Glossary entry

Metatron's Cube

noun · / ˈmɛt.ə.trɒnz kjuːb / · sacred geometry figure

A sacred geometry figure constructed from 13 circles arranged in the Fruit of Life pattern, with all 78 possible straight lines drawn between every pair of circle centres. Contains the 2D projections of all five Platonic Solids (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron). Named for the archangel Metatron in Jewish kabbalistic tradition; the contemporary western-esoteric form was popularised by Drunvalo Melchizedek in the 1990s.

By Sarah Chen · Last updated 15 May 2026

Construction

Start with the 13-circle Fruit of Life arrangement — a specific subset of the 19-circle Flower of Life consisting of the central circle, the 6 inner-ring circles, and 6 of the outer-ring circles selected to maintain hexagonal symmetry. Connect every pair of the 13 circle centres with a straight line. With 13 centres, the line count is C(13,2) = 78 lines. The resulting figure is Metatron's Cube.

The Platonic Solids inside

By selecting specific subsets of the 78 lines, the 2D projections of all five Platonic Solids can be traced within Metatron's Cube:

Tetrahedron (4 faces) — visible directly.
Cube (6 faces) — visible directly.
Octahedron (8 faces) — visible directly.
Dodecahedron (12 pentagonal faces) — requires careful selection of inner triangles.
Icosahedron (20 faces) — requires careful selection of inner triangles.

This containment is the geometric basis for the western-esoteric claim that Metatron's Cube is the "blueprint of creation" that holds all five Platonic Solids in one figure.

Origin

Metatron is an archangel in Jewish kabbalistic tradition, sometimes identified as the heavenly scribe or as the angelic counterpart of the prophet Enoch. The figure of "Metatron's Cube" as the 13-circle 78-line construction does not appear in classical Jewish kabbalistic sources under that name. The geometric figure itself is older — appearing in medieval Christian manuscript ornamentation, hermetic alchemy diagrams, and Renaissance geometry texts as a visual demonstration of the relationship between the Platonic Solids — but the naming as "Metatron's Cube" was a 20th-century innovation, popularised by Drunvalo Melchizedek in The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life (1998-2000).

In Grid Maker Pro

Implemented as the Metatron's Cube overlay — one of 20 sacred geometry overlays. The overlay can render with the 13 circles only, with the 78 lines only, or with both layers visible. SVG export is useful for tattoo artists and designers who need to refine the figure in vector software.

Related terms

Sacred geometry — the broader category.
Flower of Life — the 19-circle pattern from which Metatron's Cube derives.

Citations

Plato. Timaeus, c. 360 BC. Source for the five Platonic Solids contained in Metatron's Cube.
Melchizedek, Drunvalo. The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, Vol. 1-2. Light Technology, 1998-2000.

Definition

Metatron's Cube is a sacred-geometry figure constructed by drawing every possible straight line between the thirteen centres of the Flower of Life — one centre circle plus the twelve surrounding it. The resulting geometry contains all five Platonic solids in two-dimensional projection: the tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. It is the densest, most generative geometric figure in the sacred-geometry catalogue, and the one most often used in contemporary spiritual-art and tattoo-design contexts where multiple symbols must coexist within a single composition.

Metatron's Cube. Thirteen centres, every connecting line drawn — the Platonic solids emerge in projection.

Etymology and origin

The figure is named for the angel Metatron in Jewish mystical tradition (Talmud, Sefer ha-Heichalot c. 5th–6th century). The geometric figure itself — thirteen circles with their connecting lines — is older than the name, appearing in Mesopotamian and Roman mosaic geometry. The modern association with the angel Metatron emerges from medieval Kabbalistic texts, particularly the Zohar (c. 13th century), where Metatron is described as the "scribe of God" overseeing creation's geometric foundations. Contemporary use draws heavily on Drunvalo Melchizedek's The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life (1990), which popularised the figure in New Age spiritual contexts.

In practice

Tattoo artists use the figure as a base composition for chest-piece and back-piece work — its hexagonal symmetry distributes weight evenly across the body. Spiritual-art illustrators layer additional symbols (Sri Yantra, Flower of Life, Tree of Life) onto the Metatron's Cube scaffold, using its dense geometry as a coordinate system. Geometric mandala painters use it as the underlying construction for complex symmetrical patterns. The Grid Maker Pro overlay shows the figure at the correct construction — circle-to-circle lines, not approximate freehand — for those who care about the geometry being right.

Sources

Melchizedek, Drunvalo. The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, Vol. 1. Light Technology, 1990.

Critchlow, Keith. Order in Space: A Design Source Book. Thames & Hudson, 1969. The standard reference on geometric construction.

Lundy, Miranda. Sacred Geometry. Wooden Books, 1998. Compact introduction to the figure's mathematical context.