René Guénon
Chapter 51

41 § The Symbolism of the Dome

IN an article in _The Indian Historical Quarterly_ (March 1938), Ananda K. Coomaraswamy has studied the symbolism of the dome, which is too important and too closely linked to certain considerations that we ourselves have previously developed for us not to examine the chief aspects more closely. The first essential point to note in this respect, in connection with the symbolic and initiatic value of architectural art, is that every edifice built according to strictly traditional rules, has in its structure and in the disposition of its different parts a 'cosmic' meaning which can be understood in two ways in conformity with the analogical relationship between macrocosm and microcosm. It refers, that is, both to the world and to man at the same time. In the first place, this is naturally true of temples and other buildings that have a 'sacred' purpose in the most precise sense of this word. But beyond this, it is true even for ordinary human habitations; for it must not be forgotten that in reality there is nothing 'profane' in wholly traditional civilisations, so much so that it is only as the result of a profound degeneration that houses have come to be built with no more in view than the purely material needs of their occupants, and that the occupants, for their part, should be content with dwellings conceived according to such narrowly and meanly utilitarian preoccupations.

It goes without saying that the above mentioned 'cosmic' signification can be achieved in many ways, corresponding to as many points of view, which thus will give rise to different architectural 'types' of which some will be especially linked to this or that traditional form. But for the moment we need only consider a single one of these 'types' which, moreover, appears to be one of the most fundamental and which, for this very reason, is also one of the most widespread. The structure in question consists essentially of a square base (it is of no importance in the present context whether this lower part is cubical or more or less elongated), surmounted by a dome or a cupola that is more or less rigorously hemispherical in form. Among the most typical examples, we may mention, with Coomaraswamy, the Buddhist _stupa_, and also the Islamic _qubbah_, the general form of which is exactly comparable. Likewise to be mentioned are those Christian churches in which a[1] cupola is raised above the central part, [2] as well as other cases where this structure may not be so clearly distinguishable at first sight. It is to be noted also that an arch, with its two rectilinear pillars and the soffit which rests on them, is really nothing other than the vertical cross section of such a structure, and in this arch, the keystone at its summit obviously corresponds to the highest part of the dome. We will come back later to the real significance of that point. [3]

It is easy to see, first of all, that the two parts of the structure we have just described represent earth and heaven, to which in fact the square and circular forms respectively correspond (or the cubic and spherical forms in three dimensional construction); and though it is in the Far Eastern tradition that most stress is laid on this correspondence, it is far from belonging to it exclusively. [4] As we have just alluded to the Far Eastern tradition, it is not without interest to note in this connection that in China the attire of the ancient Emperors had to be round at the top and square at the bottom. This attire, in fact, had a symbolic meaning (just as did all the actions of their lives, which were ritually regulated) and this meaning was precisely the same as the one we are now considering in its architectural realisation. [5] Let it be added at once that if, as regards building, the entire construction be considered as hypogean or underground as in fact it sometimes is, literally in certain cases and symbolically in others, we are brought back to the symbolism of the cave as image of the entire cosmos.

To this general meaning another yet more precise is to be added: the whole edifice, viewed from top to bottom, represents the passage from principial Unity (to which the central point or summit of the dome corresponds, and of which the whole vault is as it were only an expansion) to the quaternary of elemental manifestation; inversely, from below upwards, it is the return of this manifestation to Unity. In this connection Coomaraswamy recalls as having the same meaning, the Vedic symbolism of the three Ribhus who, from the single cup (_patra_) of Twashtri made four cups (and it goes without saying that the form of the cup is hemispherical, like that of the dome). The ternary number, intervening here as intermediary between Unity and quaternity, signifies in this case that it is only by means of the three dimensions of space that the original 'one' can be made 'four', which is exactly represented by the three dimensional cross. The inverse process is likewise represented by the legend of the Buddha who, having received four bowls of alms from the _Maharajas_ of the four cardinal points, made of them a single bowl, which indicates that for the 'unified' being, the 'Grail' (to use the Western traditional term which obviously designates the equivalent of this _patra_) is once more single as it was at the beginning, that is, at the starting point of cosmic manifestation.[7]

Before going further, let it be noted that the structure in question can also be realised horizontally: to a rectangular edifice a semicircular part is added by the projection of the foundation plan at one of its extremities, the one that lies in the direction to which a celestial influence is ascribed. In the most widely known cases, at least, this will be the direction from which the light comes, that is, the East; and the example that comes most immediately to mind is that of a church ending in a semicircular apse. Another example is provided by the complete form of a Masonic temple: it is known that the lodge, strictly speaking, is a 'long square', that is, really a double square, the length (from East to West) being the double of the width (North to South); but to this double square, which is the _Hikal_, the _Debir_ is added at the East, in the form[8] ...of a semicircle;[9] and this, moreover, is exactly the plan of the Roman basilica.[10]Let us now return to vertical structure: as Coomaraswamy remarks, this must be considered, in its entirety, in relation to a central axis; it is obviously so in the case of a hut with a dome shaped roof supported by a post joining the summit of this roof with the earth; it is also the same in the case of certain stupas in which the axis is represented inside the structure, sometimes being prolonged upwards even beyond the dome. Nevertheless, it is not necessary for the axis always to be represented materially, any more than the World Axis, of which it is the image, is in fact materially represented in any place whatsoever; what matters is that the centre of the ground space occupied by the edifice, that is, the point situated directly beneath the summit of the dome, should be always virtually identified with the 'Centre of the World'. This, in fact, is not a 'place' in the topographical and literal sense of the word, but rather in a transcendent and principial sense; and consequently it can be realised in every centre that is regularly established and consecrated, whence the necessity of the rites which make the construction of a building a true imitation of the very formation of the world.[11] The point in question is therefore a true _omphalos_ (_nābhih prithivyāh_). In very many cases it is at this point that an altar or a hearth is placed, according to whether the edifice is a temple or a dwelling. The altar, moreover, is really also a hearth; and, inversely, in a traditional civilisation, the hearth must be regarded as a true domestic altar. Symbolically, it is there that the manifestation of _Agni_ takes place; and in this respect, we will recall what we have said of the birth of the _Avatara_ at the centre of the initiatic cave, for it is obvious that the meaning here is again the same, and it is only the application that is different. When an opening is made at the summit of the dome, it is through this that the smoke rising from the hearth escapes to the outside; but far from having only a purely utilitarian reason, as men of today might imagine, that likewise has on the contrary a very profound symbolic meaning which we will now examine, making still clearer the exact significance, both macrocosmic and microcosmic, of the summit of the dome.

