Symbolism of the number 7
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As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, superstition and philosophy.
Pythagoras[]
The Pythagoreans invested particular numbers with unique spiritual properties. The number seven was considered to be particularly interesting because it consisted of the union of the physical (number 4) with the spiritual (number 3).[1]
Classical antiquity[]
References from classical antiquity to the number seven include:
- Seven Classical planets and the derivative Seven Heavens
- Seven Wonders of the ancient world
- Seven metals of antiquity
- Seven days in the week
- Seven Seas
- Seven Sages
- Seven champions that fought Thebes
- Seven hills of Rome and Seven Kings of Rome
- Seven Sisters, the daughters of Atlas also known as the Pleiades
Religion and mythology[]
Judaism[]
The number seven forms a widespread typological pattern within Hebrew scripture, including:
- Seven days of Creation, leading to the seventh day or Sabbath (Genesis 1)
- Seven-fold vengeance visited on upon Abel for the killing of Cain (Genesis 4:15)
- Seven pairs of every clean animal loaded onto the ark by Noah (Genesis 7:2)
- Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41)
- Seventh son of Jacob, Gad, whose name means good luck (Genesis 46:16)
- Seven times bullock's blood is sprinkled before God (Leviticus 4:6)
- Seven nations God told the Israelites they would displace when they entered the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 7:1)
- Seven days of the Passover feast (Exodus 13:3–10)
- Seven-branched candelabrum or Menorah (Exodus 25)
- Seven trumpets played by seven priests for seven days to bring down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:8)
- Seven things that are detestable to God (Proverbs 6:16–19)
- Seven Pillars of the House of Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1)
- Seven archangels in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit (12:15)
References to the number seven in Jewish knowledge and practice include:
- Seven divisions of the weekly readings or aliyah of the Torah
- Seven Jewish men (over the age of 13) called to read aliyahs in Shabbat morning services
- Seven blessings recited under the chuppah during a Jewish wedding ceremony
- Seven days of festive meals for a Jewish bride and groom after their wedding, known as Sheva Berachot or Seven Blessings
- Seven Ushpizzin prayers to the Jewish patriarchs at during the holiday of Sukkot
Christianity[]
Following the traditional of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament likewise uses the number seven as part of a typological pattern:
Seven lampstands in The Vision of John on Patmos by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860.
- Seven loaves multiplied into seven basketfuls of surplus (Matthew 15:32–37)
- Seven demons were driven out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2)
- Seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross
- Seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom (Acts 6:3)
- Seven Spirits of God, Seven Churches and Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation
References to the number seven in Christian knowledge and practice include:
- Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy and Seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy
- Seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and seven terraces of Mount Purgatory
- Seven Virtues: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility
- Seven Joys and Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary
- Seven Sleepers of Christian myth
- Seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church (though some traditions assign a different number)
Islam[]
References to the number seven in Islamic knowledge and practice include:
- Seven ayat in surat al-Fatiha, the first book of the holy Qur'an
- Seven circumambulations of Muslim pilgrims around the Kaaba in Mecca during the Hajj and the Umrah
- Seven walks between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah performed Muslim pilgrims during the Hajj and the Umrah
- Seven doors to hell (for heaven the number of doors is eight)
- Seventh day naming ceremony held for babies
- Seven enunciators of divine revelation (nāṭiqs) according to the celebrated Fatimid Ismaili dignitary Nasir Khusraw[2]
Hinduism[]
References to the number seven in Hindu knowledge and practice include:
- Seven worlds in the universe and seven seas in the world in Hindu cosmology
- Seven sages or Saptarishi and their seven wives or Sapta Matrka in Hindu mythology
- Seven stars in a constellation called "Saptharishi Mandalam" in Indian astronomy
- Seven promises, or Saptapadi, and seven circumambulations around a fire at Hindu weddings
- Seven virgin goddesses or Saptha Kannimar worshipped in temples in Tamil Nadu, India[3][4]
- Seven hills at Tirumala known as Yedu Kondalavadu in Telugu, or ezhu malaiyan in Tamil, meaning "Sevenhills God"
- Seven octets or Saptak Swaras in Indian Music as the basis for Ragas compositions
Eastern tradition[]
Other references to the number seven in Eastern traditions include:
- Seven steps taken by the Buddha at birth
- Seven Chakras in eastern philosophy
- Seven Lucky Gods or gods of good fortune in Japanese mythology
- Seven-Branched Sword in Japanese mythology
- Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in China
- Seven minor symbols of yang in Taoist yin-yang
- Seven divine ancestresses of humankind in Khasi mythology
- Seven Social Sins listed by Mahatma Gandhi
Other references[]
Other references to the number seven in traditions from around the world include:
- Seven palms in an Egyptian Sacred Cubit
- Seven ranks in Mithraism
- Seven hills of Istanbul
- Seven islands of Atlantis
- Seven Cherokee clans
- Seven lives of cats in Iran and German and Romance language-speaking cultures[5]
- Seven fingers on each hand, seven toes on each foot and seven pupils in each eye of the Irish epic hero Cúchulainn
- Seventh sons will be werewolves in Galician folklore, or the son of a woman and a werewolf in other European folklores
- Seventh sons of a seventh son will be magicians with special powers of healing and clairvoyance in some culutures, or vampires in others
- Seven prominent legendary monsters in Guaraní mythology
- Seven gateways traversed by Inanna during her descent into the underworld
- Seven Wise Masters, a cycle of medieval stories
- Seven legendary Cities of Gold, such as Cibola, that the Spanish thought existed in South America
- Seven years spent by Thomas the Rhymer in the faerie kingdom in the eponymous British folk tale
- Seven-year cycle in which the Queen of the Fairies pays a tithe to Hell (or possibly Hel) in the tale of Tam Lin
- Circle Seven Koran, the holy scripture of the Moorish Science Temple of America
- Seven Valleys, a text by the Prophet-Founder Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í faith
- Seven superuniverses in the cosmology of Urantia[6]
- Seven psychological types called the Seven Rays in the teachings of Alice A. Bailey
Other concepts[]
- Seven continents
- Seven colors in the rainbow
- Seven liberal arts
- Seven notes in the diatonic scale
References[]
- ^ https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism/7
- ^ "Nāṣir-i Khusraw", An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, I.B.Tauris, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84511-542-5, retrieved 2020-11-17
- ^ Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2020). "Peerless Manifestations of Devī". Carcow Indological Studies (Cracow, Poland). XXII.1: 221–243.
- ^ Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2020). "Sempiternal "Pattiṉi": Archaic Goddess of the vēṅkai-tree to Avant-garde Acaṉāmpikai". Studia Orientalia Electronica (Helsinki, Finland). 8.1: 120–144.
- ^ "''Encyclopædia Britannica'' "Number Symbolism"". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
- ^ "Chapter I. The Creative Thesis of Perfection by William S. Sadler, Jr. - Urantia Book - Urantia Foundation". urantia.org. 17 August 2011.
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