Numbers: symbolism and mathematical beauty

Since the beginning of time, the human being has sought the light in the midst of darkness, order in apparent chaos, certainty versus chance.

That is why all civilizations have cultivated to a greater or lesser extent the math and not only in terms of its practical or technological applications, but as a science that reflects in its operations the spiritual or metaphysical principles that underpin reality.

For the rest, it is true that we live surrounded by numbers.

space is measured with a tape measure or by kilometers, while the clock and the calendar tell the time: the minutes, hours, days and years elapsed. So figures as peculiar as 60, 24 or 365 mark us decisively.

Even part of our identity is based on certain digits: age, height, weight, ID. It is also expressed by numbers everything related to money and the economy: the value of work through a salary, what is spent or saved, stock market fluctuations.

but also inside certain biorhythms govern the functioning of the organism: heart or respiratory rate, blood pressure, release of hormonal secretions, phases of the nervous system (sleep-wake).

The molecules of lifewhich sustain the body building and its functions (including emotions), are not at the microscopic level but geometric structures capable of interacting attracting or repelling each other.

The symbolic value of numbers

It is true that mathematics -through physical and chemical phenomena- They are present both outside and within us..

Apparently, the essence of life requires certain limited ways to express yourself. It could also be said that the pure light divides or fragments to create the colors.

Life is ultimately movement, but not continuous but alternated with spaces of rest.

everything we perceive and matter itself in itself are vibrations of certain wavelengthsfaster for example in the case of violet and slower in red.

AND The musical notes belong to frequencies based on numerical ratiosas musicians well know.

However, we should not see those numbers that so much we use as mere figures. They are also, so the ancient philosophers considered, living entities, symbols that come to us from the world of archetypes.

There are therefore two possible readings: an exterior, quantitativewhich allows you to do calculations and use logic; other indoor, qualitativeproperly symbolic, in which each number represents an idea or power.

“Everything is ordered according to number”affirmed Pythagoras and from there derive the notions of proportion, balance and harmony. This wise man studied in the temples of Egypt and Chaldea the sacred mathematics.

We are still amazed today egyptian architecturewith which they tried to capture on earth the celestial harmonies. It can be said that The Egyptians were the inventors of geometry. (etymologically the science of “measuring the earth”), which served them both to predict the flooding of the Nile and to build the pyramids or even accurately calculate the circumference of the planet.

There were great mathematicians and astronomers also in the East (India and China, with the I Ching or “Book of Changes”) and pre-Columbian America (high precision calendars between the Incas and the Mayans).

What separates one from zero?

If a differentiation can be made between East and West with respect to mathematics, it would be that Western philosophy and religion have tended to value especially the One (the “Being”) while the oriental sages have highlighted the Zero (the “Supra-being”).

let’s not forget that the number zero is of indian origin (arithmetic expression of Sunya: emptiness-spiritual fullness), a finding both simple and enormous significancesince it allows the value of a number to be changed according to the place it occupies (20 is not the same as 2,000, even though zero has no value in itself).

One two three…

Often we live number symbolism without hardly noticing. One only has to see the respect one has for someone who is considered the number one in any facet of life.

And it doesn’t stop being curious that when we want to start an activityWhether it’s taking a picture or starting a race, it’s usually said out loud: at one, two and… three. They are also popular expressions “the third time is the charm” or “there are no two without three”.

This is so because of qualitative value of the number threewhich in its “instability” expresses realization, a dynamism that follows the inapparent activity of the two and precedes the attainment or “stability” of the four.

The Pythagoreans believed that the vertical line is odd and masculine, while the horizontal is even and feminine.

Also that all things are synthesized in the first nine numbersand these in the first three, which in turn are contained in the one.

What does each number symbolize?

The natural numbers as a set represent the eternal circlebut they also have separate symbolism:

