Seed of Life Meaning: Seven Circles, Ancient Geometry and a Modern Name
AURYN Editorial
The Seed of Life is a pattern of seven overlapping circles of equal size: one in the centre and six arranged around it, each passing through the centre of the first. The geometry is ancient and found in many cultures. The name "Seed of Life", however, is modern.
The geometry
Draw one circle, then place the point of your compasses on its edge and draw another of the same size, and continue around; six circles fit exactly around the first. Wolfram MathWorld describes the resulting figure among its overlapping-circle patterns. The six-petalled rosette at its centre is the same shape as the daisy wheel scratched into old English buildings.
An ancient pattern
Because the pattern is so easy to draw with simple tools, similar rosettes appear in the decorative art of many periods and places. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum holds designs built on this kind of overlapping-circle geometry.
A modern name
The names "Seed of Life" and its larger relative, the "Flower of Life", belong to the modern sacred-geometry movement of the late twentieth century, which gave these patterns spiritual meanings of creation and unity. Those are modern interpretations of a very old geometric form.
The Seed of Life in jewellery
The Seed of Life is a clean, balanced design, and it can be worn for its geometry, its modern spiritual meaning or both. Take a look at the AURYN Seed of Life charm.
