It is impossible to trace the roots of numerology without becoming entwined in a fascinating web of the Kabbalah, the Hebrew alphabet, biblical writings, the ancient wisdoms, and the background of the most famous proponent of numbers, Pythagoras. Here we find science interwoven with myths and philosophies, for the subject is not easily understood without them.
According to legend, Pythagoras's parents, Mnesarchus and Parthenis, were in Delphi on business and decided to ask the Oracle of Delphi if their journey home would be safe. Instead, the prophetess of Apollo informed them that the wife was pregnant with a boy-child who was to become handsome and wise and would impart of his wisdom to enrich and elevate mankind.
The child was born in Syria while his parents were there on a journey. He was named Pythagoras in honor of Pythasis, the oracle who foretold his birth. As a youth, Pythagoras studied in the temple of Melchizedek and became known as “the Son of God.” Six centuries later Jesus of Nazareth studied in the same temple because his sect, the Essenes, embraced the teachings of Pythagoras.
Pythagoras lived a long life, nearly 100 years, and never looked aged but remained youthful, strong, and powerful. As a young man Pythagoras left his native Samos, and for the next 30 years he traveled and studied with various masters in surrounding countries. Rabbis taught him the secret traditions of Moses that had led to the laws of Israel. In Egypt he was given instruction by the priests of Thebes in the mysteries of Isis, and studied there for 22 years. Their central doctrine was that divine power dwelt within every man no matter how low he might be; that this divine power was in the form of a light they called “The Hidden Light.” The Pharaoh's motto was “Look for the light,” meaning there is good to be found in everyone and it is everyone's duty to bring out the best in others.
In Phoenicia and Syria, Pythagoras learned the mysteries of Adonis, who was originally the Sun God to the Egyptians and who Phoenicians connected with the growth and maturing of flowers and fruits that depend upon the sun for life.
Pythagoras learned all he could from the Greek philosophers. He was initiated into the Babylonian and Chaldean mysteries. It is said that he studied with Zoroaster whose “Zoroastrianism” recognizes two creative powers: good and evil, and the triumph of the good over evil. It also teaches that there is life after death.
In the Euphrates, Pythagoras learned the secret lore of the Chaldeans. He studied for several years in Hindustan with Brahman priests who were the only ones allowed to interpret the sacred Hindustani texts, the Vedas. There he was known as Yavancharya, the Ionian teacher, a name he took because of his fascination and reverence for the letter “Y.” It is the name that is still preserved in the records of the Brahmans.
Wisemen in those days were called sages or sophists because sage means “one who knows” and sophist means “wise.” But when Pythagoras was no longer considered an Initiate, he felt there was still much more for him to learn. So instead of using sage or sophist, he invented the word “philosopher” for himself, the root “philo” meaning love and “sopho” meaning wisdom—philosopher: lover of wisdom.
In 536 B.C., at age 56, he journeyed to Crotona, the Greek-speaking region of southern Italy, and established a school that combined religious ritual with scientific study. This was the first university in history.
Here, among esoteric lessons, the secrets of number vibration were revealed in personal discourse by Pythagoras to a select few; the discourse was so secret, it was never written. Later writers were very careful not to divulge the secrets openly, but followed a key statement with less important information that would divert the attention of all but the true seeker.
It is a little-known fact that 600 years later Jesus also established schools of mystery, five of them, one of which is in Palestine. The secrets were the same as those Pythagoras taught. This was uncovered by Max Heindel, the prolific writer of many books on the wisdoms, and a member of the Brothers of the Rosy Cross. The information that has come down to us about the school of Pythagoras is by word of mouth from his students and from a few manuscripts that were preserved.
We do know that his school followed very strict rules. His students never had personal contact with him until they passed several initiations and were in the higher grades. Even then he wore a robe, dressed so that he was hardly seen. They say he was awesome.
Children with a 7 Birth Path were readily taken into the school, since Pythagoras felt they were meant to learn the mysteries. But others who wished to study there had to pass certain tests first. They were taken to a secluded spot where they were left to concentrate on a given symbol, such as the triangle. They were to write down all ideas that came to them and to tie those ideas in with all life. The next morning they would report their concepts to all the others in the school.
Sometimes they would be ridiculed to see how they would handle themselves and criticism. If the candidate was too sensitive it was felt he could not withstand the rigor of the disciplines of the school.
After gaining entry, there was a requirement of five years of total silence. It was deemed necessary to learn to hold the tongue so it would not divulge all one's thoughts. It taught students to think well before speaking. Pythagoras said that quiet attention is the beginning of wisdom:
It is better to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence. Sooner throw a pearl at hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few.
In his lectures, Pythagoras stressed the value of wisdom above all else: you can continually give it away and still have more to spare. It is what makes the difference between a real man and a beast. There are so few men who possess it that he compared it to sports: in the Olympiad there would be seven outstanding men in racing, but in contrast, there were only seven men in all the world who would excel in wisdom. It was not wise to show a temper. About anger he said:
Choose always the way that seems the best, however rough it may be; custom will soon render it easy and agreeable. Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they please.
Academically, the students were given what Pythagoras considered the triangular foundation of all arts and sciences: occult mathematics, music, and astronomy.
The word “mathematics,” from the Greek word “mathesis,” means “the learning.” Its root, “ma,” means the “mother wisdom,” and the word was first used as their name for astrology. Astrology had originated in Babylon in the fifth century B.C. where it was first called “Babylonian Numbers.” So mathematics developed from astrology.
