Architecture (from Latin architectura from Greek architekton master-builder)

Signifies not building in itself, but the science or art of building in accordance with certain principles or rules which endure through the ages, because rooted in cosmic order and beauty. Architecture is reckoned as one of the five great arts, and the monuments of antiquity in whatever land show clearly that those who designed them had, besides a knowledge of materials and the technique of using them, some knowledge at least of the great cosmic laws of harmony and beauty, and their derivative, proportion.

Primeval self-conscious humanity -- not savage by any means, however much it may have needed spiritual guidance -- was watched over and protected by divine instructors, and among the arts taught by these great beings, architecture had a prominent place: "No man descended from a Palaeolithic cave-dweller could ever evolve such a science unaided, even in millenniums of thought and intellectual evolution.

It is the pupils of those incarnated Rishis and Devas of the third root race, who handed their knowledge from one generation to another, to Egypt and Greece with its now lost canon of proportion. . . . It is Vitruvius who gave to posterity the rules of construction of the Grecian temples erected to the immortal gods; and the ten books of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio on Architecture, of one, in short, who was an initiate, can only be studied esoterically.

The Druidical circles, the Dolmens, the Temples of India, Egypt and Greece, the Towers and the 127 towns in Europe which were found 'Cyclopean in origin' by the French Institute, are all the work of initiated Priest-Architects, the descendants of those primarily taught by the 'Sons of God,' justly called 'The Builders' " (SD 1:208-9n).

(See also: Architecture, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Sthapatya Veda: the Vedic science of architecture.

(See also: Sthapatya Veda, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Vastu Vidya: The precise rules of construction and design of Vedic architecture.

(See also: Vastu Vidya, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Cyclopean Structures Applied by the Greeks to certain architecture of huge stones without mortar, such as found in Tiryns and Mycenae, and attributed to the cyclopes. Cyclopean masonry is found in the platforms of the Easter Island statues, of Lemurian origin; in the vast walls of Tiahuanaco, Peru; in the colossal statues of Bamian, Asia, and many other places.

(See also: Cyclopean Structures, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

IMHOTEP

A famous Egyptian magician (equivalent of Asclepios), sometimes referred to as a "god". First minister of Pharaoh Djoser, inventor of architecture (the step pyramid at Saqqarah). Scribes used to pour "libations" from their ink pots in honor of him before starting to write.

(See also: IMHOTEP, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Biographical dictionaries — a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information — have been written in many languages. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in Who's Who, or deceased people only, in the DNB). Others are specialised, in that they cover important names in a subject field, such as architecture or engineering. Biographical dictionary - List of biographical dictionaries. Biographical ...

Including:

Biographical dictionary - List of biographical dictionaries Biographical dictionary - Australian Biographical dictionary - Canadian
Biographical dictionary - English

Qi (Chee, chi, ki, Ki energy, Qui): Broadly,a vital force that underlies functioning of body, mind, and spirit. The concept of this multifaceted cosmic life force is fundamental to various practices termed Chinese, including architecture, art, health practices, magic, and martial arts. According to Qigong theory, Qi encompasses air and internal Qi, or true Qi, which includes essential Qi (vital energy).

(See also: Qi - Chee, chi, ki, Ki energy, Qui, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Upaveda: (Sanskrit) "Secondary Vedas."

A class of texts on sacred sciences, composed by rishis over the course of time to amplify and apply the Vedic knowledge. The four prominent Upavedas (each encompassing numerous texts) are: Arthaveda (statecraft), Ayurveda (health), Dhanurveda (military science) and Gandharvaveda (music and the arts). Also sometimes classed as Upavedas are the Sthapatyaveda (on architecture) and the Kama Shastras (texts on erotic love).

See: Arthaveda, Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Kama Sutra, Gandharvaveda, purushartha, Stapatyaveda.

(See also: Upaveda, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Upaveda: (Sanskrit) "Secondary Vedas."

A class of texts on sacred sciences, composed by rishis over the course of time to amplify and apply the Vedic knowledge. The four prominent Upavedas (each encompassing numerous texts) are:

á      Arthaveda (statecraft),

á      Ayurveda (health),

á      Dhanurveda (military science) and

á      Gandharvaveda (music and the arts).

Also sometimes classed as Upavedas are the

á      Sthapatyaveda (on architecture) and the

á      Kama Shastras (texts on erotic love).

See: Arthaveda, Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Kama Sutra, Gandharvaveda, purushartha, Stapatyaveda.

(See also: Upaveda, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Upaveda: (Sanskrit) "Secondary Vedas."

