The extraordinary prevalence of the number seven is present in many cultures and spans over centuries.
Clearly, the number seven tells us something. In metaphysics, this number relates to seven basic vibrations, forming our world. In astrology, these are represented by Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn,
According to the hermetic doctrine: As above so below, the seven energies of the visible and invisible world can be pictured as below:
The seven forces/archetypes are the ever-present influences that shape our Universe, our world, and our life. The above diagram shows a metaphysical relation, not a scientific theory.
The seven 'bodies' have a particular meaning in astrology and metaphysics, but let's first start with the two middle columns: the Visible Light, and Electromagnetic Spectrum.
Visible Light
Light comes as seven basic colours through a prism. We know it as a rainbow. The ancient people perceived a rainbow as a message from the gods or the bridge to heaven. These seven colours happen to have a relation to the seven visible celestial spheres of our Solar System and seven chakras (more below).
In the reverse order:
Sun - Violet
Moon - Indygo
Mercury - Blue
Venus - Green
Mars - Yellow
Jupiter - Orange
Saturn - Red
Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is classified into seven basic types, however, all are manifestations of the same phenomenon - photons (light particles) travelling through space. Those ranges are divided into seven separate sections, due to their different interactions with matter. The frequencies of the waves are from a fraction of an atomic nucleus to thousands of miles.
Gamma rays (short wavelength)
X-rays
Ultraviolet
Visible light
Infrared
Microwaves
Radio waves (long wavelength)
The longest wavelengths can be the size of the Universe itself.
The human eye can only see a short span of the electromagnetic spectrum, the Visible Light, the interplay of the seven basic colours.
All forms of electromagnetic radiation can be described as both waves and particles and this dual nature of light and matter is studied by quantum mechanics.
Gamma rays ('Sun'), are produced by nuclear reactions in the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars, pulsars, supernova explosions, and the areas around the mysterious black holes. The process of nuclear fusion powers the sun and all the other stars.
The energy of the gamma rays keeps the Sun’s core hot. Some of those gamma rays escape into the Sun's outer layers. As they lose energy, they change into ultraviolet, infrared and visible light. The infrared light allows the Earth to keep warm, and the visible light allows the plants to grow. The plants produce oxygen that sustains other organic life on Earth, including humans.
They are of the shortest wavelength and carry the most energy. With a strong penetration of matter, they can easily be deadly to biological life. Thanks to Earth's atmosphere, a large fraction of gamma rays from space is blocked. However, there are some small quantities of this radiation, generated by lightning bolts (in nature, in small quantities ) and by nuclear explosions (by humans) and a thick shielding of dense materials is necessary for dealing with this radiation directly.
X-rays ('Moon') come from extremely hot space objects, such as pulsars, remnants of galactic supernovae, binary systems with neutron stars, and the increment of black holes. The massive and compact space objects strip material from their neighbours to form an inward spiralling disk of hot X-rays. In some cases, the exact mechanisms of X-ray production are still uncertain or unknown.
They are similar to gamma rays in frequency and penetration but they are produced from a different atomic source. Gamma-rays come from nuclear reactions in the atomic nuclei, X-rays - by ejected accelerating electrons pushed to nearly the speed of light. The acceleration produces a very powerful beam of focused X-ray light. The Sun's corona radiates mostly x-rays.
X-rays are widely used to penetrate inside opaque objects - most well-known in medical radiography, tomography, airport security scanners; in the industry for testing of flaws and cracks in solid structures, in astronomy, for the study of distant celestial objects. X-ray radiation is also used to kill tumour cells, and in agriculture, the irradiation of some foods is used to inhibit the growth of bacteria.
X-rays are actually faintly visible to the dark-adapted naked eye but the dangers and harm do not allow for many experiments.
Ultraviolet (UV) ('Mercury') is present in 10 per cent of the Sun's radiation, the sunlight. It is also produced by mercury-vapour lamps, tanning lamps, and black lights. It can cause chemical reactions and causes many substances to glow or fluoresce.
