Unicursal hexagram

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Solid-stroke unicursal hexagram Solid unicursal hexagram.svg
Solid-stroke unicursal hexagram
Interlaced unicursal hexagram Interwoven unicursal hexagram.svg
Interlaced unicursal hexagram

The unicursal hexagram is a hexagram or six-pointed star that can be traced or drawn unicursally, in one continuous line rather than by two overlaid triangles. The hexagram can also be depicted inside a circle with the points touching it. It is often depicted in an interlaced form with the lines of the hexagram passing over and under one another to form a knot. It is a specific instance of the far more general shape discussed in Blaise Pascal's 1639 Hexagrammum Mysticum .

Contents

Giordano Bruno

In his work titled Essays upon the Mathematics of Mordente: One Hundred and Sixty Articles against the Mathematicians and Philosophers of this Age (Prague: 1588), [2] Italian philosopher, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist Giordano Bruno used a symbol called Figura Amoris ("figure of love") [2] part of the Hermetic trinity in his mathesis. This figure has a square outline; within it are the six lines of a unicursal hexagram. This hexagram however, does not connect the six corners of a hexagon, rather, it connects the four corners and two mid-edges of a square. [3]

Thelema

The hexagram-and-flower sigil of Thelema Crowley unicursal hexagram.svg
The hexagram-and-flower sigil of Thelema

In Aleister Crowley's Thelema, the hexagram is usually depicted with a five-petalled flower in the centre which symbolises the pentagram. The hexagram represents the heavenly macrocosmic or planetary forces and is a symbol equivalent to the Rosicrucian Rose Cross or ancient Egyptian ankh. The five petals of the flower represent the microcosmic forces of 5 elements of the magical formula YHShVH and is a symbol equivalent to the pentagram or pentacle. The two symbols together represent the interweaving of the planetary and elemental forces. [4]

See also

References

  1. Walker, Barbara G. (1988). The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects . HarperOne. p.  69. ISBN   0-06-250923-3.
  2. 1 2 Chou, Peter Y. "Notes to Poem: Pondering about Poetry after a Billy Collins reading at Stanford" . Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  3. "Symobology wiki". 2026-01-04. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  4. Duquette, Lon Milo (2003). Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot . Weiser. pp.  43–53. ISBN   1578632765.