A class of texts on sacred sciences, composed by rishis over the course of time to amplify and apply the Vedic knowledge. The four prominent Upavedas (each encompassing numerous texts) are:  Arthaveda (statecraft),  Ayurveda (health),  Dhanurveda (military science) and  Gandharvaveda (music and the arts).  Also sometimes classed as Upavedas are the  Sthapatyaveda (on architecture) and the  Kama Shastras (texts on erotic love).

See: Arthaveda, Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Kama Sutra, Gandharvaveda, purushartha, Stapatyaveda.

(See also: Upaveda, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

BRUNO, GIORDANO

A Dominican monk, absolute pantheist and an early promoter of unbridled sexual freedom. Best known for his work on the art of memory, which was essential for scholars in the 16th Century. Briefly, it consisted of using architecture, classical literature, religions ritual, etc., as vast mnemonic devices. Bruno's heady and bizarre occult ideas soon outdistanced his practical appeal and had him defrocked and on the run. Bruno was burned at the stake in 1600. Aleister Crowley claimed that Bruno was one of his former incarnations.

(See also: BRUNO, GIORDANO, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Rimmon (Hebrew) A pomegranate; used as an ornament in architecture and as a symbol in Syrian temples, standing for the generative and productive feminine principle in nature, its seeds especially being an allusion to fertility. Thus it is found on the pillar of Boaz and other similar representations (2 Kings 5:18).

The pomegranate appears also in the Mysteries of ancient Greece -- particularly in the mythos of Persephone and Hades. By eating of this fruit of earth while in the Underworld Persephone was doomed to spend six months of the year in those gloomy regions. This emblem of feminine fertility was mystically applied both to the womb of cosmic space containing the innumerable seeds or germs of beings to be, and also to nature's productive or generative fertility in all smaller things.

(See also: Rimmon, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Gravitation Attraction, and hence gravitation, is a manifestation of cosmic desire, which draws together separate things into unities. Desire is the attribute of living beings, and the universe is exclusively composed of living beings.

The effects of gravitation within our terrestrial limits are calculable; and by transferring these laws speculatively to the stellar spaces, we can construct a coherent mechanics not only of the solar system but of the galaxy. But in doing so we merely sketch the architecture of a mechanical universe; and it is not certain how far we are justified in applying the terrestrial to extraterrestrial regions, and using this as a basis for calculations as to mass, distance, etc.

Gravitation, like all the other phenomena of nature, is to be attributed to living beings of cosmic magnitude by reason of the vital electricity or vital magnetism emanating from these beings, which electricity or magnetism is at once one of the phenomena of life and of cosmic intelligence.

In the lower scale of magnitudes found in and among the molecules, atoms, and electronic particles, the same observations apply. Cohesion among the infinitesimals is the microcosmic working of the same fundamental qualities that manifest themselves in macrocosmic phenomena, such as gravitation.

(See also: Gravitation, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Adytum (Latin) (from Greek adytos from a not + duo to enter) plural adyta.

Not to be entered; the innermost shrine of a temple. The holy of holies or sanctum sanctorum was common in the architectural plan of the temples of all ancient nations. It frequently contained a sarcophagus and the image of the god to whom the temple was dedicated. A symbol of regeneration, resurrection, and initiation.

The Jews, when they become exclusive and wholly exoteric in their religious beliefs and practices, made the adytum the symbol of their national monotheism, exoterically; and esoterically a symbol of mere generation rather than regeneration. Yet the true meaning can be read in the story of David dancing before the ark, for the dance was essentially a Bacchic rite, whose meaning was unfolded only in the Mysteries; and the ark is the symbol of that vehicle in which are preserved the germs of all living things destined to repeople the earth in a new cycle.

The King's Chamber in the Pyramid of Cheops is an Egyptian adytum, in which the candidate for initiation, representing the solar god, descended into the sarcophagus, thus representing the energizing ray entering the fecund womb of nature; whence, after a mystic death, he rose again.

(See also: Adytum, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Gravitation Attraction, and hence gravitation, is a manifestation of cosmic desire, which draws together separate things into unities. Desire is the attribute of living beings, and the universe is exclusively composed of living beings.

The effects of gravitation within our terrestrial limits are calculable; and by transferring these laws speculatively to the stellar spaces, we can construct a coherent mechanics not only of the solar system but of the galaxy. But in doing so we merely sketch the architecture of a mechanical universe; and it is not certain how far we are justified in applying the terrestrial to extraterrestrial regions, and using this as a basis for calculations as to mass, distance, etc.

