In the gardens of Coral Castle, visitors are unprepared for the startling stone sculptures made from hard coral rock. Its architect and engineer, Edward Leedskalnin, seemed to defy ordinary expectations of physics as he shaped and moved enormous blocks of stone, leaving behind tantalizing clues that hint at possible metaphysical secrets.
This unusual castle, located near Homestead, Florida, has long been the focus of study and speculation. Leedskalnin, a relatively small man, apparently constructed and moved massive stone monuments largely by himself, without modern machinery or a large labor force. It was the lifetime work of one man who often worked at night, apparently employing his own understanding of gravity, magnetism, leverage, and physical laws. His achievement continues to fascinate engineers as well as metaphysicians who suspect that he may have understood principles not immediately apparent to the casual observer.
Coral Castle consists of high coral-stone walls enclosing approximately an acre. The interior is open and, at first glance, appears to contain an almost random assortment of stone sculptures: rocking chairs, moons, planetary forms, tables and chairs shaped like Florida and a heart, and a grotto associated with the story of the Three Bears. Other configurations include the Repentance Corner, stone beds and bathtubs, obelisks, and structures revealing Leedskalnin’s remarkable interest in astronomy.
I could not escape the impression that certain energy relationships had influenced his choice and arrangement of the site. At particular places, one may even experience the curious sensation of being pulled backward. Whether magnetic, psychological, or something more subtle, the effect adds to the mystery.
An observation post contains a small opening directed toward Polaris. Crossed wires focus the eye toward a nearby obelisk containing another opening near its top. The larger aperture appears to frame the path of Polaris within a circular field. On the north wall is another configuration suggestive of Masonic symbolism: a right angle lying across a rectangular form created by two cubes. Through this wall, Leedskalnin bored an opening aligned toward true north. From an exact position, the observer can again sight Polaris through the angular opening.
On the eastern wall, several coral forms represent Mars, Saturn, a large moon, and a smaller moon. This arrangement is particularly interesting from an occult point of view because these heavenly bodies have long been associated with influences upon human personality.
The Moon may be viewed symbolically as the personality, illuminated by the light of the Sun as the Soul illuminates the lesser self. Mars is traditionally associated with conflict, desire, and the lower nature of man, while Saturn holds a formidable position as the planet of limitation, discipline, and restriction. The Moon itself has long carried occult associations with man’s personality and emotional nature.
Did Leedskalnin deliberately conceal occult knowledge within these planetary sculptures, or was the arrangement merely his homage to the heavens? The question remains open. Yet there is an unmistakable emphasis upon the Moon throughout the garden. Not only are moons carved upon the eastern wall, but beneath two crescent moons placed back to back he constructed a reflecting pool.
In this pool he placed a six-pointed star carved from smooth coral. The six-pointed star appears in other, less obvious locations throughout the castle. It is an ancient symbol that long predates its later religious associations and has been linked with occult wisdom and universal principles. Others have connected the form with Latvia, Leedskalnin’s native country, where similar star imagery has cultural significance.
The star within the reflecting pool is particularly striking because its surface has been deliberately smoothed. In occult symbolism, the six-pointed star may be interpreted as the interlocking of an upward-pointing triangle representing spirit or soul and a downward-pointing triangle representing matter or personality. When the two unite, spirit and matter are reconciled.
Seen in this way, even the polished surface becomes suggestive. Man’s intervention has smoothed the rough edges of the crude coral substance, much as consciousness refines the personality. Placed within a reflecting pool, the star seems to emphasize another idea: that the lower man is but a reflection of his higher self, the Soul.
The Feast of Love table is a whimsical heart-shaped table surrounded by seven chairs. Was it Leedskalnin’s tribute to “Sweet Sixteen,” the young woman who, according to the familiar story of Coral Castle, rejected his proposal of marriage? The tale of Sweet Sixteen has become inseparable from the mythology surrounding the castle.
Was Leedskalnin simply a mechanical genius who surrounded his accomplishments with clues about lost love and a fascination with astronomy, or was he a dedicated seeker attempting to communicate discoveries to a public not yet prepared to understand them?
The Feast of Love table invites another interpretation. Love, in theosophical teaching, is regarded as a central magnetic principle of life. Our planetary system is associated with the Second Ray of Love-Wisdom, from which the seven rays find expression. It is therefore intriguing that seven chairs surround an altar in the shape of a heart.
Two openings in the walls align with the east and south. Their apparent function is directional, and near the intersection of those lines stands the Table of Love. Symbolically, life rises in the East and receives spiritual renewal from the South. Perhaps universal ideas exert their influence upon human consciousness whether men such as Ed Leedskalnin consciously recognize those principles or not.
This is what makes Coral Castle so enigmatic. An occult student can discover correlations with basic theosophical ideas almost everywhere one looks.
There is also a curious and whimsical configuration known as the “Grotto of the Three Bears.” Guides at the castle have said that Ed imagined that Sweet Sixteen might someday become his wife and that children would live there. The Three Bears, according to this interpretation, were intended for their amusement.
Our group held an Aquarian Full Moon meditation in this area following a talk. There was ample space among the rock carvings for twenty or more people to sit. In the center of the surrounding tables and chairs was another stone basin filled with water. It caught the brilliant moonlight like a mirror.
It was an unusually clear night. The Moon shone with such intensity that it seemed to spotlight Leedskalnin’s man-made lunar sculptures. Rising in the east above the planetary arrangement along the castle wall, it transformed the garden into something quite different from its daylight appearance.
Nothing in the park seemed entirely random. Everything appeared to have been placed in a calculated and specific location.
If there were a deeper significance to the “Three Bears,” perhaps the name concealed a reference to the celestial Bears. Such a possibility would surely have amused Ed. The Great Bear, or the Seven Rishis, also appears in the writings of Madame Blavatsky as having a particular relationship to our planetary system. She likewise wrote extensively about the Moon and its continuing occult influence upon human consciousness.
On diagrams of the castle, several oddly shaped chairs and tables surround the Three Bears area. To the metaphysical eye, their arrangement can even suggest the sevenfold pattern of the Great Bear, loosely circling the reflecting pool—the seminal water of life.
Was Ed Leedskalnin an Adept, an eccentric mechanical genius, or simply a man who discovered physical laws that others had overlooked? Whatever the answer, his castle remains filled with correlations that invite further consideration.
Above his sun calendar, which marks the passage of time, he placed a massive stone chair overlooking the park. From this elevated position he faced toward the northeastern corner of the castle walls. Its placement above the calendar seems almost symbolic: man’s consciousness seated above time.
From that central point, Leedskalnin could watch the heavenly bodies travel from east to west across the great vault of the sky. He could observe Polaris, the rising Sun, and the changing seasons. Surrounded by stone representations of planets, moons, stars, and directions, he could contemplate the nature of man, the lesser planetary influences affecting human existence, and perhaps man’s greater relationship with the Divine.
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