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The universe according to Plato is a living being and time is “an eternal image, moving according to number, of eternity remaining in unity.” This sacred mathematics are the basis of astrological principles and understanding Pythagorean theology leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation for the ancient model of the cosmos. The number 7 is a widely recognized feature of ancient astrology, the number of planets in the solar system. Focusing on the fact that Uranus and Neptune also exist, the earth revolves around the sun and that the visible or classical planets are “incorrect” completely misses the symbolic significance behind these ancient cosmological principles
The Power of the Number 10 and the Tetractys
In Pythagorean cosmology, the number 10 serves as the key to understanding the universe. While 1 represents the divine nature of God—the source of all things—10 symbolizes completeness and perfection. Divinity, in this context, is not represented by literal numbers but by the formless principles that numbers embody.
The Tetractys, a triangular figure containing ten points, serves as a kind of mandala, illustrating how the One (or Monad) becomes many. This visual representation allows the Theory of Forms to be understood. These numerical principles represent the entirety of existence, with the Forms existing beyond human perception and comprehensible only through intellectual contemplation. From the ten numbers in the Tetractys, infinite mathematical combinations can be derived, applying to all aspects of creation.
No matter how complex the numbers, all of creation ultimately reduces back to One—the divine source. The mathematical formulas and geometric patterns reveal the eternal order governing nature, time, space, and the spiritual realms.
The Tetractys and the Four Levels of Existence
The Tetractys illustrates how creation unfolds from the divine source to the material world, passing through four distinct levels of existence. Showing how creation unfolds from the divine source to the material world through the duality of creation, harmony of opposites, and finally to the balanced and completed creation. Each number is pure spirit and can only be understood by its functions and recognizing its actions in the three-dimensional material world:
First Row (Monad): 1 represents unity, God, the source of all things, and the indivisible divine principle. It symbolizes the beginning and the origin of the universe from which everything emanates. The singular point represents zero dimensions, or infinity.
Second Row (Dyad): 2 represents duality and opposition, such as light and dark, male and female, day and night, hot and cold. It represents division and the creation of contrasts within the universe. Two points form a line, one dimension.
Third Row (Triad): 3 represents harmony, balance and spirit. It resolves and unites opposites (from the Dyad) into a perfect whole, symbolizing the spiritual and intellectual. The three points of the third row represent two dimensions in the form of a triangle.
Fourth Row (Tetrad): 4 represents completeness, stability and the physical world. It is the creative principle of the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) and symbolizes stability and structure. The fourth row represents the three-dimensional world with the tetrahedron defined by four points.
From the One to the Many: The Creation of Form
The geometric progression in the Tetractys illustrates the unfolding of creation from the divine source, the One, to the many forms in the physical world. The process follows this path:
- Monad: A single point represents the divine source, without form.
- Dyad: The point duplicates itself, forming a line.
- Triad: The line expands into a two-dimensional triangle, representing balance and spirit.
- Tetrad: The triangle becomes three-dimensional, forming a tetrahedron. This is the first physical form, representing the material world.
Through this process, the One becomes many, and ten points create a form from nothing, reflecting the sacred geometry that underlies all of creation.
The Geometry of the Elements
In Plato’s Timaeus, the elements are described in relation to their geometric forms, revealing a profound connection between sacred geometry and the natural world. Plato assigned specific shapes to the elements, illustrating how geometry serves as the fundamental structure of the cosmos.
Below is an excerpt that captures this idea:
To earth, then, let us assign the cubic form, for earth is the most immovable of the four and the most plastic of all bodies, and that which has the most stable bases must of necessity be of such a nature. Now, of the triangles which we assumed at first, that which has two equal sides is by nature more firmly based than that which has unequal sides, and of the compound figures which are formed out of either, the plane equilateral quadrangle has necessarily a more stable basis than the equilateral triangle, both in the whole and in the parts. Wherefore, in assigning this figure to earth, we adhere to probability, and to water we assign that one of the remaining forms which is the least movable, and the most movable of them to fire, and to air that which is intermediate. Also we assign the smallest body to fire, and the greatest to water, and the intermediate in size to air, and, again, the acutest body to fire, and the next in acuteness to air, and the third to water. Of all these elements, that which has the fewest bases must necessarily be the most movable, for it must be the acutest and most penetrating in every way, and also the lightest as being composed of the smallest number of similar particles, and the second body has similar properties in a second degree, and the third body, in the third degree. Let it be agreed, then, both according to strict reason and according to probability, that the pyramid is the solid which is the original element and seed of fire, and let us assign the element which was next in the order of generation to air, and the third to water. We must imagine all these to be so small that no single particle of any of the four kinds is seen by us on account of their smallness, but when many of them are collected together, their aggregates are seen. And the ratios of their numbers, motions, and other properties, everywhere God, as far as necessity allowed or gave consent, has exactly perfected and harmonized in due proportion. (Timaeus, 55d-56c)
This passage illustrates how ancient philosophers, like Plato, viewed mathematical harmony as the foundation of both the physical and spiritual worlds, further emphasizing the influence of Pythagoras on the development of sacred geometry and cosmology.
