M6:3140 — عنکبوت و این صطرلاب رشاد / بی‌منجم در کف عام اوفتاد

Translation: The spiderweb [patterns] and this astrolabe of guidance / Have fallen into the hands of the common folk without an astrologer. Meaning: Rumi suggests that human existence is like an astrolabe filled with intricate, cryptic patterns meant to guide one towards divine truth. However, this precious tool has fallen into the hands of ordinary people without the guidance of prophets, leading to its misinterpretation or neglect.

I have often said that Rumi views man as an "astrolabe of divine attributes." This very term is his own: Adam is the astrolabe of supreme attributes / The attribute of Adam is the manifestation of His signs. As you know, an astrolabe is a tool of Greek origin used by astrologers to observe stars and perform celestial calculations. The complex, interwoven patterns drawn on the astrolabe's face are like "spiderweb patterns" (nuqūsh-i ʿankabūt); cryptic lines that only a true astrologer can read to discern the state of the heavens and planets. It is a sign of poetic philosophical sensibility that the medieval philosopher Peter Abelard named his illegitimate daughter "Astrolabe."

Key takeaways

• Man himself is an astrolabe of divine attributes, reflecting unseen realities.
• The 'spiderweb patterns' symbolize the complexity and mystery of human existence, readable only with special insight.
• The 'astrolabe of guidance' falling into the hands of 'common folk' without an astrologer signifies misguidance and an inability to grasp one's own truth and God's.
• Prophets are the sole true astrologers capable of correctly reading this human astrolabe and revealing the path to guidance.