Sacred Geometry at the Threshold The Art of Living

© Copyright 2001 by Sun Qi Designs, Authored by Susan DeFreitas, USA
(Explore Issue: Volume 10, Number 6)

We all live lives permeated by geometry, both man-made and natural. The everyday right angles of buildings and rooms, the shapes of our cars, even the furniture we sit upon contributes to our overall quality of life. There are shapes which create intuitive harmony and balance, as well as those which tend to create distress. The Chinese art of Feng Shui has recently given many Westerners a vocabulary by which to address the multi-faceted relationship between living environment, energy, and health. Sacred geometry is one element of the Feng Shui vocabulary which has been consciously utilized in living spaces all over the world for millennia.

There is a rich palette of shapes to choose from, accompanied by a wide range of effects. The sharp, Gothic arches of a medieval cathedral draw the eye almost hypnotically to the heavens; the round, underground kivas of the ancient Anasazi Indians offer assurance of earthly protection and support. Columns and repeated rectangles in the Parthenon of Athens invoke the elegant logic of an ancient culture, while the transcendental Tibetan yantra (composed of interlocking triangles) is an image said to create peace when placed within the home.

All too often, however, there is an important shape absent from the design of our modern-day dwellings. It is the shape most universally associated with unity, divinity, and the sun ­ a shape with great power when correctly placed. It is the smooth curve of the circle, or arch.

In the funeral chamber of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt

The Story of the Rising Sun

Bruce DeFreitas is a custom woodworker who lives with his family in Chino Valley in the high country of central Arizona. DeFreitas moved from Florida to the Southwest in the spring of 1997 seeking a slower pace and greater quality of life to share with his family. A former marine engineer with a broad background in mechanical systems, DeFreitas found his interests venturing further afield following his move to Arizona. He became fascinated by the study of ancient civilizations and ancient geometry, a pursuit, which eventually led him to the books of Col. James Churchward, David Hatcher Childress and Graham Hancock.

"Sumer and Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece are considered the oldest known civilizations, existing as late as 5,000 BC." DeFreitas explains, opening the door to his workshop. "Churchward, Hatcher and Hancock are talking about a technically advanced civilization occurring over 30,000 years before the Common Era. Old tablets found by Churchward and Niven point to a time when there was more landmass in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, making it easier for man to travel and populate the world."

"Mu or Lemuria was the Empire of the Sun," explains DeFreitas, smoothing sandpaper across the teakwood taking shape in his hands. "According to ancient beliefs, it was the mother civilization which settled all over the world, bringing the kinds of scientific and mathematical knowledge in evidence by the Great Pyramids at Giza, the Mayan ziggurats and the temple of Ankor Wat. A colony of Mu was represented by a dissected circle, which refers to the sun on the horizon. When that colony had reached a certain level of scientific advancement and spiritual enlightenment, it gained independence from the motherland. The new nation was represented by the same half-circle, but this time surrounded by rays, the rising sun." Putting the sand paper down and dusting off his hands he says, "According to Churchward, if we go back 100 years and look in on Japan we should see a reflection of Mu 15,000 years ago. The Japanese flag today has been brought down by them from the Motherland. I was looking for a design with ancient geometry and there it was staring me in the face."

As an artisan and woodworker, DeFreitas found this design both significant and compelling. He had been looking for something with which to grace the front door of his new home, and now it seemed as if this ancient symbol ­ rounded on one side and flat on the other, depicting the rising sun -- was a perfect fit.

Ancient Harmony and Contemporary Fit: One Artisan's Vision

The Sun Qi Entrance Piece (pronounced Sun Chee) was originally designed for the front porch of the DeFreitas family household. Constructed of beautiful, unvarnished teak, the mat fits so perfectly at the foot of the door it looks as if it might have grown there. The circle of the sun is located at the exact center of the threshold; the rays spreading outward from it create a sense of harmonious expansion, protected and contained by an outer circle uniting the design.

Not long after he finished and placed this first mat, Bruce DeFreitas (along with his family, friends, and even casual visitors) began to notice that something felt different around the front porch area. "People liked it immediately," he smiles, regarding his latest piece, now nearing completion. "They knew there was something special about it without actually knowing what it was."

DeFreitas explains the name: "My wife and I decided to call it the Sun Qi Entrance Piece because a number of our friends familiar with Feng Shui commented on the positive qi, or life energy, which seemed to emanate from the mat when it was placed at the threshold or above a doorway. To me, this made perfect sense. The rising sun is the symbol of illumination, and the piece creates a circle of protection at the entrance of the home."

