Zoa’s exploration of the number seven serves as a captivating thread that connects mathematics, history, spirituality, and psychology. The episode opens with the assertion that seven is a prime number, a concept that sets the tone for a deeper dive into its significance across various domains. The discussion quickly shifts to the practical application of seven in our daily lives, particularly through the seven days of the week, a construct that has its origins in ancient Babylonian astronomy. This historical reference establishes a link between the number and humanity’s long-standing relationship with timekeeping and celestial observation.
As the podcast unfolds, listeners are treated to a rich narrative that includes the identification of seven celestial bodies visible to the naked eye. Zoa discusses how early astronomers, without the aid of modern technology, recognized the importance of these seven objects, which include the sun and moon, and how they have been revered in numerous cultures. The mention of the Pleiades constellation, known as the Seven Sisters, highlights the cross-cultural reverence for the number, as it appears in various mythologies and stories worldwide, further emphasizing the universality of this number.
The conversation seamlessly transitions from the cosmos to the natural world, where Zoa discusses the seven colors of the rainbow, underscoring their aesthetic beauty and the emotional response they can evoke. The episode also dives into the concept of chakras in yoga and Ayurveda, detailing how there are seven energy centers within the human body, each linked to specific colors and spiritual significance. This connection to wellness ties back into the overarching theme of the podcast, as it aligns with the ethos of Zoa’s Wellness Retreat, Intentional Vitality. The exploration of Miller’s law in psychology adds another layer, suggesting that our cognitive processes are naturally aligned with the number seven, making it a comfortable and familiar framework for memory. Finally, the podcast touches on literary references, notably Shakespeare’s depiction of the seven ages of man, reinforcing the idea that seven is a number rich with meaning and symbolism throughout human history, spirituality, and culture. By the end of the episode, listeners are left to ponder the significance of their own favorite numbers in relation to the myriad ways seven has shaped our understanding of the world.
Takeaways:
- The number seven is unique because it is prime and cannot be divided further.
- Throughout history, many cultures have recognized the significance of the number seven.
- From the seven days of the week to the seven chakras, seven appears in various systems.
- The seven colors of the rainbow represent natural beauty and can be memorized easily.
- Psychology suggests that humans can remember seven items in working memory effectively.
- Shakespeare referenced seven stages of man, highlighting its importance in literature and life.
Transcript
I have a love for the number seven.
Speaker A:Let me tell you why.
Speaker A:First of all, it's prime, which means in math that you can't break it down any further.
Speaker A:You can't multiply or divide to create the number seven.
Speaker A:The only thing that you can do is multiply one times seven.
Speaker A:So that makes it kind of cool.
Speaker A:In my book, there are seven days to the week.
Speaker A:The Babylonians knew this a long, long time ago.
Speaker A:They used the moon cycles for timing, and so they broke the moon cycle up into four equal pieces.
Speaker A:They were each seven days long.
Speaker A:Well before we had telescopes and very fancy scientific knowledge, people would look up into the sky, and what would they see?
Speaker A:They would see seven stellar objects that moved around in the sky.
Speaker A:There's the sun, very important for life on the Earth, the Moon, which goes back to those seven days.
Speaker A:The sun being a masculine sign and the Moon being a feminine sign.
Speaker A:But they also saw what we now know are planets.
Speaker A:Mercury, always hung out close to the sun.
Speaker A:Venus, sometimes called the morning star.
Speaker A:Mars, its characteristic red nature.
Speaker A:And even Jupiter and Saturn, the brightest objects in the sky.
Speaker A:Seven of them.
Speaker A:Speaking of looking up at the sky, one of my favorite constellations is also related to the number of seven.
Speaker A:It's the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters.
Speaker A:This grouping of seven stars that, to the naked eye kind of looks like a big splotch is known in Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Japanese mythology, and even the Maori.
Speaker A:It's known all over the world.
Speaker A:And one of the seven sisters happens to be the name of my daughter.
