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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame Musica universalis (lit. universal music, or '''music of the spheres''') is an ancient philosophical [[concep...'
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Musica universalis (lit. universal music, or '''music of the spheres''') is an ancient philosophical [[concept]] that regards [[proportions]] in the movements of [[celestial]] bodies—the [[Sun]], [[Moon]], and [[planets]]—as a form of ''musica'' (the Medieval [[Latin]] name for music). This 'music' is not usually [[thought]] to be [[literally]] audible, but a harmonic and/or [[mathematical]] and/or [[religious]] concept. The idea continued to appeal to [[thinkers]] about music until the end of the [[Renaissance]], influencing [[scholars]] of many kinds, including humanists.

The Music of the Spheres incorporates the [[metaphysical]] principle that [[mathematical]] [[relationships]] express qualities or ‘[[tones]]' of [[energy]] which [[manifest]] in [[numbers]], visual angles, shapes and sounds – all connected within a [[pattern]] of [[proportion]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras Pythagoras] first identified that the pitch of a musical [[note]] is in proportion to the length of the string that produces it, and that [[intervals]] between harmonious sound [[frequencies]] form simple numerical [[ratios]]. In a [[theory]] known as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony_of_the_Spheres Harmony of the Spheres], Pythagoras proposed that the [[Sun]], [[Moon]] and [[planets]] all emit their own unique hum ([[orbital]] [[resonance]]) based on their orbital revolution, and that the [[quality]] of life on Earth [[reflects]] the tenor of [[celestial]] [[sounds]] which are physically imperceptible to the human ear. Subsequently, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Plato] described [[astronomy]] and [[music]] as "twinned" studies of [[sensual]] recognition: astronomy for the eyes, music for the ears, and both requiring [[knowledge]] of [[numerical]] [[proportions]].

Later philosophers retained the close [[association]] between [[astronomy]], [[optics]], [[music]] and [[astrology]], including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy Ptolemy], who wrote influential [[texts]] on all these topics. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkindi Alkindi], in the 9th century, developed Ptolemy's ideas in ''De Aspectibus'' which [[explores]] many points of relevance to [[astrology]] and the use of planetary aspects.

In the 17th century, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler Johannes Kepler], also influenced by [[arguments]] in Ptolemy’s ''Tetrabiblos, Optics and Harmonica'', compiled his ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonices_Mundi Harmonices Mundi]'' ('Harmony of the World'), which presented his own [[analysis]] of optical [[perceptions]], geometrical shapes, musical consonances and [[planetary]] [[harmonies]]. According to Kepler, the connection between [[geometry]] (and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_geometry sacred geometry]), [[cosmology]], [[astrology]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic harmonics], and [[music]] is through ''musica universalis''. Kepler regarded this [[text]] as the most important work of his [[career]], and the fifth part, concerning the role of [[planetary]] harmony in [[creation]], the crown of it. His premise was that, as an integral part of Universal Law, [[mathematical]] [[harmony]] is the key that binds all [[parts]] together: one theoretical [[proposition]] from his work introduced the minor planetary aspects and harmonics into astrology; another introduced [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motion Kepler’s third law of planetary motion into astronomy].

The three branches of the Medieval concept of musica were presented by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius Boethius] in his book De Musica:

*''musica universalis'' (sometimes referred to as musica mundana)
*''musica humana'' (the internal music of the human body)
*''musica instrumentalis'' (sounds made by singers and instrumentalists)

According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Heindel Max Heindel]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucian Rosicrucian] writings, the heavenly "music of the spheres" is heard in the Region of Concrete Thought, the lower region of the mental plane, which is an ocean of harmony.

It is also referred to in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric_Christianity Esoteric Christianity] as the place where the state of consciousness known as the "Second Heaven" occurs.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_spheres]

[[Category: Mathematics]]
[[Category: Cosmology]]

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