Hello, my name is Stephen W.Dail, and I would like to introducethe reader to an ongoing projectof mine called "The CelestialArena". This project involves apatented Chess design which Iconstructed during the early 80'safter extensive research into thenature of this popular yetenigmatic game since the mid 70's.
Chess is one of the oldest gamesin the world and yet maintains aunique abiding interest to contemporary cultures. It has been portrayed as a stock media cliche'comparison to life's circumstances on a variety of levels i.e., social, political, and warfaredramatizations. Many attempts to define these analogies in a cohesive manner have beenattempted in the past, but its ethereal nature has resisted many who have tried to resolve itsattributes. The primary reason for this lies in the uncertainty of its origin which has never beendetermined with substantial proof, although its evolution and history is well known since itsarrival into European cultures during the early era of the Crusades in the 1100's.. The structural formula for the construction of this design, on the other hand, was inspired by thecontemporary pioneer of modern psychology, Carl G. Jung, who wrote in his collective works, "Aprimordial image is determined as to its content only when it has become conscious and istherefore filled out with the material of conscious experience. Its form, however, might perhapsbe compared to the axial system of a crystal, which as it were, preforms the crystalline structurein the mother liquid, although it has no material existence of its own." Another source ofinspiration for this design was the metaphysical writings of the author Herman Hesse, who was acontemporary associate of Jung's on occasion. His fictional work, "Magister Ludi, or TheGlass Bead Game", provided a basis for the objective of this project, although Hesse neverreferred to the game of Chess specifically as its focal point. His work has inspired many others,seeking a coalition of multilateral concepts of the natural sciences condensed into a singularity ofdiverse perspectives. There are even attempts being made on the internet to play a version of hisfictional game, as something of a Grand Unified Academic Theory, in accordance with theprincipals of Pythagoras' Academy. The first tenet of his school stated, "Let none ignorant ofGeometry enter herein". Geo-metry or Earth measurement, was regarded as the foundation onwhich all other arts and sciences of civilization were based in the ancient world. To begin an analysis of this design, a first look at the principles imbedded in the actual Chessboard are required. The ancient Greek myth of the Prometheus, stealing fire from the Gods forthe benefit of humanity is a central theme in this context. In this story, the fire is concealed in thehollow of a reed. The nature of this fire becomes apparent in the Greek gematric phrase, " (To Entechnon Pyr)-The Artificer's Fire" which has the value of 1-64=2080, thatrelates it to the 64sq. Chessboard pattern. The root stem of the Greek word entechnon is "Tech "as in tech-nology, tech-nique, etc. This value is referenced by the author, William Stirling in hisbook, "The Canon", as being the average mean measure of the side of a square called the "HolyOblation", described by the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament, or literally, thediameter of the sphere of the Zodiac contained within this square measured in reeds. The parallelbetween the two personages of Ezekiel and Prometheus' use of a "reed", an ancient instrument ofmeasurement is significant in this analogy. That many ancient cultures concealed their knowledgeof the Heavens in numerical words and metaphoric descriptions is fast gaining a renewedawareness in the world today due in part to the rapid spread of information on the internet. This issomewhat disconcerting to many with previously held notions that were once taught as irrefutabledogma, that ancient cultures were less sophisticated, ignorant and superstitious childrenregarding their beliefs and cosmological depictions of the world around them. To paraphrase JohnMichell's forward address found in W. Stirling's, "The Canon", which was recently republishedlast year, those who are as yet unaware of the renewed and often startling discoveries being madein this field of study and research, are more likely the ignorant children, in this case.. Somewhatcoincidental to this situation is the gematric sum of the Greek word for Truth- Aletheia"", which has the value of 64 found in the Chessboard. And so the Chessboard could perhaps be labeled a, Table of Truth prepared in advance in whichto present the six crystalline figures of the "Celestial Arena". They are representations of thesealpha/numeric concepts in a new format. The structure of these figures are self-referential topographical depictions of their own movements across the board. They have facet structuretotals that equate to certain gematric names and phrases for each individual figure as well, toliterally describe themselves in this context. Those who are still unfamiliar with the gematricnotational systems of the Greek and Hebrew cultures, a demonstration of this system is providedbelow in order to get an idea of how it works. An example of this system which I have found useful concerns the Greek word, Pente-gram, "-µ", which is a compound word with the separate meanings, five and write. Thegematric value of these two separate components totals 584, which is the number of days in theplanet Venus's synodic orbital extreme from the Sun, when viewed from the Earth, as it literallytraces a pentagram in the Zodiac circle, marking five points every eight years. The ratio of thisEarth/Venus orbital cycle, or 365/584 days is 1/1.6 so that when this cycle is converted into aspatial circumference of 360 degrees, the ratio renders the total 576, which equates to the Greekword, "Pneuma"-Spirit. Constructing words and phrases based on such natural observationalphenomena such as this was the basis of many religious tenets, and the early science of astronomywas intrinsically bound to the religious beliefs