Listen to Heaven and Nature Sing

Here is a Winter Solstice gift for you!


NASA video of the planetary sounds





Outback Australia - Nature sounds of nature




Happy Holidays!

The Galaxies at the end of the universe!

Here is a Summer Solstice gift for you!

The Hubble Deep Field.

"In 2003, the Hubble Space Telescope took the image of a millenium, an image that shows our place in the universe. Anyone who understands what this image represents, is forever changed by it."

If you have ever wondered why, for eons and eons, the sky along with all its heavenly bodies has been considered the abode of Crator, Spirit, God, watch this breathtaking six and a half minute video. Turn off the lights, let it fill your screen and your senses.....be One with the awesome body of the universe!

I Ching (Yijing) throughout the year – the Tidal Gua (aka the Monthly Hexagrams)

There are twelve special hexagrams in the Yijing (I Ching) that are often called the Tidal Gua. They each represent a solar month and are symbolic of the rise and fall of yang and yin throughout the course of the year, starting with the Chinese Solar New Year in February.

The equinoxes and solstices are also each represented by a hexagram which will be described in the appropriate month.

February

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 11, Tai, Advance, or Peace, Harmony, Good Opportunity. The element is Earth, and the chakra is the Solar Plexus. This is the first month in the Chinese solar calendar ~ Happy New Year ~ !

This is an especially favorable time...the beginning of a new year...and as all beginnings, notice that it starts in balance with the lower yang lines and upper yin lines. The active energies are strengthening and moving upward and outward. The passive energies are decreasing, resting on and meeting with the active. Since the trigrams move toward each other, the lower moving upward, and the upper moving downward, this symbolizes the combining or co-mingling of opposites thereby establishing a state of balance and harmony of the natural energies. In the trigram family, the upper yin lines represent the Mother, the lower yang lines represent the Father. When Mother and Father come together, all things may be conceived, may be born, grow and prosper.

Also, this is a reminder to us to work toward the balance of inner strength, virtue and correct conduct, with outer softness, showing mercy and compassion to others. Personal spiritual growth and self-cultivation is a good thing to work on at this time. The days are a little longer and a little warmer, allowing us to get outside and back into Nature. That, in turn, gives us the opportunity to mingle with others (we all get out more when the weather is nicer!) and share some of that rising, positive energy.

March

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 34, Da Zhuang, Great Strength, thunder over sky or heaven. The phase is wood, the chakra is the Heart. With the coming of the Spring Equinox this month, we see that growing yang has overbalanced receding yin. Being of the wood phase, the energies are outward moving, but sideways, like a tree sprouting spring buds, rather than straight upward. Eventually the leaves will reach for the sun, but not yet. Likewise, we are coming out of a hibernation of sorts, re-exploring our newborn surroundings after the sleep of winter. The Great Strength we see is the inner strength of Virtue; outwardly, we should still reach with the gentle, soft touch of the heart when dealing with others. An astral journey may be indicated with the feet (thunder) over the head (heaven); this reversed body position could be symbolic of climbing the upside-down World Tree sometimes depicted in Northern Asia as having roots in heaven and branches touching the earth...the paradox of going up (toward heaven) and down (toward the roots) at the same time. Thunder in the sky represents the spring rains that will nourish the crops, the food to sustain Life and bring future prosperity, both physical and spiritual. Thunder, the eldest son, above Heaven, the father, reminds me of the scene in the movie "The Lion King" where King Mufasa, standing on the cliff above the other citizens of the African plains, holds aloft his eldest cub Simba, his great promise for the future. That scene always gives me goosebumps, much like an approaching thunderstorm!

Spring Equinox is symbolized by hexagram number 51, The Arousing, Shocking, thunder over thunder. This is quite a lively month with all the thunder symbolism! Doubled thunder represents a blast of energy, doubled feet a lot of movement. There is great potential for creativity and new beginnings, but much disruption, too. Like the warning of the Tarot Tower card, caution must be taken that any "shock" be met with inner firmness and outer flexibility, be weathered creatively but not allowed to push us from our path.


April

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 43, Guai, Eliminating, or Resolution (equivalent to "eliminating" obstacles or hesitation), lake over heaven/sky. The phase is metal, and the chakra is the throat. As coincidence has it, this chakra attribute coincides favorably with the upper trigram which also represents the mouth, and the advice of the I includes "Declaring," "howling," and to "notify," all voice related activities. This is a time when the five strong lines below are one step away from eliminating the weak yin line at the top. The image speaks of water from the lake accumulating high above. There is the tension as of a coming storm. (You may be reminded, as I am, of the little poem "April showers/bring May flowers.") As it happens, it's raining even as I write this!

The lower trigram of three yang lines is the Father. Of the metal element, this is indicative of great inner strength and wisdom. The upper three lines, two yang and one yin, the lake, is the youngest daughter in the trigram family. She is named "The Joyful" or "The Joyous." Her elemental correspondence is metal also, making this a very strong combination indeed. The strength of the yang lines pushing upward and finally bursting through the one yin line shows that we can overcome any lingering inferior yin forces. It is definitely a time for overcoming obstacles (within ourselves, or in our external environment), for action and support for worthy causes! However, rushing into action recklessly would be a mistake.

It is worth noting that our youngest, joyful daughter also represents the metal of weapons -- and we can't help be wary of having "sharp tongues." Speaking out sharply would only cause further strife when we are trying to relieve tensions. Rather, we should take the time to consider and choose our words carefully, use our Voices, yet resolve to speak out against negative influences with thought, clarity, and virtue.

May

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 1, Qian, The Creative, or Initiating, heaven/ sky over heaven/sky. The phase is metal, and the chakra is the third eye.

Heavenly, yang energies are at their peak this month just as the longest days of the year occur during this month. Sometimes people wonder why this is the May hexagram instead of June, as we usually think of June as being the Summer, very yang, month. The reason is the Solstice; Just as the hours of daylight were (finally!) longer than the hours of darkness with the coming of the Equinox in March, the hours of daylight begin to wane again with the coming of the Solstice in June. Therefore, May is really the month with the most hours of sunlight each day.

This hexagram is one of the few which contain all four of the most auspicious Judgments in the I Ching: sublime initiation (yuan), prosperous and smooth (heng), favorable and successful (li), and steadfast and upright (zhen). It contains the full circle of sprouting, growing, blooming, and bearing fruit. Ancient oracle bones tell us that this sequence once may have represented the proper way to conduct a divination. Heng and zhen meant "sacrificial offerings" (to Heaven, Earth, and ancestors) and "divination" respectively. Master Huang, in The Complete I Ching, says "From the ancient pictographs of yuan, heng, li, and zhen we comprehend that one needs to prepare for divination by aligning with the spirit of Heaven and Earth and presenting sincerity and reverence as sacrificial offerings; then one will reap the harvest of the divination to obtain guidance for favorable actions and to avoid misconduct that invites misfortune." (p.23)

This information, combined with the third eye chakra (Second Sight!) correspondence, not to mention the real & symbolic "light" of this month, it seems that divinations are especially favored! You may want to ask at this time what the next year will bring. Good luck!

