The Flower of Life, explained.
How the figure is built
You need only a compass. Draw a circle. Put the point of the compass anywhere on its edge and draw a second circle of the same size. Put the point where the two circles cross and draw the next one. After six circles around the first you have seven circles in all: this figure is called the Seed of Life. Add the next ring and you reach 19 circles: the Flower of Life. The counts 1, 7, 19, 37 continue as long as you keep drawing rings.
Where it appears in history
Grids of overlapping circles are old and appear in many cultures. A mosaic in the palace of Herod the Great from the first century BCE shows a pattern of seven circles. At Abydos in Egypt, figures of 19 circles were drawn in red ochre on granite columns; their age is disputed, and they are usually dated to the first centuries CE. Leonardo da Vinci studied the geometry of the figure in drawings now in the Codex Atlanticus.
Where the name comes from
For most of its history the pattern had no fixed name. The term Flower of Life is modern. It became widely known through the New Age movement, especially through the books of Drunvalo Melchizedek, whose The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life appeared in 1999.
What the Flower of Life means
A meaning is something people give a figure, not something the figure contains. Today many people read the Flower of Life as a sign of connection and growth: every circle touches the others, and the pattern can grow without end. For mathematicians and craftspeople it is simply a beautiful construction with a compass. Both readings are honest.
Claims you will read
You will find claims that the Flower of Life holds a code of creation, heals, or charges and structures water. There is no reliable scientific evidence for any of them. We like the figure for a simpler reason: it is calm, exact and very old, and placing an object on it can turn a small daily act into a ritual.
The Flower of Life and water
Many people set a glass or a carafe of water on the Flower of Life, as a small ritual: a moment of attention before the first sip. Some say the water tastes softer afterwards. We like this ritual and do it ourselves, and that is the honest extent of it. What you notice is your own perception, not a measurable change. There are no scientific studies showing that a coaster or a symbol alters water, and we do not claim that it does. If the ritual speaks to you, take it. If not, the coaster is still a beautiful place to set a glass down.
Masaru Emoto and the water crystal experiments
The Japanese author Masaru Emoto (1943-2014) became known for the book The Hidden Messages in Water. He froze water samples after exposing them to words, music or pictures and photographed the ice crystals: beautiful, symmetrical crystals after kind words, misshapen ones after harsh ones. His water experiment is still shared today, and so is the rice experiment that fans repeat at home. The scientific position is clear: Emoto's water crystal experiments were never independently confirmed, the selection of the photographed crystals was not blinded, and there is no established mechanism by which a word or a symbol could change the structure of water. For us, Emoto's books are the beginning of the story, not its proof. They led us to treat water with more attention, and our coasters grew out of that. Whether you take them as a ritual is your decision.
The Flower of Life at Cosmic Peace Council
We are making coasters with the Flower of Life, in copper and in stainless steel, in two sizes. They are not available yet.
Questions
What is the difference between the Seed of Life and the Flower of Life?
The Seed of Life has seven circles: one in the centre and six around it. The Flower of Life continues the pattern to 19 circles.
Is the Flower of Life Egyptian?
No single culture owns it. Overlapping circles appear in many places and periods. The figures at Abydos are famous, but their age is uncertain and the name is modern.
Does the Flower of Life have special powers?
There is no scientific evidence for that. It is a geometric figure with a long history, and its meaning is the one people give it.
Is the Flower of Life connected to Masaru Emoto?
Only in our story. Masaru Emoto's books about water crystals led us to treat water with more attention. Emoto's experiments were never independently confirmed, and our coasters promise no effect on water.