The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times, Issue #32, July 2015 | Page 9
triangles, squares, polygons,
hexagons and so forth are all
related to numbers. Triangles,
for example, relate to three
angles, squares to four and so
on.
As an example of attaching
sacred meanings to geometric
numbers, the number ‘seven’
occurs consistently in diverse
cultures around the world. And
more, the religious and
mythologies of the world are
filled with sevens. Consider
some of these,
The shape of the pyramids
of Egypt produces the
number seven by
combining the three-sided
triangle and foursided square.
In music, the seven
musical notes in a scale
repeat at the octave.
There are seven terraces
of purgatory in the Roman
Catholic beliefs.
The Christian Church
recognizes the seven
virtues and seven deadly
sins.
There were seven steps
taken by Buddha at his
birth.
There are seven heavens
and seven earths in
Islamic tradition.
There are seven worlds in
the Hindu universe.
The seven-branched
Jewish menorah is the
oldest symbol in Judaism.
The ancient Greek philosopher
Pythagoras believed that
integers represented
fundamental meanings. He
regarded seven as the “vehicle”
of life. To him, the number
seven signified the union of
spirit and matter – the union of
three (the triple nature of the
spirit) combined with the four
elements of matter (earth, air,
fire, and water).
Seven was also associated with
growth, whereby a
phenomenon tends to be
completed in seven stages, such
as the “seven stages of man”
expressed by Shakespeare
in “As You Like It”, or the biblical
Creation by God in seven days.
According to some beliefs, the
human body has seven energy
centers to be open for spiritual