Sacred Geometry with Tom Bree

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Sunday - September 22

8:00 - 9:30 pm - Evening session with Tom Bree: Sacred Geometry

 

In advance of our trip to Wells on Monday, Tom will introduce us to the beautiful art of sacred geometry and to the power of its presence in the design of the cathedral at Wells.

 

Please plan on dinner beforehand.

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Monday - September 23

Sacred Geometry Drawing Class and Tour of Wells

 

Tom Bree teaches sacred geometry as a practical art, at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts, London, as well as in other parts of the UK and Europe. He is currently engaged in a detailed analysis of the design of Wells Cathedral. 

 

The City of Wells is a religious centre going back into the ancient past. The cathedral is rooted in an openness to the 12th century Christian immersion in the Seven Liberal Arts arts from an overtly spiritual/philosophical perspective. A significant aspect of this is the 12th century Christian fascination with the pre-Christian ancient world and the embracing of this pre-Christian past via the perception that it was in harmony with the Christianity of the time. The design of the cathedral appears to embody an ancient cosmological Venusian myth concerning death and resurrection, which in the Christian context is  perceived through the paschal story of Christ but recognised as a recurrence of the ancient myth. 

 

The story of Inanna's descent and resurrection is involved here, and the rising of the Bright Morning Star in the east is central to the cathedral's design. Its central axis can be geometrically demonstrated to embody an equinoctial middle path between the solstitial extremes of Cancer and Capricorn and the culmination of this equinoctial/paschal middle way is then the rising of the Bright Morning Star. 

 

In the morning, Tom will teach a practical drawing session on sacred geometry, accompanied by a slide presentation. This session will guide you through simple pattern-making, approached with a contemplative emphasis. Following this, we will take a tour of Wells, with a visit to the cathedral and other sites of interest. Finally, we will turn our attention to the element of water, which is a powerful feature of the city and intimately connected to its medieval buildings. 

 

We may also stay on for choral Evensong in the cathedral, 5.15 - 6.15 pm. If so, we will be back in Shaftesbury by about 7.30 pm. 

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8:00 - 9:30 pm: Carole and Clare will talk further on the theme of water, in astrology and myth, and we will spend time reflecting on the day's events.