June

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 44, Gou, Encountering, or Meeting Together, heaven/sky over wind/wood. The phase is metal, and the chakra is the crown. Following the Summer Solstice, the yin, dark energies begin their yearly return as we see in the bottom line of this hexagram; the darkness beginning to encroach on and displace the bright yang lines.

Because of the single yin line at the bottom, which is advancing, this hexagram is considered an unfavorable omen; dark forces or unworthy persons are approaching. The wind in the sky penetrates everywhere; one must be vigilant lest negative influences try to worm their way into one's life. Competition between the yang lines (men) for the single yin line (woman) is another symbol associated with this sign: beware of entering into competition with people or the Self; arguments and disruptions will surely occur if you do. Also, take care to not regress into bad habits.

The summer solstice is marked by hexagram number 30, Li, Radiance, or Brightness, fire doubled. Fire is the symbol of the sun. It is also the symbol of the middle daughter, and of the eye; the middle daughter is the diviner, the clairvoyant who sees clearly and can interpret well the advice received through an I Ching divination. Fire is also sometimes referred to as "the clinging" because it clings to that which is burning. When one "clings" to brightness, that which is virtuous and correct, one is able to avoid darkness and danger. However, one should not attach to too much brightness, or one will burn oneself out!


July

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 33, Dun, Retreat, heaven/sky over mountain. The phase is metal, and the chakra is the Third Eye; having reached the crown last month, qi is now moving down the front of the body as the Microcosmic Orbit, as it is known in qi gong, continues.

The dark, yin forces are advancing. Retreat tells us that now is not the time to oppose them. Just the opposite, we are advised to draw back and regroup. How does one draw back? In an orderly fashion. This is not a turn-tail-and-run sort of withdrawal, but rather we should acknowledge the strengthening of dark forces without becoming involved with them. The two trigrams, heaven and mountain, do not move toward each other; the favorable energy of heaven moves upward, but the mountain stands still. Allow yourself to look upward, beyond the negativity; rise above it and stand fast in your virtue.

The top trigram also represents the father, and the sage, the repository of creativity and wisdom. The lower mountain trigram represents the youngest son. In other cultures, when the youngest son goes to his father for a lesson, he seldom fires off questions; he sits quietly and observes keenly. These are his lessons; patience, looking beyond the trivial, and paying attention to the higher, important happenings. An appropriate proverb might be "Good things come to those who wait."

When we seek creativity and wisdom, we should emulate the youngest son, assume the stillness of a mountain (better yet, find a place to sit on top of one) quietly in meditation, retreat to an inner place, and watch what unfolds from the heavens, for, assuredly, something will!


August

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 12, Pi, Hindrance or Misfortune, heaven/sky over earth. The phase is metal, and the chakra is the throat; qi continues to move down the front of the body as the Microcosmic Orbit of circulating energy continues.

There is no integration of yin and yang energy here; worse, the yang energy above, following its natural course, continues to move upward and farther away while the yin energy below continues to sink further downward foretelling the continuation of imbalance and disharmony. Master Hua Ching Ni, in The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth, tells us: "Much is given; little is received." (p. 282) All our energy is being poured outward; our inner energy is in danger of being completely depleted if we continue to give without remembering to rejuvenate ourselves.

Perhaps we have, during these longer and balmy summer days, spent more of our time out and about enjoying Nature than we have spent practicing the cultivation of inner energy or our spiritual selves. We may have gotten "carried away" with all the outdoor activity of the season, and may now be experiencing a decline in our reserves. (It's somewhat amazing to notice the number of people who are relieved by the arrival of Labor Day in September...they get to slow down a little!

Of course, everything cycles over time, so while we should certainly be careful at a time like this which calls to our attention the prevailing state of imbalance and disharmony, we know that this is not a lasting condition; we need only to return to the practice of cultivating our inner selves and spiritual energy.

September

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 20, Guan, Watching, Contemplation or Point of View, wind/wood over earth. The phase is wood, and the chakra is the heart.

With the equinox fast approaching, the dark hours will soon overtake the daylight hours; so begins the seasonal strength of the annual yin cycle. Guan is sometimes spelled Kuan, and this hexagram may belong to Kuan Shih Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The trigrams of wind and earth represent the eldest daughter and the mother; the hexagram itself resembles the doorway to the temple, or an altar. The advice for this symbol is to prepare oneself to make a sacrifice. Perhaps the mother and her daughter come together to celebrate a ceremony of thanks for an abundant harvest, or perhaps they prepare for meditative practice where the offering is made to "show one's sincerity," (Huang, p 186) remembering it is as important to maintain spiritual practice at one's inner altar as to visit the temple or shrine.

It is also a time for looking back over the year to ponder your accomplishments. Did you do what you set out to do? Do you need to continue efforts in any area?

Also, in actually looking downward (from the "high" yang lines at the top), which implies that you, as a person in a "high" place, are looking "down" upon your followers, you have the opportunity as a leader to make sure you are leading in a correct and virtuous manner. Do not watch just your followers; more importantly, watch yourself as well so that inner negative forces do not overcome the positive. Keep in mind, a person in a "high" place is always being watched by someone! As Master Ni says, "Just as a penetrating wind pervades everywhere, a good way of life and good teachings influence everyone they touch." (Ni, p. 328)

The autumnal equinox.









October

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 23, Bo, Falling Away, Erosion or Decline, mountain over earth. The phase is earth, and the chakra is the solar plexus.

This hexagram is often spoken of as depicting a landslide; the single yang line at the top of the mountain cannot be supported properly by the advancing yin lines of the earth, and therefore yang energy will soon disintegrate. The youngest son (the mountain) may want to advance or stand alone away from his mother (the three yin lines at the bottom), but his strength has been vastly reduced; he has no other recourse but to accept the darkness of the time and await the turning of the seasons. As Master Ni succinctly says, "Now is not a good time to go anywhere." (p. 344)

We see here a reminder of two things. First, stay grounded and be prepared; the mountain also indicates thoughtfulness and steadiness. We know that winter will soon be upon us; plan for the season. Be sure the pantry is well stocked, and the firewood is close at hand. Don't even try to rush around at the last minute, or you may feel as though you are caught in the middle of a landslide! Second, this is not a time to depend on others - remember, the yin lines cannot offer proper support to our actions. Depending too much on others could mean lack of preparedness just when it's most needed.

This hexagram looks too much like a doorway to not comment upon that symbolism. This is definitely a time to "go inside," go within yourself. This is surely the time for meditation (mountain), and calmness and transformation (earth). Hopefully, your transformation won't be of the "landslide" variety. But even the fall of a mountain opens new vistas and new paths to tread, though the going may at first be rocky.

