The significance of the number 13 .... My 13th Post

For my 13th post I'd like to talk more about Numerology and more specifically the esoteric meaning encoded in the number 13

 
Systems like Astrology, Numerology and Symbology are not taken seriously by mainstream and today many people profit from predictions and superstitions related to these methods.

  
Its my belief that behind all the nonsense is a very rational scientific system that has encoded within it the very basis for understanding reality. Of course those who understand reality can control reality and this is why these systems have been hidden in plain sight behind the modern exoteric way of interpreting them. 

“Millionaires don't use Astrology, billionaires do. " J.P Morgan 

So lets look at 13 ....

 

The number 13 in esoteric teaching is not unlucky as such but it is "unlucky for some." Ancients associated it with both good and bad luck, with death, reincarnation with the feminine/ Moon Goddess aspect.

13 is a Fibonacci number

If you read my post about the number 7 you will learn that 7 is the number of consciousness or spirit. The 7th point at the centre of a physical object that the soul emanates from .... 6 is its opposite (I need to write this post) it is the material number because there are six directions to the physical existence forward/backwards, left/right and up/down.  

Now according to esoteric teachings and arguably modern physics all things exist in a state of duality. This is expressed in Materialism/Idealism, Mind/Matter, Wave/Particle, Nature/Nurture, Black/White, Yin/Yang or Male/Female. This duality is an illusion and comes together at a higher state of consciousness into Unity.

  

This is expressed in the triangle shape also with two angles at the base representing a duality that at a higher level is a unity. We will see this shape again later on the dollar bill!

 

Also its expressed in the "Vesica Piscis" with two intersecting circles "duality" form a point of "unity" in the centre.  ......... 6 ........... 13 ........... 7

Think of you yourself, your both a material, physical body but your also a spirit or consciousness both interconnected. This is expressed beautifully in the numbers 6 "material" and 7 "consciousness" .... with 13 being these number UNIFIED.  I think this simple Numerological way of explaining the fundamental relationship between duality and unity is why 13 is such an important number in religion, freemasonry, mystery teachings, mythology, esoteric teachings and symbology. 

Take for example when initiates to the ancient mysteries or their modern day equivilent secret societies perform their death and rebirth ceremonies , or the many dying and resurrected god stories in religion ,they are not talking about physical death, but a death of the false duality of material reality and a spiritual reawakening, a perfect balancing of the two opposing principals. 

This can be a dangerous practice though and so is said to be "unlucky for some" .... This explains why the unity number 13 is associated with death, reincarnation and with good and bad luck.

 Number 13 in the Tarot deck is of course Death. Notice in the background on the right there is an image of the sun setting between the "two towers" these are the male and female aspect with the sun setting, dying between the illusion of dualism.

 
This is also the principal of the "chemical wedding" where the male and female aspects of consciousness , left and right brain, find perfect balance and open the pineal gland to a state of Unified Consciousness or enlightenment.  

Number 13 in Astronomy/Astrology

The ancients came up with the thirteen symbolism because of the celestial motion of the Sun and the Moon. The Moon travels an average of 13 degrees a day and there are 13 weeks between the equinoxes and the solstices. The equinoxes and the solstices of course signify the changing of the seasons, whereby, the end – or death – of one season enters into a new season, a cycle of new beginnings.  There are 13 months in the lunar calendar. 

Number 13 in Religion

In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah a full member of the Jewish faith. The apparitions of the Virgin of Fatima in 1917 were claimed to occur on the 13th day of six consecutive months. The Virgin Mary is often associated with 13 because in ancient cultures, the number 13 represented femininity, because it corresponded to the number of lunar (menstrual) cycles in a year . M for Mary is also the 13th letter of the alphabet and I beleive its no accident that an 'M' is a symbol made up of two seperate uprights that are really one letter. 

The Virgin of Fatima is pictured in the central 'Unity' shape from the Vesica Piscis.

 The 'Golden arches' Macdonalds Symbol is a stylised 13 on its side, its the 13th letter of the alphabet and its the 'Two Towers" aspect of duality being unity!

Friday 13th

On Friday 13th October 1307, King Philip of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar most of the knights were tortured and killed. This has long been the official reason behind the dates bad luck but there is some evidence the day was associated with many aspects of occultism before this event. The fear of Friday the 13th has been called "friggatriskaidekaphobia" Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom "Friday" is named in English ... theres the Goddess connection again.

13 in the deck of cards

In a card deck we have 4 suits all of 13. This is the 4 seasons of 13 weeks. The 'Ace' card is the thirteen concept , its both beginning and end, duality and rebirth. Even the letter 'A' when in capital form is the same stylised triangle featured above and on the dollar bill, it even has the separation at the apex .... unity, all seeing eye or pineal. This and the 'M' shows that the people who formed our lettering system had a deep understand of esoteric knowledge.

Apollo 13

The Apollo 13 spacecraft took off at 13:13 and suffered the explosion two days later on April 13, 1970. interestingly Apollo is a solar deity and the solar gods often die and are reborn.

The Dollar Bill

Examine the great seal of a US one dollar note and you will find the number thirteen appears consistently. On the front, the Eagle to the right has 13 tail feathers and is clutching 13 arrows in one talon and an olive leaf with 13 branches and 13 berries on the other. Above the Eagle’s head are 13 stars, representing the 13 original states of America. When the colonies were being setup, (New) York Rite Freemasonry had 13 degrees. On the Eagle’s breast is a shield with thirteen stripes and in its beak is a ribbon with the motto “E pluribus unum” which has 13 letters.  The motto above the pyramid in the Great Seal at the opposite side of the bill also has 13 letters – “Annuit Coeptis.” Furthermore, there are also 13 levels of the pyramid which validates 13 associated with the triangle and duality becoming unity. interestingly "New World Order" is also 13 letters!

America celebrates its independence day on 4th of July which is exactly 13 days from today, the Solstice!  Synchronicity..... my 13th post, on the day of Solstice!

"Numbers are a key to the ancient views of cosmogony ... spiritually as well as physically ... to the evolution of the present human race; all systems of religious mysticism are based upon numerals.” 

W. Wynn Westcott, “The Occult Power of Number"