The Earth Mother archetype is held within THIS common geometry

This numerical archetype goes with the next number in our series, the earth mother archetype. Before I reveal it, take a guess of what shape feels most grounded, and what number resonates within it. This number creates the shape, and with this shape, dozens of earth mother archetype examples arise.

The Best Mother Archetype Examples: Materialization of Four-ness

I like the word “materialize” as a substitute for “manifest” sometimes. The root of manifest is mani-, which is hand, handling and manipulating. Materialize comes from mater-, matter, matrix, which is the maternal, becoming material from the goo of potential.

Connecting three points in space gives a two-dimensional flat shape, a plane. Connecting FOUR points in space gives rise to depth, and stability. In numerical archetypes, we follow an ancient geometric technique called the “vesica piscis.” The vesica piscis creates a diagram at each step that takes on the properties of that number and shows the way they might be reflected in nature. The fourth step of the vesica piscis progression gives birth to the square, the tetrahedron, and the cube.

Bisect the vesica piscis horizontally & vertically, encircle the intersection, kissing the sides. Then, connect the intersections of the circles. There are other ways to form squares from the vesica piscis but this is the simplest way. With this development three “new” forms arise, relevant to the mother archetype of fourness.

Let’s Square Up

Colloquialisms with “square” can give a lot of the vibe. “Let’s square up.” “Fair and square.” “Get this squared away.” There are at least 28 definitions of “square” in the ‘ole Merriam-Webster. Four is the first number in which you can split evenly repeatedly to get back to monad (powers of 2 like 8, 16, 32…). Even numbers have female characteristics and odd numbers are male. Here are 9 examples of four-ness in connection to the materialization on the earthly plane:

• Planet earth symbol ⊕
• cardinal directions
• the form of the numeral 4
• four seasons
• four winds
• four elements
• four platonic solids
• square game boards
• sports fields (boxing, baseball..)
• city sidewalks and roads

Square shapes have held the mother earth archetype and the Earth Mother Goddess archetypes throughout many ancient cultures. In Navajo language, nature is called the “changing woman”, with summer being “changing woman’s happiness”. Hopi symbols for mother earth (Tapuat) and the world show quadrants with maze passage ways representing our trips through the matrix.

Gridlocked – the Goddess Weave

The mathematicians, artists, and philosophers of old experimented with the geometry of squares. With iterated and rotated squares, an artist’s techniques can produce a gripping psychological effect of stability and grounded order.

Earth Mother Archetype Examples

• Neith, goddess of weaving (+ more) in ancient Egypt
• Egyptian ptah, god or crafts & architecture
• Greek Archeus
• Plato’s world of ideas
• In India, Vishvakarma
• Freemason’s grand architect
• Christian symbolism, mystical light of the logos

Symbols (cubes, squares)

• Salt crystals (molecular structure)
• The triangle roof above the square buildings represent heaven (3) and earth (4)
• Loom work

• Tungsten atoms
• Orphic Egg (pneumatic ovum)
• Borromean knots
• Galvanizing iron powder (near magnetic field)
• Lace embroidery
• Islamic Tiles

Tetrahedral Forms of the Mother Archetype

One way to picture the archetypes is each step is a sphere, a ball of energy. At four balls of energy, they stack only into one shape naturally – the tetrahedron. A tetrahedron has four-fold symmetry. There are four ways to rotate it where it looks identical. Also, the tetrahedron also encloses the least volume with the most surface area, giving stability. In an ideal tetrahedron, all the corners are the same distance from each other. Mother earth archetype examples are found in some of the oldest organisms on the planet, like certain radiolarians. In optimizing for maximum strength and minimal volume, we also see the same forms found in soap films on tetrahedral wire frames.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”

Aristotle

Mother Earth Archetype Examples & Symbolism (Tetrahedral)

• Insects. They have six legs but walk on three at a time. The three points of contact + the body is a tetrahedral structure.
• Lotus position in yoga – the knees, root, and heart make the 4 points
• Stools, stands, wheelbarrows, minimum legs needed to stand
• Methane, ethane, ammonium (amino acids). Carbon or nitrogen at the center and hydrogen at the corners
• Glass, quartz, diamond (molecular structure)

These are the best mother earth archetype examples I could find! You may also enjoy…

the topic of five-ness…

or find out how piezoelectricity makes crystals zap.