November

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 2, Kun, Responding or Receptiveness, earth over earth. The phase is earth, and the chakra is the sacral.

Due to the reintroduction of yang energy at the Winter Solstice, November is the most yin month of the year, hence the hexagram of six yin lines. This is the hexagram of Mother Earth, just as the trigram of three yin lines represents the Mother in the trigram family.

She is both the receptive and the responsive for that is the interaction of her strength, and yet she contains the potential to manifest all creative possibilities. At this time we are like the seed in its furrow of earth waiting patiently (for how else does a seed wait?) for the warmth of spring to stir us to virtuous deeds. It is a time to be completely grounded and know where you come from, a time to follow along with the seeming drowsiness of winter, and yet a time of great potential if one practices meditations and visualizations for the future.

Now is the time of gestation. Imagine yourself as the earth resting beneath her snowy blanket. Go within, Be quiet, Follow your dreams.

December

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 24, Fu, Return or Turning Back, Earth (upper three lines) over Thunder (lower three lines). The element or phase is Earth, and the chakra is the Root Chakra. In the Chinese calendar, December is the eleventh month. It embraces the Winter Solstice which is marked by the single Yang line at the bottom of the hexagram; outward, active energies are just beginning to cycle in and upward but, as yet, remain buried deep within the stillness of earth like a seed awaiting the summons of spring. The symbolism of this hexagram is of a person turning homeward, or inward. Spiritually, it indicates a time of turning back to the source, our inner selves and our inner connections. This is a good month to sit by a warm fire with a cup of hot cocoa (with marshmallows!) and contemplate or meditate upon that inner spark of the lightening which accompanies Thunder, that tiny flame in the DanTien (our Spirit Energy Center) which connects us to the Higher Powers.

The Winter Solstice itself is governed by hexagram number 29, Kan, Darkness or Abyss, water over water. Here we see the yang energies, lines 2 and 5, trapped between yin energies just as the short winter days are trapped between long winter nights. (The lines that make the sign for water can be seen as the winter solstice day from midnight to midnight: 8 hours of darkness - bottom yin line, 8 hours of light - center yang line, and 8 hours of darkness - top yin line.) One way to interpret and apply the symbolism of this hexagram is to be like water: the water (the yang line) flows between the earthen banks (the yin lines). It remains steadfast on its course. Water has the ability to overcome the firmest of obstacles with its gentle persistence. (Consider its effect on the Grand Canyon!) When we meet obstacles with gentleness, remain flowing and letting the earth guide us along our course, we will usually find that the turning point toward a favorable outcome is nearer than we expected.


January

The I Ching hexagram governing this month is number 19, Lin, Approaching or Advancing, Earth (upper three lines) over Marsh or Lake (lower three lines). In the Chinese calendar, January is the twelfth month. The element or phase is Earth. Yang energy is increasing (note there are now two yang lines at the bottom) and moving upward and outward. Internally, this indicates energy moving upward along the spine to the Sacral Chakra. (Energy movement is upward following the yang Governing Vessel Meridian until June when it reaches the Crown. In July, it begins to descend along the yin Conception Vessel Meridian (front of the body), returning to the Root Chakra again in December. In Qi Gong, moving qi through your body along these channels is called the Small Heavenly Circuit.)

The trigram Earth represents the mother; the Lake represents the youngest daughter, and the mouth or voice. One of the written symbols for this hexagram indicates a person in a position of leadership; some suggest a teacher. The name of the hexagram implies the leader or teacher is growing toward greatness. Another part of the ancient writing for Lin shows three mouths, indicating "people." Perhaps the leader is moving toward greatness with her timely and correct advice or lessons to her followers.

Spiritually, it is a time to become more active, and yet be responsive to your inner voice. Perhaps dialoguing with your inner mother-self in a journal would be beneficial and help to clarify lessons you have learned that have led you on the correct path. It is also a time to be a good daughter/listener, to yourself and to others. As the Sacral is the chakra of partnerships, your inner dialogue may find an outward expression by your adopting the role of a big sister, leading or teaching others through the sharing of your experiences and insights.

For an excellent explanation of how these hexagrams came to represent the months of the year, see LiSe Heyboer's "From Gui to Gua" page on her website "Yi Jing, book of sun and moon."

2012 The Astronomy Connection

The following article was written by Roderick Marling and posted on his Kamakala.com website.

Mr Marling gives an excellent explanation of the astronomy behind the Winter Solstice 2012 event, and the possible symbolism behind the mystery of this much-discussed occurance, the Mayan calendar date of 13.0.0.0.0 that corresponds to the winter solstice date of 12-21-12 at 11:11 PM UT (which in itself is an interesting set of numbers!).

Enjoy!

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From the beginning of Time human beings, from the most primitive to the most culturally sophisticated, have followed and recorded the natural rhythms and cycles of the Earth. The intricate dance between the Earth and the other heavenly bodies has been the source of wonder and amazement giving rise to innumerable stories and myths all over the world. Many of these stores are still passed on today.

Ancient people of the Earth were concerned with these natural rhythms and cycles because their lives and livelihood depended on them. In certain times of the year food was plentiful in certain regions and not in others. At certain times the rains would come, at others they could expect the heat and drought. They also observed that fertility was somehow linked with the cycles of the Moon.

According to these various cycles of Nature then, people began to recognize a Cosmos of increasing complexity - repeating patterns and cycles enfolded within even larger cycles of order. The cyclic movements of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars indicated a Natural Order to Reality that provided our ancestors with meaning and the reassurance of continuity.

Heaven and Nature touched every aspect of their lives. Not only did their astronomical observations indicate when to plant their crops and when to harvest, but also where to locate their temples, how to design their homes and even how to orientate their cities. These people occupied a living and intelligent Universe that governed their lives. Survival and success then, depended on how well one could read the celestial signs.

As a brief review of the some of the most basic of these natural cycles, we will begin with the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Because the Earth rotates one complete revolution every 24 hours we observe the reoccurring periods of day and night.

Unfortunately there are surprisingly large numbers of people today that still do not understand that this daily cycle is caused by the motion of the Earth and not by anything the Sun is doing. This could somewhat be explained by the fact that our linguistic customs lag centuries behind our scientific understanding, and we continue to speak in terms of sunrise and sunsets.

Be that as it may, the next cycle we will look at is based not on the motion of the Earth but of the Moon. The Moon revolves around the Earth every 29.5 days, giving us the concept of the month as it appears in its different phases from New Moon to Full and once again back to New.

Then there is the observable cycle of the year, as the Earth dances around the Sun in an elliptical orbit taking 365.25 days to complete one revolution.

As people continued to observe the heavenly bodies they also began to notice that some of the bright lights in the sky moved while others stayed relatively stationary. These wandering bodies we have come to know as the planets, and various people all over the world took a special interest in their particular movement and cycles, spawning a huge number of stories, myths and legends.

