| In almost every system of antiquity there are frequent references to the number seven. There were for instance seven ancient planets. The sun was the greatest planet of the ancient seven and next to the sun, the moon, changing in all its splendor every seventh day. The Pythagoreans called it the perfect number, 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, the perfect figures combined. The Arabians had seven Holy Temples. In Persian mysteries there were seven spacious caverns through which the aspirants had to pass. The Goths had seven deities, as did the Romans, from whose names are derived our days of the week. In Chinese culture, the number 7 also features rather prominently in some aspects of life. For example, the seventh day of the first moon of the lunar year is known as Human's Day. That day is considered the birthday of all human beings universally. That is why a Chinese is deemed to be a year older on that day, regardless of what the actual date of birth is. But this is not to say that a Chinese does not celebrate a birthday on the actual day of birth. The "shichi-fukujin," translated either as the "Seven Gods of Happiness" or "Seven Gods of Luck" are personifications of... |
