Numbers as Archetypes
Numbers literally make the world go round. As archetypes numbers are containers of a wealth of knowledge passed down through the ages. In dreams and synchronistic life experiences numbers become particularly important as a source of understanding and analysis. This page will be expanded in the future and will also include number symbolism in folk/ fairy tales and in scientific fields. To begin click a number:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
| Zero is represented by the monad, the indivisible unit. On the mundane plane it is the macrocosm of the whole universe or the microcosm of the smallest self-contained sub-atomic particle. Zero is the cosmic or Orphic egg. It is also the Buddhist void. Depicted below right and center are two examples of the Uroboros or serpent/snake that swallows it's own tail--symbolic of the eternal cycle. The Black and White Uroboros is an engraving by Michael Maier. In the tarot deck of the Major Arcana The Fool is number zero denoting the life force. The seed of every new venture--regardless of which direction (up or down) it takes us--begins as an intuitive impulse prompted by a new person, place, experience, vision, dream or opportunity. | ||
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| One is the beginning, the creation, the unity. The sun has always been associated with the number one as a symbol of life and wholeness. This recent photo of the sun was taken by the Hubbell telescope. The second photo is a Shiva Lingam in the Pashupathenath temple in Katmandu. The Lingam symbol like the number one denotes the fiery, phallic energy of creation. | ||
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Traditionally the numeral two is associated duality, separation, conflict
and is a mythogem of the opposites: Sun and
Moon, male and female, life and death, etc. The morality of good versus evil
which has been projected upon the number two can to a certain extent be traced directly back to the
dogmatic attitudes inherent in the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the Jungian model
of the psyche denial or ignorance of the opposites within one's self creates the Shadow.
"The Churning of the Sea Milk," a 19th century painting from the Punjab illustrates a solution to the problem of the opposites. In the Indian myth Indra complains to Vishnu that the upper gods and lower demons are fighting over Shesha, the cosmic serpent. Shesha is wound around the World Axis and churns the primeval Ocean. To remediate this situation Vishnu has the gods and demons alternately pull Shesha creating a dynamic balance between the two opposing forces. The Twin Towers before 9/11 and the Twin Towers on 9/11 symbolize a collision of the opposes in which American Logos ego inflation and Islamic fundamentalist instinctual forces met. The Tower card from the major arcana shows the sudden and shocking wake up call which results when ego forces have become to rigid and one-sided. Lightning strikes the upper stories. Our entire way of thinking is disrupted in an instant and we are forced to re-evaluate our position. |
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| The number three represents unity through overcoming the
duality of two by adding one. In Greek mythology the poet Hesiod identified
three as the three fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and
Atropos, daughters of Nyx or night. Spinning, measuring and cutting the
threads of life three was a personification of the three stages of life: birth/childhood, middle age, old
age/death. In later Christian theology three was identified with the
masculine Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
However, following the tradition of Hesiod, the number three in western iconography is almost always associated with the feminine. Note the contrast between Shakespeare's Macbeth Three Witches by Henry Fuseli and Botticelli's painting of The Three Graces . In the Ryder Tarot deck the Three Of Cups is a another variation on unity theme of three. Here the fruits of ones labor lie on the ground--close at hand. |
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| In contrast to three the number four is solidity
of the earth and the cube. The four cardinal points: east, west, north and
south; and the four elements of air, earth, water and fire symbolize inner
ordering related to psychic wholeness. The four quarters of the moon in their
waxing and waning phases has always been a mythogem for the stages of birth,
development, maturity and death.
In Jungian thought the quaternio or quaternity (four) represents two pairs of opposites forming a dynamic cross. Since the missing or shadow part is included, the quaternio personifies the totality of the Self, e.g. represents both the darkness and light of the God image. Bram Stoker used this idea (either consciously or unconsciously) in his novel Dracula. The crucifix repels Dracula (in this movie still played by Christopher Lee) because it would require him to recognize his conscious totality--darkness and light. |
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| The human microcosm or natural man
equals two arms, two
legs and a head.
Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing "The Vitruvian Man" demonstrates this. There are five senses--taste, touch, smell, hearing & seeing. Picasso also seems to have been 'five' inspired in the creation of the cubist masterpiece "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" by using five prostitutes as models. Among other symbols for the numeral five are the Pentagram or five sided star--Levy drawing right. In oriental mythology there are five elements: earth, fire, water, wood and metal. |
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| Six signifies love, beauty, romance, harmony, balance between male and female principles. In Genesis it represents the six days of creation. Below is Hildegard of Bingen's mystic representation of the Six Days Of Creation from Genesis. Note how the six motif is repeated throughout. | ||
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| Many mystical systems are based on the number seven. The seven Chakras from India. The ancient number of the universe was the seven visible planets before the discovery of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Corresponding to this in alchemy, each of the seven planets is represented by a metal: sun=gold, moon=silver, Mercury= quicksilver, Venus=copper, Mars=iron, Jupiter=tin and Saturn=lead. The first picture below is a Gnostic/medieval image of the microcosm with the seven planets. Much religious and metaphysical iconography based on this numeral particularly the spiritual traditions of Judaism. For example, the seven branches of the Menorah and (directly below) the Seven Seals of Israel as represented by Levy. | ||
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| Eight is an infinity symbol. Also a symbol for the worlds of the conscious, unconscious and the loop which flows back and forth between them. The eight spokes of the ancient wheel held the center and outer rim together. The second photo is the medieval octagonal baptismal font at Finians Church in Clonard, Ireland. Christian fonts of this type are associated with a ritual rebirth through baptism in the sacred water. The third photo shows the octagonal Chorten at the Palchor Monastery in Tibet. | ||
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| Nine in numerology equals the end of a nine year cycle. In human biology it symbolizes the nine month gestation of pregnancy. It can be a time to give birth or a return to a past cycle or pattern. In Dante's Divine Comedy there are nine circles of hell which reflect nine circles of heaven. Below is a picture of the nine Greek muses. | ||
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| According to Jungian analyst Dr. Irene Gad, ten "...stands for solidarity among creatures and things linked by the laws of nature. In its negative form it means resistance to spirit." Perhaps this is why one decade seems progressive and the next decade reactionary or conservative? Ten is also linked with the reappearance of the Monad from zero, therefore the beginning of a new cycle at a higher level of awareness. The picture below by Bota shows the union of the opposites (black & white) with the ten sephirot or numbers of the cabala in the center through the doorway. | ||
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| St. Augustine didn't approve of the number eleven and called it "...the blazon of sin." Yet in the New Age vernacular it has always been considered to be a master number. One reason for this is that astrologically the sign Aquarius, "the water bearer" is the eleventh sign of the zodiac and in a conscious sense represents the inventor, originator and pioneer. In the negative sense Aquarius denotes conformity to the herd, tribe or group. Eleven represents the Promethean attitude: the courage necessary to go forth as a pioneer. Psychologically eleven is the unconscious and chthonic element. Because it is ambiguous it is a threat to one-sided thinking--like St. Augustine's. Below is Jean Delville's painting of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. | ||
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| The Mandala or circle of wholeness. The traditional western astrology chart is divided into twelve houses. Twelve is the number of the zodiac, months of the year, original tribes of Israel and the gods of Olympia. Below is The Planisphere of Copernicus, perhaps one of the first heliocentric or sun centered representations of the planets and zodiac. | ||
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| The number thirteen has always been associated with bad luck. The origins of this may be traced to the New Testament story of Judas Iscariot, Jesus and the twelve disciples. In De Vinci's famous painting, The Last Supper, Jesus has said to his disciples, "One of you shall betray me." The thirteenth chapter of The Book of Revelation has as its theme the Anti-Christ. The thirteenth card in the tarot deck is Death. In depth psychology thirteen is the number of the shadow. | ||
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