He One, or Monad, represents unity, the unmanifested principle. geometric point, The originthe essence, the light, the indivisible and immutable. Aspects that can also be sought within oneself. Two, or Dyadexpress polaritythe generative faculty of one through the pairs of complementary opposites: masculine/feminine, activity/rest, heat/cold, etc. Geometrically it is the straight line. Three, or Triadsupposes the dynamic structure of the manifestation, the synthesis or the unity in plurality. Reconciliation of opposites. symbolizes the trinity: three primary colors (blue, yellow and red), three musical notes of the perfect chord (do-mi-sol…), three times (past, present and future). Geometrically it is represented by the equilateral triangle. Four symbolizes the manifestation of material order (first even number divisible by 2, apart from 2), the world as delimited space and time (the universal quaternary: 4 cardinal points, 4 seasons of the year, etc). Its static representation is the square; the dynamics is the cross. symbolizes cyclical movement and at the same time stability.He Five represents the Monad plus the Quaternary (1+4), adding spiritual qualities to matter, Man at the center of creation. It represents life, love, and the “quintessence” that originates the four elements: earth, water, air and fire. It is symbolized geometrically by the pentagram or the pentagon. Six It is symbolized by the seal of Solomon or a six-pointed star (intertwining of two equilateral triangles) and expresses the full deployment of the demonstration (the 6 days of creation). In geometry it corresponds to the cube with six faces (symbolism of the dice). Seven It is the union of the triad (subtle manifestation) with the quaternary (material manifestation), the Seal of Solomon with the central point. represents wisdom, the reconciliation of spirit and matter; also the order. Eight (first cube of 2) represents the “regeneration”: the material quaternary is reproduced in the 8 so that life continues. The octagon represents the union of Heaven (circle) and Earth (square). symbolizes the passage between two worlds (That is why the baptismal fonts used to be octagonal, like the division of the domes). Nine (first square of 3) was held by perfect (circular number symbolized by the circumference) or indestructible, because multiplied by any number it is always equal to itself (example: 9×46=414; 4+1+4= 9). symbolizes the sacredness so there was talk of 9 celestial spheres, just like 9 are the Muses and the choirs of angelic beings. ten or decade expresses the whole (the circumference with its center), closing the cycle of natural numbers. Supposes the return to unity or start of a new series.

mathematical beauty

All arts have a mathematical basis. In the lines and volumes of the architecture this is obvious, but we also find numerical sequences in the musical notes or in the rhythms of the poetry. The paintwith its shapes and colors, is also no stranger to mathematical codes.

In Goethe’s words: “Beauty is a manifestation of the secret laws of Nature.”

In this context, it is worth noting the fi number (1.61803…), which is part of the famous Pi (3.14159…) of the calls irrational numberssince they have infinite decimal places that never repeat cyclically.

Fi expresses the so-called golden section. This “divine proportion” has been used since ancient times in architecture (Egyptian pyramids, Parthenon), sculpture (used by the Greek Phidiaswhose name gives rise to the letter Fi that designates this number) and It was also used by Leonardo da Vinci in some of his best-known works.

Today, Fi determines the proportions of the credit cards box or the UN building.

The call “Fibonacci sequence” It is related to the golden number. It starts with 1, 1, 2, 3, 5… so that each number is obtained by adding the previous two. Continue, then, with 8, 13, 21, 34… The curious thing is that if we go dividing successive numbers (always the greater of the lesser) its quotient goes getting closer and closer to the golden number (so 89/55 = 1.61818).

The shell of the nautilus mollusk responds to the progression of that logarithmic spiral formed by golden rectangles. We also find it in the spiral harmonic growth of many plants (distribution of flowers on a stem, shape of flowers and fruits…).

In the human body, If the height is divided by the distance from belly button to feet usually the golden number is obtained. Likewise, if they are related head length and widththe phalanges and the length of the fingers, etc.

In the field of dentistry it has been discovered that teeth grow following golden ratios, which they are also in the teeth. And it is no coincidence that the face of many famous actors for their attractiveness have golden proportions.

The five: symbol of balance and unity

It seems that The symbolic number of our species is 5.

It is enough to appreciate upright the human figure: the four limbs plus the head, the five fingers and toes. we also have five senses.

There are also five levels of our being: physical, energetic, emotional, mental, spiritual. According to him buddhism we are the union of five components or “aggregates” (skandhas): body shape, sensations-feelings, perception-memory, mental formations and consciousness.

Five also lists the “five poisons” or negative emotions that darken the mind (desire, hatred, ignorance, pride, envy), as well as the five wisdoms.

The spiritual science of the Pythagoreans

the acquaintance Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (582 BC-507 BC) was born on the island of Samos, was a disciple of the first and great Ionian philosophers (Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes) and traveled in his youth to Egypt and Mesopotamia.

He later settled in Crotona, a Greek colony in southern Italy, where founded a school dedicated to the study of mathematics and spiritual development.

He held that the universe could be deciphered by numbers and that music…