Footnotes

[1]The purpose of the two edifices is correspondingly similar because the stupa, originally at least, was built to house relics; and the qubbah is erected over the tomb of a wali (Saint).
[2]If the church has the overall form of a Latin cross, as is most commonly the case [except in Eastern Christianity, where other forms are dominant, eg, the domed cube, the 'cross-in-square', or even octagonal or circular plans, according to period and area. Tr.], it is to be noted that this cross can be obtained by the opening out of a cube, the faces of which are folded down onto the plane of its base (this is expressly indicated in Masonic Royal Arch symbolism); the plane of the base, which naturally remains in its primary position, then corresponds to the central part above which the cupola is erected.
[3]In certain representations belonging to Royal Arch Masonry, the 'celestial' meaning of the soffit is formally indicated by the delineation on it of a part of the Zodiac, one of the 'solstitial gates' being placed on the keystone. Moreover, the 'gateway' normally would have to differ according to whether the point in question is considered as an 'entry' or an 'exit', in conformity with what we have explained above.
[4]In Masonic initiation, the passage from square to arch represents a passage from 'Earth to Heaven' (whence the term _exaltation_ to designate admission to the grade of Royal Arch), that is from the 'Lesser Mysteries' to the 'Greater Mysteries' with, in the case of the latter, the dual 'sacerdotal' and 'royal' aspects, for the complete corresponding title is _Holy (and) Royal Arch_, even though, for historical reasons which need not be gone into here, the 'sacerdotal art' has in the end been largely supplanted by the 'royal art'. The circular and square forms are also called to mind by the compass and try-square, which serve respectively to plot these two figures, and which are taken together as symbols of two complementary principles as are, in fact, Heaven and Earth [cf. *The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times*, ch. 20; and *The Great Triad*, ch. 3].
[5]The Emperor himself, being thus clothed, represented 'true Man', mediator between Heaven and Earth, the respective powers of which he united in his own nature; and it is in exactly the same sense that a master Mason (who would also be 'true Man' if he had effectively realised his initiation) 'is always placed between square and compass'. As regards this subject, let us note also one of the aspects of the symbolism of the turtle: the lower shell, which is flat, corresponds to the Earth, while the upper shell, which is rounded in the form of a dome, corresponds to Heaven. The animal itself, between the two shells, represents Man between Heaven and Earth, thus completing the 'Great Triad' which plays a particularly important part in the symbolism of Taoist initiatic organisations [cf., *The Great Triad* ch. 14 and 15].
[6]The crucial plan of a church is likewise a quaternary form; the numerical symbolism, therefore, remains the same in this case just as in that of the square base.
[7]On the subject of the Twashtri and the three Ribhus [We have followed Guénon's transliteration here, though the forms more likely to be used by Anglophone Indologists today would be *Tvastr* and *Rbhus Tr.*] considered as a triad of 'artists', let us note that in the rules established by the Hindu Tradition for the construction of a building one finds in a way their correspondence in the architect (_sthapati_) and his three companions or assistants, the land surveyor (_sūtragrāhi_), the mason (_vardhaki_), and the carpenter (_takshaka_). Equivalents to this ternary could be found again in Masonry where, moreover, under an inverse aspect, it becomes that of the murderous 'bad companions' of Hiram.
[8]According to the _Critias_ of Plato, the great temple of Poseidon, capital of Atlantis, had as base a double square; if the side of the square is taken as unity, the diagonal of the double square equals √5.
[9]In the Temple of Solomon, the _Hikal_ was the 'Holy' and the _Debir_ was the 'Holy of Holies'.
[10]In a mosque, the _mihrab_, which is a semicircular niche, corresponds to the apse of a church, and it also indicates the _qiblah_, that is, the ritual orientation; but here this orientation, being directed towards a centre which is a definite point on the surface of the earth, naturally varies according to location.
[11]Sometimes the dome itself may not exist in the actual construction without however the symbolic meaning being thereby altered. We have in mind the traditional type of house arranged as a square around an inner courtyard. The central part is then open to the sky but, precisely, it is the celestial vault itself which in this case plays the part of a natural dome. In this connection, incidentally, there is a certain relation, in a given traditional form, between the arrangement of the house and the constitution of the family. Thus in the Islamic tradition, the quadrilateral ordering of the house (which normally should be entirely closed outside, all the windows opening onto the inner courtyard) is connected with the limitation of the numbers of wives to four at most, each of them having for her own domain one of the sides of the quadrilateral.
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