POWER OF NUMBERS: A UNIVERSAL TRUTH
Numbers are an important component of most magical and spiritual
undertakings. There are many cross-cultural similarities in historical folklore
regarding the power of numbers. From Africa to Asia to Europe and the Middle East,
religious and magical texts have documented the credence given to numbers by magicians
and mystics over the centuries. Numerology is a self-contained divination
system based on the study of numbers, their hidden meaning and symbolism . Because
there is such a consistent belief in the power of numbers to create fluctuations
in psychic energies, we can deem their use in Magick as a Universal Truth.
NUMBERS: HOW CONSISTENT BELIEFS DEVELOP
If we take one number and look at the historical development
of its magickal associations, we can see the process of Universal Truth unfold.
For this exercise, we will look at how number five (5) gained magickal significance.
 THE
NUMBER FIVE?
Yes! If questioning my judgment here, most folks can look down
and their hands and feet to see the significance of Five. It allows us
to carry our bodies to other places and pick up or manipulate what is not our
own.
The Number Five (5) has always held mystical associations. Most
are aware of the lore attached to seven and thirteen - even the powerful number
three. However, Five has much respect in magical traditions as a
doorway to the other side and a symbol of spiritual communication and completion.
Five is the Fifth Element - or Spirit. Let's look at it more closely.
THE
QUINCUNX and COSMOGRAM PATTERNS
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Early
Coin marked with Quincunx Pattern - Greece
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Mystical Number Five (5) is represented geometrically in the Quincunx
Pattern. This design is arranged by marking four corners and a central
axis through a series of dots or objects - as seen on dice or dominos.
The symbol was made popular with Pythagorean Mystics in Early
Greece (586 - 506 BC). According to poet and novelist Robert Graves,
To the Pythagoreans Five represented the color and variety which
nature gives to three-dimensional space, and which are apprehended by the five
senses, technically called 'the wood' - a quincunx of five trees; this colored
various world was held to be formed by five elements - earth, air, water, fire
and the quintessence or soul.
 Coincidentally(
or not!) most modern day computer graphic cards render images (or reality) by
using tiny quincunx dot patterns. Perhaps the reason is that it speaks a universal,
mathematical truth. The Quincunx, however was not only appreciated in Ancient
Greece, it can be seen time and time again throughout history:
- This pattern was used by the Early Olmec (pre-Columbian Indians) to delineate,
in shorthand notation, a map for sacred space.
- Philosopher Carl Jung acknowledged that 'The quinarius or Quinio (in the
form of 4 + 1 i.e. Quincunx ) does occur as a symbol of wholeness in China. '
- Hoodoo researcher Catherine Yronwode notes that many southern root workers
'generally give no special name for it, but describe it functionally' when
referring to its use as an artificial crossroads and means to seal a "trick"
or work in a space.
- Alchemist Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) identified the Quincunx pattern as
none other than 'a symbol of the quinta essentia which is identical with the
Philosopher's Stone. '
- Knowing or unknowingly, many spell books (especially Anna Riva's) call for
an altar to be arranged in a Quincunx Pattern - with four candles in the four
corners and incense in the center.
When turned on its axis by forty-five degrees, the Quincunx Pattern
becomes what is known as the Cosmogram by archaeologists.
The cosmogram was a common symbol found in early Kongo, or Bakongo
African culture. Kongo-based folk magic is the root of Hoodoo and Southern Root
work in the Americas. It is described and illustrated in detail in Flash
of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy by Robert
Farris Thompson. In his book, Thompson shares information gleaned on the importance
of the Cosomogram from Kongo scholar Wyatt MacGaffey.
The simplest ritual space is a Greek cross [+] marked on the ground, as
for oath-taking. One line represents the boundary; the other is ambivalently both
the path leading across the boundary, as to the cemetery; and the vertical path
of power linking "the above" with "the below". This relationship, in turn, is
polyvalent, since it refers to God and man, God and the dead, and the living and
the dead. The person taking the oath stands upon the cross, situating himself
between life and death, and invokes the judgment of God and the dead upon himself.
Through slavery, the use of the Cosmogram as an element of magick
was brought from Africa to destinations all over Latin America and the Caribbean.
It can be seen in the firmas of Palo Mayombe and the Veves of Vodou - both ritual
drawings used to establish spiritual contact.
THE
PENTAGRAM
Humans have always looked to nature to derive truth. For instance, when you cut
an apple through its equator (not from the stem), you will find an almost perfect
five-pointed star or pentagram in each half. In ancient Greece,
this star was the symbol of the Goddess Kore - daughter of Demeter
and owner of vegetables and fruits of the field. Since these ancient times the
pentagram has held significant mystical meaning across generations and cultures.
The pentagram (or five-pointed star) is actually a unicursal
figure, a pattern that can be with a single stroke of a writing instrument
which doesn’t leave the surface at any time during drawing it. Each line in a
pentagram is dependent on the whole. In other words, the lines are irrevocably
connected to all the others, where no one line is more important than any other
line and leaving out one, would destroy the whole.
- When a pentagram is enclosed in a circle it becomes a pentacle - commonly
seen as a symbol of Wicca and Paganism.
 In
the very early Middle Ages, Christian mystics adopted it as representation of
the five wounds Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixion at the hands of Romans.
In some of the great cathedrals of Europe, the pentacle is a featured part of
the architecture. For example, in England's Exeter Cathedral in Devon, pentacles
can still be seen where they were carved into the elaborate stone and metalwork
around the chancery more than 600 years ago. - It was used to symbolize the star which led Three Kings to the Infant Jesus.