To those early astronomers who kept records of the movement of the Sun, Moon and Planets one of the greatest mysteries that they observed was the fact that every year they would wait for the Sun to appear on the Spring Equinox or Winter Solstice at a specific place on the horizon signaling the New Year.

Over time they were dismayed to find that the Sun no longer appeared in the same place it did just 70 years before, but had moved one full degree (the equivalent to the diameter of the Sun - times two). This slow movement, called the Precession of the Equinox, causes the Equinox Sun to appear to slip backward against the backdrop of the stars.

Astronomers have now managed to figure out that the Earth is not a perfect sphere by any means. It’s actually a bit flattened at the poles and has a bulge at the equator. As a result, the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun exert an uneven influence on the Earth. Their gravitational forces try to pull the equatorial bulge toward them. Because the Earth is spinning these forces make the axis of the Earth wobble, shifting ever so slowly. Gradually the polar axis that was at one time aligned with a particular star begins to shift until it is aligned with another star.

Right now the Earth’s axis at the North Pole points to the star Polaris – which appropriately we call the Pole Star. But 5,000 years ago the north celestial pole aligned to the star called Alpha Draconis. Eight thousand years in the future the pole star will be Vega.

This Precessional movement then is the same motion responsible for the shift of the location of the Equinoxes and the Solstices. The ancient astronomers detected the long term Precessional motion of the Sun through the back drop of the constellations and calculated the length of this Cycle to around 25,600 to 26,000 years.

This means that the Sun that marks the Spring Equinox which now appears in front of the background of stars in the constellation of Pisces, in about 500 years will rise in the constellation of Aquarius. It will continue to shift backwards through the various constellations Capricorn, Sagittarius, etc., until in about 26,000 years it will arrive back to the exact same point in Pisces.

The understanding of this Precession of the Equinox then gave rise to the many myths and legends of the different World Ages. As the Processional movement continued to shift the Equinox into a new constellation, various cultures perceived this as a New Age or New World. As the Spring Equinox Sun appeared to rise in the constellation of Taurus, people perceived this as the Age of the Bull; the Age of the Ram as it rose in the constellation of Aries; the Age of the Fish as it rose in Pisces and so on.

At one time many civilizations on Earth were aware of this natural cycle of the Earth and incorporated it into their cosmologies and concepts of Time in various ways. Each one reflecting a slightly different interpretation and meaning, but in their different ways they all held the Precessional Cycle as involving nothing less than the Cosmic process of Life’s evolution, subtly influencing all of Earth’s Life Forms to move to higher levels of organization and complexity. It came to symbolize the Spiritual Process of Unfolding Consciousness on our planet.

What is important here is that this belief was actually based on an observable astronomical cycle: every 72 years the Solstice and Equinox Sun appeared to move backward through the constellations one degree - as a hand on a clock indicating the hours of the day. In this Cosmic Clock however, the hand or marker in motion is the specific location of the Equinox or Solstice Sunrise, while the face of the clock is represented by the relatively stationary constellations of the stars.

With this in mind then, we will now turn our attention to how this Precessional Cycle became incorporated into the Mayan Cosmology and how it relates to their long count calendar and specifically to the year 2012.

Perhaps more than any ancient culture that we are aware of at this point, the Mayan people were obsessed with Astronomy. Not only were they able to project their astronomical calculations thousands of years forward and backward in Time, but developed a recyclable Venus calendar that was accurate to one day in 500 years and a table of eclipses that still functions today. They also accurately calculated the solar year out to four decimal places. To accomplish these impressive computations they created a sophisticated system of mathematics utilizing place value and the concept of the zero. And all this while Europe was still wandering around in the Dark Ages.

In a complex culture such as we find with the Maya and considering it spanned a period of almost a thousand years, it is important to remember that there arose different belief systems at different times, some of which were coexisting at the same place. Just as if we were to look at the demographics of say modern New York city, we would find Jews perhaps living besides Moslems, Protestants and Catholics - all entertaining different belief systems.

And so it’s appropriate here to limit our considerations of the Mayan culture to only those beliefs that lend meaning and significance to the auspicious date indicated in their long count calendar - Dec.21, 2012.

As we more sharply focus in on this date, we find that one of the indicators to its probable significance is that it specifically designates the Winter Solstice. As this is our starting point in our analysis then, let’s take a closer look as to what this might mean.

First of all it is good to be aware that around the world in various past cultures, each one designated a specific time to mark the beginning of their New Year. In ancient Sumeria and Babylon the New Year began with the Spring Equinox. In Israel the New Year was gradually shifted to the Equinox in the Fall, while in Northern Europe, New Year was celebrated at the time of Winter Solstice. We still observe this particular New Year tradition, but add a few extra days so that now our New Year begins on January 1st.

In the context of this tradition then, the Winter Solstice on December 21 was celebrated as the Sun’s birthday. It is the longest night of the year and therefore the shortest day of the year. It represented the ultimate power of the dark forces of Nature: the long winter night when things appeared to be dead and still. And out of the depths of this longest night the new Sun was born. From this point on, the power of the light grows in strength and the days slowly begin to grow longer.

The Winter Solstice then inaugurated the birth of a new solar year. The Sun appeared to come back from its annual trip to the South and begins its slow return in to the Northern Latitudes. The sunrise on December 21 was believed to be like the first sunrise, and the start of the New Year was in fact a celebration of the beginning of Time.

With this particular context in mind, we are now prepared to examine more closely the reasons why the Winter Solstice in the year 2012 is so important. In the Mayan long count calendar a cycle of 5,200 years ends on this date, and it just so happens that it also points to a rare astronomical alignment. In fact this alignment only happens once every 26,000 years.

The auspicious year of 2012 indicated in the long count calendar illuminates the fact that the Precessional movement of the Winter Solstice Sun will gradually bring its position into alignment with the very center of our Galaxy. For the Maya, this is like the last stroke of Midnight on New Year’s Eve, only in 2012 the New Year is the New Galactic Year of 26,000 solar years. The Galactic Clock will be at zero point and a New Precessional Cycle will begin.

At this point you may be wondering what is so important about the Milky Way and why were the Maya even concerned with it?

Our scientific culture has finally come realize that our planet, the Sun, and the entire solar system had its origins at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. We also have recently found that our Galaxy is 70,000 light years in diameter, with most of its 400 billion stars concentrated in the great central bulge.

Equipped with ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma-ray instruments, plus infrared telescopes most astronomers are now convinced that at the center of our Galaxy is a massive black hole the unimaginable seize of millions of our suns. This is where Science and Mythology truly meet. For what the center of our Galaxy may represent in terms of energy and the properties of time/space, no one has a clue.

But to the ancient Maya the Milky Way Galaxy represented the Great Cosmic Mother from which all Life was birthed. They saw our Galactic Mother stretching out across the night sky and somehow recognize the place where we all had come from. And the great central bulge at Her center they perceived as the Cosmic Womb. Within the central bulge there is what looks like a dark corridor, known as the dark rift. To the Maya it was referred to by many names but the most pertinent here is their reference to this area as the "birthing pace". Are we beginning to get the picture here?

