The Geometry of Today
From Signs of Fortuna, Aries: the Present DayMi alma, come closer and sit with me for a moment.
We have spent so much time looking at lines, calculations, and the heavy wood upon the builder’s bench. But now, let us step into the cool, candlelit quiet of the reading room and speak of the spirit that breathes through the structures we make.
You see, the ancient ones, the ones who walked the dusty streets of old Rome, long before it was an empire, when it was just a bustling city of mud, brick, and stone, they understood something very deep.
When they achieved something great, when they won an unexpected outcome, or crossed a terrifying threshold and came out safe on the other side, they did not just pat themselves on the back. They knew that their own two hands were only part of the story. They knew that a mysterious wind had blown in their favor.
They knew that Fortuna had given them a gift.
And so, to say thank you, they did what builders always do: they built a temple.
Now, if we open up the history books or look into the digital ether, we will find many unpleasant details about why those old temples were raised. They were often built to commemorate a triumph of one side over another that was just as terrible as it was temporary.
But let us put those old, harsh stories aside. We have just stood at the builder’s bench together. We have looked at the post and the lintel, and we know that every structure requires two sides to hold up a bridge...
...let us look instead at how the Romans built, because the shape of a sacred space tells us everything about the energy inside it.
The temple they raised for Fortuna Huiusque Diei, the Goddess of This Very Day, was not a rigid square. It was built in the ancient Campus Martius, the Field of Mars, nestled in a sacred area down in the valley, sitting quietly near the great hills of Rome. It was a tholos; a beautiful, circular marvel surrounded by a ring of eighteen elegant columns.
Imagine it!
The shafts were carved from dark, volcanic tufa stone, covered in smooth white stucco, and their circular bases and their decorative Corinthian capitals were crafted from warm, enduring travertine.
It did not have corners to catch the wind or trap the mind. It was a perfect circle, and the old Romans were a practical people who wanted us to know exactly where we stood.
To step out of the dusty, noisy valley of the Campus Martius and into the presence of the Goddess of This Very Day, we would be lifting ourselves above the world.
The temple sat on a high, circular podium raised exactly two and a half meters above the ancient stones, with an odd number of steps, perhaps eleven or thirteen, so that we would start up the stairs and cross Her threshold on the same foot, usually right-foot first for good fortune.
These excerpts are taken from the Curandera's Corner bonus section of Signs of Fortuna, Aries: The Present Day.
To explore the full narrative alongside all three bonus sections, order your copy on Amazon or visit the Official Book Launch Page.