- Among the Hebrews, the symbol was attributed to truth and to the five books
of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah).
- Each point of the Pentagram traditionally represents one of the five metaphysical
elements of the ancients. The topmost point represents Spirit, The upper left
point represents Air, the upper right point represents Water, the lower left point
represents Earth, and the lower right point represents Fire. In this fashion,
the pentagram represents Spirit ruling over the four elements.
UNDERSTANDING
FIVE
 We
have taken a very brief sampling of concepts that surround the power of Five.
So, what does it all mean? How do we apply it to ritual?
Five marks sacred space and a connection to the otherworld. Whether
seen as the center point of the crossroads ( X ) or the top point on the hub of
a wheel (pentagram), it indicates a place or space that is outside the boundaries
of the earthly plane. Even though Five typically indicates a hurdle or difficulty
in Tarot, we can also view it as a center point of our journey - from the Ace
to the ten - a stop on the way to our full potential. Five challenges us to rise
above personal issues that tie us to the physical realm, and reminds us that it
is possible to command the elements.
In practical magick, we can then find countless ways to incorporate
the power of Five. When performing ritual to enhance or rebalance our Spirit,
we can use five objects or ingredients. We can draw a pentacle or pentagram on
our altar or workspace to strengthen our spiritual power and provide spiritual
protection. We can also use the quincunx or cosmogram patterns to create sacred
space.
USING OTHER NUMBERS
Without delving deeply into the history and symbolism of other
numbers, I want to leave the reader with some practical uses for other digits.
These are associations and uses that you hear most often at the Mistic.
NUMBER
THREE (3)
Number Three was considered a magickal number by many ancient
cultures, especially the Celts. Many of their deities appeared in triple-form.
One belief is that doing something thrice makes it so. In numerology, three represents
creative power and gheshtalt (when two things become more than the
sum of their parts).
Old Adages include: Third Time's a Charm. We often give
three cheers or hope to be granted three wishes. Well known triangles(the geometric
equivalent of three) include "Body,Mind,and sSpirit", "Earth,Air,and
Water", "Faith,Hope and Charity",and even Animals,Vegetables and
Minerals.
At the Mistic, Three is the minimum number we recommend
in ritual: Perform the task for three days; use three items; recite the prayer
three times. When time and or money is of the essence we break things down into
their simplest yet most effective from - Three.
"LUCKY"
NUMBER SEVEN (7)
Regardless of age or culture, most people are aware of Seven's
reputation as a Lucky Number. The Pythagoreans viewed it as a representation of
perfection, 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, the perfect figures.
Look for references to Seven and we find: Seven days of the week, the seven
arts and sciences, the seven dwarfs, the seventh son of the seventh son and even
New Orleans' infamous Seven Sisters.
At the Mistic, Seven is used to attract luck in money or love. We recommend
gambling, new employment/opportunity, new love or money drawing work be performed
for Seven days; using Seven items; reciting prayers Seven times.
NUMBER
NINE (9)
Nine is the square of Three. Not many spend much time delving
on the ritual use of Nine however at the Mistic it is indeed a frequently used
digit.
The number 9 represents the great harmony of the universe, ages
before history began. Its significance was known and recognized beyond a time
of reckoning. There are nine major planets in the solar system, Beethoven wrote
nine symphonies, and a cat is said to have nine lives. The expression to the
nines means to the highest degree. On cloud nine means happy, euphoric
or `high'.
If 9 is multiplied by any other number, from 2 to 9, the resulting
number, when reduced to a digit, will always equal 9. To Illustrate:
2 x 9 = 18: 1 + 8 = 9
3 x 9 = 27: 2 + 7 = 9
4 x 9 = 36: 3 + 6 = 9
5 x 9 = 45: 4 + 5 = 9
6 x 9 = 54: 5 + 4 = 9
7 x 9 = 63: 6 + 3 = 9
8 x 9 = 72: 7 + 2 = 9
9 x 9 = 81: 8 + 1 = 9
396: 3 + 9 + 6 = 18: 1 + 8 = 9
Nine is considered a number of Wisdom, Spiritual Power and Mastery.
We use it when we want to command, compel, bend another's will or in any way impose
our power over that of another. No matter if the issue is business or love related,
financial or social, we recommend "power" work be performed for Nine
days; using Nine ingredients or Items; reciting prayers Nine times.
"UNLUCKY"
NUMBER THIRTEEN (13)
The number 13 conjures up images of witches, black cats
and even death. It stimulates unexplained fears .The dread of 13, or, triskadictaphobia,
is so widespread in American culture, that laborious efforts have been made to
avoid any association with it whatsoever. Floors of buildings are spared the curse
of 13. The number is skipped altogether.
Thirteen became "unlucky" around the Middle
Ages. The probable cause being that Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, was the "
13th" apostle at the Last Supper. It is often pointed out that the Jews murmured
13 times against God in the exodus from Egypt, that the thirteenth psalm concerns
wickedness and corruption, that the circumcision of Israel occurred in the thirteenth
year, and so on.
In antiquity, even before Christianity, 12 was a perfect, complete
number, so 13 indicated the beginning of a new cycle; from this it became a symbol
of death. To death was added the idea of renewal - the end of one cycle and the
beginning of another.
At the Mistic, Thirteen is used to end one cycle and begin
another. We perform Uncrossing, Protection and Purification rituals for Thirteen
days; using Thirteen items; reciting prayers Thirteen times.
Blessings!
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