At least early as Plato, in his work Timeus, we have referred the four elements and the quintessence to the five Platonic Solids. It is an accepted fact that Plato did not invent or discover these figures, but is given credit name-wise in a similar way that Pythagoras is given credit by name over the Pythagorean theorem. Neither are responsible for either of these ideas, but we honor them as such anyways.
Golden Dawn teachings have readily available in all corners integrated use of two-dimensional polygons and polygrams. They have application in ritual, talisman design, meditation, organization of systems of energy, and so on. Used to a lesser degree are higher dimensional shapes such as polyhedra. Rightly so, as three-dimensional shapes are much more difficult to create, let alone use outside the context of having the symbol in front of you. In the case of the Platonic Solids, it is rare to see anything besides the cube or the tetrahedron mentioned in GD teachings. These are, after all, the simplest and easiest of the polyhedra to visualize as well as construct. I have heard claims of people using these figures for elemental work, but the more I work with them (and it was a struggle to work up to clearly visualizing some of these solids) I have to wonder if some making those claims weren't just speaking about what they would do with them if they were properly able to create astral versions of these forms. Simply visualizing the figures aside, it is even more difficult to visualize such figures projected into a sphere (the Celestial Sphere or the sphere of sensation) for practical meditation without much effort and self-training, whereas this is quite simple to do with the two-dimensional polygrams.
I have found that there is a connection between the Platonic Solids referred to the four Elements and the Hexagrams also attributed to the same. This becomes easier to see when the Platonic Solids are in your hand, or if I show you a two-dimensional projection of the figures. Let's start with the Cube, also known as the hexahedron. When looking at a Cube from the perspective of one of its corners, it then outlines the shape of a hexagon. Were we to connect these points, we would then have the shape of a hexagram, the form referred to the Element of Earth, as is the Cube itself. No triangles naturally occur in a cube as it is entirely constructed from squares. It is only by turning it to an angle that triangles emerge by connecting the points from the cube projected onto a two-dimensional plane.
![]()
The next one in course is the Octahedron. This shape is referred to the Element of Air. You have only to look at this shape for a moment to know what Hexagram it relates to, as this is one of the more obvious ones.
![]()
Next, let's look at the Tetrahedron. If you've gone through the Practicus grade in any Golden Dawn order, you should know that this shape refers to the Element of Fire. Aside from the Cube, this is the only figure that gets much attention in any of the old GD papers. Look at the skeleton of a Tetrahedron, look at one made of quartz, or look at one from above, and you will see the presence of the double upward triangle.
![]()
Last, let us look at the Icosahedron, the shape referred to the element of Water. This figure has twenty sides, all made of triangles. You will probably notice that the air hexagram is also visible on this figure. Consider that liquid is dense gas and that water contains air.
![]()
Anyway, the next time you're doing some hexagram work, you might consider visualizing these figures amidst the elemental hexagrams and see what comes of it.
Golden Dawn teachings have readily available in all corners integrated use of two-dimensional polygons and polygrams. They have application in ritual, talisman design, meditation, organization of systems of energy, and so on. Used to a lesser degree are higher dimensional shapes such as polyhedra. Rightly so, as three-dimensional shapes are much more difficult to create, let alone use outside the context of having the symbol in front of you. In the case of the Platonic Solids, it is rare to see anything besides the cube or the tetrahedron mentioned in GD teachings. These are, after all, the simplest and easiest of the polyhedra to visualize as well as construct. I have heard claims of people using these figures for elemental work, but the more I work with them (and it was a struggle to work up to clearly visualizing some of these solids) I have to wonder if some making those claims weren't just speaking about what they would do with them if they were properly able to create astral versions of these forms. Simply visualizing the figures aside, it is even more difficult to visualize such figures projected into a sphere (the Celestial Sphere or the sphere of sensation) for practical meditation without much effort and self-training, whereas this is quite simple to do with the two-dimensional polygrams.
I have found that there is a connection between the Platonic Solids referred to the four Elements and the Hexagrams also attributed to the same. This becomes easier to see when the Platonic Solids are in your hand, or if I show you a two-dimensional projection of the figures. Let's start with the Cube, also known as the hexahedron. When looking at a Cube from the perspective of one of its corners, it then outlines the shape of a hexagon. Were we to connect these points, we would then have the shape of a hexagram, the form referred to the Element of Earth, as is the Cube itself. No triangles naturally occur in a cube as it is entirely constructed from squares. It is only by turning it to an angle that triangles emerge by connecting the points from the cube projected onto a two-dimensional plane.
The next one in course is the Octahedron. This shape is referred to the Element of Air. You have only to look at this shape for a moment to know what Hexagram it relates to, as this is one of the more obvious ones.
Next, let's look at the Tetrahedron. If you've gone through the Practicus grade in any Golden Dawn order, you should know that this shape refers to the Element of Fire. Aside from the Cube, this is the only figure that gets much attention in any of the old GD papers. Look at the skeleton of a Tetrahedron, look at one made of quartz, or look at one from above, and you will see the presence of the double upward triangle.
Last, let us look at the Icosahedron, the shape referred to the element of Water. This figure has twenty sides, all made of triangles. You will probably notice that the air hexagram is also visible on this figure. Consider that liquid is dense gas and that water contains air.
Anyway, the next time you're doing some hexagram work, you might consider visualizing these figures amidst the elemental hexagrams and see what comes of it.
