numbers

Dreaming Lens: Did a number itself feature in your dream? Was it the number of something that was significant? Was there more than one digit, or was your dream number from one to nine? Was there calculation involved? Did the number have a specific purpose, such as a phone number or address?

Personal Focus: Numbers are the building blocks for our understanding of how life is constructed. The movement of the Earth, moon, and other planets are geometrical in nature. Music is simply math expressed as tone. Digital technology reduces various data to numeric sequences and then back again to its original form. Our need to describe physical phenomena led us to create nine whole numbers that, in different sequences, can express anything from gravity to the speed of light, or the way visitors can identify which house on the block is yours.

The universally accepted meaning of numbers is what informs the discipline of numerology. From this tradition, we get the foundational and metaphysical interpretation of the nine whole numbers. Use this as a base to inform how you consider the image from your dream with which the number is associated. If there is more than one digit involved, add all the values together until you arrive at a final, single number. For example, if an address is 115 Main Street, you would add one plus one plus five and get seven.

The explanations below are meant to be read in order in one sitting, no matter what specific number you are interested in examining. There is a structure to the way the meaning of each digit expands on its predecessor, which will give you a powerful sense of the whole system and aid you in using numbers in the interpretation process.

One: One represents beginnings and is the starting point of existence. In human terms, it is the self alone. It is the idea before any action is taken. As such, it embodies the concept of potential and that which has yet to happen. In fact, the energy of one is limited by its inability to do anything by itself. However, it also connects to stillness and the cultivation of desire that precedes movement. One is the beginning of the journey, which can be a very exciting energy. However, the journey can bring with it the challenge of loneliness and isolation.

Two: When a second joins the one and two is formed, partnership is created. The concept of relativity evolves out of the energy of two, as the one has something to which it experiences itself as relative to. The one can now know itself as Self, because there is that which is Other. All of the elements of two are embodied in this idea—partnership, duality, opposites, yin/yang, balance, sharing, to name just a few. The Shadow side of two is the potential for collapsing into one another and losing the sense of Self.

Three: When two are gathered, eventually their energy will create a new element, and a third is born. Three is the number of creativity. A powerful energy, there are many examples of the concept of three. Mother-father-child is perhaps the most universal. The holy trinity in Catholicism is another instance. The artist, the paint, and the finished work is just one case that can be applied to any creative endeavor. In music, a trine is the simplest and perhaps most pleasing harmony. In the world of geometry, it is only when you have three points to work with that you can create an actual shape and accurately define a location in space. The challenge of three is a lack of grounding and separation from reality. This is because three relates so strongly to the drive to create, that feeling unable to do so would be the fear-based side of this energy.

Four: When you add a fourth point to a triangle, you end up with a square. Four is the number of structure. Once the creative impulse has been satisfied, it is time for solidification, which can be accomplished by the power of four. A wonderful weight-bearing shape, a square is what allows for building the foundation on which the creative energies of three can be supported. Four connects to the establishment of institutions, order, rules, and regulations. While a number of great strength, it can engender a sense of limitation and the concept of restraint.

Five: What follows the foundational sense of four is the freedom of five. Once a structure has been established, there is now a sense of safety and security for exploration. The number five embodies this expressiveness. The human body expresses the number five as represented by the four limbs and the head. The ability for the body to move about through space is a vibrant and exhilarating experience. In this way, five symbolizes joy and bliss. With this, comes the shadow of freedom; indulgence. This expression of five can carry grave consequences such as compulsion and addiction.

Six: Six is the number of partnership, marriage, creative collaboration, and balance. After the freedom of five, there is a need for stability, which is provided by the even number six. This energy can also be seen as a pairing of two threes. If three is about primal creativity at an individual level, combining two systems of three allows for six to engender worldly partnerships and the concept of marriage and union. This number represents partnership on every level: business, social, educational, and spiritual. In personal realms, the number six represents the happy union of opposites within us and the integration of our own opposing forces, such as containing two powerful emotions that contradict each other. The challenge of the six energy connects to responsibility and a sense of burden.

Seven: After all the work in the external world that brought us to the concept of partnership, we are now prepared for a more elevated experience of human expression. Seven is the number of spirituality and higher thought, which is only possible after the basic human needs are met. We are now free to look up and contemplate our existence in a more esoteric manner. Meditation and any consideration of the interior landscape of our humanity is governed by the number seven. This includes thought, contemplation, mysticism, prayer, faith, psychology, and any endeavor that seeks to understand life from a higher perspective. This is a number we are all familiar with as significant: seven days of the week, seven deadly sins, seven notes in the diatonic scale. The challenge associated with this vibration is of getting lost in the ethers and losing contact with life on the ground.

Eight: After spiritual matters have been made manifest, great abundance is possible. Eight is the number of infinity and all that it implies. This includes wealth of every kind: love, money, bliss, joy, and every amazing experience life has to offer. The concept of infinity states that there is no limitation in the universe; that time and space continue forever and ever in a way that is beyond our ability to truly comprehend. When we combine an understanding of infinity and abundance, we begin to realize that there is an endless supply of anything we could possibly desire, even those things that you perceive as limited and unavailable to us. Eight is the magic of seven in action. The shadow side to this is greed, hoarding, and withholding love.

Nine: The final number in the system is nine, which represents completion and endings. All things must end in order for the inevitable new beginning to follow. Nine embodies that cycle of existence that demands that change occur and that the old give way to the new. We have started the journey alone in the infinite (one), discovered opposites and relativity (two), invented creativity (three), built a foundation (four), expressed freedom (five), partnered with another (six), went inward to find spirituality (seven), expressed and enjoyed the rewards of the outside world (eight), and now we come to a close (nine). The shadow side to the completion energy of nine is the fear associated with endings and death.

