The Blazing Star, a Geometric Path

The Blazing Star: A Geometric Path to the Golden Ratio

Omnipresent in Masonic imagery (at least since 1737), the Blazing Star refers to a five-pointed star (or pentagram), generally adorned with the letter "G" at its center, and sometimes surrounded by rays of Light. Closely associated with the Fellow Craft degree, it appears on many Masonic objects and accessories, such as the Lodge Tracing Board and the Fellow Craft Apron.

Often described as a symbol of creative intelligence or human Genius, the Blazing Star has been interpreted in various ways. For some, the letter "G" at its center stands for God, and some replace it with the Hebrew letter Yod, the first letter of the divine Tetragrammaton; for others, it represents Gnosis, that is, Knowledge; still others interpret it as referring to Geometry, which the rituals describe as "the most useful science to Masons."

These interpretations are not mutually exclusive, but the assertion that the letter "G" signifies Geometry seems to us, in many respects, the most relevant. It is also the most inclusive, as it encompasses God (the Grand Architect of the Universe, referred to as the Great Geometer of the Universe in some Fellow Craft rituals) and Gnosis, or knowledge.

Indeed, apart from its strictly Masonic considerations, the pentagram presents highly interesting geometric characteristics, and it is no coincidence that Pythagoras chose it as the emblem of his School. While the pentagram does not appear to have played any specific theoretical role among medieval builders (at least not in any obvious way), this may be due to the fact that trade secrets were closely guarded. It is quite likely that the teaching of the pentagram was one of the most important secrets of the builders, as it belongs fully to what is known as the Art of the Trace—the technique of geometric designs using only the Rule and Compass, without reference to numerical mathematics.

The Blazing Star can be easily drawn with just these two tools, and some Lodges still teach this tracing to their Fellow Crafts.

But what is so special about this tracing of the Blazing Star?
It provides an easy way to find the Golden Ratio purely by geometric means, without using mathematical calculations or even knowing the value of Phi, which is the mathematical expression of the golden proportion (1.6180339087, usually rounded to 1.618).

In the 19th and 20th centuries, a true fascination with the Golden Ratio emerged within esoteric and Masonic circles. This is illustrated by Matila Ghyka’s famous book The Golden Number: Pythagorean Rites and Rhythms in the Development of Western Thought (1931), regarded by some esotericists as the Bible of sacred geometry. The Golden Ratio was believed to explain everything and to demonstrate the immense knowledge of the Ancients.

However, some scholars dispute that the Golden Ratio was intentionally used before its mathematical definition, which dates only to the Renaissance. They argue that its presence in certain architectural structures, such as the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is more a matter of coincidence than deliberate design.
We do not necessarily share this overly rationalist and intellectualist opinion: the Art of the Trace, symbolized by the Blazing Star, shows how easily even a humble craftsman could find and use the Golden Ratio through geometry, without the need for reading or writing skills.
This knowledge was accessible to all, even before the invention of algebra.