Effects of exposure of the skin to UV light causes sunburn along with an increased risk of skin cancer. Part of ultraviolet light, however, is also responsible for the formation of vitamin D. The UV spectrum, thus, has effects both beneficial and harmful to life. Insects, birds, and some mammals can see near-UV.
Visible light ('Venus') can be perceived by the human eye. The main source of light on Earth is the Sun. It provides energy for the plants to grow and the process of photosynthesis provides virtually all the energy used by other living organisms.
Historically, another important source of light for humans has been fire and with the development of electricity, electric lighting. Some species of animals generate their own light, a process called bioluminescence. The study of light, known as optics, is an important research area in modern physics.
The light speed - 299,792,458 meters per second, is one of the fundamental constants of nature. All types of electromagnetic radiation always move at this speed in a vacuum.
Infrared (IR) ('Mars') is emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change their rotational-vibrational movements. Generally invisible to the human eye, although light from specially pulsed lasers can be seen under certain conditions. Most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared.
Nearly half of the total energy from the Sun that arrives on Earth is in the form of infrared and it has a critical effect on Earth's climate.
Infrared radiation is used in a variety of applications. There are extensive uses in the military such as target surveillance and tracking. Night-vision devices use near-infrared radiation for the detection of living organisms, for example. Infrared thermal equipment is used to detect heat loss in insulated systems, to detect overheating, in weather forecasting, and in short-range wireless communication, where signals travel from a few centimetres to several meters.
Microwave ('Jupiter') travel by line-of-sight, following the Earth's surface, or reflect from the ionosphere. Terrestrial microwave communication is limited by the visual horizon to about 40 miles (64 km).
Microwaves are widely used in the modern world, for example in wireless networks, television, mobile phones, radars, satellites, spacecraft communication, remote sensing, amplifiers, collision avoidance systems, garage door opening, keyless entry systems, and microwave ovens.
Microwave transmitters and receivers, the dish antennas, produce microwave beams that can be directed like a torchlight. Microwave radar is widely used for guiding aeroplanes and vessels, and for detecting speeding motorists.
The microwaves have a heating effect and destroy a living tissue when the temperature of the tissue exceeds 43° C. Exposure to intense microwaves is harmful, the lens of the human eye is particularly affected. A repeated and extended exposure can result in cataracts. Microwaves can have adverse effects on the electrochemical balance of the brain and the development of a fetus.
Microwave cosmic background radiation is considered by many to be the remnant of the primaeval fireball by the Big-Bang.
Radio waves ('Saturn') are generated by charged particles undergoing acceleration, such as time-varying electric currents. Naturally occurring radio waves are emitted by lightning and space objects.
Generated artificially are used by transmitters and received by radio receivers, using antennas. Widely used in modern technology for mobile radio communication, broadcasting, radar and radio navigation systems, communications satellites, wireless computer networks and many other applications.
Radio waves can penetrate nonconducting materials, such as wood, bricks, and concrete, fairly well, however, a radio wave may be disturbed by buildings and other large objects.
A combination of radio waves and strong magnetic fields is used by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce diagnostic pictures of parts of the human body and brain without apparent harmful effects.
To prevent interference between different users, the artificial generation and use of radio waves are strictly regulated by law, coordinated by an international body called the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The radio spectrum is divided into a number of radio bands on the basis of frequency, allocated to different uses.
Musical Octave
It contains number eight, as the 'do' is repeated in a higher tone at its end. It relates to cycles within cycles, doubling its own frequency. The octave is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems".
The major scale is one of the most commonly used musical scales. It is made up of seven notes and two different systems to name them:
C D E F G A B (C)
and
DO RE MI FA SOL LA SI (DO)
In terms of music, an octave is a distance between one note (like C#) and the next note bearing its same name (the next C# that’s either higher or lower).