Considering then the significance of the 2012 date in the Mayan calendar, it has been discovered that this year specifically points to a period of time when the December Solstice Sun aligns with and arises out from the backdrop of the dark rift, the "Galactic Birth Canal" in the central bulge. It's as if the Sun is actually being birthed anew from the Galactic Womb.

The Mayan Cosmology was not written in a book, but in the very stars above their heads. The meaning of this story was not revealed through the study of obscure interpretations, but through correspondence of associations assigned to the individual parts in the story. All we need to do is recognize those original associations and the story unfolds all by itself. Just as in our culture we have built up associations between the Winter Solstice, the New Year and the birth of Jesus Christ "the Son of God" who came into this world as "a savior of mankind".

With the Maya we have discovered another story associated with the Winter Solstice, the New Year and the fate of people on Earth. The astronomical alignment of the Precessional Cycle of the Winter Solstice and Galactic Center represents the "Zero Point" on the Cosmic Clock, thus marking the beginning of the New Age in our evolutionary journey in consciousness. It tells us that a New Sun is born, a New Year has dawned, a New Galactic Cycle has begun, and the transformation of our World is well underway.

The big secret in this particular story is that we need not wait for the Winter Solstice in the year 2012 to recognize that we are entering into this time of profound transition. For according to the most recent astronomical calculations the Solstice Meridian actually coincided most precisely with the Galactic Equator between 1998 and 1999.

Just as the Earth’s equator divides the planet into two hemispheres of North and South, the Galactic Equator is the astronomical term for the dividing line of the Milky Way, separating the Galaxy into two halves. Similar to the time of the Equinox when the Sun appears to cross the Earth’s Equator and thus enters into a new hemisphere, so too in 1998 the Winter Solstice Sun began to cross over the Galactic Equator. Considering that the Sun is so large (about one half a degree wide) and the motion is so slow, our Sun will not be completely across the Equator and fully into the new Galactic Hemisphere until 2018.

So we need to understand then that the Mayan 2012 date is simply an indicator to this 20-year period of transition – the birthing process of the New Age and the beginning point of the New Precessional Cycle of 26,000 years.

I find it almost the height of irony that the descendants of those white Europeans who came to the "New World" to bring enlightenment and salvation to the indigenous population, would now find buried here in some remote jungle a stone calendar/clock telling them what Time it is. A calendar or clock not foreign to their own cultural background, but one that actually incorporates and fulfills their most expansive vision of cyclic Time, the Precessional Cycle. This "Great Year" was long known to the Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians and the ancient Greeks but lacked a point at which it began or ended. Somehow down through the Ages that knowledge had been lost.

Perhaps the greatest gift the Mayan culture has given our world is the Zero Point to the Precessional Cycle of 26,000 years. Through the 2012 date in their calendar, they have indicated the importance of the Galactic Equator and it relevance to the Precessional Cycle, thus giving us the ability to now pinpoint the exact Time on our Galactic Clock.

Over the span of the 20 year transitional period as the Solstice Sun crosses the Galactic Equator and moves in to a new hemisphere, we will indeed witness the falling away of the old structures and the birthing of the new. For those who have eyes to see we are actually witnessing the birth of a planetary civilization. And the very logistics involved in this process will determine that the old values of the Nation States which was primarily based on competition and exploitation will have to eventually give way to a collaborative effort, where cooperation will be the dominate social value. This will arise not out of some new political, social or economic theory but the very desire of the human species to continue to survive and be successful.

Reference Material

Maya Cosmos, Three Thousand Years On The Shaman's Path. David Feidel, Linda Schele, Joy Parker. William Morrow and Company, New York. 1993.

Maya Cosmogenesis 2012. John Major Jenkins. Bear & Company, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998.

Beyond The Blue Horizon – Myths & Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets. Dr. E.C. Krupp. Oxford University Press, New York, 1991.

Stairways to The Stars – Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures. Anthony Aveni. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 1997

All Gods Are Sun Gods

Sun Halo at Winter Solstice
Credit & Copyright: Philip Appleton (SIRTF Science Center), Caltech

Explanation: Sometimes it looks like the Sun is being viewed through a large lens. In the above case, however, there are actually millions of lenses: ice crystals. As water freezes in the upper atmosphere, small, flat, six-sided, ice crystals might be formed. As these crystals flutter to the ground, much time is spent with their faces flat, parallel to the ground. An observer may pass through the same plane as many of the falling ice crystals near sunrise or sunset. During this alignment, each crystal can act like a miniature lens, refracting sunlight into our view and creating phenomena like parhelia, the technical term for sundogs. The above image was taken in the morning of the 2000 Winter Solstice near Ames, Iowa, USA. Visible in the image center is the Sun, while two bright sundogs glow prominently from both the left and the right. Also visible behind neighborhood houses and trees are the 22 degree halo, three sun pillars, and the upper tangent arc, all created by sunlight reflecting off of atmospheric ice crystals.

The Winter Solstice is coming up on 22 December at 06:12 Universal Time, the moment when gods and the sun are born and "reborn."

In every culture from the murky past to the present day, there have been Sun Gods. Robert Ingersoll (1833 – 1899) makes a good case for the gods of all religions being gods of the sun. Indeed, most gods, including the monotheistic one, are described as "the Light."

The writing below is excerpted from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll

Volume II (Lectures)

[1900]

http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/ing/vol02/index.htm

"Myth and Miracle" chapter III

http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/ing/vol02/i0172.htm

In all probability the first religion was Sun-worship. Nothing could have been more natural. Light was life and warmth and love. The sun was the fireside of the world. The sun was the "all-seeing"--the "Sky Father." Darkness was grief and death, and in the shadows crawled the serpents of despair and fear.

The sun was a great warrior, fighting the hosts of Night. Apollo was the sun, and he fought and conquered the serpent of Night. Agni, the generous, who loved the lowliest and visited the humblest, was the sun. He was the god of fire, and the crossed sticks that by friction leaped into flame were his emblem. It was said that, in spite of his goodness, he devoured his father and mother, the two pieces of wood being his parents. Baldur was the sun. He was in love with the Dawn--a maiden--he deserted her and traveled through the heavens alone. At the twilight they met, were reconciled, and the drops of dew were the tears of joy they shed.

Chrishna was the sun. At his birth the Ganges thrilled from its source to the sea. All the trees, the dead as well as the living, burst into leaf and bud and flower.

Hercules was a sun-god.

Jonah the same, rescued from the fiends of Night and carried by the fish through the under world. Samson was a sun-god. His strength was in his hair--in his beams. He was shorn of his strength by Delilah, the shadow--the darkness. So, Osiris, Bacchus, Mithra, Hermes, Buddha, Quelzalcoatle, Prometheus, Zoroaster, Perseus, Codom Lao-tsze Fo-hi, Horus and Rameses were all sun-gods.