of these early cultures. The primary source of Life on our planet Earth is of course the Sun, and so it would be a naturaltendency to ascribe many words and phrases relevant to ancient religions, based on the geometryand numerical patterns of the Sun square, 1-36=666. The unit component of the Sun square is itsmultiple 37, or 18x37=666. This unit is a Key figurate number with various geometrical counterarrangements applicable to it, forming both triangles and hexagons. The most significant use ofthis number would have to be found in the Christian holy name, "Jesus Christ" which in its Greekform, " " totals, 64x37=2368. The I Ching reserves an especially relevanthexagram to the 37th. place called Chia Jen-The Family. The text of the Wilhem/Baynestranslation of the I Ching alludes to this cryptic number's importance with the following remarks,"All societies, cultures, and nations originate from families. It is the nuclear order, like the Sun,which generates its influence from within to extend outward into the world." In most ancientreligious cultural beliefs, their deities are arranged into a family structure. The lessanthropomorphic structure of the Primary Trigrams that compose the 64 hexagrams of the IChing's system are arranged accordingly, with a Father, Mother and three each sons anddaughters, differentiated by the 8 possible arrangements of three solid and broken lines called Yinand Yang. With these concepts in mind, I would like to introduce to the reader, to another lookat these principals and ideas that are imbedded in the structure of the figures of CelestialChessworks, which I hope you will find,,Facet-nating. Facet Totals of the Celestial Arena
Two books published in the mid 80's entitled,"The Genius of China", by Robert K. Temple,and "The Oxford Companion to Chess", byDavid Hooper and Kenneth Whyld givereferences to the scholarly assertions made by thelate Joseph Needham of the Institute of OrientalStudies in Cambridge UK, who claimed itsoriginal purpose was as a divination tool of anastro-geomantic system, devised in accordancewith the tenets expounded in the I Ching. Thestructural basis for this assertion is obvious in theparallel found in the 64 squares of the board, andthe same number of hexagrams found in theBook of Changes. However, very littleinformation was given by Needham as to itsfunctional operatives in this regard, except for some speculative references to its association tothe numerical patterns found in magic squares. These are sequential ordered arrangements ofnumbers that form equal totals in their rows, columns and diagonals. They have been ascribed aplanetary significance since before the Christian era. The earliest known reference to a square ofthis nature is found in the I Ching and ascribed to a legendary emperor Yu in 2200 BC. Thispattern of the square 3 forms the foundation of the attributes of the I Ching divination system. InWestern traditions, it is ascribed to the planet Saturn. The Chessboard itself is associated with theplanet square of Mercury-8, or messenger of the ancient pantheon of Greek and later Romangods. 
When I first began writing the interpretive aspectsof this design back in the mid 80's, very littleknowledge was conveniently available to describethis design properly. Throughout the years sincethen, a literal avalanche of information bothpublished and provided on the internet has openedmany perspectives for my personal awareness ofthis design's structural interpretation, whichcontinues to unfold to this day. The majorinfluence on the development of the design priorto its construction came from the early writings ofthe author John Michell entitled, "The View overAtlantis", and "City of Revelation". These stillsomewhat rare works were an eye opener for meback in the early 70's, and contained a wealth ofpreviously hidden information on the constructiveprocesses of ancient cultures based on geometricprincipals that were handed down through theages in a somewhat obscure and secretive manner,collectively described as a "Canon" of ratios andproportions that literally governed many earlyculture's artistic expressions of divine themes. Michell's books also presented the systems ofGematria, or number languages used by theancient Greek and Hebrew cultures that contained and preserved the encoded interpretations oftheir mythic lore and divinely inspired writings pertaining to religious themes based on this sameCanon. You can click on the magazine title, Atlantis Rising for a great interview of J. Michellpublished in 1997, which I found on the internet for a summary of his work.
| Front Total (apparent mode) | Side Total (apparent mode) | Ratio (reduced) |
| King: 26 | 14 | 7/13 |
| Queen: 9 | 8 | 8/9 |
| Bishop: 14 | 10 | 5/7 |
| Knight: 13/alt.14 | 7 | 7/13, alt. 1/2 |
| Rook: 13 | 5 | 5/13 |
| Pawn: 5 | 5 | 5/5 or 1 |
| Total: 80/ alt.81 | 49 |
These totals and ratios are found in the "Apparent Mode" of viewing the figures in their separatefront and side perspectives. They create interactive gematric values, individually and collectivelythrough addition, multiplication and square root processes or equations. The foundationalprincipal of a "Holographic" work of art is that a fragment of the picture should contain theinformational content of the whole image. This rule applies to the figures of Celestial Chessworksas well, as you shall see. Looking at the totals in the "apparent" structural mode of the figures,the total of the front is 81 in the alt. sum which equates to the Moon-9sq., denoting the reflectiveaspect of Light. The side total of 49 is the square of Venus-7, which coincides with the refractiveprincipal of Light diffraction into the traditional spectrum of 7 distinctive color bands orfrequencies. The denominators of the design's ratios, or the set's front facets in their reducedratio mode, act as multiples which equate to the square of 64 as follows, 13x9x7x5= 4095+1=4096 or 64sq.. This represents the full permutation spectrum of the I Ching system, of 4096hexagram lines denoted by the changing values of Yin and Yang positions indicating current andfuture conditions.
