The Triangle is the symbol of humanity. Its three points are symbolic of mind/body/spirit. Its stability is based on these three points, just as mankind's is based on the integration of mind/body/spirit. The direction of a triangle allows for the flow of ki. Hanmi, a triangular stance, is also an alignment of this flow. A good hanmi is one that stands firmly on mind/body/spirit integration. The power of the triangle is strongly felt in the irimi, or entering techniques.

The Circle symbolizes Heaven, wholeness, eternity, the Universe, mobility, fluidity, emptiness, and infinity. It is the circular, spiral motions of Aikido techniques that recieives and blends with an attack, redirecting another's motion, using the stillness and power of one's own center.

The Square symbolizes the earth, with the four corners symbolizing physical elements - earth, air, fire and water. The most stable and least mobile of the three symbols, the Square is also the most protective, and is seen most clearly at the end of throws and in the pins of Aikido.
 

No throw, no action, no life is purely one form or another. No one is all circle, all square, or all triangle. Each form has its own qualities which give structure and shape to all relationships. Aikido techniques are a medium that teaches us how to blend and combine each quality into the others at the appropriate moment. A goal of training in Aikido is to allow this powerful flow to happen naturally and spontaneously during conflict; mind/body/spirit as one, grounded, protective, and with the peace of a still center.

Text by Shari Dyer
Element Illustraions by Scott Werner