In terms of physics, an octave is a distance between one note and another note that’s double its frequency. For instance, note A4 is the sound of vibration at 440 Hz. Note A5 is the sound of vibration at 880 Hz. Going in the other direction, note A3 is the sound of vibration at 220Hz.
Isaac Newton had associated the seven solfège syllables with the seven colours of the rainbow and surmised that each colour vibrated accordingly. Thus, red has the least amount of vibration while violet vibrates the most.
Pitch Solfège
C do Red / Saturn
D re Orange / Jupiter
E mi Yellow / Mars
F fa Green / Venus
G sol Blue / Mercury
A la Indigo / Moon
B ti/si Purple/Violet / Sun
Chakras
The relation to the rainbow spectrum with the seven main chakras can be interpreted as the human body is a heavenly bridge between Earth/Matter and Space/Spirit. More about it in a separate article.
Alchemical Seven
Seven 'planets' had been related to the seven metals in alchemy:
Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Mercury
Venus - Copper
Mars - Iron
Jupiter - Tin
Saturn - Lead
Traditional hermetism (alchemy) ascribes these colours to the Sun, Moon and planets:
Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Yellow/Orange
Venus - Green
Mars - Red
Jupiter - Violet
Saturn - Black/ Brown
Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Yellow/Orange
Venus - Green
Mars - Red
Jupiter - Violet
Saturn - Black/ Brown
Seven Days of the Week
The Greeks named the days week after the sun, the moon and the five known planets, which were in turn named after the gods: Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Zeus, Cronos. The Greeks called the days of the week the Theon hemerai "days of the Gods". The Romans substituted the Greek names with equivalent gods: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jove (Jupiter), Saturn.
The Germanic people generally substituted roughly similar gods for the Roman gods, Tiu (Tyr), Woden, Thor, Frey, but did not substitute Saturn. It has been adopted in the English language.
There is some confusion left, mixing Mercury with Mars, and Venus with Jupiter. Let's put it straight:
Sunday -- Sun's day
Monday -- Moon's day
Tuesday -- Tiu's day - Mercury's day
Wednesday -- Woden's day, Venus' day
Thursday -- Thor's day, Mars' day
Friday -- Freya's day, Jupiter's days
Saturday -- Saturn's day
Seven Parts of a Plant
canopy - Sun
fruits - Moon
seeds - Mercury
flowers - Venus
leaves - Mars
stem and branches - Jupiter
roots - Saturn
The Seven in Astrology
Most of us are familiar with the saying, after the book, The Women are from Venus, The Men are from Mars. What about the character of other celestial spheres? Jupiter is the archetype for a king-boss person and the mature age. Saturn is a personification of old age and the elderly. Mercury is a youngster and youthfulness. Moon is the archetypal mother, and Sun - the father.
In individual life, the Sun is conception, the Moon is the prenatal period and the birth, Mercury is childhood, Venus and Mars are adolescence years, Jupiter is adulthood, Saturn - the old age.
Seven Stages of Human History
Saturn
Stone Age. Hunters-Gatherers. Matriarchal.
Jupiter
Bronze Age. Patriarchal gods ex. Marduk, Zeus, Jupiter, Yahweh, and tribal, territorial kings. Agriculture.
Mars
Iron Age. Warriors and conquerors. The era of great empires of Alexander the Great, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire.
Venus
Renessainse. The high development of the Arts and Humanities.
Mercury
The Age of Reason and Information. Development of Science and Technology.
Moon
Rise of Feminine powers, which also means motherly influence such as a deep sense of belonging and thus nationalism. We are on the verge of it or out of it.
Sun
End of cycle. Reset.
Each subsequent cycle is much shorter than the previous one, the same as it goes with the length of waves in the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Sources:
symmetrymagazine.org/article/incredible-hulking-facts-about-gamma-rays
livescience.com/50215-gamma-rays.html
britannica.com/science/electromagnetic-radiation
masterclass.com/articles/music-101-what-is-an-octave
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parts-of-Plants-Flowers-Label-drag-and-drop-describe-REMOTE-LEARNING
