A Fascinating Illustration of the Occult Anatomy of Man
An artist has attempted to unite the Vitruvian Man with the tree of life, the yogic chakras and information regarding the Tarot, the Kundalini and the Cabbala.
In 1487, Leonardo da Vinci drew a sketch that would become one of the most referenced illustrations during the following centuries: a man with outstretched arms and legs that touch the circumference of a circle and a square. Vitruvian Man expresses a nascent idea contained in the Third Book of the Treatise De Architectura, by Roman architect Vitruvius, who wrote:
If a man were placed on his back, with his hands and feet stretched out, and a pair of compasses were centered in his navel, his fingers of both hands and his toes would touch the circumference of a circle. And as the human body allows a circular silhouette, a square figure could also be found within it.
From that description, Da Vinci set about illustrating it, and as Vitruvius assumed, the drawing illustrates the alchemical excellence in which man is a micro cosmos that symbolizes the entire universe. The circle containing man is a reflection of the celestial order and the square is the earth. The same thing occurs, for example, with the tree of life, the Hindu tree of the chakras (Shushumna), the Cabbalistic tree and any esoteric representation that contains the existence of a tree within the human body; “In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity,” Herman Hesse would say.
Each one of these representations of the hidden anatomy of the human body are as old as alchemy, however until only recently somebody decided to unite them in one drawing to reconcile all. The Occult Anatomy is a beautiful poster and invaluable resource for students and those interested in the occult and mysticism.
And although the author did not sign their work, we have the following explanation:
After discovering various versions of this image online in different languages, I became frustrated that I could not find a version in English, and also much of the artwork was blurry and unable to make sense of. I spent nearly 3 years on this project, translating, researching, and redrawing this in my own style.
In this link you can consult the references used to form the great ecumenical tree of the anatomic worldview and the poster is on sale at Etsy.
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