All these gods had gods for fathers and all their mothers were virgins.

The births of nearly all were announced by stars.

When they were born there was celestial music, voices declared that a blessing had come upon the earth.

When Buddha was born, the celestial choir sang: "This day is born for the good of men Buddha, and to dispel the darkness of their ignorance--to give joy and peace to the world."

Chrishna was born in a cave, and protected by shepherds. Bacchus, Apollo, Mithra and Hermes were all born in caves. Buddha was born in an inn--according to some, under a tree.

Tyrants sought to kill all of these gods when they were babes.

When Chrishna was born, a tyrant killed the babes of the neighborhood.

Buddha was the child of Maya, a virgin, in the kingdom of Madura. The king arrested Maya before the child was born; imprisoned her in a tower. During the night when the child was born, a great wind wrecked the tower, and carried mother and child to a place of safety. The next morning the king sent his soldiers to kill the babes, and when they came to Buddha and his mother, the babe appeared to be about twelve years of age, and the soldiers passed on.

So Typhon sought in many ways to destroy the babe Horus. The king pursued the infant Zoroaster. Cadmus tried to kill the infant Bacchus.

All of these gods were born on the 25th of December. [Ages ago, December 25th was the approximate date of the Winter Solstice. Due to calendar reforms over the centuries, the solstice now occurs around the 21st of December. ~Michelle~]

Nearly all were worshiped by "wise men."

All of them fasted for forty days.

All met with a violent death.

All rose from the dead.

The history of these gods is the history of our Christ. He had a god for a father, a virgin for a mother. He was born in a manger, or a cave--on the 25th of December. His birth was announced by angels. He was worshiped by wise men, guided by a star. Herod, seeking his life, caused the death of many babes. Christ fasted for forty days. So, it rained for forty days before the flood--Moses was on Mt. Sinai for forty days. The temple had forty pillars and the Jews wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Christ met with a violent death, and rose from the dead.

These things are not accidents--not coincidences. Christ was a sun-god. All religions have been born of sun-worship. To-day, when priests pray, they shut their eyes. This is a survival of sun- worship. When men worshiped the sun, they had to shut their eyes. afterwards, to flatter idols, they pretended that the glory of their faces was more than the eyes could bear.

In the religion of our day there is nothing original. All of its doctrines, its symbols and ceremonies are but the survivals of creeds that perished long ago. Baptism is far older than Christianity--than Judaism. The Hindus, the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans had holy water. The eucharist was borrowed from the Pagans. Ceres was the goddess of the fields, Bacchus the god of the vine. At the harvest festival they made cakes of wheat and said: "These are the flesh of the goddess." They drank wine and cried: "This is the blood of our god."

The cross has been a symbol for many thousands of years. It was a symbol of immortality--of life, of the god Agni, the form of the grave of a man. An ancient people of Italy, who lived long before the Romans, long before the Etruscans, so long that not one word of their language is known, used the cross, and beneath that emblem, carved on stone, their dead still rest. In the forests of Central America, ruined temples have been found, and on the walls the cross with the bleeding victim. On Babylonian cylinders is the impression of the cross. The Trinity came from Egypt. Osiris, Isis and Horus were worshiped thousands of years before our Father, Son and Holy Ghost were thought of. So the Tree of Life grew in India, China and among the Aztecs long before the Garden of Eden was planted. Long before our Bible was known, other nations had their sacred books, temples and altars, sacrifices, ceremonies and priests. The "Fall of Man" is far older than our religion, and so are the "Atonement" and the Scheme of Redemption.

In our blessed religion there is nothing new, nothing original.

Among the Egyptians the cross was a symbol of the life to come. And yet the first religion was, and all religions growing out of that, were naturally produced. Every brain was a field in which Nature sowed the seeds of thought. The rise and set of sun, the birth and death of day, the dawns of silver and the dusks of gold, the wonders of the rain and snow, the shroud of Winter and the many colored robe of Spring, the lonely moon with nightly loss or gain, the serpent lightning and the thunder's voice, the tempest's fury and the zephyr's sigh, the threat of storm and promise of the bow, cathedral clouds with dome and spire, earthquake and strange eclipse, frost and fire, the snow-crowned mountains with their tongues of flame, the fields of space sown thick with stars, the wandering comets hurrying past the fixed and sleepless sentinels of night, the marvels of the earth and air, the perfumed flower, the painted wing, the waveless pool that held within its magic breast the image of the startled face, the mimic echo that made a record in the viewless air, the pathless forests and the boundless seas, the ebb and flow of tides--the slow, deep breathing of some vague and monstrous life--the miracle of birth, the mystery of dream and death, and over all the silent and immeasurable dome. These were the warp and woof, and at the loom sat Love and Fancy, Hope and Fear, and wove the wondrous tapestries whereon we find pictures of gods and fairy lands and all the legends that were told when Nature rocked the cradle of the infant world.

Phoenix here….One of the things that most strikes me from that last paragraph is the cross being a symbol of life. Below is a photo of an analemma, the shape created in the sky over the course of a year by the position of the sun at the same time every day. (See photo credit below picture). What occurred to me as I saw this picture was that it is very similar to the Egyptian ankh, the cross with the oval on top that represented Life. I wonder if some ancient Egyptian charted the sun in the sky at the same time every day and based the shape of the ankh, the cross of Life, on the changing position, the rise and fall, the birth and death of the sun. An interesting thought, don't you think?

Credit & Copyright: Vasilij Rumyantsev ( Crimean Astrophysical Obsevatory)

Explanation: If you took a picture of the Sun at the same time each day, would it remain in the same position? The answer is no, and the shape traced out by the Sun over the course of a year is called an analemma. The Sun's apparent shift is caused by the Earth's motion around the Sun when combined with the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis. The Sun will appear at its highest point of the analemma during summer and at its lowest during winter. Analemmas created from different Earth latitudes would appear at least slightly different, as well as analemmas created at a different time each day. The analemma pictured to the left was built up by Sun photographs taken from 1998 August through 1999 August from Ukraine. The foreground picture from the same location was taken during the early evening in 1999 July.

Links to related posts on the topic of sun, god(s), and solstices:

The Astronomy of Christmas and the Epiphany

Daoism on Winter

Similarities between Mithraic and Christian beliefs and practices

The Meaning of God (etymology of the word God)

The word God could derive from root words in several language families, and includes a combination of meanings, but the core idea of what God is seem to boil down to just a few definitions showing that ancient peoples regarded supreme beings much as we do today.

1 – to shine (indicative, no doubt, of the connection between God and the sun/sky)

Symbolism of Orion's Belt

The identification of these three stars as a belt is a very old one. The Arabic names of two of the stars reflect this: Mintaka means 'the belt' and Alnitak means 'the girdle'. (The name of the third star, Alnilam, means 'the string of pearls'.) It has been suggested that the three Belt-stars influenced the placing of the Pyramids at Giza, and it is certainly true that there is a remarkable correspondence of position between the Pyramids and the stars. (courtesy of glyphweb.com)

Across the centuries, the three stars we know familiarly as Orion's Belt have held a special meaning to many people in many cultures, especially when the number three held spiritual significance as kings, wise men, or gods.

