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The Globe (Title-page to the 1642 Latin edition of Francis Bacon’s History of the Reign of Henry VII) The globe, which Fortune stands on and turns with her feet, represents the natural world in which our psyche is embodied—the world of the individual person, or of families, nations or the whole planet. In this is included our destiny or karma. The path we take, with Fortune (our Guardian Angel) ‘rolling’ us, depends to some extent on the winds of fortune—winds which we create for ourselves plus those that are created by others. In this Henry VII title page illustration, because of the portrayal of the actor Will Shakspere looking at and touching the globe, it would seem to have an additional reference to the Globe Theatre. The Globe was deliberately built, using traditional sacred measurement and geometry, as an architectural microcosm of the world—hence the double meaning of the words, ‘All the world’s a stage...’ (Shakespeare, As You Like It, ii, 7). It is interesting to note that the first purpose-built Elizabethan outdoor playhouses had simple names related to the theatre, such as the Theatre (built 1576) and the Curtain (built 1577). But from the late 1580’s onwards the names of the new playhouses were all associated with classical symbology and the Mysteries: e.g. the Rose (built 1587), the Swan (built 1595), the Globe (built 1599) and the Fortune (built 1600). Interestingly these six theatres relate to each other by name in couples:-
It is therefore not without significance that the Globe and the Fortune theatres were built within a year of each other, and that the evidence for the design of each indicates that the geometric ground-plan of the Fortune was deliberately designed to ‘square’ the circle of the Globe. The ‘squaring of the circle’ is a geometric or architectural conundrum whose solution denotes philosophically the mystical marriage of spirit and matter, heaven and earth, wisdom and truth, etc., as described by the philosophers. This is not accidental, for the builders of the Fortune were instructed to follow the design of the Globe in all respects, except that the Fortune was to be square instead of circular. Unless one knows the secret of squaring the circle, and the meaning behind it, this seems to be not only an impossible task but a meaningless instruction. The ‘squaring of the circle’ is achieved when a square is created whose perimeter equals in measurement the circumference of the circle it is squaring; or, alternatively, whose area is the same as the area of the circle. Philosophically it means that two completely opposite states of being find their equality and harmony together. This is the case with the Globe and Fortune theatres, for whereas the circular yard of the Globe was delineated by a 70 ft diameter circle, around which the galleries were placed, the square yard of the Fortune was set out as a 55 ft x 55 ft square. A square of 55 ft x 55 ft will ‘square’ a circle of 70 ft diameter. Moreover, the original Theatre, which was located north of the City of London, was dismantled in 1598 and rebuilt in 1599 south of the River Thames, on Bankside. Very soon afterwards, in 1600, the Fortune was built directly north of the Globe, on the other side of the river and just outside Cripplegate on the north side of London. With north symbolising ‘above’ and south ‘below’ in esoteric symbolism, this arrangement seems no accident. Added to this, the two theatre companies whose homes these theatres were (the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe and the Lord Admiral’s Men at the Fortune), were the only ones to be permitted by royal charter to perform in London from 1598 onwards. (This situation remained in force until 1602, when Worcester’s Men amalgamated with Oxford’s Men and were admitted by Privy Council as a third London company, playing at the Red Bull.) © Peter Dawkins, FBRT, 1999 |
