May 29, 2004
serendipitous [sevens]

There is something about the number seven.

Seven corresponds to the seven days of the week, the seven planets, seven rungs of perfection, seven spheres of celestial stairs, the seven petals of the rose, the seven branches of the shaman's cosmic tree and so on.

Seven denotes the fullness of the planetary orders, the fullness of the energies and principles in spiritual order. Seven was the Ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal life, and symbolizes the dynamic perfection of a completed cycle. Seven conveys the fresh start after a cycle has been completed and of positive regeneration. Seven occurs in countless Ancient Greek traditions and legends-the seven gates of Thebes, Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters, the seven strings of the lyre, the seven spheres, etc.

There are seven emblems of the Buddha and seven primary chakras in the subtle energy system.

If seven is the number of completion and renewal, then the Sabbath is more of a celebration and crowning achievment of creation than a day of rests that stands outside it. Seven is a worldwide symbol for wholeness, but a dynamic wholeness.

Seven however, does need a slight word of caution, since it does represent a passing from the known to the unknown. It completes one cycle, but we do not know what the next will bring us. Seven is often considered a lucky number. It is also considered sacred but it's influence may, on occasion, be evil. In folk stories and legends, the number seven seems to express the seven states of matter, the seven degrees of awareness and the seven stages of evolution.

Each phase of the moon lasts for seven days, and the four phases of the moon (7x4=28) complete the cycle. The sum of the first seven digits also equals 28 (1+2+3+4+5+6+7=28). In ancient Bablyonia, the number was absolutely unlucky and nothing was to be undertaken on the 7th, 14th, 21st, or 28th days of the month, or on the 19th day of the following month (19 +30 = 49, and, and that is 7 x 7 which is bad luck squared!) Also, the number represented not only sin, but atonement and redemption.

There is something paradoxical about the number seven. In dreams and fantasy, it seems that the number seven or things associated with it are not in motion, but are the a cause of motion in the surroundings. In this sense, the number seven could have to do with a character trait or form of behavior that reproduces the required reaction in the outside world, while the individual may still not absorb the consequences of what he or she is doing.

Luck, fate, superstition, the last day after completing construction of the World as Christians know it - there is some sort of strange abstractly concrete finality about the number seven. Eight feels frightening. Hungry. Even downright predatory. It takes us on to nine, which is right before ten and the consequence of double digits. At seven, you can still backtrack to the safety of five. What significance that has is beyond me, but it sounded amusingly logical enough. Perhaps I mean that seven is, indeed, a completion of some phase. The interim midstep in which you may balance on momentary conquest before committing towards plowing into the great double-digit unknown or fall backwards towards the lesser primes.

It's a goddamned solitary vision quest.

-------------------

Especially when in response to a challenged game of twenty questions that turns entirely too ridiculously philosophical at some ungodly pre-dawn hour of the morning resulting in seven lists of seven and the above pontifications:

Seven Deadly Sins:

  • murder
  • abuse
  • theft
  • fraud
  • neglect
  • blackmail
  • assault

Seven Granted Names:

  • wolfie
  • rhino
  • furball
  • w'fol'nuk, urge wyrm of yelling
  • commander in chief
  • sneaky bitch
  • most infuriating man i've ever known

Seven Terrors:
  • losing my body before my mind
  • living behind bars
  • the things i dream of but can't remember, or those i do from which i wake up screaming
  • regret
  • victimization
  • laying helpless in bed and waiting to die
  • the thing i saw outside my window when i was 5, by 7 it learned how to get into the house, showing itself one night in the bathroom mirror, standing just behind me, reaching out of the shadows padding the wall, needled fingertips just before my cheek when i turned around, slitted mouth writhing to form a sound to match my howling pain when blood began to run down my face, huge black eyes blinking once to steal my reflection before it fled down the hall faster than i could run to catch it

Seven Facts of Life:

  • i began life on time, kicking contractions into gear just after midnight may 18
  • my mother thought it was indigestion until calling the doctor on a whim and being commanded to the er
  • i tried to come out feet first and running - twice
  • thus i came into this world via emergency c-section
  • i met my father by getting thrust into his arms and sent directly to x-ray
  • i came this close to being named Robert Lawrence
  • during pregnancy the only food my mother could keep down was blueberry muffins - and yes, i can't stand them

Seven Addictions:
  • caffeine
  • methamphetamines
  • success
  • self-infliction
  • role-play
  • smoking
  • music

Seven Hungers:

  • food
  • fucking - not making love, but serious grungefucking
  • conquest
  • ruthless ascent
  • travel
  • domination
  • nature

Seven Scars :

  • three clawmarks inner left elbow - surgical blade
  • 1.5" bic lighter flame burn outer right forarm - intentionally drunk stupidity
  • brand from welding beadwire inner right elbow - fleeting attention span
  • two parallel striped brands, middle finger left hand, between proximal and distal IP joints - heated wire
  • tribal pattern outer left thigh - surgical blade
  • 2" notch right midline supraorbital process - gelding moved faster than me, heh
  • 4" long x 1-2" wide welt, overlaying apex of left adductor magnus - chemical burn


Posted by Wolf at May 29, 2004 11:29 PM
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