The Eternal Dragon Library

Every sacred culture has a different perspective in how it looks at the geometry of life. They are all correct in some way, but they are examining different parts of the whole from different angles. When we use the human skeleton (specifically the spinal cord) as a map, the cohesive arrangement of how they fit together suddenly snaps into clarity.

There are 22 bones in the skull which correspond to the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life from Kabbalistic mysticism (which are synonymous with the symbols of the Major Arcana of the Tarot). There are 7 bones in the cervical spine or neck, corresponding to the 7 Chakras of Vedic medicine. There are 12 bones in the thoracic spine, corresponding to the 12 Signs of the Zodiac. There are 5 bones in the lumbar spine, corresponding to the 5 Elements of the ancient world (both Greek and Taoist). And there are 9 bones fused together into the tailbone and coccyx, which correspond to the 9 Levels of the Underworld found in many different cultures, including the Norse 9 realms, the Aztec underworld, and Dante’s vision of hell in his epic poem, the Divine Comedy. So all in all, there are 33 vertebrae in the spinal column and 22 bones in the skull, totaling 55 fundamental keys that make up the spiritual architecture of a human being.

To tell it as a story, in the grand theater of life, the journey begins in the undifferentiated oneness of the Source. From this infinite Emptiness, the first emanation arises as the core archetypal blueprints found in the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. These are the multifaceted primal identity, the characters in the play that are embedded with foundational desires that lead them toward their ultimate destinies (apotheosis) and form the foundational architecture of consciousness before it takes on shape.

As these archetypal identities express themselves, they emanate outward as frequency. This is the realm of the 7 Chakras, the vibrational expressions through which the characters speak their dreams into existence. The Chakras are the energetic song of the cosmos, a pulsing spectrum of light and sound that exists before the concept of Time has even been born.

As these vibrations ripple outward, their intersecting waves begin to establish a rhythm. This rhythmic oscillation of vibration creates Time, which is delineated into seasonal phases through the 12 Signs of the Zodiac. Time is the cosmic clock, providing the evolutionary pacing of the acts and scenes required for the journey of the characters to unfold in a sequential narrative.

As consciousness is propelled through this rhythmic engine of Time, its evolutionary interactions then condense into the tangible reality of physical matter. This is the birth of the 5 Elements, the props and scenery that provide the stage on which the evolution of becoming can play itself out.

Finally, as the Light of awareness anchors into the dense experience of this material state, a Shadow is inevitably cast. The solidity of matter itself is what gives rise to the dimensions of existence that are dark and unknown, places where the light does not touch. This is the genesis of the 9 Levels of the Underworld, the obstacles (antagonists) our characters must navigate to reach the final curtain.