Speaker A:Another wonderful aspect of 7 is the colors of the rainbow.
Speaker A:When I learned physics as a younger girl, the colors of the rainbow came along with the need to memorize the order.
Speaker A:Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Speaker A:Those colors are natural beauty at its finest, especially when you see them.
Speaker A:When the sun is out and there are clouds in the sky because it has just rained or is currently raining.
Speaker A:Another seven, which is special to me, is the seven chakras.
Speaker A:These are the seven energy centers in the body, which is something that many people who practice yoga or are familiar with Ayurveda are already familiar with.
Speaker A:These energy centers travel up the spine, and they can be open and clear and energy flowing through them, or they can be closed off and creating problems for you.
Speaker A:The bottom of the chakras is the root chakra.
Speaker A:It's near your pelvic floor, near your tailbone of your spine.
Speaker A:The next one up is the sacral chakra.
Speaker A:It's around the sacrum of your spine and the feminine parts of A female body.
Speaker A:The third one up is the solar plexus, which is near your abdominal wall or your belly button.
Speaker A:The fourth chakra is the heart chakra in the center of the chest.
Speaker A:The center of the rib cage in the back of your spine.
Speaker A:The next chakra up from the heart is the throat chakra, right in the middle of your throat, right in the middle of the back of your neck.
Speaker A:The next one up is your third eye chakra, right between the eyebrows, right at the back of the head.
Speaker A:And the last chakra is your crown chakra, placed on top of the head like a crown would be.
Speaker A:Oftentimes, these chakras are associated with colors.
Speaker A:Guess which colors.
Speaker A:The rainbow colors.
Speaker A:The root chakra would be red.
Speaker A:The sacral chakra would be orange.
Speaker A:The solar plexus chakra would be yellow.
Speaker A:The heart chakra would be green.
Speaker A:The throat chakra would be blue.
Speaker A:The third eye chakra would be indigo, and the crown chakra would be violet.
Speaker A:Now, it's not just the natural world that has an affinity for sevens.
Speaker A:There's also something called the miller's law in psychology, which says that the working memory of the human brain can hold seven objects at a time, and that is seven plus or minus two.
Speaker A:Because there's always some variation, it's not perfect.
Speaker A:So if you think about how many things you can remember at once, let's go back to the days of the week.
Speaker A:This one you probably know pretty well.
Speaker A:You might start on Sunday, you might start on Monday.
Speaker A:The colors of the rainbow.
Speaker A:If you're having trouble remembering all of them, know that there are seven, the chakras.
Speaker A:And again, remember, there are seven.
Speaker A:What happens if you try to add the eighth one?
Speaker A:It can get harder to remember.
Speaker A:Now, Shakespeare even drew in the number seven in his play, as you like it.
Speaker A:There is a monologue that you may know.
Speaker A:All the world's a stage.
Speaker A:And in this monologue, Shakespeare talks about the seven ages of man.
Speaker A:He says, and all the men and women are merely players.
Speaker A:They have their exits and their entrances.
Speaker A:And one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven stages.
Speaker A:I won't do the whole monologue for you.
Speaker A:But the first act is that of infant.
Speaker A:The second act is of whining schoolboy.
Speaker A:The third act is lover.
Speaker A:The fourth act is soldier.
Speaker A:The fifth act is justice.
Speaker A:The sixth act is pantaloon.
Speaker A:And the seventh act is corpse.
Speaker A:Even in the context of religions, most religions around the world have seven as an important number.
Speaker A:Buddha was said to have taken seven steps at birth.
Speaker A:The seven steps towards his own enlightenment.
Speaker A:Islam teaches about the seven heavens.
Speaker A:The Bible tells that God created the world in seven days.
Speaker A:Even the ancient Egyptians knew about seven the seven paths to heaven.
Speaker A:So seven is prime, rooted in spirituality, rooted in nature, and even in psychology and science.
Speaker A:What's your favorite number?
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