What’s the name for the space in between two circles?

Intersection? Interstice? Liminal space? Third space?

These are common terms we use when two circles overlap. However, there's a more accurate term.

I'm dubbing this post "The DaVinci Code of Your Professional Identity" because for those of you who read the book or saw the movie (sorry Tom Hanks but the book is way better) you'll appreciate where I'm heading.

Art history is full of symbolism that still applies to modern times. Ancient references often reveal new meanings to things we've taken for granted.

And this is the case for the Venn diagram- and your professional identity.

Instead of looking at the mathematical history and application of Venn diagrams, we're going to view it from the lens of art history. (Which is why the art student in me is giddy for today's revelation.)

If Robert Langdon (the protagonist and professor of iconology in the DaVinci Code) was here right now, he'd be shaking his head and schooling us for our lack of knowledge. And, if you knew me in my twenties, you'd know I had/still have an obsession with etymology (the origin of words) and neologisms (the creation of new words).

THE TRUE NAME FOR THE INTERSECTIONAL SPACE

The actual name for the "pointed oval figure typically composed of two intersecting arcs" is mandorla or vesica piscis. They use these two names depending on the origin or type of religious art being discussed.

From what I can tell, both terms reference each other, almost as synonyms.

Mandorla

(Italian: “almond”), in religious art, almond-shaped aureole of light surrounding the entire figure of a holy person; it was used in Christian art usually for the figure of Christ and is also found in the art of Buddhism.

Vesica Piscis

(Latin: "bladder of a fish"), is a type of lens, a mathematical shape formed by the intersection of two disks with the same radius, intersecting in such a way that the center of each disk lies on the perimeter of the other. In Christian art, some aureolas are in the shape of a vertically oriented vesica piscis and others are horizontal.

Not only are these shapes seen in religious art, but they're also found in architecture, motifs, seals, illuminated manuscripts, and other artifacts.

SPIRITUAL SYMOBOLISM

If you look closely at religious art and study mandorlas, they tend to be a space of brightness and luminescence while the surrounding regions fade into darkness.

The mandorla is used to depict sacred moments that transcend time and space. One historian noted it even symbolizes the cosmos.

Depending on the orientation, the mandorla represents different things.

• Horizontal orientation: represents the interface between heaven and earth or spiritual and physical worlds (as seen above)

• Vertical orientation: represents divine glory or a vulva which depicts femininity and fertility

Horizontal orientation

Vertical orientation

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

The term mandorla is not new, but it's also not known.

Just as we didn't realize we can hybridize our professional identities, we didn't know that this space has been named for centuries.

Not only is mandorla or vesica piscis the proper term, but those terms connote divinity, places of great light and luminescence. Thus, in the intersection, from a spiritual point of view, is where our greatness shines as the coming together of two worlds.

Investigating the intersections of our professional identities is a core focus of my research. That's why accurately naming what the intersecting space is called is a critical part of knowing the anatomy of our hybrid professional identity.

Think about this when you explore your own hybrid professional identity.

• What does your mandorla hold?

• What divine light are you shining when you're in your vesica piscis?

What new thoughts come to mind? Share them with me.