Since “number” was the underlying principle of all three sciences—math, music, and astrology—great importance was attached to it. The Science of Numbers was considered to be the origin of all things, and it was believed that greater knowledge of God could be gained by understanding numbers. So Pythagoras's Science of Numbers was built on kabbalistic principles.
Where we have been taught that a number depicts a quantity or an amount, Pythagoras taught it to be a living qualitative reality. Much of the Egyptian philosophy and religion that he studied for 22 years was built almost completely on the Science of Numbers. In fact, all of nature was explained entirely by this principle. For example, a rubber ball and the moon have identical mathematical properties, both being circular. Yet they are physically very different.
Nature was composed of groups of four such as the four geometrical elements—point, line, surface, and solid, and four material elements—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Nature also supplied the clue to the law of contrasts: if there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, then heat; if height, then also depth; if solid, then fluid; hardness and softness; calm and tempest; prosperity and adversity; life and death. This proved the twofold activity of the one principle, the difference being only the degree of vibration—and vibration can be measured.
The Pythagoreans considered the triangle to be the originator of everything on Earth since it is the first rectilinear figure (bound by three straight lines), and it corresponds with the three attributes of the Deity, the Creative Trinity.
On studying the mystery of this sacred figure, Pythagoras established his famous theorem that has been of fundamental use ever since: “The square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.”
As influential mathematicians, the Pythagoreans made many outstanding contributions to both medicine and astronomy. Pythagoras taught that physical manifestation had to be preceded by mathematical conception—a builder cannot build unless he has a blueprint of measurements to go by. Nothing can exist without numbers.
The mathematical world makes everything so obvious that some members of the school were put to death for revealing math secrets, secrets which are now printed in schoolbooks.
Music underwent a change when Pythagoras began his study of it. Until that time, Greeks made music on a seven-string lyre. This seemed limited to Pythagoras, so he invented a monochord, a wooden resonator to which a single string was attached, with a movable fret that caused the tone of the string to vary according to the vibrations set up by the length of the string used. With this instrument he was able to construct a scale with accurate intervals and thereby invented the seven-tone scale, as we know it today.
He heard the eighth note was identical to the first, only an octave higher in pitch, so he added an eighth string to the Greek lyre. This gave musicians much more variety by enabling them to play various modes of eight notes.
Pythagoras found curative powers in music, color, and poetry. Certain melodies had a therapeutic effect on certain diseases. He discovered he could even control man's wildest passions with soothing music. He preferred the soft sounds of the lute or flute for they had the ability to keep a person in better mental balance.
The astronomy taught in Pythagoras's university included astrology, which relates man to the Universe. His knowledge on the subject came from the great Babylonian astrologers of 500 B.C., the Chaldeans, whose expertise was accepted by the surrounding countries. Astrology and astronomy remained one science until the 16th century.
Pythagoras noted that the farther from the Earth the other planets were, the faster they moved. He reasoned that since movement causes friction and friction causes sound, the planets must produce sounds in various tones: the faster they move, the higher the tone. He saw that their motion was related to the mathematical principles of the musical scale. He concluded that planets sing as they turn in their orbits, creating the music of the spheres, which he is said to have heard.
In the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., it was an age-old custom of the ancient Greeks to practice divination (foretelling of future events) by observing the entrails of sacrificed birds and animals. Pythagoras was upset by this practice and sought to put an end to it by perfecting a system using numbers. The system was based on secrets that originated from Orpheus, the patron of music, who represented the body of truth, the secret doctrine revealed through music.
Pythagoras also developed a wheel of letters with numbers and astrological signs on it that encircled a globe. By using the numbers of the inquirer's birth name or birth date, it was possible to foretell future events. However, divination was not the original intent for the use of numbers. Pythagoras was not the father of numerology as is so often stated, but it was Pythagoras who took numbers seriously enough to apply them to all teachings in his school.
Pythagoras married one of his followers, Theano, the daughter of Brontinus of Croton. They wed when he was 60 years old and together they had seven children. There are conflicting stories on the way he died, yet all agree that he was assassinated. They say he refused admittance to one man because of his bad manners. The man became so embittered that he returned with a gang of hoodlums and murderers who burned down the school and slew Pythagoras.
His widow and remaining disciples did their best to continue his work but were persecuted for it. Eventually the school was no more, but the students valued his teachings and his memory and preserved what manuscripts they could.
Later in history, Plato purchased some of these manuscripts. The basic tenets reappeared in the Middle Ages in a craft of stone masons called “Freemasonry,” which was based on the Science of Numbers.
Masonry is identical to the ancient mysteries. The Freemasons had secret signs and passwords, and were interested in attaining spiritual knowledge that could only be learned from the arrangement of letters and combinations of numbers with their hidden meanings, which collectively are the key to understanding the mysteries.
To their great credit, the Freemasons respect all religions, all peoples, and hold no prejudices. They understand that man is here to learn and grow at his own pace through his own experience.
It was men with these beliefs who framed our Constitution and designed the Great Seal of the United States. The Eagle was the ancient symbol of spiritual vision and is meant to represent the people of the United States. The reverse seal with the eye in the triangle symbolizes the eye of God in His protective watch over our nation.
The modern Masons' ninth commandment is “Hear much, speak little, act well”—very Pythagorean.