Here are a few of those stories:

The Three Kings of the pyramids

http://ad2004.com/Biblecodes/Hebrewmatrix/pyramidspt1.html

Pyramid	Egyptian Name	Greek Name	Star in Orion
great pyramid	Khufu	Cheops	Alnitak
center pyramid	Khafre	Chephren	Alnilam
smallest pyramid	Menkaura	Mycerinus	Mintaka

The Three Magi of Christian Tradition
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi

The word Magi is a Latinization of the plural of the Greek word magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι), which is a derivative from Old Persian Magupati. The term is a specific occupational title referring to the priestly caste of a branch of Zoroastrianism known as Zurvanism. As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology.

The phrase from the east is the only information Matthew provides on where the Magi came from, apart from identifying that they come from their own country rather than Judea. Traditionally the view developed that the Magi were Persian or Parthian, a view held for example by John Chrysostom, and Byzantine art generally depicted them in Persian dress. The main support for this is that the first Magi were from Persia and that land still had the largest number of them. Some believe they were from Babylon, which was the centre of Zurvanism, and hence astrology, at the time. Brown comments that the author of Matthew probably didn't have a specific location in mind and the phrase from the east is for literary effect and added exoticism. Though the Bible does not number the Magi [nor, apparently, name them], traditionally there were always seen to be three, as three of the gifts were specifically named.

In the Eastern church a variety of different names are given for the three, but in the West the names have been settled since the 8th century as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. The names of the Magi derive from an early 6th century Greek manuscript in Alexandria, translated into the Latin Excerpta Latina Barbari. The Latin text Collectanea et Flores continues the tradition of three kings and their names and gives additional details of their clothes, coming from Syria. This text is said to be from the 8th century, of Irish origin. In the Eastern churches, Ethiopian Christianity, for instance, has Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while the Armenians have Kagbha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.

In China, the three stars of Orion's Belt represented the Three Pristine Ones in Daoism: Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, Celestial Worthy of Original Beginnings, Celestial Worthy of the Dao and Inner Power

Also from China, the three belt stars represented the Chinese Star Lords of Good Fortune whose worship began in the 15^th c., Fu (Prosperity/Wealth), Lu (Success) and Shu (Longevity). However, Shu was worshipped much earlier, as early as the 3^rd c. BCE

In Shinto beliefs: http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/orion.htm According to Uchida (1973), many Japanese came to call the three belt stars of Orion Taishikou San Daishi. Taishikou refers to Winter, and San Daishi refers to three great preachers or teachers. Around the 11th month of each lunar calendar year, on the 23rd and 24th days, various celebrations were and still are made honoring three particularly significant Buddhist teachers who founded sects of that religion in the Nara and Heian eras of Japan: Tendai Daishi (founder of the Tendai Buddhist Sect), Saichou (follower and teacher of the Tendai sect), and Kobo Daishi (founder of the Shingon sect and also famous for establishing the 88 temples of Shikoku around the 9th century).

One can hardly speak of the stars of the Belt of Orion without mentioning the significance of Sirius, the Dog Star. For more information on Sothis/Sopdet/Sirius the Dog Star see How Long Does a Phoenix Live .

Four Corners of the Earth

There are several cultures in which, during ancient times, the earth was considered to be square (which, in today's article, is not the same as flat):

Hindu:

The basic plan of a Hindu temple is an expression of sacred geometry where the temple is visualized as a grand mandala. By sacred geometry we mean a science which has as its purpose the accurate laying out of the temple ground plan in relation to the cardinal directions and the heavens. Characteristically, a mandala is a sacred shape consisting of the intersection of a circle and a square.

The square shape is symbolic of earth, signifying the four directions which bind and define it. Indeed, in Hindu thought whatever concerns terrestrial life is governed by the number four (four castes; the four Vedas etc.). Similarly, the circle is logically the perfect metaphor for heaven since it is a perfect shape, without beginning or end, signifying timelessness and eternity, a characteristically divine attribute. Thus a mandala (and by extension the temple) is the meeting ground of heaven and earth. (An authentic Hindu mandala is traditionally a square within a circle.)

Daoism

In legend, the I Ching was developed from the He-Tu diagram. In the center, the five white/yang dots clustered together represents the rounded dome of heaven. The ten black/yin dots are arranged into a square that represents earth.

Ancient Egyptian

Some Egyptian depictions of the universe showed four pillars at each of the four corners of the world holding up the sky. The sky goddess Nut arched over her husband, the earth god Geb, also represents the curved or rounded heavens. She is sometimes held aloft by Shu, the personification of air.

I suspect the origin of the "square earth" or the "four corners of the earth" is, as many things are, astronomical in origin.

The Summer Solstice, coming up in just a few days, is instrumental in explaining this. The sunrise and sunset on the day before, the day of, and the day after the Summer solstice are at their northern-most latitudes. At the Winter Solstice, the opposite is true; the sunrise and sunset are at their southernmost latitudes for those of us living in the northern hemisphere.

To an observer whose eyes see for the same distance no matter what direction he looks in, the sunrise and sunset of the solstices describes a square. To ancient peoples, the rising and setting of the sun defined the edges of the earth itself. If the east-west edge was defined by the sunrise and set on the horizon, so, too were the north-south boundaries defined by how far north or south the sun rose and set.

The "four corners of the earth" then describe the points of sunrise and sunset at the summer and winter solstices!

The Magical, Mystical Number 7 Seven

Why is the number seven so special?

These things are never as simple as they look, and it is unlikely that there is one reason above all others that makes seven a particularly potent number and symbol. It is often a series of things that convince people that something holds power just as today we need more than a coincidence or two to believe in the power of things like prayer, the Law of Attraction, or numerology.

I believe there are four major reasons that, cumulatively, made Seven stand out as a special, mystical and magical number to ancient peoples.

First are the stars, specifically the heavenly "wandering"* bodies visible to the naked eye, the planets Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. They were pretty special since all the other visible twinkling lights moved through a standard and predictable course.

* The word "planet" is derived from the Greek planetai which means "wandering."

Second is another astronomical explanation: there are seven stars in the Big Dipper portion of the constellation of Ursa Major. The Dipper has been an important part of cosmologies from China to Mexico because it is always in the night sky, and the direction in which the handle points is a seasonal marker. This is most noticeable on the solstices and equinoxes: In the evening of the day of the Summer Solstice, the handle points toward the southern horizon; on the Autumnal Equinox, it points toward the western horizon; on the Winter Solstice, it points toward the north, and on the Spring Equinox, the handle of the Big Dipper points toward the eastern horizon.

