The geometrical star structures in this Tree of Life model can be drawn using only a straightedge and compass. The study of how to divide a line into thirds and a circle into sevenths using only a straight edge and compass was what first got me interested in the Tree of Life design. I knew that it was supposedly impossible to achieve a perfect third of a line or seventh of a circle this way, but I wanted to see what else I could discover and how close I could get in the process.
I was motivated to do this exercise because this was supposedly a practice that the Pythagoreans made their students go through for years in order for them to better understand the mysteries of geometry and numbers. By doing this exercise I became aware that achieving perfection was not always necessary to achieve a practical solution to these problems. By exploring different approaches to these particular challenges, it also revealed to me different ways of creating many different geometrical forms and relationships that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
I wasn’t intending to develop another Tree of Life model when I first started this geometrical exercise, but this Tree of Life form kept emerging out of the process. This prompted me to delve deeper into the notions being put forth in other Tree of Life designs around the world and throughout history. All these different cultural approaches, although varied in form, shared a common appreciation of the nature of numbers and the value of harmonious geometrical structures.