Six and the hexagon symbolize perfection, stability, harmony, structure and efficiency. The hexagram, the six-pointed star, the Seal of Salomon, is made of two intertwined equilateral triangles, one pointing up, one pointing down, symbolizing the fusion of water and fire, and the symbols of the other elements and their properties (fire: warm and dry / air: warm and humid / water: humid and cold / earth: cold and dry). It’s Tiphareth, the sixth Sephiroth of the Kabbalah, meaning “beauty”. Six is “perfect” because it’s both the sum (1 + 2 + 3) and the product (1 x 2 x 3) of the first three numbers. So six is rooted in the triad.
In nature, hexagons are omnipresent. Natural forms are energy made visible. Six sided plants and animals use the hexagon because it’s the most efficient way to combine structure and function. In the human body, cells cluster together into a dense six angled structure. And there are of course the honeycombs, used by the bees because a hexagonal structure uses the least material to create a lattice of cells within a given volume, a nice example of efficiency. And many crystals show six sides.
Ice crystalls, basalt rocks, honeycomb
Lincoln and Reims cathedral
Saint Peter church, Caen, France
19th century Tibetan mandala Naropa tradition (Vajrayogini)
Milan cathedral
Six on the Qabalistic Tree
Alet-les-Bains, France
Saint Martin’s church, Laon, France
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