All Things Thirteen
Cardinal: Thirteen
Hindu-Arabic: 13
Roman: XIII
13 has no divisors
Words of Thirteen
Roman words tredecim, tertius decimus
Time and Holiday Associations:
- Friday 13 – a day of bad luck
Science, Technology, Measurement:
- Baker’s dozen
- Aluminum (Al)
- thirteen element in periodic table
Social, Family and Religious References:
- Teenage years begin at thirteen
- In Japan Friday the 13 is considered an exceptionally lucky day
- Egyptians held 13 as a lucky number. It represents the final steps of the stages of earthly existence.
- British sailors refuse to put to sea on the 13th of any month.
- There are thirteen Buddhas in the Indian Pantheon
- 13 mystical discs surmount Chinese and Indian pagodas
- The hilt of the sacred sword in the Temple of Atsusa in Japan is formed of thirteen objects of mystery
- Thirteen is the sacred number of Mexican’s snake gods.
- Star of David – thirteen stars
Tarot Divination: The death card represents transformation, change, destruction followed by renewal.
More Thirteen Associations:
- 13 American colonies
- 13 stripes on U.S. flag
- 13 levels on pyramid of the U.S. National seal
- The motto 'E Pe number thirteen hath the Keys of Power and Dominion.'
- Thirteen is widely used in the occult and is a fatalistic number of great power.
- With the spread of the early Christian Church it became widely known that thirteen people dined at the last supper. By implication it would be unlucky for thirteen to eat together as one of their numbers might die before the year was out.
- Thirteen represents transcendence from body existence to spiritual existence.
- It is the number associated with necromancy.
- Thirteen is the number of immortality (Christ plus 12 diciples)
Common usage:
- Baker’s dozen
- long dozen, devil’s dozen
Games, sports:
- King is thirteen card
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Sources Some information drawn from:
The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin
The Numerology Workbook by Julia Line
Dartmouth, Number Symbolism in the Middle Ages at http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit8/unit8.html
site offers much info on Christianity.