great dome, so that one can never escape the heavenly presence of the 9. It becomes the emblem of perfection, more definitely exemplified in the Bahá’í teaching than ever before; as the 9 reflected through the Bahá or the Glory, it becomes the emblem of the divine messenger upon earth, Bahá’u’lláh, Christ, Zoroaster, Moses, et al.
“The surfaces of the Temple are covered with a geometrical ornamentation, exquisite in character, and sufficiently interesting from its beauty alone. These traceries, when examined, are made up of the most beautiful combinations of the triangle, the square and the circle: The Swastika cross of the Egyptian hieroglyphics is one, the five pointed star, the six pointed star, the glorious nine pointed star, and last but not least the looped life symbol of the old Egyptian hieroglyphics, which was carried by the priests in the sacred processions of the worship of Dionysos in Greece.
“The Swastika cross is the oldest religious symbol known. It became indicative of the divine creative fire, and life, and the looped cross, the Greek cross, the Roman Cross are its modifications. The Roman cross with the elongated arm has become the symbol of sacrifice through its relation to Christ. There is a lovely row of Swastikas around the base of the dome, repeated again toward its top and these will show brilliantly when it is lighted at night.
“The triangle has been from time immemorial the symbol of the great trinity, the Essence, the Orb and the Messenger, or God, the Father, or Logos, and the Son, as Christ puts it. The six pointed star or double triangle is thus the symbol of the heavenly Sun or Logos behind the earthly Messenger. So that the old orthodox Jewish Rabbis say today: ‘We have always had the six pointed star, but we are now looking for the five pointed star, the Messiah.’ The five pointed star has been for ages the symbol of the earthly Messenger. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says in the Tablet of the Ringstone: ‘The two stars represent the divine origin and also the human personality of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, because the human being like the star has five points, the head, the two arms and the two legs.’
“The triangle has another symbolism, and a very beautiful one, that of humanity with its base upon the earth and its point reaching up to heaven, and this is also a part of the heavenly meaning of the six pointed star. The five pointed star was used by the early Christians as the symbol of Christ, and the cross came later with the introduction of theology into Christian teachings.
“The circle has been from very ancient periods the symbol of infinity and eternity, and is commonly seen upon the temple of India, especially associated with the serpent of the past. The square is the old cabalistic symbol of realization or manifesta tion in earthly form for the microcosm or human, while 8 or the cube is the symbol of realization for the Macrocosm or Divine Man. The glorious nine pointed star is of course the symbol of divine manifestation belonging to the new day. The Temple itself is a nine pointed star. Looked at from an aeroplane it would seem a great star dropped upon the ground, and when lighted at night all its nine points will appear brilliantly. The nine pointed star forms the beautiful roselike top of each window and door of the temple’s lower story, while at the center of each star gleams the decorative lettered form of the Greatest Name. This will be always illumined and shining, so that the Glory of the Most Glorious will penetrate every worshipper who enters the
temple. A larger replica of the same illumined symbol forms the