleach
Full entry →Seeing In The Dark, Keeping Secrets, Solitude, Trusting The Unseen
Paranoia, Isolation, Secrecy As Control
Divination, Shadow Work, Protection, Dream Work
Artemis, Odin
Full entry →Waiting Well, Precision, Emotional Stillness, Crossing
Coldness, Over Caution, Withdrawal
Patience, Healing, Threshold Work, Meditation
Thoth, Brigid
Full entry →Clear Writing, Discernment, Record Keeping, Teaching
Pedantry, Cold Judgment, Over Thinking
Study, Writing, Truth Work, Divination
Thoth
Full entry →Rising Power, Royal Protection, Precise Strike, Healing Venom
Vengeance, Seduction, Sudden Rage
Protection, Kundalini, Sovereignty, Healing
Wadjet, Neith, Shiva
Full entry →Rolling The Sun, Patient Repetition, Self Renewal, Protection
Stagnation, Obsessive Repetition, Denial Of Decay
Rebirth, Protection, Sun Magic, Perseverance
Khepri, Ra
Full entry →Endurance, Fertility, Steady Power, Plenty
Obstinacy, Violence, Possessiveness
Strength, Fertility, Prosperity, Protection
Zeus, Poseidon, Mithras
Full entry →Learning By Ear, Good Speech, Company, Adaptability
Gossip, Echoing Without Understanding, Scattered Mind
Communication, Learning, Love, Social Work
Kama, Ganesh
Full entry →Knowing When To Curl, Home Protection, Small Courage, Boundaries
Defensiveness, Fear Of Contact, Hoarding
Protection, Home Blessing, Boundaries, Luck
Freyja, Loki
Full entry →11 collections, 203 entries. Every one of them is in the index, where each entry has its own page and shows what it points at and what points back at it.