The flower of life is one of the most recognized symbols in the ancient and modern world. The sacred geometric pattern consists of 19 intersecting circles spaced evenly from each other that reveal an intricate pattern of overlapping symmetrical flowers.
The striking visual is meant to represent creation, the sacred masculine and divine feminine, and cycles of life, death, and rebirth. Some believe the flower of life is also a key that can unlock hidden knowledge of time and space within its petal-like structures.
“At baseline, it is a geometric form of perfect—and some would say divine—proportion,” intuitive energy healer and author of Energy Work for the Elite Athlete Cyndi Dale tells mindbodygreen. “The flower of life is a beautiful and ancient symbol that has been depicted in many cultures across time. It’s found in Egyptian, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Judaic artwork, religious structures, and manuscripts,” she adds.
Based on Assyrian relics, historians can date the flower of life to 645 B.C. Beyond its earliest origins, author of Sacred Geometry: How To Use Cosmic Patterns To Power Up Your Life Jemma Foster shares that the flower of life can also be found in countless temples and sacred sites across the globe, like the 5,000-year-old walls of the Osirian temple in Egypt, where it is burned into the stone as if by laser.
“We can consider the flower of life as the original blueprint for life, a cosmic generator or amplifier that supports and sustains all living things,” Foster says.