The Gothic Cathedral : A Vessel of Light on Earth

Article By Florimond Krins

posted by UK, April 18, 2022

The Gothic period started at the beginning of the 12th century – in 1128, to be precise – when 9 knights came back from Jerusalem after spending 10 years in the Temple of Solomon.  They were the first Knights Templar (from the Temple of Solomon).

From that moment, in France and all over Europe, Gothic cathedrals and churches started to spring up like mushrooms. Many historians and architects think that the Gothic was an evolution of the Romanesque Style. In a way it was, but both those styles were being used simultaneously during the 12th and 13th Centuries, as they were the work of two different guilds.

So how is it that such magnificent buildings – the size of a stadium in some cases – started to appear out of nowhere, with a technology that had never been seen before in Europe?  Who were those builders and what did they intend to achieve through those cathedrals?

The word Gothic seems to have different origins: from the Celtic “Ar-Goat”, meaning built with wood; from the Greek “Goes – Goetis”, meaning magic or sorcerer; or from the Kabala, in which Gothic Art would come from the “Argotic” (Ars Gotica) which would make the Cathedral an alchemical “Athanor” or furnace, a place of transmutation.

The Gothic style should not be understood as an art, but more as a tool, a tool of transmutation. This was the meaning of the early Gothic, also known as True Gothic. By the end of the 13th century the Gothic had already lost its purpose and had become just an art form, however beautiful it still was.

3 elements are key in the building of a Gothic cathedral:

1. The place;
2. The orientation;
3. The proportions of its dimensions;

 

1. The place was chosen carefully. It was normally the site of a former sacred temple (Roman) or sacred ground (Celtic). As an analogy, we can say that the cathedral was placed as strategically and carefully on the earth, as a Chinese doctor would insert a needle in an acupuncture point on the human body. It was built in an area of concentrated earth energies (Telluric forces). In France the main Cathedrals are positioned to replicate the astrological sign of Virgo. The Cathedral of Chartres, for example, is built on ancient ground with an ancient dolmen buried beneath it.
   
2. The orientation of a cathedral was a key factor, being linked to the course of the sun at a particular time of the year, usually the winter Solstice, as this is the moment on earth when time seems to stand still and everything begins again (e.g. the birth of Christ occurs shortly after the winter solstice). Of course, there are exceptions like Notre-Dame de Chartres in France, but this is never coincidental.
   From the heaven-earth axis, which gives the origins, and the primitive Circle, which gives the fundamental dimensions, the building of the cathedral could begin.
3. The proportions of the cathedral are inspired by nature, because the monument is built to channel its forces. The cathedral is like a musical instrument, but tuned to vibrate at a spiritual frequency. The architect used mathematics – through geometry – to build every inch of his creation, leaving nothing to chance or negligence.The final, but not least important element of the Gothic cathedral is its stained glass. The space created by the structure allowed for huge windows and hundreds of square metres of stained glass. In the True Gothic style, this is the only form of art allowed inside the cathedral. But this glass is more than art, it is a catalyst. As we know today, sunlight can be destructive with its UV rays, so the stained glass filters the light to create an alchemical cave, allowing the transmutation of human beings.Once again in history just a handful of men have tried to change humanity by bringing back to life natural principles to teach and transform others.

Image Credits: By User 32212 | Pixabay | CCO

The entity posting this article assumes the responsibility that images used in this article have the requisite permissions

Image References
By User 32212 | Pixabay | CCO

Permissions required for the publishing of this article have been obtained