Sacred and Truly Christian Philosophy, or Cosmic Meteorology

14 Sect. I. Port. IV. Part I. Book I.

A diagram consisting of several small circles labeled with letters a through h, with a number 4 placed below. This visualizes the emanation from divine light into the physical elements.

This same concept can also be described geometrically; first, we demonstrate how the breadth of the primary ternary Ternary: A set of three. In Pythagorean and Hermetic thought, the number three represents the first "real" number because it can form a surface (a triangle), symbolizing the move from potential to actual existence. is produced from the imperfect binary Binary: A set of two. In this context, it represents duality or division, which is considered "imperfect" because it cannot create a closed shape on its own. number in this way:

A diagram showing two lines meeting at a right angle, labeled with the number 2.
This is the binary number, namely two lines
meeting at a single point, but powerless
to form a surface or any geometric
figure. From which it follows that if a
third line is drawn between the two
ends that do not touch, a triangle will be
completed. The triangle is the chief and the
principle of every geometric figure,
in this way:

A diagram of a completed triangle.

But truly, if a fourth line is added in the manner of a square, and a diagonal line is positioned at a right angle, then the binary root will be reduced into its square in this manner:

A diagram of a square.