2- Symbolically numbers have some kind of significance in all systems of belief and religions. Below are the most often found meanings, which have been divided into three sub-sections, a) Supposed practical everyday interpretations of numbers as seen in dreams:

One You will have outstanding skill in the work vou do. Two Business or personal relationships need handling carefully. Three Your ideas for stability and success will materialise. Four A secure and sheltered home is yours for the asking. Five You are about to make an important discovery which will bring about changes. Six A loving relationship is available to you. Seven With personal effort you can solve your problems. Eight Your life holds the potential for a wonderful ofler. Nine Take care not to overreach yourself. Zero The cipher holds within it all potential, b)

Summary of qualities represented by primary numbers:

One Independence, self-respect, resolve, singleness of purpose. Intolerance, conceit, narrow- mindedness, degradation, stubbornness. Two Placidity integrity, unselfishness, gregariousness, harmony. Indecision, indifference, lack of responsibility, bloody- mindedness. Three Freedom, bravery, fun, enthusiasm, brilliance. Listlessness, over-confidence, impatience, lackadaisical behaviour. Four Loyalty, stolidity, practicality, honesty. Clumsiness, dullness, conservatism, unadaptibil- ity. Five Adventurousness, viva- ciousness, courage, health, susceptibility, sympathy. Rashness, irresponsibility, inconstancy, unreliability, thoughtlessness. Six Idealism, selflessness, honesty, charitableness, faithfulness, responsibility, superiority, softness, impracticality, submission. Seven Wisdom, discernment, philosophy; fortitude, depth, contemplation. Morbidness, hypercriticism, lack of action, unsociability. Eight Practicality, power, business ability; decision, control, constancy. Un imaginativeness, bluntness, self-sufficiency, domination. Nine Intelligence, discretion, artistry, understanding, brilliance, lofty- moral sense, genius. Dreaminess, lethargy, lack of concentration, aimlessness, c) The more esoteric interpretations are:

One Oneself, the beginning, the first, unity. Two Duality, indecision, balance, male vs female, two sides to an argument, opposites. Three The triangle, freedom. Four The square, strength, stability practicality; the earth, reality, the four sides of human nature - sensation, feeling, thought, intuition; earth, air, fire and water. Five The human body, human consciousness in the body, the five senses. Six Harmony or balance. Seven Cycles of life, magical, spiritual meaning; human wholeness. Eight Death and resurrection, infinity. Nine Pregnancy, the end of the cycle and the start of something new, spiritual awareness. Ten A new beginning, the male and female together. Eleven Eleventh hour, the master number. Twelve Time, a full cycle or wholeness. Zero The Feminine, the Great Mother, the unconscious, the absolute or hidden completeness.

3- Spiritually, as we progress we put ourselves in a position to make the best use of the vibrator) effect of numbers. It has long been acccptcd that by combining numbers in certain ways, infiucncc can be brought to bear on the dreamer’s environment.

Should numbers appear in your dreams, first make a note of any personal associations you may have with that particular number, as it may have relevance in your waking world. For example, numbers can represent your age, the number of your house, the number of your children and their birth order. They can also represent time, days, weeks, years and lucky or unlucky numbers.

Your mind may often retain the significance of a number even if you do not consciously remember it yourself. Your memory is a database that stores all kinds of numbers of personal significance: pin numbers, post codes, license plate numbers, as well as dates of birthdays and anniversaries, be they personal or of global significance such as 6 / 6 / 1944 (D-Day) or 9 / 11 / 2001. So when you dream of a number, consider any connections you have with it as its significance in dreamland may not be immediately clear. By bringing a specific number to your attention, your dreaming mind may have been prompting your conscious mind to remember something that happened on that particular date or in the house you lived in that had that particular number; it might, however, have been reminding you to call a friend with that phone number or to remember an appointment on that day.

If you cannot figure out any personal associations, the next step is to see whether you can see symbolic meanings for individual numbers.

If your number has more than one digit, reduce it to single numbers: e.g. 451 = 4 + 5 + 1 = 10 = 1, or 1965 = 1 + 9 + 6 + 5 = 21 = 2 + 1 = 3, and see whether the single number carries any meaning for you according to the symbolic interpretations given in this chapter.

Numbers have some kind of symbolic significance within all cultures, religions and belief systems of the world. Since humans could first count, numbers have had a fascinating, mysterious and even mystical significance. Early man found in numbers realizations of inner qualities, spiritual understanding, unconscious wisdom and even magic. For Freud, numbers reveal their meaning through each individual dreamer’s free association. In myth, legend and fairy tale numbers play an important role and these ancient associations—which Jung called ‘root symbols’—are expressed in dreams. According to Jung, numbers therefore represent ‘archetypal energies of the collective unconscious’ and the various stages of spiritual growth.

Alternatively, the order in which numbers are given in your dream may be significant in terms of helping you to prioritize events or projects in your life. Dream numbers may also suggest time running out, as in ‘your days are numbered’ or the need for you to make a calculated move. Alternatively numbers in dreams may refer simply to multiplicity or size, as in a crowd of events, a big experience, or some kind of realization that has many facets or involves many people.

Also worth noting is the idea that odd numbers are considered to be aggressive, ‘masculine’ active powers, whilst even numbers are considered to be more ‘feminine,’ tranquil and passive.

See also LETTERS AND COMMUNICATION; MIND, BODY, SPIRIT; SHAPES; TIME.