Symbolic Seven is found throughout history and cultures. To wit, here are a few symbolic associations with number seven to help us further grasp the symbolic meaning of seven:
In astronomy’s infancy there were initially seven planets identified:
- Sun
- Moon
- Venus
- Mercury
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
In ancient Sumaria each of these planets were identified with seven gods which shared the same name:
- Sun = Shamash (the law giver)
- Moon = Nanna (lord of destiny)
- Venus = Ishtar (the pristine)
- Mercury = Nabou (the jumper)
- Mars = Nergal (the smoulderer)
- Jupiter = Marduk (the one who glows)
- Saturn = Ninurta (the constant)
With each of these “planets” and gods, correlate seven days of the week (and each of these days are symbolic as you will see on my post here).
Seven musical notes and seven prismatic colors:
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Indigo
- Violet
Seven primary chakras (composing the chakra spine):
- Muladhara
- Swadhisthana
- Manipura
- Anahata
- Vishudha
- Ajna
- Sahasrara
In Christianity the Bible is rife with symbolic sevens – too many to mention, but here are a few:
- Seven pairs of clean animals & birds retained in the ark parable
- In the same parable seven marks the passage of time
- Seven virtues
- Seven sins
- Seven sacraments
- Seven joys
- Seven sorrows of the Virgin
- Seven seals
- God’s blessing on the seventh day
In Judaism:
- Seven branches of the Menorah
- Seven heavens
- Seven feast, festivals and purifications
- Seven pillars of wisdom
- New year begins the seventh month
- Sabbath occurs every seventh year
In Buddhism:
- Seven heavens
- Seven emblems of Buddha
In Hinduism:
- Seven symbolic rays of the sun
- Seven symbolic faces in the world mountain
In Islam:
- Seven heavens
- Seven hells
- seven earths
- seven seas
- seven doorways to paradise
- seven ambulations around Ka’aba at pilgrimage
In ancient Egypt:
- Seven gods of light
- Seven gods of darkness
These are just a scant few references to symbolic seven.
What other symbolic sevens can you contribute to this post?