The Number 7 and Spiritual Archetypes
In the Tetractys, the number 7 is special because it can only be divided by 1 and itself. 3 represents spirit (the balance of 1 and 2) and 4 is the material or created world. By combining 3 and 4, the One becomes 7 and exists as both spiritual and material, a combination where One has become many.
Because these numbers represent pure archetypal spirit and beyond all human perception, they can only be recognized in the ways they manifest in the creative world. The spirits become an infinite number of created things. When pure white light refracts, it becomes seven colors as seen in rainbows and light within crystals, the Dyad of light and dark becoming 7.
The Harmony of the Spheres: Music of the Cosmos
The seven visible planets, often referred to as the “wandering stars,” embody the sacred number 7, known in Pythagorean thought as the Heptad. This principle of 7 permeates creation, finding expression in the seven notes of the diatonic musical scale, along with its modes and intervals. For Pythagoras, music was more than sound—it was the mathematical expression of numbers in audible form, and the universe itself was a grand, harmonious symphony composed of both sounds and colors that brought life to the invisible numerical spirit.
Pythagoras referred to this cosmic music as the Harmony of the Spheres, which was believed to be created by the movements of the celestial bodies. Although inaudible to the human ear, Pythagoras claimed that those with heightened spiritual or psychic senses could perceive this divine music. In astrology, this same principle of cosmic harmony is reflected in the Lots or Arabic Parts, which are derived from the mathematical ratios between two planets. These planetary ratios resonate like musical notes, creating a celestial harmony similar to the way a guitar string vibrates when plucked, and its sound changes as the musician alters the tension by pressing down on it.
The Lunar Cycle and the Principle of 7
The sacred principle of 7 also governs the lunar cycle, as the Moon changes phases every seven days, creating the structure of the seven-day week. Each day of the week is ruled by one of the seven classical planets, and the week itself contains 168 hours, each corresponding to a planetary influence. This is a manifestation of the One becoming 7, reflecting how the divine unity expresses itself in both time and space.
Just as the human body is the vessel for the spirit, each of the seven planets serves as a vessel for the seven spiritual archetypes. These planets emit not only physical light but also invisible rays of spiritual energy, forming an intricate web that underlies creation. While the divine source is unknowable in its entirety, its functions can be intuitively understood by contemplating these patterns—this is the essence of astrology or the sacred geometry of the cosmos.
Astrological Aspects and the Tetractys
Traditional astrology is essentially Pythagorean theology manifest in the skies, observed from Earth. The aspects between planets reflect the sacred geometry of the cosmos, each aspect embodying a fundamental principle of the Tetractys:
Conjunction: Represents the Monad (One), the principle of unity. It signifies both the beginning and end of all cycles, just as the new moon embodies the union of light and dark to mark the start of a new cycle.
Opposition: Represents the Dyad (Two), the principle of duality and conflict, reflecting the tension between opposites.
Trine: Represents the Triad (Three), a triangle symbolizing perfect harmony and balance.
Sextile: Represents the number 6 (hexagon), the first “perfect number” in the Tetractys, indicating harmonious interactions but with a subtle complexity.
Square: Represents the Tetrad (Four), symbolizing conflict and challenge, particularly between elements of different natures.
The Zodiac and the Dodecahedron
The twelve zodiac signs correspond to the twelve faces of the dodecahedron, one of the Platonic solids representing Aether, the element that unites all creation. The 360 degrees of the ecliptic also represent the circle, a perfect geometric form that creates and contains all others. As the circle becomes three-dimensional, it forms a sphere, the shape of the Earth and the universe itself.
In the Tetractys, the third row of dots represents Spirit, forming a two-dimensional triangle. When a fourth dot is added, the triangle gains an additional dimension and becomes a tetrahedron, symbolizing the transition from spiritual geometry to the material world. This principle illustrates how the two-dimensional geometry of the sky becomes the three-dimensional world of matter, completing the cosmic Forms.
The Four Elements and Platonic Solids
Each Platonic solid corresponds to one of the four spiritual elements, forming the building blocks of the universe:
- Fire: Represented by the tetrahedron (four triangular faces).
- Air: Represented by the octahedron (eight triangular faces).
- Water: Represented by the icosahedron (twenty triangular faces).
- Earth: Represented by the cube (six square faces).
The dodecahedron symbolizes Aether, the fifth element that unites all of creation, embodying the Form of the Good. These geometric forms reflect the divine order of the cosmos, all of them ultimately rooted in the principles of the Tetractys.