I see that you gave a lecture at the 2008 UAC titled Astrology, Geometry and Your Healing Environment . The geometry of astrology and the built environment is something I've been studying for many years. (In fact I recently sent an email to Mark Wilson Jones regarding my analysis of some buildings at Epidauros.) From experience, I consider quintiles and noniles/noviles to be potent aspects that should not be ignored. The following observations regarding the geometry of religion may be of interest.
One is Unity, the mystical state above all religions.
Two is Taoism, the Yin/Yang duality
Three is primarily Christianity, specifically the Trinity.
Four is Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths of the Dharma Wheel turning. (Based on His first sermon, the Dharma Wheel properly has twelve spokes, not eight as commonly represented.)
Five is Islam, the Five Pillars that are incumbent on all believers.
Six is Judaism, represented by the Star or Shield of David. It may be understood to represent the six days of creation in Genesis, and also the six ethical commandments out of the original ten (or eleven if you read carefully.)
Seven may be given to Hinduism primarily because of the Yoga teachings regarding the seven charkras. The Hindu Trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma is important, but in this scheme I assign 3 to Christianity. (The fact that the enneagram is divided into 3 + 7 may be relevant here, since our ten numbers, including zero, originated in India.) Among remnant faiths, the Parsi Zoroastrians recognize seven Holy Immortals, the Amesha Spenta, who are naturally related to the Sun, Moon, and five visible planets.
Eight will also be given to Buddhism, because of the Noble Eightfold path, but an Octagon has been promoted by some as a symbol for Sufism, though I don't at this point consider that form of "religion" to be sufficiently unique and organized to quality for separate recognition. Octagonal baptismals and buildings were prominent in early Christianity, and there is also perhaps the most famous octagonal monument, the Dome of the Rock.
Nine represents the new revelation of Baha'i, which usually builds its temples in the form of a nonagon.
Ten will be assigned to the Sikh faith because of its ten Gurus, though strictly it is nine plus the final reformer.
Eleven may relate to Shia Islam specifically, because of the eleven recognized Imams, with the twelfth awaited Mahdi. Eleven is also important as the number of Apostles who witnessed the appearance of the resurrected Christ in Jerusalem. An interesting earlier connection is with the story of the Hebrew patriarch Joseph and his eleven brothers.
Twelve has so many associations that I think it cannot be assigned to any one faith, but may be held more in common.
Twenty-four The Jains revere 24 Tirthankaras who establish the true religion in each age. http://www.jainuniversity.org/Introduct ... karas.aspx
I feel quite comfortable with this scheme, and it does tend to encourage the view that each religion has its place in the overall development of humanity's capacities for higher thought and emotion. Since I believe that reincarnation is a fact, I can imagine that I've lived lives as a member of various religions. Astrology, of course, is in a sense the greatest and most universal faith, complete with never-ending disputes and factions!
Comments are welcome.Regards,
Wayne