I keep witnessing the time 4:44 whether it be am or pm.
My puppy woke me up to pee a week ago and when I checked the time it was 4:44am.
Yesterday, at the Whole Foods parking garage, I looked up at precisely 4:44 pm. I've looked up the possible meaning and the explanation that truly resonates with me is the following:
In Doreen Virtue’s book Angel Numbers, she describes the meaning of the number combination 444 as, “Thousands of angels surround you at this moment, loving and supporting you …”.
I've been praying/meditating daily, as of late, and I feel as though something is communicating with me. I'm conscious of my thoughts when the numbers 4:44 appear, I in turn send LOVE to Mother Earth and Father Sun and to All That Is, all my guardians, ancestors, StarFamily, all life everywhere including all the particles that make up the universe, and love also to all that is unseen and all that I don't know. I hold a clear intention of unconditional love to everything everywhere.
As I write this, my living room went from dimly being lite by the sun, but as I held the intention to infuse my energy with LOVE the sun rays poured in brightly and quite intensely.
Traditional symbols of love always express a duality in which the two
antagonistic elements are, nevertheless, reconciled. Thus, the Indian lingam, the Yang-Yin, or even the Cross, where the upright beam is the world-axis and Chinese
the cross-beam the world of phenomena. They are, in other words, symbols of a
conjunction, or the expression of the ultimate goal of true love: the elimination of
dualism and separation, uniting them in the mystic ‘centre’, the ‘unvarying mean’
of Far Eastern philosophy. The rose, the lotus flower, the heart, the irradiating
point—these are the most frequent symbols of this hidden centre; ‘hidden’ because it does not exist in space, although it is imagined as doing so, but denotes the
state achieved through the elimination of separation. The biological act of love
itself expresses this desire to die in the object of the desire, to dissolve in that
which is already dissolved. According to the Book of Baruch: ‘Erotic desire and
its satisfaction is the key to the origin of the world. Disappointment in love and
the revenge which follows in its wake are the root of all the evil and the selfishness
in this world. The whole of history is the work of love. Beings seek and find one
another; separate and hurt one another; and in the end, comes acute suffering
which leads to renunciation.’ Or to put it another way: Maya as opposed to
Lilith, illusion balanced by the serpent.
To dream of love or being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It refers to your contentment with what you already have and where you are in life. On the other hand, the dream may be compensatory and implies that you may not be getting enough love in your life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted.
To see a couple in love or expressing love to each other, indicates success ahead for you.
To dream that your friend is in love with you, may be one of wish fulfillment. Perhaps you have developed feelings for your friend and are wondering how he or she feels. Your preoccupation has found its way into your dreaming mind. On the other hand, the dream may suggests that you have accepted certain qualities of your friend and incorporated it into your own character.
To dream that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
To dream of loving any object, denotes satisfaction with your present environments.
To dream that the love of others fills you with happy forebodings, successful affairs will give you contentment and freedom from the anxious cares of life. If you find that your love fails, or is not reciprocated, you will become despondent over some conflicting question arising in your mind as to whether it is best to change your mode of living or to marry and trust fortune for the future advancement of your state.
For a husband or wife to dream that their companion is loving, foretells great happiness around the hearthstone, and bright children will contribute to the sunshine of the home.
To dream of the love of parents, foretells uprightness in character and a continual progress toward fortune and elevation.
The love of animals, indicates contentment with what you possess, though you may not think so. For a time, fortune will crown you.
Dreaming of love of being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It implies happiness and contentment with what you have and where you are in life. On the other hand, you may not be getting enough love in your daily life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted. Seeing a couple in love or expressing love to each other indicates much success ahead for you. Dreaming that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of politic and social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
In theogony, the Sun represents the moment (surpassing all others in the
succession of celestial dynasties) when the heroic principle shines at its brightest.
Thus, after Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter, comes Helios Apollo. On occasion, the
Sun appears as the direct son and heir of the god of heaven, and Krappe notes that
he inherits one of the most notable and moral of the attributes of this deity: he
sees all and, in consequence, knows all. In India, as Sûrya, it is the eye of Varuna;
in Persia, it is the eye of Ahuramazda; in Greece, as Helios, the eye of Zeus (or of
Uranus); in Egypt it is the eye of Ra, and in Islam, of Allah (35). With his
‘youthful’ and filial characteristic, the Sun is associated with the hero, as opposed
to the father, who connotes the heavens, although the two (sun and sky) are
sometimes equated. Hence, the weapon of heaven is the net (the pattern of the
stars) or the power of binding; while the hero is armed with the sword (symbolically associated with fire). And it is for this reason that heroes are promoted to
solar eminence and even identified with the Sun itself. In a given period of history
and at a certain cultural level, the solar cult is the predominant if not the only one.
Frazer, however, as Eliade has noted, brought out the divergencies of the solar
elements in the sacred rites of Africa, of Australia and Oceania as a whole, and of
North and South America. The cult of the Sun reached an advanced stage of
development only in the New World, and—most advanced of all—in Mexico and
Peru. Eliade concludes that, since these were the only countries in pre-Columbian
America to evolve a viable political system, it may be concluded that there is a
parallel between predominantly solar cults and ‘historical’ forms of human existence. We must not overlook the fact that Rome, the most powerful political force
of Antiquity, and the originator of the historical sense, upheld solar hierophany,
which, during the Empire, dominated all other cults in the form of Mithraic ritual
(17). An heroic and courageous force, creative and guiding—this is the core of
solar symbolism; it may actually come to constitute a religion complete in itself,
as is shown by the ‘heresy’ of Ikhnaton in the 18th dynasty of Egypt; here the
hymns to the sun are, setting aside their profound lyrical interest, expressions of
theories about the beneficent activity of the king of astral bodies. The sun on the
horizon had long served the Egyptians of the Ancient Empire as a means of
defining ‘brightness’ or ‘splendour’. They were also forcibly struck by the analogy between the daily disappearance of the Sun and the winter solstice (19). At same time, there was, for the primitive, astrobiological mind, an essential connexion
between the Sun and Moon, analogous to that between heaven and earth. It is well
known that, for the vast majority of peoples, the sky is symbolic of the active
principle (related to the masculine sex and to the spirit), while the earth symbolizes the passive principle (cognate with the feminine sex and with matter); these
equations, nevertheless, are occasionally transposed. And the same thing happens with the Sun and Moon: solar ‘passion’, so to speak, with its heroic and
fierce character, clearly had to be assimilated to the masculine principle, and the
pale and delicate nature of lunar light, with its connexion with the waters of the ocean (and the rhythm of woman), obviously had to be classified as feminine.
These equations are certainly not constant; but the exceptions do not invalidate
the essential truth of this symbolism. Even physically speaking, the Moon merely
fulfils the passive rôle of reflecting the light which the Sun actively diffuses.
Many primitive tribes hold that the eyes of heaven are the Sun and the Moon
located on either side of the ‘world-axis’, and there are prehistoric drawings and
engravings which may be interpreted after this fashion. Eliade notes that, for the
Pigmies and Bushmen, the sun is the eye of the supreme god. The Samoyeds see
the Sun and the Moon as the eyes of heaven, the Sun being the good eye, and the
Moon the evil eye (one can see here an unequivocal instance of the symbolism of
dualism expanded by the assimilation of that of moral polarity). The idea of the
invincible character of the sun is reinforced by the belief that whereas the Moon
must suffer fragmentation (since it wanes) before it can reach its monthly stage of
three-day disappearance, the Sun does not need to die in order to descend into
hell; it can reach the ocean or the lake of the Lower Waters and cross it without
being dissolved. Hence, the death of the Sun necessarily implies the idea of
resurrection and actually comes to be regarded as a death which is not a true death.
For this reason, too, ancestor-worship is associated with the cult of the sun, in
order to offer the symbolic promise of protection and salvation. Megalithic monuments are based upon the amalgamation of these two cults (17). Thus, the broadest and most authentic interpretation sees the sun as the cosmic reductio of the
masculine force, and the Moon of the feminine (49). This implies that the active
faculties (of reflexion, good judgement or will power) are solar, while the passive
qualities (imagination, sentiment and perception) are feminine, with intuition
possibly androgynous (26). The ‘correspondences’ of the Sun are chiefly gold,
among the metals, and, of the colours, yellow.
Alchemists regarded it as ‘gold prepared for the work’ or ‘philosophical
sulphur’, as opposed to the Moon and mercury (the metal), which is lunar (57).
Another alchemic concept, that of the Sol in homine (or the invisible essence of
the celestial Sun which nourishes the inborn fire of Man) (57), is an early pointer
to the way the astral body has latterly been interpreted by psychoanalysts,
narrowing its meaning down to that of heat or energy, equivalent to the fire of life
and the libido. Hence Jung’s point that the Sun is, in truth, a symbol of the source
of life and of the ultimate wholeness of man (32). But here there is probably some
inexactitude, for totality is in fact uniquely symbolized by the ‘conjunction’ of
the Sun and the Moon, as king and queen, brother and sister (32). In some
folklore-traditions, the urge to allude in some way to the supreme good, which, by definition, is incapable of definition, is met by the saying ‘to join the Sun and
the Moon’.
Now, having established the principal terms of solar symbolism—as an heroic image (Sol invictus, Sol salutis, Sol iustitiae) (14), as the divine eye, the active
principle and the source of life and energy—let us come back to the dualism of the
Sun as regards its hidden passage—its ‘Night Sea-Crossing’—symbolic of immanence (like the colour black) and also of sin, occultation and expiation. In the
Rigveda—Eliade reminds us—the Sun is ambivalent: on the one hand it is ‘resplendent’ and on the other it is ‘black’ or invisible, in which case it is associated
with chthonian and funereal animals such as the horse and the serpent (17).
Alchemists took up this image of the Sol niger to symbolize ‘prime matter’, or
the unconscious in its base, ‘unworked’ state. In other words, the Sun is then at
the nadir, in the depths out of which it must, slowly and painfully, ascend
towards its zenith. This inevitable ascent does not relate to its daily journey,
although this is used as an image, and hence it is symbolized by the transmutation
of prime matter into gold, passing through the white and red stages, like the Sun
itself in its orbit. Of undoubted interest, as an indication of the intensity of man’s
attitude towards the Sun, is the reference by Tacitus and Strabo to the ‘sound’
made by the Sun as it rises in the East and drowns in the oceans of the West. The
sudden disappearance of the Sun below the horizon is related to the sudden death
of heroes such as Samson, Hercules and Siegfried (35).
To dream of seeing a clear, shining sunrise, foretells joyous events and prosperity, which give delightful promises.
To see the sun at noontide, denotes the maturity of ambitions and signals unbounded satisfaction.
To see the sunset, is prognostic of joys and wealth passing their zenith, and warns you to care for your interests with renewed vigilance.
A sun shining through clouds, denotes that troubles and difficulties are losing hold on you, and prosperity is nearing you.
If the sun appears weird, or in an eclipse, there will be stormy and dangerous times, but these will eventually pass, leaving your business and domestic affairs in better forms than before.
To see the sun in your dream, symbolizes peace of mind, enlightenment, tranquility, fortune, goodwill, and insight. It also represents radiant energy and divine power. Generally, the sun is a good omen, especially if the sun is shining in your dream. The sun may also be a metaphor for your "son".
To dream that the sun has a creepy, harsh glare, represents a significant disruption or serious problem in your life. The sun is considered a life-giver and thus, any abnormalities and peculiarities to the sun's appearance represents some sort of pain or chaos occurring in your waking life.
Seeing the sun in your dream, symbolizes peace of mind, enlightenment, tranquility, fortune, goodwill, and insight. It also represents radiant energy. It is a good omen to have the sun shining in your dream.
The sun sustains all life on Earth. When you see it in your dreams, it suggests that you are being nurtured and sustained by your environment and your life choices. It could also represent a spiritual force or the light of God. Sunrise may indicate new beginnings and a new wave of energy while sunsets suggest a period of closure and completion. Sunlight in your dreams is never a negative symbol. Light always symbolises or indicates consciousness and may signify masculine energy. Its presence, even in the most disturbing dreams, has reassuring qualities. Old dream interpretation books say that sun shining on you is an omen of good fortune and good will.
Planet: Sun.
Season: Summer.
Positive associations with this tarot card:
happiness, greatness, enlightenment, vitality, good health, love, fulfillment.
Negative associations with this tarot card:
misjudgement, delays, potential failure, inflated ego.
Simply one of the best, if not the best, cards in the Tarot. The Sun is a most welcome card and a signal of very happy, joyous times.
This card can represent holidays, good news around children or perhaps news or the conception or birth of a much wanted baby.
The Sun heralds a time of fun with friends and family and agreeable companionships and relationships.
Ultimately The Sun dispels negativity and promises of a happy ending.
Negatively The Sun perhaps suggests delays to your plans or achievements and does warn against arrogance and misjudgement caused by an inflated ego.
In symbolism, numbers are not merely the expressions of quantities, but idea-forces, each with a particular character of its own. The actual digits
are, as it were, only the outer garments. All numbers are derived from the number
one (which is equivalent to the mystic, non-manifest point of no magnitude). The
farther a number is from unity, the more deeply it is involved in matter, in the
involutive process, in the ‘world’. The first ten numbers in the Greek system (or
twelve in the oriental tradition) pertain to the spirit: they are entities, archetypes
and symbols. The rest are the product of combinations of these basic numbers
(44). The Greeks were much preoccupied with the symbolism of numbers.
Pythagoras, for example, observed that ‘Everything is disposed according to the
numbers’. Plato regarded number as the essence of harmony, and harmony as the
basis of the cosmos and of man, asserting that the movements of harmony ‘are of
the same kind as the regular revolutions of our soul’ (24). The philosophy of
numbers was further developed by the Hebrews, the Gnoptics and the Cabbalists,
spreading to the alchemists as well. The same basic, universal notions are found
in oriental thought—Lao-tse, for example: ‘One becomes two; two becomes
three; and from the ternary comes one’—the new unity or new order—’as four’
(Maria Prophetissa) (32). Modern symbolic logic and the theory of groupings go
back to the idea of the quantitative as the basis for the qualitative. Pierce suggests
that the laws of nature and of the human spirit are based on these same principles,
and that they can be ordered along these same lines (24). Apart from the basic symbols of unity and multiplicity, there is another general symbolism attached to
the even numbers (expressing the negative and passive principle) and the uneven
numbers (the positive and active). Furthermore, the numerical series possesses a
symbolic dynamism which it is essential not to overlook. The idea that one engenders two and two creates three is founded upon the premiss that every
entity tends to surpass its limits, or to confront itself with its opposite. Where
there are two elements, the third appears as the union of the first two and then as
three, in turn giving rise to the fourth number as the link between the first three,
and so on (32). Next to unity and duality (expressing conflict, echo and primordial duplication), the ternary and the quaternary are the principal groupings; from
their sum comes the septenary; and from their multiplication the dodecanary.
Three is the more direct derivation of seven (since both are uneven) and four more
closely related to twelve (both being even numbers). The usual symbolisms are as
follows: The ternary represents the intellectual or spiritual order; the quaternary
the terrestrial order; the septenary the planetary and moral order; the dodecanary
the universal order. Here now are the most generally accepted symbolic meanings
of each number, which will serve as a basis for a brief summary of the psychological theory of Paneth.
Zero Non-being, mysteriously connected with unity as its opposite and its
reflection; it is symbolic of the latent and potential and is the ‘Orphic Egg’. From
the viewpoint of man in existence, it symbolizes death as the state in which the life-forces are transformed (40, 55). Because of its circular form it signifies eternity.
One Symbolic of being (40) and of the revelation to men of the spiritual
essence. It is the active principle which, broken into fragments, gives rise to
multiplicity (43), and is to be equated with the mystic Centre (7), the Irradiating
Point and the Supreme Power (44). It also stands for spiritual unity—the common basis between all beings (55). Guénon draws a distinction between unity and
one, after the Islamic mystic thinkers: unity differs from one in that it is absolute
and complete in itself, admitting neither two nor dualism. Hence, unity is the
symbol of divinity (26). One is also equated with light (49).
Two Two stands for echo, reflection, conflict and counterpoise or
contraposition; or the momentary stillness of forces in equilibrium (43); it also
corresponds to the passage of time—the line which goes from behind forward (7);
it is expressed geometrically by two points, two lines or an angle (44). It is also
symbolic of the first nucleus of matter, of nature in opposition to the creator, of
the moon as opposed to the sun (55). In all esoteric thought, two is regarded as
ominous (9): it connotes shadow (49) and the bisexuality of all things, or dualism
(represented by the basic myth of the Gemini) in the sense of the connecting-link
between the immortal and the mortal, or of the unvarying and the varying (49).
Within the mystic symbolism of landscape in megalithic culture, two is associated with the mandorla-shaped mountain, the focal point of symbolic Inversion,
forming the crucible of life and comprising the two opposite poles of good and
evil, life and death (51), Two, then, is the number associated with the Magna
Mater (51).
Three Three symbolizes spiritual synthesis, and is the formula for the creation of each of the worlds. It represents the solution of the conflict posed by
dualism (43). It forms a half-circle comprising: birth, zenith and descent (7).
Geometrically it is expressed by three points and by the triangle (44). It is the
harmonic product of the action of unity upon duality (55). It is the number
concerned with basic principles (41), and expresses sufficiency, or the growth of
unity within itself (9). Finally, it is associated with the concepts of heaven (51)
and the Trinity.
Four Symbolic of the earth, of terrestrial space, of the human situation, of the
external, natural limits of the ‘minimum’ awareness of totality, and, finally, of
rational organization. It is equated with the square and the cube, and the cross
representing the four seasons and the points of the compass. A great many
material and spiritual forms are modelled after the quaternary (43). It is the
number associated with tangible achievement (55) and with the Elements (41). In
mystic thought, it represents the tetramorphs.
Five Symbolic of Man, health and love, and of the quintessence acting upon
matter. It comprises the four limbs of the body plus the head which controls
them, and likewise the four fingers plus the thumb (43) and the four cardinal
points together with the centre (7). The hieros gamos is signified by the number
five, since it represents the union of the principle of heaven (three) with that of
the Magna Mater (two). Geometrically, it is the pentagram, or the five-pointed
star (44). It corresponds to pentagonal symmetry, a common characteristic of
organic nature, to the golden section (as noted by the Pythagoreans) (24), and to
the five senses (55) representing the five ‘forms’ of matter.
Six Symbolic of ambivalence and equilibrium, six comprises the union of the
two triangles (of fire and water) and hence signifies the human soul. The Greeks
regarded it as a symbol of the hermaphrodite (33). It corresponds to the six
Directions of Space (two for each dimension) (7), and to the cessation of movement (since the Creation took six days). Hence it is associated with trial and effort
(37). It has also been shown to be related to virginity (50), and to the scales.
Seven Symbolic of perfect order, a complete period or cycle. It comprises the
union of the ternary and the quaternary, and hence it is endowed with exceptional
value (43). It corresponds to the seven Directions of Space (that is, the six
existential dimensions plus the centre) (7), to the seven-pointed star, to the
reconciliation of the square with the triangle by superimposing the latter upon the
former (as the sky over the earth) or by inscribing it within. It is the number
forming the basic series of musical notes, of colours and of the planetary spheres
(55), as well as of the gods corresponding to them; and also of the capital sins and
their opposing virtues (41). It also corresponds to the three-dimensional cross
(38), and, finally, it is the symbol of pain (50).
Eight The octonary, related to two squares or the octagon (44), is the intermediate form between the square (or the terrestrial order) and the circle (the eternal
order) and is, in consequence, a symbol of regeneration. By virtue of its shape, the
numeral is associated with the two interlacing serpents of the caduceus, signifying the balancing out of opposing forces or the equivalence of the spiritual power
to the natural (55). It also symbolizes—again because of its shape—the eternally
spiralling movement of the heavens (shown also by the double sigmoid line—the
sign of the infinite) (9). Because of its implications of regeneration, eight was in
the Middle Ages an emblem of the waters of baptism. Furthermore, it corresponds in mediaeval mystic cosmogony to the fixed stars of the firmament,
denoting that the planetary influences have been overcome.
Nine The triangle of the ternary, and the triplication of the triple. It is therefore a complete image of the three worlds. It is the end-limit of the numerical
series before its return to unity (43). For the Hebrews, it was the symbol of truth, being characterized by the fact that when multiplied it reproduces itself (in mystic addition) (4). In medicinal rites, it is the symbolic number par excellence, for
it represents triple synthesis, that is, the disposition on each plane of the corporal, the intellectual and the spiritual (51).
Ten Symbolic, in decimal systems, of the return to unity. In the Tetractys
(whose triangle of points—four, three, two, one—adds up to ten) it is related to
four. Symbolic also of spiritual achievement, as well as of unity in its function as
an even (or ambivalent) number or as the beginning of a new, multiple series (44).
According to some theories, ten symbolizes the totality of the universe—both
metaphysical and material—since it raises all things to unity (9). From ancient
oriental thought through the Pythagorean school and right up to St. Jerome, it was
known as the number of perfection (50).
Eleven Symbolic of transition, excess and peril and of conflict and martyrdom
(37). According to Schneider, there is an infernal character about it: since it is in
excess of the number of perfection—ten—it therefore stands for incontinence
(50); but at the same time it corresponds, like two, to the mandorla-shaped
mountain, to the focal point of symbolic Inversion and antithesis, because it is
made up of one plus one (comparable in a way with two) (51).
Twelve Symbolic of cosmic order and salvation. It corresponds to the number
of the signs of the Zodiac, and is the basis of all dodecanary groups. Linked to it
are the notions of space and time, and the wheel or circle.
Thirteen Symbolic of death and birth, of beginning afresh (37). Hence it has
unfavourable implications.
Fourteen Stands for fusion and organization (37) and also for justice and
temperance (59).
Fifteen is markedly erotic and is associated with the devil (59).
Other Numbers Each of the numbers from sixteen to twenty-two is related to
the corresponding card of the Tarot pack; and sometimes the meaning is derived
from the fusion of the symbols of the units composing it. There are two ways in
which this fusion may occur: either by mystic addition (for example,
374=3+7+4=14=1+4=5) or by succession, in which case the right-hand digit
expresses the outcome of a situation denoted by the left-hand number (so 21
expresses the reduction of a conflict—two—to its solution—unity). These numbers also possess certain meanings drawn from traditional sources and remote
from their intrinsic symbolism: 24, for example, is the sacred number in Sankhya
philosophy, and 50 is very common in Greek mythology—there were fifty
Danaides, fifty Argonauts, fifty sons of Priam and of Aegyptus, for example—as
a symbol, we would suggest, of that powerful quality of the erotic and human
which is so typical of Hellenic myths. The repetition of a given number stresses its quantitative power but detracts from its spiritual dignity. So, for example, 666
was the number of the Beast because 6 was regarded as inferior to seven (37).
When several kinds of symbolic meaning are contained within a multiple number,
the symbolism of that number is accordingly enriched and strengthened. Thus,
144 was considered very favourable because its sum was 9 (1+4+4) and because
it comprises multiples of 10 and 4 plus the quaternary itself (37). Dante, in the
Divine Comedy, has frequent recourse to the symbolism of numbers (27).
The work of Ludwig Paneth upon numbers concerns not so much symbolism
as such, but rather the normal interpretation of numbers from the psychologist’s
point of view as they appear in obsessions and dreams of average people. His
conclusions are as follows:
One rarely appears, but where it does occur it alludes to the paradisiac state
which preceded good and evil—which preceded, that is to say, dualism.
Two signifies counterpoise, or man’s experience of separate existence, with
its concomitant problems, inevitable analysis, dividing up, inner disintegration
and struggle.
Three stands for biological synthesis, childbirth and the solution of a conflict.
Four, as a kind of double division (two and two), no longer signifies separation (like the number two) but the orderly arrangement of what is separate.
Hence, it is a symbol of order in space and, by analogy, of every other wellordered structure. As Simonides, the Greek poet, observed: ‘It is difficult to
become a superior man, tetragonal in hand, foot and spirit, forming a perfect
whole.’
Five is a number which often occurs in animate nature, and hence its triumphant growth corresponds to the burgeoning of spring. It signifies the organic
fullness of life as opposed to the rigidity of death. There is an erotic sense to it as
well.
Six is, like two, a particularly ambiguous number: it is expressive of dualism
(2 × 3 or 3 × 2). However, it is like four in that it has a normative value as opposed
to the liberating tendencies of five and the mystic (or conflicting) character of
seven.
Seven is, like all the prime numbers, an irreducible datum, and an expression
of conflict or of a complex unity (the higher the prime number the greater the
complexity). It is sometimes associated with the moon (since 7 × 4=the 28 days
of the month).
Ten, in its graphic form as 10, is sometimes used to express marriage.
Nought, as the decimal multiplier, raises the quantitative power of a numerical symbol. A number of repeated noughts indicates a passion for grand things.
General Characteristics of Numbers Paneth draws a distinction between the
arithmetical number and the symbolic number: the former defines an object by its
quantity but says nothing about its nature, whereas the latter expresses an inner
link with the object it defines by virtue of a mystic relationship between what is
enumerated and the number itself. In arithmetic, the addition of 1 and 1 and 1
gives 3, but not triunity; in symbolism the second and third of these ones are
intrinsically different from the first because they always function within ternary
orders which establish the first term as an active element, the second as passive
and the third as neuter or consequent. Aristotle spoke of the ‘qualitative structure’ of the numbers as opposed to the amorphous character of the arithmetical
unity. Concerning the higher numbers, Paneth has this to say: ‘The multiplication
of a number simply increases its power: thus, 25 and 15 are both symbols of
eroticism. Numbers composed of two digits express a mutual relationship between the individual digits (reading from left to right). For example, 23=2 (conflict) and 3 (the outcome).’ Numbers made up of more than two digits may be
broken down and analysed in a number of different ways. For example, 338 may
equal 300 plus 2 × 19, or else 3 and 3 and 8. The dynamism and symbolic richness
of the number three is so exceptional that it cannot be over-emphasized. The
reconciling function of the third element of the ternary, we would add, may
appear in either a favourable or an adverse light. For instance, when in myths and
legends there are three brothers or sisters, three suitors, three trials, three wishes,
and so on (42), the first and second elements correspond broadly to what is
already possessed, and the third element represents the magic or miraculous
solution desired and sought after; but this third element may—as we have said—
also be negative. Thus, just as there are legends where the first and the second fail
and the third succeeds—sometimes it is the first six followed by the successful
seventh—so there are others where the inversion of the symbolism produces the
opposite result: the first two are favourable (and the second usually more so than
the first) but then comes the third which is destructive or negative. The Three
Kings, for example, offer the Infant Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense (both positive) and myrrh (negative). In almost all those myths and tales about three chalices, three chests or three rooms, the third element corresponds to death, because
of the asymmetrical division of the cycle of man’s life, composed of two parts
which are ascending (infancy-adolescence, youth-maturity) and the third and last
which is descending (old age-death). There is a Hebrew tale, called ‘True Happiness’, which exactly expresses the symbolic significance of this ‘third element’.
Here it is in Loeffler’s exemplary version: ‘A peasant and his wife, dissatisfied
with their lot, envied those who dwelt in palaces, imagining their existence to be
an unending flow of delights. While he was working in the fields, the man came across three iron chests. On the first was an inscription which said: “He who
opens me will become rich.” On the second he read: “If gold makes you happy,
open me.” On the third: “He who opens me, loses all that he possesses.” The first
chest was at once opened up and with the silver it contained the couple gave a
sumptuous banquet, purchased splendid garments and slaves. The contents of
the second chest enabled the couple to discover the luxury of refined living. But
with the opening of the third, a terrible storm destroyed all their belongings’ (38).
The symbolism bears a relationship to the asymmetrical cycle of the year (Spring—
Summer—Autumn followed by Winter) and to all symbols of the ‘superior’—
for superiority is always perilous.
Finally, there are also visual interpretations of number-symbols, derived from
the shape of the digits; but such interpretations are of a specialized nature and are
not always well-founded.
To see numbers in your dream, symbolize material gains and possessions. You are keeping close track of things. Alternatively, numbers indicate that you are being over analytical or rational. Or that you need to evaluate a situation more thoroughly. Numbers also carry much personal significance. They may represent a special date, address, age, lucky number or something meaningful and significant to only you.
To hear numbers in your dream, mean that you need to pace yourself in some situation. Or perhaps you need to calm down and take things a little slowly.
To dream of numbers, denotes that unsettled conditions in business will cause you uneasiness and dissatisfaction.
Interpreting numbers that we see in dreams may be difficult. Their meaning my be very personal, such as a reflection of financial concern or any other area of daily life represented by numbers. One way to interpret numbers is to try to see how they are specifically related to you. (E.g. If you have the number 25 in your dream. Your house number is 12 while your parent's number is 13. Together they make 25, and this dream could have been addressing issues in regard to you and your parents.) On the other hand, numbers in dreams may represent global concepts and point to collective dilemmas.
A symbol of individuality—of private thoughts. The windows symbolize the possibility of understanding and of passing through to the external and
the beyond, and are also an illustration of any idea of communication. Hence, a
closed room lacking windows may be symbolic of virginity, according to Frazer,
and also of other kinds of non-communication. Many rites involving the
enclosureimage are performed to mark the reaching of puberty, all over the world.
The legend about Danae, shut up by her father in a bronze tower, pertains to this
particular symbolism. There is a Siberian legend concerning a ‘dark house of iron’
which is also relevant to it (21). We might also mention the ‘vase with a lid’, one
of the eight emblems of good luck in Chinese Buddhism, and a symbol of wholeness, of the idea with no ‘exit’, or, in other words, of supreme intelligence triumphant over birth and death (signified respectively by the doors and windows of
the room) (5). This explains why the hermetically sealed room may possibly be
a variant form of the ‘vase with a lid’.
To dream that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a specific relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. If the room is welcoming or comfortable, then it signifies opulence and satisfaction in life. If you see a dark or confined room, then it denotes that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.
To dream that you find or discover a new room, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Consider what you find in the discovered room as it may indicate repressed memories, fears, or rejected emotions. Alternatively, such rooms are symbolic of neglected skills or rejected potential.
To dream that you are in an empty white room, indicates a fresh start. It is like a blank canvas where you want to start life anew. Alternatively, the dream means that you are trying to isolate yourself. You do not want any outside influences.
To dream of a yellow room, suggests that you need to use your mind. You are feeling stimulated mentally.
Dreaming that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a particular relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. Dreaming that you find or discover new rooms, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Seeing an appealing or comfortable room in your dream means opulence and satisfaction in life. Seeing a dark, eerie or confining room indicates that that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.
To dream that you are holding something, suggests that you are trying to control or manipulate this object. Consider the significance and symbolism of this object. Holding may also signify protection, responsibility, or possession.