The figure of the Knight in Celestial Chessworks is rather unique in that it has two apparentfrontal values depending on its dual state, which is somewhat intrinsic to the enigmatic movementof this figure across the board in two directions as well. This distinction is emphasized by thefollowing equation which use the facet multiples of the other figure's front/side perspectives asfollows, King: (14x26=364) + Queen: (8x9=72) + Bishop: (10x14=140) + Rook: (13x5=65) +Pawn: (5x5=25), for a total of 666, or the Sun square total of 1-36. The enigmatic Knightrepresents the stereoscopic principal of either depth perception, or inner and outer vision of theEye and Mind. When the dualistic multiples of the Knight figure, are re-added to the rest of theset's total of 666 separately as; (13x7=91+666)+(14x7=98+666)=1521, the principal of squarevalues is preserved, as this total is a double set of either 39sq., or (13sq.=169 x 3sq.=9) to total1521. Now that the "Apparent Structural Mode", structure of the figures has been defined, thenext process is to outline the "Actual Structural Mode" of the set. This is the 3-dimensional facettotal of each figure, as opposed to its two separate 2-dimensional views previously presented intheir front/side perspectives.
Celestial Chess 3-Dimensional Totals
| KING: 60 | QUEEN: 34 | BISHOP: 28 |
| KNIGHT: 41 | ROOK: 40 | PAWN: 16 |
TOTAL: 219
This is an interesting number value, as it is the product of the square of 14.80 or14.80sq.=219.04. In the gematric system, a single unit called a colel can be either added orsubtracted from a value to give a whole integer total to a word or phrase as required withoutaltering its intent. In this case the value 14.80 represents a fractional decimal unit of 1480, thetotal of the Greek word "-Christos", meaning "Annointed". This title, is a Sun squaremultiple as 37x40=1480. If the 14.80 value is multiplied by the square of Jupiter- 4, or (16 x14.80), the total 236.8, forms another decimal fractional unit of the aforementioned holy name,"Jesus Christ-2368". This total of 219 is unique in that the sum of this name can be found anotherway by the equation,( 219/37=5.92 x Jupiter-4) = 23.68, to create yet another fractional decimalform of its whole integer value. Fractional multiples of divine given names such as these can befound in many of the holy writings of ancient cultures. Some are fractal in their structure, therebyperpetuating an infinite series of ever expanding geometric forms. One of the most interestingapplications I have discovered in this context, is the value 219 divided by the Moon-9 sq. productof 81, (the apparent front reflective aspect of this design's total facets) = 2.703703703. This canbe viewed as a recursive fractal value of 2701, overlapping its first and last digits endlessly intoinfinity. This 2701 value is another figurate number in a series as the 73rd. triangle, and the 37th.hexagon of this sequence, or 37 x 73 =2701. It is highly significant as the sum of the HebrewGematric system's beginning verse of Genesis 1.1 that states, "In the beginning, Elohim createdthe Heavens and the Earth." The Hebraic notation of Gen. 1.1 is given here for reference: "-296 + -407 + -395 + -401 + -86 + -203 + -913" which totals, 2701. (OK, so maybe theHebraic notation will have to wait until I can get a compatible operating font system worked outon this aspect of the presentation.) There is no end to all of the speculation currently beingformulated as to the meaning of all of the Gematric code topics being debated finally, but itdefinitely appears that the originators of these language codes knew a great deal more aboutgeometric forms than they are given credit for. It is highly unlikely that the philosopher Platooriginated the first five solids geometric forms, but all one has to go by in this matter is what isavailable from remaining texts or fragments thereof from that era. As to how this knowledge wasacquired is anyone's guess as well. My interests in these notations systems, is that they providesome interesting descriptions to the design of the Celestial Arena figures, and that thesedescriptions form recognizable patterns conducive to the era that the game of Chess probablyoriginated. My educated guess in this case is that Chess has been around at least since Adam orthe 6th day of Creation. HA!
A final consideration of the 3-dimensional total value of 219 facets of the Celestial Chess figuresis its relationship to the first example of the pentagram ratio I presented earlier. This value is acontinuation of the Phi ratio as 219+365=584 as in days in the Venus synodic cycle, which in itsreduced mode is 3,5,8 proportionally. Using the same conversion factor that was used tointerface units of days into units of spatial degrees, the fractional variant of 219 yields 216. In theWilhelm/Baynes edition of the I Ching, in the section entitled Ta Chuan-The Great Treatise, is areference to this value in the descriptive methodology of the Yarrow stalk oracle that generatesthe first hexagram of "The Creative" totaling 216 stalks. Consequently, the second hexagram of"The Receptive", totals 144 stalks, making it an obvious reference to a yearly cycle of 360 days,divided by this same proportional Phi ratio. It is not surprising in this case, that the number ofstalks used in this divination process should be 49 or the 7-Venus square.
The following sections of this presentation will show the individual interpretations of the CelestialChess figures. Just click on the individual images below to take you to each figure's separatepage.
1st. Update:1-14-01 Celestial Chessworks
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