Article by Ralph Miller

There has recently been a tremendous amount of excitement around the symmetry and geometry that is contained in DaVinci's drawing called "Proportions of the Human Figure." The popular novel, "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown tells of how there is a six-pointed star hidden within the drawing. One idea around the six-pointed star is that the 2 intersecting triangles represent a symmetrical union of male (yang) and female (yin). This is particularly interesting since the greater human condition seems to be out of balance, with a preponderance of yang, or masculine energy.

So the idea of a coming together in balance and harmony would be fantastic.

There is a lot of information that suggests that the world is about to enter into a new feminine era. There are ideas of a major shift for mankind elucidated in many traditions. Hindu tradition speaks of a transition from a previous age to the age of Kali. Kali represents the feminine destroyer. Kali also represents the vindication of truth over lies. The Mayan calendar is coming up on its completion. The Mayans also believed in a shift for mankind.

In many ways we sit on a precipice where lies and manipulation by governments, religion and the media literally control our lives. We have world leaders who are engaged in wars and the slaughter of 100's of thousands of innocents.

It is tempting to believe that a secret and sacred geometry lies within our own physical bodies. Even so, I have always been somewhat skeptical about secret codes. There have been a number of attempts to uncover a perfect symmetry within DaVinci's work.

I have seen some constructions within the drawing that have been made by others, towards the end of espousing certain conclusions. For example, some think that the star represents something called the Merkaba. The Merkaba is a star tetrahedron which represents the human energy field (or light body).

This is just one example.

I wanted to see how they did it … how they came to their conclusions. So I worked on it myself, using information about the drawing that I had researched. I discovered that some of the conclusions that others made seemed to be somewhat arbitrary. I could not understand how they got from A to B, and they seemed to ignore subtle clues in DaVinci's drawing.

So what is the DaVinci code? What is the hidden information within the sketch?

The real starting point with DaVinci's "Proportions of the Human Figure" is in the work of an ancient by the name of Vitruvius who was an architect. Vitruvius developed the concept of 'squaring the circle' which basically involves constructing a square with an equal surface area to a circle or visa-versa. DaVinci was fascinated by the ideas that Vitruvius had about squaring the circle.

DaVinci's drawing contains both a square and a circle with unequal surface areas. There are clues within the drawing that can be used to 'square the circle' and 'circle the square'. This is the starting point. This construction, which can be accomplished without any measuring device, is called the Vitruvian Man.

I did exactly that myself, and discovered some remarkable symmetries in DaVinci's drawing. In fact, I constructed the geometry with only a protractor and a straight edge. But upon completion I wanted to check the surface areas of the circles and the squares to discover if Vitruvius was correct.

First have a look at the drawing that I did, along with notes in the margin about the utterly fantastic symmetries it contains.

Click on the image below to launch a slideshow explaining the concepts here. Once in the slideshow, you can hover over the right side of the image and click to navigate to the next image.

Now, while I was able to make the above drawing with only a protractor and a straight edge; I still wanted to check to see if Vitruvius was correct in his squaring the circle thing. Following are the measurements I took off the original drawing that I did. (the image above is slightly reduced in size however)

Drawing Measurements
DaVinci Circle Radius is 3.33" (the largest circle)
DaVinci Square Side is 5.51"
Blue Circle Radius is 3.105" (supposed to be the same area as DaVinci's square)
Black Square Side is 5.90" (supposed to be the same area as DaVinci's circle)

Following are the calculations that I made from my measurements:
DaVinci Circle Surface Area is 3.33 x = 34.84
Black Square Surface Area is 5.90 x 5.90 = 34.81

Blue Circle Surface Area is 3.105 x = 30.288
DaVinci Square Surface Area is 5.51 x 5.51 = 30.36

The surface area of the square that I constructed is nearly the same as DaVinci's circle (only off by 3/100's of a square inch!). And the surface area of the circle that I constructed was very nearly the same as DaVinci's square. How cool is that!

Now on to the next bit. I had some time ago seen another representation of proportions of the Earth and Moon in this drawing. But again, the work was arbitrary as if the author was trying to prove a point, rather than to let the geometry reveal itself. Personally, I had a suspicion that the earth/moon proportion indeed was in the drawing.

If you look at the distance from the top of the head to the arc of the blue circle (this was the Vitruvius construction) and use that distance as a radius, you can draw a circle around the head. Another circle can then be constructed that is the exact height of the man, with the center being exactly at the groin. (Notice the faint line DaVinci has at the groin … this is one of the clues.)

Again, I wanted to check to see if the small red circle and the large red circle were in the same proportion as the moon and the Earth. Following are the measurements of those two circles.

Drawing Measurements
Small Red Circle Radius is .75"
Large Red Circle Radius is 2.755"

I then went to the Goddard Space Center web site for the data on the diameters of the Earth and the moon.

Astronomical Measurements
Earth Mean Radius is 3,963 Miles
Moon Mean Radius is 1,080 Miles

Finally, I performed the calculations. Incredible. Actually, I think the photo to the right is not quite in proportion, but I liked the photo anyway.

Calculations:
Earth Radius/Moon Radius = 3,963/1,080 = 3.67
L Red Circle Radius/Red Circle Radius = 2.755/.75 = 3.67

Finally, I wanted to mention the astrological event of November 9, 2003 called the Harmonic Concordance. There was an amazing synchronicity for me, because I was working on writing this article during the week just prior to November 9th.

The Harmonic Concordance as I understand it, is a very symmetrical pattern called the Grand Sextile which forms a 'Star of David' in the pattern of the Sun, Moon and planets.

This is a very rare occurrence, and what makes it even stranger is that it was accompanied by a full Lunar eclipse. I am not an astrologer, so I can't really interpret what this all means, but I was able to obtain an astrological chart, because I wanted to check for the 'Star of David', as I had heard that it was in there.

So we've got a full Lunar eclipse and a very rare astrological aspect that coincide on November 9, 2003. Here is the chart:

The symmetry and synchronicity of this is amazing. "As above, so below" takes on real meaning when you think of the Star of David revealed by DaVinci and in the sky on November 9th. The drawing contains much, much more hidden information. Notice some of the other clues (more faint lines at the elbows; at the shoulders). I will not try to elaborate any further now. I just wanted to present part of the information here.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one more obvious synchronicity. I've had DaVinci's drawing on my website for the past three years. I've always been fascinated by it.

© Ralph Miller 2003