Gravitation, like all the other phenomena of nature, is to be attributed to living beings of cosmic magnitude by reason of the vital electricity or vital magnetism emanating from these beings, which electricity or magnetism is at once one of the phenomena of life and of cosmic intelligence.

In the lower scale of magnitudes found in and among the molecules, atoms, and electronic particles, the same observations apply. Cohesion among the infinitesimals is the microcosmic working of the same fundamental qualities that manifest themselves in macrocosmic phenomena, such as gravitation.

(See also: Grantha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Pyramid

This ancient and powerful symbol has general meaning for all and specific meaning for the dreamer. It represents the coming together of the world of man with that of God; the material with the spiritual. The purpose of the pyramids was to bury the dead and to assist them into reaching eternity. In this way, the pyramids were holy places and their architecture and mysticism continues to amaze and to intrigue us. In order to understand its symbolism; consider your current accomplishments and breakthroughs. If you accomplished a personal goal and feel a sense of wholeness, this dream symbol may be an affirmation of those feelings. The pyramid could also represent larger goals and deepest strivings. Whether they represent fulfilled or incomplete goals, a pyramid seems to be a very positive dream symbol.

Source: Dream Lover Incorporated, http://www.dreamloverinc.com

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Pyramid, Meaning of Dreams about Pyramid, Dream Interpretation Pyramid)

Definition and meaning of Renaissance:

Renaissance

The Renaissance was the major cultural movement in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that began in the city-states of Italy and spread to other parts of the continent. Sharing a "rebirth" of interest in the classical civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, many artists of the period produced notable works in painting, sculpture, architecture, writing, and music.

(Source: Madrid Waddington High School )

Also see these pages:  American History, American History Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Vastu Shastra

Vastu Shastra is an ancient science energy flow throughout the house/office/factory that allows inflow of fresh air and natural light that promotes health, wealth, peace and happiness.

The most ancient science of architecture that goes back to the Vedic ages, it is composed of specific rules and regulations, set down by sages of those times, that an architect / builder / owner was expected to religiously follow to avoid coming under negative or evil influences. Today, it is looked upon as a highly evolved, comprehensive building philosophy in which directions and shapes are the most vital aspects of designing.

Right from the selection of site to correct slope of land down to the shape of the building, this oldest form of architecture covers nearly every aspect of construction. Not only for houses but temples, palaces, forts, offices...just about every possible form of construction. Often providing relief if not cures to physical or emotional problems simply by relocating an entrance, window or room.

Some of the important points made therein are:

• Directional Alignment
• Shape Of The Site
• Slope Of The Land Surface
• Impact of Gates At Various Locations
• Brahmasthan (Central Zone of the Building)
• The Staircase
• Inner Planning of a House
• Inner Planning of an Office
• Internal Planning of any Industrial Building

See also: Vastu Shastra   (See also: Vastu Shastra, Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Nagkon Wat (Siam.). Imposing ruins in the province of Siamrap (Eastern Siam), if ruins they may

be called. An abandoned edifice of most gigantic dimensions, which, together with the great temple of Angkortham, are the best preserved relics of the past in all Asia.

After the Pyramids this is the most occult edifice in the whole world. Of an oblong form, it is 796 feet in length and 588 in width, entirely built of stone, the roof included, but without cement like the pyramids of Ghizeh, the stones fitting so closely that the joints are even now hardly discernible.

 It has a central pagoda 250 feet in height from the first floor, and four smaller pagodas at the four corners, about 175 feet each. In the words of a traveller, (The Land of the White Elephant, Frank Vincent, p. 209) "in style and beauty of architecture, solidity of construction, and magnificent and elaborate carving and sculpture, the great Nagkon Wat has no superior, certainly no rival, standing at the present day." (See Isis Unv., Vol. I. pp. 561-566.)

(See also: Nagkon Wat, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Kabah or Kaaba (Arab). The name of the famous Mahommedan temple at Mecca, a great place of pilgrimage.

The edifice is not large but very original; of a cubical form 23 X 24 cubits in length and breadth and 27 cubits high, with only one aperture on the East side to admit light. In the north-east corner is the "black stone" of Kaaba, said to have been lowered down direct from heaven and to have been as white as snow, but subsequently it became black, owing to the sins of mankind

The "white stone", the reputed tomb of Ismael, is in the north side and the place of Abraham is to the east. If, as the Mahommedans claim, this temple was, at the prayer of Adam after his exile, transferred by Allah or Jehovah direct from Eden down to earth, then the "heathen" may truly claim to have far exceeded the divine primordial architecture in the beauty of their edifices.

(See also: Kabah, Kaaba, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )