FOUR, FIVE AND SIX - ABOUT WHOLENESS, THE FEMININE AND THE HIGHER SELF

According to Jungian psychology three elements can be brought into the field of consciousness, but the fourth element will remain outside of it. That is why Plato begins his Timaeus by stating: ‘One, two, three – but  … where is the fourth?’ The fourth has remained in the unconscious. Since he did not cross the threshold of consciousness the fourth is at the same time the one, since he still partakes in the primeval unity of the night. This is of vast importance for our psychic functioning. According to Jung human consciousness rests on a foundation of four elementary psychological functions: a function which ascertains that something is there (sensation); a second function which establishes what is (thinking); a third function which states whether it suits us or not (feeling); and a fourth function which indicates where it came from and where it is going (intuition). But only three of these four orienting functions at the most are available to consciousness. The fourth function will resist the attempt to differentiate it to the same level as the other functions: ‘It refuses to come along with the others and often goes wildly off on its own.’ (Psychology and Religion: West and East, CW 11, par. 245)

SEVEN, EIGHT AND NINE: ABOUT PEACE, BALANCE AND COMPLETION
TEN (2+0+0+8): NEW BEGINNINGS

It is impossible to divide a circle in seven equal parts using only a pair of compasses, a ruler and a rectangle. Hence we cannot easily draw a regular heptagon, this in contrast to the regular pentagon. In the famous cathedral of Amiens there is a rose-window with a five-rayed star. The cathedral in Laon shows an attempt to construct a rose-window based on the number seven, but the architect didn’t succeed in making the window regular. For the same reason we cannot expect to find the number seven in a mandala symbol. The seven derives its psychological significance primarily from the six. The six has a close relationship to time. Genesis tells us that the world was created in six days. Seven is the number that transcends six. The seventh day is the day of rest after the six days of creation. Within the Jewish and the Christian tradition seven symbolizes the end of the world and the fullness of time. The number eight again points to the Self or to the eighth day as day of eternity. Universally it is the number of cosmic balance, fulfillment and completeness. Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant note in A Dictionary of Symbols: ‘As for the eighth day, following the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest, [eight] is a symbol of resurrection and of transfiguration and heralds the age of eternity which is to come. It comprises not only Christ’s resurrection, but that of the human race.’ (p. 343)

ELEVEN, TWELVE AND THIRTEEN: THE COSMIC CODE

When I started to investigate the psychological meaning of numbers higher than ten, I had no idea what I would find. I knew already that I was born on 11 Wind, at least according to the Mayan calendar in the form presented by José Argüelles. Later I heard that October 27, 1962 had been the most critical day of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I wondered what day that could have been on the Mayan Calendar. To my surprise the result was 11 Wind.