Sun Qi and Feng Shui

Kelly Schell Jones is the president of a successful Feng Shui consulting firm in Miami, Florida, called Heart of Harmony, Inc. She has studied with a number of world-renowned traditional Feng Shui masters, and was chosen by Master Raymond Lo to teach his practicioner program worldwide. Jones regards the Sun Qi Entrance Piece as an extremely auspicious symbol in relation to the front entrance of a home or office.

"Feng Shui is the art of living harmoniously with the qi, or life energy, which surrounds us," she explains, "Qi is the universal force; without it, nothing would exist. From a Feng Shui point of view, the main entrance of a home or office is a very important place, being the major avenue through which all qi enters the building. The main entrance of our home should not only reflect who we are; it should reflect what we want in our lives."

Jones' analysis of the Sun Qi Entrance Piece reveals a host of positive Feng Shui factors present in the geometry and symbolism, factors that both invoke positive qi in the home and repel the harmful energies known as shar qi. She points out that the arched Sun Qi design is a representation of the sun, the archetypal and literal source of uplifting yang energy. This yang energy is associated with welcoming, warming, and invigorating.

"The rays of the sun, on the other hand," she continues, "effectively block harmful energies which may be emanating from outside the front entrance. Harmful shar qi is often generated by configurations known in Feng Shui as Poison Arrows, which can include situations such as neighboring homes built at 'cutting angles' or busy roadways leading to front doorsteps. The outward-pointing rays of the Sun Qi Entrance Piece assists in dissolving the shar qi of such Poison Arrows."

In addition, Jones notes that the mat achieves a harmonious balance of three different Feng Shui Elements. The substance of the piece invokes the element of Wood; the sun symbolizes Fire; the shape of the arch is identified with Metal. These elements work harmoniously at the threshold of a doorway to invoke health, energy, and prosperity within the living space.

Sun Qi at the Threshold

Since the first piece ­ which continues to beautify the DeFreitas family doorway ­ the Sun Qi concept has grown and expanded. Bruce DeFreitas has created mats of many different sizes and specifications to fit differing styles of doorways. It can be placed in front or above an entrance or used as part of one's interior décor. He has utilized a variety of woods and in-lay techniques to suit individual tastes, each piece carrying the symbolism, sacred geometry, and intention of the original design, while retaining the unique artistry of custom woodwork.

"The construction itself is symbolic," DeFreitas shows me, turning his latest mat on its side, an elegant rosewood piece. "You see, there's no glue involved, and only two stainless steel screws. These screws must be at an absolute equal level of tension in order to achieve the symmetry and precision of the design. The rays of the sun and the circle enclosing it are brought together in a perfect fit by one length of stainless steel cable, threaded invisibly through the wood." He replaces the piece on the worktable and smiles. Spread out before him, the pale burgundy wood is patterned like a stained-glass cathedral window. "Many pieces," he says, "but one circle. It's the legacy of Mu."

Bruce DeFreitas lives and works in Chino Valley, Arizona. The Sun Qi Entrance Piece is on the web at www.SunQi.net and questions can be directed to the Artist directly at ContactUS@SunQi.net. Kelly Schell Jones can be contacted via her website www.HeartofHarmony.com.

 

Bibliography

• Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock, Graham, Three Rivers Press, division of Crown Publishing Inc., London 1995
• Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice, Lawlor, Robert, Crossroad Publishing, New York, NY 1982.
• Lost Cities of Ancient Lemuria & the Pacific, Childress, David Hatcher, Adventures Unlimited Press, Stelle, IL 1988.
• The Sun Rises, Stelle, Robert, Lemurian Fellowship, Ramona, CA 1952.
• The Children of Mu Churchward, Col. James, BE Books, Albuquerque, NM, 1998.
• The Books of the Golden Age, Churchward, Col. James, BE Books, Albuquerque, NM, 1997.
• Feng Shui for Today; Arranging your Life for Health and Wealth, Lau, Kwan, Tengu Books, New York, NY, 1996.
• The Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui, Too, Lillian, Midas Printing, Hong Kong 1996
• The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects Walker, Barbara G., HarperCollins, San Francisco, CA. 1988.

About The Author

Susan DeFreitas graduated from Prescott College in the year 2000 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Religion and Philosophy. Her work ranges from book-length fiction to magazine journalism. She is proud to have Bruce DeFreitas as her father.

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