Number Symbolism for Beginners

Types of Symbolism, Variants, Meanings and Applications

Harry Eilenstein

• Verlag: Books on Demand
• Jahr: 2021
• ISBN drucken: 9783753490076
• eBook-ISBN: 9783753474373
• Auflage: 1
• Thema: Philosophie
• Thema: Geschichte & Theorie der Philosophie

Numbers are often seen as symbols - but number symbolism is often quite fuzzy... Moreover, it often invites one to lose touch with reality a bit and get into the fog of relationship madness. However, on closer examination, the symbolism of numbers can be described quite precisely. It is important to distinguish between four types of symbolism: 1. the natural symbolism of the numbers like e.g. the complementary opposite of the "2", which is found among other things with the two poles of the electro-magnetic force or as Yin and Yang; 2. the traditional-mythological symbolism of the numbers, which can be explained historically like e.g. the association of the "9" with the otherworld; 3. the number symbolism that results from a system, such as the "7" for Venus from the association of Venus with the 7th Sephirah ("Netzach") on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life; and 4. symbolism based on individual associations such as to one's birth date. If these four types of number symbolism are kept clearly separate, the observance of numbers can be quite helpful and enriching - in omens and oracles, in magic, and even in research.

III The Numbers

The "0"

a) natural symbolism of the "0"

Everything, that is there in the material world, is at least "1", but not "0", because then it would not be there …

So for the "0" only the state before the big bang comes into question – and possibly the black holes (of which one or several are in the center of almost every galaxy) since the space and the time in the black hole are completely cut off from the space and the time in the rest of the universe.

Furthermore the sum of two equaly large opposites is "0".

b) traditional-mythological symbolism of the "0"

The "fool" from the Tarot symbolizes the fool from inexperience, the fool from stupidity and the wise fool.

In Kabbalah, the "0" corresponds roughly to the "Ain Soph Aur" (limitless light) that has been before creation. This concept is also called "the three veils of negative existence". This is similar to the state of the world before the big bang.

c) System symbolism of the "0"

The "0" was invented around 400 B.C. by the Indians in order to be able to write blanks in a number – otherwise one could not have distinguished "1030" and "13". The "0" was also used by the Babylonians (but only rarely) and also by the Egyptians, who wrote the "0" with the hieroglyph for "no, not, nothing".

A symbolism of the "0" is not known from this time.

Today the number "00" symbolizes the "room, that has to be build befor all other rooms": the bathroom, that is not counted among the "numbered rooms". The loo was not thougt of as being worth to have a number …

The "1"

a) natural symbolism of the "1"

The "1" represents naturally the beginning, the source and the origin and is therefore also the number which can symbolize God in a logical way.

Since the consciousness is ultimately a unity, which has separated itself in the individual humans only by the consciousness borders towards the consciousness of other humans, one can symbolize also the consciousness with the "1".

That the unity of the consciousness of all people, living beings and things is really real can be seen by telepathy and telekinesis and also by the existence of the collective subconsciousness.

Gravity is the most original of all forces. It is unipolar, i.e. all matter and all energy attract each other by gravity – gravity makes clear that the world is a unity.

The singularity, that is the big bang, is the clearest "1" in the physical-astronomical world view.

In astrology the 0° angle between two planets is called "conjunction". This aspect is like a marriage, a union, a fusion of the two planets that have a distance of 0°. Because of this the angle of 0° has the symbolism of "1".

In psychology, the oral phase corresponds to the symbolism of "1": The baby lives in a symbiosis with its mother – in a unity. Even more clearly than for the first year of a child's life, this naturally applies to the pregnancy itself.

This phase corresponds to the Paleolithic Age, when people lived in nature as part of nature.

b) traditional-mythological symbolism of the "1"

There is surprisingly little traditional symbolism about the "1" – possibly it simply remains unspoken because it is taken for granted.

This "1" appears, for example, in the sweat lodge mandala in the center as Wakan Tanka ("Great Mystery"), from which all things have sprung and which is the life in all things. In the six directions around the center are to the east the serpent, to the north the bear, to the east the eagle, to the south the buffalo woman, above Grandfather Sky and below Grandmother Earth.

In general, the center of all mandalas is a correspondence to the number "1".

The "Magician" from the Tarot symbolizes initiative and foundation.

The rune "Fehu" symbolizes prosperity, which at that time corresponded to the literal translation of "Fehu": cattle.

The Hebrew letter "Aleph", which stands for the "1", represents a bull's head.

On the Egyptian yardstick ("royal cubit") the "1" is symbolized by the sun-god Re.

c) system symbolism of the "1"

In grammar, the singular is the "1".

In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Sephirah "Kether" is the origin of all things, the underlying unity of everything – God.

The Tao of the Chinese corresponds to the "1": The Tao is the origin of all things.

In the I Ching the hexagram "Ki'en (Chi'en)" has the meaning "Heaven". With it the creative principle is meant.

The "2"

a) natural symbolism of the "2"

The "2" has two clearly distinguishable symbolisms: expansion and opposition.

Expansion

The "2" is the point from which a ray emanates, that is, an expansion. On a large scale, this condition existed in the first 10^-32 seconds after the Big Bang. This phase is called "inflationary universe", i.e. "inflating universe", because in this short time the universe expanded with 10⁵² times the speed of light to 10²⁶ times the size as before. That has been the biggest "explosion" which has ever existed.

Contrast

The second oldest basic force after gravity is the electromagnetic force. It is bipolar, i.e. it occurs as "+" and as "–". Equal poles repel each other, unequal attract each other, the sum of two equal "+" or "–" charges results in "0", i.e. the neutral state.

In astrology, this bipolarity is found in the aspect of opposition, where two planets are at a 180° angle to each other – that is, exactly opposite.

The essence of opposition is the swing, the oscillation, the wave, the back and forth, the change, the rhythm, the cycle …

The most fundamental fo...

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Table of Contents
• I. The four types of number symbolism
• II. The application of number symbolism
• III. The numbers
• Book List
• Copyright