How to construct the Sri Yantra

1. Draw a circle and a vertical straight line that is its diameter.
2. Mark out 48 equal sized parts in the diameter.
3. Mark off the 6th, 12th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 30th, 36th & 42nd divisions. Draw chords through these marked-off points at right angles to the diameter and label them 1-9.
4. At each end of a chord, rub off 1/16th of chord no. 1, 5/48ths of chord no. 2, 1/3rd of chord no. 4, 3/8ths of chord no. 5, 1/3rd of chord no. 6, 1/12th of chord no. 8 & 1/16th of chord no. 9.
5. Draw triangles with shortened chord nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 & 9 as bases and the middle points of nos. 6, 9, 8, 7, 2, 1 & 3 respectively as their apices.
6. Draw two triangles with nos. 3 & 7 as their bases and the lower and the upper ends of the diameter as their respective apices.
7. Place the bindu at the middle of the central triangle.
8. Mark off 16 equidistant points on the circumference of the circle, starting from the top end of the vertical diameter, and construct 8 petals of the lotus around the circumference.
9. Circumscribe a circle touching the outer extremity of the petals. Divide the circumference of this circle into 32 equal divisions and draw symmetrically sixteen petals over them, as before.
10. Circumscribe a circle touching the extremity of the 16 petals. Enclose this circle with two concentric circles so that the middle one is the same distance apart from the two others.
11. Draw three squares enclosing the outermost circle, equidistant from one another and the innermost one not touching the outer circle. Mark off four doorways in the middle of the sides of the square.

(Warning: the construction of the Sri Yantra is very unforgiving towards small errors. Lines need to be drawn as accurately as possible, otherwise they will not intersect at a common point to create corners of triangles). See an animation of this construction here.

The division of the vertical diameter into 48 equal segments is highly significant, for this number is one of the defining parameters of holistic systems, e.g., the 48 points, lines & triangles making up the outer Tree of Life (see here) and the 48 corners of the seven separate polygons making up each half of the inner Tree of Life (see here). The table of the gematria number values of the Sephiroth, their Godnames, etc indicates that it is the number value of Kokab, the Kabbalistic name of the Mundane Chakra of Hod. Its astrological association is the planet Mercury.

Construction of the Sri Yantra from the template of the Vesica Piscis

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