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The number seven (Greek hepta) is sacred to Apollo. What follows is a partial list of the vast number of occurences of the number seven, that most holy of numbers. Apollo's name in Greek (Apollwn) contains seven letters, and has the numerical value of 1061 (using isopsephos) or 331 (using Crowley's gematria). Several of Apollo's epithets also contains sevens according to Crowley's gematria:
According to some traditions, Apollo was born on the seventh day of the seventh month on the island of Delos. In Works and Days, Hesiod said that one should sacrifice to Apollo on the seventh day of each month. According to PGM VII. 155-167 the best time for divination on the seventh day of the month is at noon. Several of Apollo's festivals fall on, or near the seventh day of the month, for instance: Boedromia: 7 Boedromion (September-October) There were seven historical Sybils associated with Apollo. (This is not counting the mythical Libyan one that Euripides wrote about in the prologue of the Lamia, or the Phrygian Sybil, about which nothing else was known.) Apollo slew the seven sons of Niobe when she insulted his mother Leto. (Iliad 24.605-617) The lyre or kithaera of Apollo contained seven strings to symbolize the seven musical scales. In Liber 777, Aleister Crowley links the astrological signs of Gemini, Cancer, and Sagittarius with Apollo. At Apollo's sanctuary at Delphi, wisdom from the Seven Sages such as "Know thyself," "seek the golden mean," and "nothing in excess" were inscribed. The Seven Sages included Solon of Athens, Chilo of Sparta, Thales of Miletos, Bias of Priene, Cleobulos of Lindos, Pittacos of Mitylene, Periander of Corinth. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World consisted of: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Pleiades were seven mountain-nymph daughters of Atlas. They were pursued by the lusty giant Orion for seven years, but were saved by Zeus who placed them in the sky as a constellation. (Apollodorus's Library 3.110-111) Some ancient philosophers taught that we had seven, not five senses: smell, hearing, sight, taste, touch, speech, and animation. The ancients recognized seven planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Mars, the Moon, and the most important, which was linked to Apollo, the Sun. There are seven days in a week, beginning with Apollo's day, or Sunday. In Greek, there are seven vowels: alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon, and omega. In the Pythagorean system, the letter zeta equalled seven and omicron equalled 70. According to Speusippus, Plato's nephew, the number seven correlated to Thought. For the Pythagoreans, seven was linked with reverence (heptas + septas). For John of Patmos, it signified completeness. The Seventh Trump in the Tarot depicts Apollo in his Solar chariot. Seven signifies victory: the seven of rods indicates authority in the word, the seven of cups is authority in the sentiment, the seven of swords being authority in life, and the seven of pentacles being authority in wealth. According to The Complete Idiots Guide to Astrology by Madeline Gerwick-Brodeur and Lisa Lenard, the numeralogical qualities for the number 7 are: "Analytical and private, number 7 needs silence and solitude. This mystical number is introspective in nature and is usually involved in the search for wisdom, seeking scientific investigation or pursuing sacred patterns. Number 7s specialize in some area and are often sought after for their wisdom. they are unusual, even eccentric, and sometimes loners; they love the soulfulness of nature. Seven is considered a spiritual number and is sometimes called the christ consciousnesss number. We assign the blended qualities of analytical Virgo and mystical Pisces to number 7." According to Thylbus in his Realm of Dreams if one dreams of the number seven it signifies "providence - protection will come to you." There are Seven World Scriptures or Sacred Books: the Bible, the Eddas, the Chinese Five Kings, the Qu'ran, the Pali Canon, the Vedas, and the Zend-Avesta. The number seven appears 424 times in the Christian Bible. Theologians have come up with "seven words" that Jesus spoke on the cross by compiling all of the different accounts of his final words. In Hebrew, the seventh letter is zain "the sound of the whistling of the arrow." Seven is a very common number in the Book of Revelation. There are Seven Churches (1:4), Seven Golden Lampstands (1:12), Seven Stars (1:16), Seven Spirits (3:1), Seven Seals (Rev, 5:1), A Lamb with Seven Horns, Seven Eyes, and Seven Spirits" (5:6), Seven Thunders (10-11), a Red Dragon with Seven Heads, Ten Horns, and Seven Crowns on his Heads (12:3), Seven Plagues (15:6), Seven Angels who pour out Seven Bowls of God's Wrath (16:1) and many other sevens. Genesis describes seven days of creation. In Genesis 7 we read that Noah was instructed to take seven pairs of animals and birds on the ark The number seven is prominent in Joseph's dream (Genesis 41:2-54) Seven is the common number in the worship and sacrifice prescriptions of Leviticus. And seven is prominent in the prophetic books of Ezekiel and Daniel. The Seven Cardinal Virtues are: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence. The Seven Deadly Sins are: pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. According to John Ruskin, the Seven Lamps of Architecture (by which God made the world) are: sacrifice, truth, power, beauty, life, memory, and obedience. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and Fear of the Lord. According to the Qu'ran, there are Seven Heavens (Chapter 67 Al-Mulk),. According to the Testament of Solomon there are Seven Angels of Punishment: Kushiel "rigid one of God", Lahatiel "flaming one of God", Shoftiel "judge of God", Makatiel "plague of God", Huttriel "rod of God", Puriel "fire of God", and Rogziel "wrath of God". St. Jerome claimed that there were Seven Orders of the Celestial Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, Powers, Dominions, Thrones, Archangels, and Angels. There are traditionally Seven Archangels. Different traditions give different names. Enoch 1 lists them as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Zerachiel, Gabriel, and Remiel. 3 Enoch lists them as Mikael, Gabriel, Shatqiel, Baradiel, Shachaqiel, Baradiel, and Sidriel. Gregory the Great listed them as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Simiel, Orifiel, and Zachariel. Pseudo-Dionysius listed them as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel, Jophiel, and Zadkiel. In Talismanic Magic they appear as Zaphkiel, Zadkiel, Camael, Raphael, Haniel, Michael, and Gabriel. Among the Ophites, the Archons or Rulers are: Ialdabaoth, Iao, Sabaoth, Adonaios, Astanphaios, Ailoaios, and Oraios. According to the Grimoires, there are Seven Olympic Spirits: Aratron, who governs the planet Saturn, Bethor, who governs the planet Jupiter, Hagith, who governs the planet Venus, Och, who governs the Sun, Ophiel who governs the planet Mercury, Phaleg who governs the planet Mars, and Phul who governs the Moon. There are seven bodies in Alchemy: Sun is gold, Moon silver, Mars iron, Mercury quicksilver, Saturn lead, Jupiter tin, and Venus copper. C. G. Jung wrote Septem Sermones ad Mortuos (Seven Sermons to the Dead), a prophetic Gnostic parable which he produced through "automatic writing" channeling the spirit of the Second Century Gnostic Basilides, in 1917. The seventh son of a seventh son is supposed to have incredible magical, healing, and clairvoyant abilities. There's also a pretty good Iron Maiden album of that name. The Enlightenment began in the Seventeenth Century. The Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 There are seven hills in Rome. There are seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. There's a city or town called London on all seven of them. There are seven major Oceans: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian, North Pacific, South Pacific, Arctic, and Antarctic. On the $5 bill, in the shrubs at the base of the Lincoln Memorial a seven appears. There are seven steps to sign on to America OnLine. On a telephone keypad the seven has the letters P, R, and S. Phone numbers consist of seven digits and an area code. There are seven spaces for letters, numbers, and symbols on the standard license plate. There are seven colours in a rainbow. On the American flag there are seven white stripes. There are seven orifices in the human head: two eyes, two ear holes, two nostrils, and the mouth. Bibliography:
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