Third, seven is the only one of the first 10 digits (1 through 10) that does not divide evenly into the 360 degrees of a circle! Since circles can represent both heavenly and earthly powers and influences, not to mention being symbols of The Eternal, imagine how seven was considered an Otherworldly number with Otherworldly symbolism since it was so unique that it set itself above inclusion in the symbol of wholeness, the circle.

Fourth, the Ancient Greeks considered seven to be a potent number due to the chanting of the seven vowels of their alphabet as magical sounds. There are several spells and incantations revealed in The Greek Magical Papyri In Translation: Including the Demotic Spells edited by Hans Dieter Betz that include the chanting of A, E, E with a line on top, I, O, U (written Y), and O in various orders for various reasons. (Alpha, Epsilon, Eta, Iota, Omicron, Upsilon, and Omega.) It is possible that chanting the vowels in a particular pattern or order caused a shift in consciousness much like the chanting of "Om." In one spell which seeks the attention of the god, the vowels and sounds each also corresponded to a direction; the priest was to chant or sing each sound while pointing his palms into the directions of east, west, north, south, up (sky/heaven), down (earth), and the final vowel was sung while holding one's hands over one's heart for Center.

Here is an interesting and fun list of Special 7 stuff from Wikipedia:

In science

• The number of spots on a common ladybug.
• With very few exceptions, all mammals' necks have seven bones.

Astronomy

• The number of stellar objects in the solar system visible to the naked eye — the Sun, the Moon and the five classical naked eye planets: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.
• The number of daughters of Atlas in the Pleiades (also called the "seven sisters").
• The number of saints appearing in a constellation called "Saptharishi Mandalam" in Indian astronomy.
• The number of stars in the constellation of Ursa major.

In the classical world

In classical antiquity:

• Seven against Thebes
• Seven hills of Rome
• Seven Liberal Arts
• Seven Sages
• Seven Wonders of the ancient world
• Seven emperors (and period; Rome, history):
• Julius Caesar, Augustus, Galba, Hadrian, Nerva, Sallust, Vespasian

In religion

• In Islam:
• The number of ayat in surat al-Fatiha.
• The number of heavens in Islamic tradition.
• The number of Earths in Islamic tradition.

• In Judaism:
• A highly symbolic number in the Torah, alluding to the infusion of spirituality and Godliness into the Creation. For example:

2. God rested on and sanctified the seventh day (Shabbat).

3. A seven-day purification period is required for one who has become tamei to become tahor.

4. The Shemittah (Sabbatical) year arrives every seventh year.

5. The Jubilee (Yovel) year comes after 7 times 7 years.

• The weekly Torah portion is divided into seven aliyahs, and seven men or boys over the age of 13 are called up for the reading of these aliyahs during Shabbat morning services.
• David was the seventh son of Jesse.
• The number of Ushpizzin (also known as the "Seven Shepherds") who visit the sukkah during the holiday of Sukkot: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David.
• The number of nations God told the Israelites they would displace when they entered the land of Israel (Deut. 7:1): the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
• In Breslov tradition, the seven orifices of the face (2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 2 ears, and the mouth) are called "The Seven Candles."
• The menorah (Hebrew: מנורה), is a seven branched candelabrum lit by olive oil in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem.

• In Christianity:
• The number of churches of Asia to which the "Book of Revelation" is addressed.
• The number of the Seven Virtues: Chastity, Moderation, Liberality, Charity, Meekness, Zeal, and Humility, corresponding to the seven deadly sins.
• The seven terraces of Mount Purgatory (one per deadly sin).
• The number of sacraments in the Roman Catholic faith, and most reformed traditions.
• In the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew 18:21, Jesus says to Peter to forgive seventy times seven times.^[1]
• The number seven is considered by many Christians to be a perfect number because of the amount of importance the Bible puts on it specifically, whereas the number six is considered imperfect.
• In Roman Catholicism, and some reformed traditions, the Blessed Virgin Mary has Seven Joys: The Incarnation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Visit of the Magi, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, the Resurrection of Christ, and The Assumption of Mary into Heaven.
• In Roman Catholicism, and some reformed traditions, the Blessed Virgin Mary has Seven Sorrows: The Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the Three Day Loss of the Christ Child in the Temple of Jerusalem, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion of Christ, the Pieta, and the Closing of the Holy Sepulchre.

• In Eternalism:
• The number of deities
• The years Godzimir was exiled to Turin, in Savoy
• 1/7 of each of the Deities powers was taken to create the Eternal
• There are seven verses in each of the Septrains of the Prognostications of Godzimir and Invomandus
• Seven universe in each phase toward Edication

• Others:
• The number of Archangels according to some systems.
• The minor symbol number of yang from the Taoist yin-yang.
• The number of palms in an Egyptian Sacred Cubit.
• The number of ranks in Mithraism.
• The number seven is of particular significance within Cherokee cosmology.
• In Buddhism, Buddha walked 7 steps at his birth.

In mythology

• In Khasi mythology, the seven divine women who were left behind on earth and became the ancestresses of all humankind.
• The number of gateways traversed by Inanna during her descent into the underworld.
• The number of sages in Hindu mythology; their wives are the goddesses referred to as the "Seven Mothers."
• In Guaraní mythology, the number of prominent legendary monsters.
• Seven Lucky Gods exist in Japanese mythology.
• In British Folk lore, every 7 years the Farie Queen pays a tithe to Hell (or possably Hel) in the tale of Tam Lin.

In other fields

· In Galician folklore, a seventh son will be a werewolf. In other folklores, after six daughters, the seventh child is to be a son and a werewolf. In other European folklores, the Seventh son of a seventh son will be a child with special powers of healing and clairvoyant seeing.

· Seven candles are lit in the kinara during the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa, which is a seven-day holiday.

· The Kulin people of Australia living near the Dandenong Ranges traditionally have seven seasons. Some of the Native Americans of Montana also have seven seasons: chinook season, muddy spring, green summer, gold summer (or dry summer), 'Indian' Summer, late fall, and cold winter.

Seven is also:

• The largest number of sticks (or other cylindrical objects) that can be tied into a bundle such that the shape of the bundle remains fixed.
• The number of openings into the human head (mouth, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils).
• The number of spheres in the Ptolemaic system
• The traditional number of Wonders of the Ancient World. There were seven, though only the Great Pyramid of Egypt still stands today.
• Viewed as a lucky number in Japanese Culture as well as many Western cultures.
• The number of days in a week.
• The number of the ages of man into which William Shakespeare divided a lifetime.
• The figurative number of seas.
• The number of colors of the rainbow (the asteroid 7 Iris is named after the rainbow goddess Iris).
• The number of chakras.
• The number of basic principles of the bushido.
• The number of points on a sheriff's star.
• When rolling two standard six-sided dice, seven is the number most likely to occur. It is the sum of any two opposite sides on a standard six-sided die
• The Seven Sages of Greece: Solon, Chilon, Thales, Bias, Cleobulus, Pittacus, and Periander.