Geometry in Nature, Art and Cosmos:

The Sacred Patterns of a Living Universe

7th - 11th September 2026

Immersive Residential, Rill Estate, South Devon

In this immersive, five-day residential course, we invite you to step into the ancient craft of Sacred Geometry – a discipline where the head, hands, and heart converge. Guided by renowned tutor and author Tom Bree, this course is a practical, hands-on exploration of the patterns of nature as the living language of a vibrant, meaningful and interconnected  cosmos.

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Key Information

  • At the beautiful Rill Estate in our local bioregion of South Devon.

  • 7 – 11 September, 2026

  • £800 - £920 (single and shared rooms)

  • This is a five-day residential course

What This Course Offers

This course embodies the core Schumacher ethos: learning through deep relationship, hands-on craft, and intuitive inquiry. Patterns found in nature explicitly inform practice, while practice in turn enacts and illuminates the hidden, implicit order of the natural world. Through the meditative act of drawing with a compass and straightedge, you will learn to align your own inner landscape with the underlying patterns of the Earth and the wider universe.

What you will explore:

  • The Science of Qualities: Move beyond mere measurement to experience number and shape as qualitative expressions of natural pattern, cosmic archetype and spiritual reality.

  • Embodied Craft: Bridge intellect and physical intuition by working on the drawing board. You will learn the rigorous, hands-on technical practices of pattern-making that have anchored sacred art across generations.

  • Cosmic Interconnectedness: Trace how the beautiful symmetries found in flora reflect the wider, macrocosmic movements of planetary geometry.

  • Wisdom in Community: Share in a holistic living experience. Alongside our studio work, we will ground our inquiries in communal meals, nature connection, and reflective dialogue, exploring quotes from exploring the thoughts and teachings of many who have long championed a naturally existing cosmic "order."

Course Structure

Day 1: The Blueprint of Nature and the Cosmos 

We begin our inquiry by observing how geometry reveals itself directly within the natural world. We will study the delicate geometries of flowers and organic life before expanding our gaze outward to the wider cosmos and the realms of "planetary geometry." 

Day 2: The Sacred Mirror: Art, Architecture, and Sixfoldness 

We will look at our ancestors' deep awareness of number and form, examining why sacred art and architecture were designed explicitly to reflect the inner workings of the universe. We will explore the magic of Pi and sixfold geometry, anchoring these artistic symmetries back into the living patterns of nature.

Day 3: The Cross and the Star: Four and Eightfold Geometry 

Through precise compass work, we explore the qualities of stability, manifestation, and orientation. We will discover how the rhythms of the four directions, the seasons, and the architectural foundations of sacred spaces across the world emerge from these essential grids.

Day 4: Cosmic Synthesis: Twelvefold Geometry 

We will ascend into the complex beauty of twelvefold geometry. Often associated with time, the zodiac, and systemic wholeness, the twelvefold pattern represents a culmination of the three, four, and sixfold rhythms combined. You will learn the intricate technical steps to weave these expansive patterns, witnessing how multiple mathematical truths harmonize into a singular, beautiful whole.

Day 5: The Living Ratio: Fivefold, Tenfold, and the Golden Mean 

On our final day, we explore the geometries most deeply aligned with life, growth, and regeneration: fivefold and tenfold systems, alongside the mysterious Golden Ratio (Phi). We will look at how nature utilizes these particular proportions to design everything from the spiral of a sunflower to the human form.

Why Join This Course

We are nature, we are the ‘conscious’ living cells within our mother planet – to divorce ourselves from nature is to divorce ourselves from ourselves” 

- Prof Keith Critchlow

To draw beautiful patterns is to be reminded of the harmonious patterns that exist within us. One of the greatest problems in the modern world has been the change of relationship between humanity and the natural world and wider cosmos. This is born of a misperception that we have the capacity to be 'outside of nature' and therefore able to analyse it so as to know more about it. This had led to our attempts to control and manipulate the natural world rather than recognising our participation within it and indeed that we are nature herself. 

This course uses an age-old artistic practice to recover a sense of participation with the intelligence and wisdom of nature. Participants will draw beautiful geometric patterns using compasses and ruler. The central theme of the course explores how harmonious and ordered patterns underlie the processes of nature as well as the wider cosmos. To draw such patterns is to re-synchronise oneself with this naturally occurring harmony.

Venue

This is a week long course running from Monday 7th - Friday 12th September 2026, hosted in-person at the beautiful Rill Estate in our local bioregion of South Devon. You will be held by the presence of the River Dart, rolling hills and ancient woodland. You will live in community with others and come together over shared meals and activities that harness joy, relaxation, and connection. Our vegetarian food is freshly and lovingly prepared on site, and we can cater to any dietary requirements needed. To ensure your comfort, we have a range of single and shared rooms available.

Fee

£800 - £920 (single and shared rooms)

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Facilitators

Tom Bree

Tom Bree is a master geometer, artist, and teacher who has spent the past 20 years dedicated to the practice and preservation of Sacred Geometry. He teaches extensively at institutions such as The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London and runs international workshops. Tom is widely renowned for his unique teaching style, which seamlessly synthesizes rigorous technical precision with a profound exploration of philosophical and spiritual meaning. He is the author of The Cosmos in Stone, an in-depth exploration of the geometry embedded within Wells Cathedral.

Sophie Craven

Sophie is an interdisciplinary facilitator, host, learning and programme specialist, researcher and artist. Her work revolves around developing and strengthening a sense of deep curiosity and rich community in spaces of learning and inquiry. She draws from a range of modalities, disciplines and praxis in her work, all geared towards the surfacing and holding of paradox and co-existing truths. Sophie is also founder, co-ordinator and host of The Convivial, an intimate civic learning space for imagination, ecology and place-based research and arts, nestled in the heart of Penryn, Cornwall.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • This course is an open invitation to anyone seeking a deeper, more participatory connection with the living world around them.

  • No prior mathematical or artistic background is required, only an open mind and a willingness to experiment and be creative.

  • This is an immersive in-person course, in community with others. We invite you to participate with presence.

  • Essential materials will be provided. Feel free to bring any materials that may support your creativity or comfort. Some sessions may be held outside and weather during the autumnal season can be changeable, so please come prepared with suitable clothing and footwear.

The Venue

What Participants Say…

"I consider it a privilege to learn from Tom. I appreciate his depth and breadth of knowledge of Sacred Geometry, across diverse cultures and time. Combined with his skills in teaching all levels, his passion, and the fact that he lives and breathes his topic, I am always inspired and continuously surprised at what I achieve under his guidance. I thoroughly enjoy his classes."

- Course Participant