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ASTROLOGY in the BIBLE
Four
The mathematical systems and units of astrology were known throughout the ancient world and have come down to us intact and steeped in tradition. Most of us are unaware of just how old some of these units are. No one seems to know all the answers as to how these things originated or why, but many of us have some good answers.
The Pythagorean Theorem is named after a man we call Pythagorus who died about five centuries before the start of the Christian era. He did not originate the theorem named after him. It was much older, predating any civilization now known. It states that any right triangle (triangle having a ninety degree angle at one of its corners) has the following property: the sum of the squares of its sides (short lengths) equals the square of its hypotenuse (long side). In other words, if we multiply the length of each side by itself (called squaring), the sum of the squared lengths of the sides will equal the squared length of the hypotenuse. This rule is seen most easily in the 3/4/5 triangle which has been used for at least several millenia to construct buildings with square corners. This magic triangle has numbers which, when multiplied, equal sixty (3x4x5=60) which is the basis for the sexagisimal system we use in astrology for minutes and seconds of time and for minutes and seconds of arc. Sixty is also the approximate number of years between conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn at the same point in the zodiac.
The number six was very significant in the old world, primarily because it is the only number known which is both the extension and the factorial of a particular number. This means that six is the extension of three (1+2+3=6) and the factorial of three (1x2x3=6). Six was chosen for the days of creation in Genesis and also the number of directions from any point (up, down, east, west, north, and south). When the base of 60 (sexagisimal system) is multiplied by six, we have 360, the number of degrees in a circle and almost the number of days in one year. This number of 360 has been used in astrology and the other hermetic sciences for as long as anyone knows and is convenient because it can be evenly divided by so many whole numbers and because such a number is easy to use to compute the approximate motion of the sun (about one degree per day).
There is one other number besides six that also both a factorial (product of a simple ascending series beginning with one) and an extension (sum of a simple ascending series beginning with one). However, unlike six, this number is not a factorial and extension of the same number. The number 120 is the factorial of five (1x2x3x4x5=120) and the extension of fifteen (1+2+3+4+...15=120). It is interesting that 360 equals three times 120. And three inself is the highest or last consecutive prime, the number of physical dimensions in the universe, the number of primary facets for God in most philosophies and religions (the trinity).
The number twelve, used for the number of hours in a day and number of hours in a night, probably came from the number of months (moon periods) in a year. However, this argument is complicated by the fact that there are thirteen moon passages through the zodiac in one year. The ancient mathematical series that leads to phi, the ratio of life (1.6180339) is: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144... Note that the twelfth number in this series is 144 or twelve times twelve - or, if we include zero (often simply a blank spot in older calculations), 144 is the thirteenth number in this series.
Logically, the number twelve would have been chosen for the number of months, signs, hours, and tribes (as in Bamidbahr). The number of Hebrew tribes was actually thirteen, however - not twelve. The Levites camped at the center. So both the twelve and thirteen having to do with the moon were considered in the Hebrew system.
Four numbers are worthy of mention as being part of both the life (phi) series and the extensions. They are one, three, twenty-one, and fifty-five. One and three have already been discussed quite well by now. Twenty-one is the extension of six, which gives it more significance, as well as being the product of three and seven. Also, it reduces to three. Fifty-five is the tenth number in the phi series, the extension of ten, and it reduces to ten. It is the product of five and eleven, and when zero is counted in the phi series, it is the eleventh number.
Seven is the number of years it takes Saturn to move from one point to a point squaring the first, and the time it takes Uranus to transit one sign. It is also the number of days it takes for the moon to move from a point to a point that is squaring the first, the number of notes in the diatonic musical scale, and the number of visible astrological planets. And seven is the number of years between major disruptions in one's life.
And now it is time to examine the myth of Eden in Genesis. Eden means pleasure and is the number 124 which is 120 plus 4. One hundred twenty is the number of degrees in an astrological trine, the easy way of attaining something, or the invitation as opposed to the barb, and from the information presented several paragraphs back, a very special number. Four is order or cultivation which is a logical way to handle a garden. So 124 is a way of saying 120 (all things pleasant) plus 4 (cultivation). Eden reduces to the number seven, the number of years between major disruptions or problems.
Garden, meaning protected area, is the number 53 which reduces to 8. Eight is what it takes to reach from man to God (see last article). Garden in Eden is actually the whole phrase and in is the number two. Fifty-three plus 2 is 55 (previously discussed) which is the extension of ten and reduces back to ten. Fifty-five is also the tenth number in the phi series. Ten is the base of our decimal system, the number that introduces new cycles. Garden in Eden means a new cycle of pleasantness and order.
Adam means human in the generic sense rather than a named man. It is a word which means of the earth plane (the earth plane is called Adamah). The root word from which it comes means to be red or ruddy which is another way of saying to be full of desire as the color red is the ancient color meaning desire. Adam is the number 45, the extension of 9, which reduces to 9, and which equals 5 times 9. However, Adam is usually given as H Adam, meaning this human, and this phrase equals 50 which is 5 times 10 and reduces to 5.
God made Adam of the dust of the ground. Dust is the number 350 which is 351 minus 1. Three hundred fifty-one is the extension of 26 (the Eternal), and one is the way unity or the God principle is expressed within the earth plane. So the extension (consequence) of 26 (the Eternal) minus the principle of unity is the dust or fundamental substance of the earth plane.
And God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life. Breathed is the number 98 which is 91 plus 7. Ninety-one is the extension of 13 (the desire to unite, love), and 7 is the number that is used for each of us as a center with six directions extending from it (existence in space). God literally used the extension (consequence) of love and existence in space to give humanity the breath of life. Of course, seven has other meanings as well which might apply.
Breath is 790 which reduces to 7. Life is 68 which reduces to 5. Seven and five add up to twelve which is an allusion to the twelve months or signs. The Hebrews believed that the zodiac (current universal vibrations) were recorded in the body as the babe breathed its first breath. Breath of life refers to the current universal vibrations.
So God lovingly nurtured the universal vibrations into humanity and placed humanity in Eden where all was pleasant. We would expect humanity to stay there except that four rivers and their lands were around Eden, inducing humanity to progress or evolve. But for now, let's look at something else.
The Hebrews believed the Eternal started the universe with basic laws which had consequences which were lesser laws. These lesser laws also had consequences which were even lesser laws, and so on. This system of consequences is often expressed with numbers. An extension of a number, for instance, is a consequence that is absolutely and incontrovertably derived from that number.
Eight is the number of man linking to God, the pentagram that is man reaching for the never-ending cycles that are the Eternal in action or, perhaps, the eternal cycles reaching for man (see last article). The consequence of this is the number 36 (the extension of 8). Thirty-six is six times six, the square of the extension (consequence) of three. Thirty-six is also the fundamental number for angles of the pentagram, or for the construction of man who is represented by the pentagram. So the eternal cycles linking to man is the key to the construction, building, or evolving of mankind. The zodiac with its impelling forces is the key to the construction of man. And what is the consequence of this ongoing construction (evolution) of man? The extension of 36 is 666, the number of the beast is Revelations. And we will discuss this in more detail later.