Seven
Seven celestial spheres plus the fixed stars. Nicole Oresme, Le Livre du Ciel et du Monde.
Today the Sun, the heart of of our solar system, moves into the seventh sign – Libra. We are still, of course, in the ancient seventh month — September. So pour yourself a glass of 7-Up, kick off your seven-league boots, switch off symphony number seven and align your seven chakras.
Seven is a magic number.
7 = 3+4
Three = spirit. Four = matter. Together they make life.
Three qualities – cardinal, fixed, mutable. Four elements — fire, earth, air and water.
3 x 4 = 12
Twelve signs of the zodiac.
Seven traditional planets.
Seven days of the week.
Seven steps on the path to alchemical transformation — spiritual or material.
Seven ages of man.
“Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.”
Philosophy Presenting the Seven Liberal Arts to Boethius. Master Coëtivy . From the Getty Center via Wikimedia Commons
Seven deadly sins. Seven liberal arts.
Saturn the outermost planet in ancient times and the seventh planet astrologically, takes 28 years to complete a cycle. Divide that into quarters and you get seven. So Saturn crosses an angle of your chart every seven years. Which angle did he cross last? Where is he approaching? In what quarter of your life are you learning Saturnian lessons?
Saturn is “exalted” in Libra, the seventh sign. That means he is said to behave better.
Death plays chess with Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. The title of the movie refers to the Book of Revelations. Here is an image of the relentless energy of Saturn vs a frail human. In the Book of Revelation seven seals close the document of the apocalypse which can only be opened by a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns.
The Chinese say
Seven months old — milk teeth
Seven years old — big teeth
Seven plus seven — puberty
Seven times seven — menopause
… and what about the Moon
Her cycle from New Moon to New Moon, through four phases, is 4×7. In 28 days, the Moon makes the journey that takes Saturn 28 years.
“Seven is comparable to the goddess Athena, the leader and ruler , steady, immobile, similar only to itself, different from all others.” Philolaus – 5th century BCE
Salome, having complete the dance of the seven veils, is rewarded with John the Baptist’s head. This is by Emma Dessau-Goitein
Seven tones in an octave, seven keys in music, seven strings on Apollo’s lyre (or nine depending on your source), seven spheres of heaven.
“Once out in the current, my raft flew swiftly under the gloomy archway…” Illustration by Rene Bull for The Seven Voyages of Sinbad.
And from a Libran philosopher, Mohandas Gandhi, the Seven Social Sins
Wealth without work.
Pleasure without conscience.
Knowledge without character.
Commerce without morality.
Science without humanity.
Worship without sacrifice.
Politics without principle.
Seven chakras. This is from Nepal.
[…] Seven is a magic number, the seven ages of man, the seven traditional planets, the seven days of the week, the seven deadly sins, etc. For a full exploration of the number seven, have a read of this lovely article by The Oxford Astrologer: Seven […]