Many cultures and races have believed that number 7 has mysterious, indeed
mystical and spiritual properties, writes S. Raghunath

From the earliest beginnings, man has been superstitious. Even today, we have customs and rituals based upon the fears and taboos of our superstitious ancestors, but men of all cultures and races have believed that the numbers 7 and 9 have mysterious, indeed mystical and spiritual properties.

Pythogoras, the Greek thinker well-known for his theorem of square roots, laid great emphasis on the sacred nature of number 7 as a mathematician, philosopher and theologian.

The Old Testament held that God created the earth and its creatures in six days and rested on the seventh day.

Earlier tradition held that creation began on a Monday and ended with the crowning glory Man on the seventh day which would be a Sunday. This was the origin of the tradition in Europe that proclaimed Sunday as Sabbath — a day for penance, prayer and introspection.

The natural world seems to reflect the unique nature of number 7. Every child knows the seven colours that comprise the spectrum —violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The Indian notational system of music has seven notes as basic scales —Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dhi and ni and the western system of music has its counterpart with its 7 basic scales — Do, re, ma, faso, la and ti.

Our ancestors were so fond of the number that they ascribed seven senses to a human body. These were animation, feeling, speech, taste, sight, hearing and smell. It was further held that each one of these properties were under the influence of seven planets.

The Dark Ages can also claim Seven Wonders of the world like the ancients before them. These would be the Colosseum in Rome where gladiators fought wild animals for public entertainment, the Catacombs of Alexandria, the Great Wall of China which is about 1500 miles long and took over a million men 25 years to complete, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy which is 15 degrees off its perpendicular axis comes next.

The Porcelain Tower of Nanking in China, the Church of St Sophia in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the awesome megaliths of Stonehenge in England make up the remaining Seven Wonders of the medieval world.

The Catholic Church mentions the seven graces used for sanctimonious purposes. The Lord’s Prayer consists of seven parts. Even ancient Indians, the Sumerians, the Aztecs and the Mayans held the number 7 in awe and reverence.

It is astonishing that this strange cult of numbers is prevalent even in Japan. The Japanese worship seven deities to bring wealth, happiness and prosperity.

At one time, it was widely believed that every seventh year in a man’s life brought about great changes and great dangers. The creation of the world took place in seven days.

There are numerous references to this number in the Old Testament and other religious scriptures belonging to other faiths. A 7th child is believed to be lucky, while the Scots believe that such a child can cure diseases.

The 7th child of a 7th child is believed to be not only doubly blessed, but also be gifted with extra sensory perception and supernatural powers and will be able to foretell the future.

There is also a widespread belief that if a person’s date of birth is divisible by 7, he will be lucky. As a result of the Seven Weeks’ War (1860) between Austria and Russia, the latter emerged as a predominant European and world power.

The Seven Years’ War (1756-63) fought by France, Austria and Russia against Frederick the Great of Prussia, France lost her Indian colonies to Britains also her colonies in North America and the Far East.

Ancient Hindus believed that there were seven sages who through prayer and penance attained godhead and upon their deaths, they went to reside in the sky as seven stars, possibly a reference to the constellation Pleidus or the Great Bear.

In medieval Europe, the number 7 was associated with alchemy and witchcraft. In fairy tales also, it was a magic number such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Sleeping Beauty. The Sleeping Beauty fell asleep for seven years after sipping witches’ poisonous brew.

There is also the popular legend about the Seven Sleepers. They were seven Christian youths of Ephesus who were cruelly persecuted by the Roman Emperor Decinus (c. 325 B.C) who fled and hid in a cave and fell into a miraculous sleep that lasted for seven years.

It was our ancestors again who believed that the seven sciences — grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine (surgery), mathematics, music and astrology — had their equivalent in the seven seas which were the North and South Atlantic, the North and South Pacific, the Indian and the Arctic and the Antarctic.

The continents are also Seven to match — Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Europe and Antarctica. Indeed, no other number has as many associations and legends linked to it as the number 7.

The seven ages of man can be ascribed to Christ himself who declared that one can hope to live as long as three score years and seven.

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