b'IntroductionThis book culminates more than two decades of exploringprinciples and proportions of sacred geometry are used to sacred space, both the literature around it and the experi- design buildings, the result is sacred architecture ence of creating and living in oneWe began the research inA key element of sacred architecture is relation to placeorder to better understand what we had done in buildingThats why the cardinal directions figure so importantly in the Spiral House and also the dialog that resulted betweenthe orientation rituals of ancient traditionsFor us, a sense our lives and the life of the houseof place inevitably leads to the mountains that created the We didnt set out to build a spiral houseBut whenstone that so dominates our landyoure married to an artist and you want to build a littleStone is itself archetypalMost of us feel some primal guest house on your property, the result, well in our caseconnection to it Essentially compressed time, stone carries the result was a five-story spiral that became our homethe history of the planetThe mountains and the stone have The spiral grew out of Toms interest in sacred geome- drawn so many artists and spiritual seekers to the Hudson tryIts important to say at the outset that you dont need toRiver Valley and the nearby town of WoodstockAs a understand anything of sacred geometry to appreciate thematerial for making art, in some ways the stone found Tom, viiiIntroduction ixhouseeither in the pages of the book or in real lifeButjust as sacred geometry did for myself as well as Tom, his sculpture and the house have been a unique way to explore the vocabulary and magic ofThe book has some five hundred photographs and looks what is essentially an ancient wisdom traditionvery much like a coffee table bookBut it also tells a storyThere are many ways to define sacred geometry, but theIt begins with our beloved dog Rafferty and ends with how most compelling perspective to me is that it is the patterntwo dragonsthat came into our lives at separate timeslanguage of nature, the way nature creates endless varietyled Tom to discover the most ancient Hindu mandala within from a few simple shapesStudied and practiced by civiliza- the floorplan of the houseAlong the way, the story goes back tions since antiquity, it is also called philosophical geometryin timeto how we found ourselves together in this placeIt because it views pure forms the circle, the square, and thetells of Toms years exploring stone sculpture and landscaping pentagon for exampleas having metaphysical meaningwalls, his lifelong spiritual practice, his accidental discovery It is considered sacred because it has the ability to affect usof sacred geometry, and how my pragmatic nature grounded at the deep and essential level of spirit or soulWhen thethe project in the practicalities of a comfortable home'