Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th
~Ruby

Today is Friday the 13th. There are so many reasons for people’s fears and superstitions about this date, but mainly all the negative hype has caused the number 13 to be feared and disliked throughout history. Mostly, this is due to older generations with strong religious backgrounds that taught the younger ones to fear the number 13…. if the facts are true or not, about why they feared the number 13 so much… remains a constant debate. There’s really no other stories in history about this number being bad or evil, except around the turn of the 19th century, that’s when the number 13 became popular to fear basically and the hype just kept going. There’s even a very long name that goes along with a mental disorder and diagnosis, that seems to paralyze some people from going out on Friday the 13th, because they fear it so much.

The number 13 is very fascinating, as it’s often associated with endings, transitions and sometimes even death. The 13th card in the Tarot for example is the “Death Card.” But the Death card doesn’t necessarily always symbolize a physical death, more often it represents an ending of some kind. For example an ending of a relationship, job, or rough patch in one’s life…and then after the ending there’s always a new beginning and new energy!

“To the ancient Egyptians, we are told, life was a quest for spiritual ascension which unfolded in stages — twelve in this life and a thirteenth beyond, thought to be the “eternal afterlife.” The number 13 therefore symbolized death, not in terms of dust and decay but as a glorious and desirable transformation. Though Egyptian civilization perished, the symbolism conferred on the number 13 by its priesthood survived, we may speculate, only to be corrupted by subsequent cultures who came to associate 13 with a fear of death instead of a reverence for the afterlife.”

Despite whatever terrors the number 13 held for our ancestors or ancient civilizations… they didn’t seem to believe in the dread of the number 13. The Chinese regarded the number as lucky, as did the Italian and Egyptians in the time of the pharaohs.

In ancient Numerology (the study of the meanings of numbers) the number 13 gets broke down, when you add 1 + 3 = 4. Fours are associated with Angels in many cultures and religions. Commonly throughout history Angels have come to our rescue to help protect, heal, and guide us! Angels just aren’t considered unlucky, not at all. The number 13 is also considered to be a “Spiritually” evolved number and lucky among many other cultures. So in Numerology the number 13 just doesn’t have any particularly ominous meanings.

Friday comes from what’s known as “Freya’s Day,” which represents the planet Venus, which associates Friday with pleasant things like love, friendship, art and even a little indulgence.

Whatever you were conditioned to believe or have formed to believe about the number 13…!  I do know our beliefs are a very strong part of who we are and help to shape, form, and create our reality out here in the physical world. With so many of us still hanging on to the belief that the number 13 is “unlucky” , and passing those beliefs down to each generation… the number 13 is going to live up to its reputation and will probably continue to be feared by many, but will continue to remain a mystery.

But then there are those that don’t agree with modern beliefs or old superstitions. There’s a growing group of people who have a more cosmic outlook about endings or death and the number 13. Like the Egyptians, they too hold a more spiritual belief that an ending or death is something that’s magical and not the end of any one thing, but a transition into a new place and afterlife. They belive that death is simply a transition over to another relam, one of peace and tranquillity.  And just as in this reality an ending always leads to something different. ~Ruby