Since the beginning of time, the human being has searched for 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 support reality.

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

space is measured with a tape measure or by kilometres, while The clock and the calendar keep track of time: the minutes, hours, days and years that have passed. So figures as peculiar as 60, 24 or 365 mark us decisively.

Even part of our identity It is based on certain digits: age, height, weight, ID. It is also expressed by figures 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 us certain biorhythms govern the functioning of the body: heart or respiratory rate, blood pressure, release of hormonal secretions, phases of the nervous system (sleep-wake).

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

The symbolic value of numbers

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

Apparently, the essence of life requires certain Delimited ways to express yourself. It could also be said that the pure light is divided or fragment to create the colors.

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

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

AND musical notes correspond to frequencies based on numerical relationshipsas musicians know well.

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

There are therefore two possible readings: an external, quantitative one.which allows you to make calculations and use logic; another interior, qualitativeproperly symbolic, in which each number represents an idea or power.

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

Even today we are amazed by the egyptian architecturewith which they attempted to capture on earth the celestial harmonies. It should be stated 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 Mutations») and pre-Columbian America (highly precise calendars between the Incas and the Mayans).

What separates one from zero?

If a distinction can be made between East and West with respect to mathematics, it would be that Western philosophy and religion have tended to especially value the One (the «Being») while Eastern wise men have highlighted Zero (the «Supra-being»).

Let’s not forget that the number zero is of Indian origin (arithmetic expression of Sunya: spiritual emptiness-fullness), a discovery that is both simple and enormous significancesince it allows the value of a figure to change depending on 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 numerical symbolism without hardly realizing it. You just have to see the respect you have for someone who is considered the number one in any facet of life.

And it still remains curious that when we want to start an activitywhether taking a photograph or starting a race, is usually said out loud: at one, at two and…three. They are also popular expressions «Third time’s the charm» or «there are no two without three.»

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

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

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

What does each number symbolize?

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

• He One, or Monadrepresents unity, the unmanifested principle. The geometric point, the originthe essence, the light, the indivisible and immutable. Aspects that can also be sought within oneself.
• He Two, or Dyadexpresses polarityone’s generative faculty through the pairs of complementary opposites: masculine/feminine, activity/rest, heat/cold, etc. Geometrically it is the straight line.
• He Three, or Triadsupposes the dynamic structure of the manifestation, the synthesis or the unity in plurality. Conciliation 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.
• He 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 dynamic 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 pentagon.
• He Six It is symbolized by the seal of Solomon or six-pointed star (interlacing 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 (die symbolism).
• He Seven It is the union of the triad (subtle manifestation) with the quaternary (material manifestation), the Seal of Solomon with the central point. Represents wisdomthe conciliation of spirit and matter; also the order.
• He 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). It symbolizes the passage between two worlds (that is why the baptismal fonts used to be octagonal, as was the division of the domes).
• He Nine (first square of 3) was taken 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). It symbolizes the sacredness so there was talk of 9 celestial spheres, just as there are 9 Muses and choirs of angelic beings.
• He Ten or Decade expresses the whole (the circumference with its center), closing the cycle of natural numbers. It assumes the return to unit or start of a new series.

The mathematical beauty

All arts have a mathematical basis. In the lines and volumes of the architecture This is evident, 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 the words of Goethe: «Beauty is a manifestation of the secret laws of Nature.»

In this context it is worth highlighting the fi number (1.61803…), which is part of the famous Pi (3.14159…) of the so-called irrational numberssince they have infinite decimal figures that are never repeated 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 Leonardo da Vinci also used it. 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. Start with 1, 1, 2, 3, 5… so each number is obtained by adding the previous two. So continue with 8, 13, 21, 34… The curious thing is that if we go dividing successive numbers (always the largest among the smallest) 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 harmonious spiral growth of many vegetables (distribution of flowers on a stem, shape of flowers and fruits…).

In the human body, If the height is divided by the distance from navel to feet The golden number is usually obtained. Likewise, if they relate the 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 proportions, which They are also in the teeth. And it is no coincidence that the face of many actors famous for their attractiveness present golden proportions.

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 on the hands and feet. We also have five senses.

There are also five levels of our being: physical, energetic, emotional, mental, spiritual. According to the buddhism we are the union of five components or «aggregates» (skandhas): body form, 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 known Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (582 BC-507 BC) was born on the island of Samos, he was a disciple of the first and great Ionian philosophers (Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes) and traveled to Egypt and Mesopotamia in his youth.

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 maintained that the universe could be deciphered by numbers and that music reflected…