PYTHAGORAS:
Pythagoras (pith?g'urus) [key], c.582c.507 B.C., pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school. He migrated from his native Samos to Crotona and established a secret religious society or order similar to, and possibly influenced by, the earlier Orphic cult. We know little of his life and nothing of his writings. Since his disciples came to worship him as a demigod and to attribute all the doctrines of their order to its founder, it is virtually impossible to distinguish his teachings from those of his followers. The Pythagoreans. are best known for two teachings: the transmigration of souls and the theory that numbers constitute the true nature of things. The believers performed purification rites and followed moral, ascetic, and dietary rules to enable their souls to achieve a higher rank in their subsequent lives and thus eventually be liberated from the wheel of birth. This belief also led them to regard the sexes as equal, to treat slaves humanely, and to respect animals. The highest purification was philosophy, and tradition credits Pythagoras with the first use of the term. Beginning with the discovery that the relationship between musical notes could be expressed in numerical ratios (see Greek music), the Pythagoreans elaborated a theory of numbers, the exact meaning of which is still disputed by scholars. Briefly, they taught that all things were numbers, meaning that the essence of things was number, and that all relationshipseven abstract ethical concepts like justicecould be expressed numerically. They held that numbers set a limit to the unlimitedthus foreshadowing the distinction between form and matter that plays a key role in all later philosophy. The Pythagoreans were influential mathematicians and geometricians, and the theorem that bears their name is witness to their influence on the initial part of Euclidian geometry. They made important contributions to medicine and astronomy and were among the first to teach that the earth was a spherical planet, revolving about a fixed point. At the end of the 5th cent. B.C. the Pythagoreans were forced to flee Magna Graecia when people grew enraged at their interference with traditional religious customs; many were killed. A short-lived Neo-Pythagoreanism. developed at the beginning of the Christian era; it borrowed some elements from Jewish and Hellenistic thought and greatly emphasized the mystical element in Pythagorean ideas.
Pythagoras' mysterious science of numbers. This "sacred word" (to use his own terms) is today well-known to Masons and Occultists alike. Here's a little overview of the esoteric meaning of numbers according to Pythagoras' teachings:
1: Point. God, undividable and infinite. Now. The root of all things.
2: Line. Man and woman united in the One God. The superior female principle symbolized by the crescent moon of Egyptian and Phoenician deities. The two columns taken over from Phoenician temples and adopted into Qabalistic and Masonic lore.
3: Triangle. The perfect number, the triangle symbolizing Freemasons. The manifestation of 1 under 3 forms. The triad present in almost every religion. The 3 elements that make up man (spirit, soul, body). The three parts of Canaanite temples. The three points of the frontispiece of Greek temples that meant Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.
4: Square. The four directions. Keybearer of nature.
5: Pentalpha (or pentagram). Free will. Strife. Justice.
6: Hexagram. The six directions of space. Harmony, perfection of parts.
7: Triangle and Square. A pure and perfect number. The symbol of life as the 4 elements of the body uniting with the 3 elements of the soul. Dream.
8: Two Squares. All things are eight, universal harmony. Love and friendship.
9: Three Triangles. The number of the Muses and therefore knowledge of the sciences that they represented. Concord.
10: Tetractys. The world. The source of counting (the ten fingers). Fate, eternity.
Pythagoras considered the triangle to be the origin of everything on Earth. He established his famous theorem on this geometrical figure: "The square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides."
He taught that in order to manifest anything on the physical realm, you had to conceive of it in mathematical form first. A builder can't build unless he has a blueprint of measurements to go by. A composer cant write unless she hears musical notes (which can be measured in numbers) in her mind. Pythagoras discovered that vibrating strings produce harmonious tones when the ratio of the string length is a whole number. He realized these ratios could be used with other instruments. His contributions to the mathematical theories of music were phenomenal. He also was known to be an excellent musician. He often used music to help those who were ill.
Meaning Of Numbers
Below is the meaning of the numbers under the Pythagoras system, with only the traits of the person:
Number 1 Symbolizes a leader.Traits: original, independent, courageous achiever, creative.
Number 2 Interested in Partnerships. Traits: diplomat, friend, artist, enduring, gentle peacemaker, insightful, sensitive.
Number 3 Symbolizes growth. Traits: creative, social, easygoing visionary, humorous, energetic, spontaneous.
Number 4 Is practical. Traits: application, determination, serious builder, doer, manager, traditional
Number 5 Symbolizes progress. Traits: freedom, activity, flair influence, adventurer, sensualist, promoter
Number 6 Symbolizes service. Traits: domestic, responsible, careful teacher, conventional, provider, healer
Number 7 Symbolizes humanity's need to find depth and meaning. Traits: specialist, inventor, loner, eccentric, thoughtful, spiritual
Number 8 Symbolizes the principle of domination and control. Traits: executive, professional, strength, money problem solver, organizer, achiever, judgment
Number 9 Symbolizes the principle of a universal philosophy or consciousness. Traits: multi-talented, teacher humanitarian, healer, artist, old-soul, actor
"ALL IS NUMBER"
