X is for XIII

It's week twenty-four of Alphabe-Thursday!

X is for XIII...

Coming up with a spiritual word beginning with X was proving difficult until I decided to use Roman numerals. I chose the number thirteen because we're in the year 2013. :-) Then I discovered that thirteen is actually a very powerful number.

In symbolic numerology thirteen is often given a dark interpretation. For example, Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day because The Last Supper was held on a friday the thirteenth. But looked at from a different perspective, the number thirteen can actually be seen as a very positive number.

Jesus had his last meal with the twelve apostles, making him the thirteenth member of the group. So thirteen in this case is the number given to an enlightened being. Likewise, in Ancient Greece Zeus was known as the thirteenth god. Symbolically, this makes thirteen a powerfully spiritual number.

In Ancient Egypt there were thirteen steps on the ladder to eternity; it was on the thirteenth step that the soul reaches its source and attains spiritual completion. The Aztecs held thirteen to be a sacred number so they had thirteen days in a week. And Native Americans honour the number thirteen in their ritualistic practices. 

There are thirteen moons in a year. The moon takes thirteen days to change from Full Moon to New Moon and thirteen days back again.The moon also moves thirteen degrees around the Earth in one day. So it seems thirteen is a significant number for the moon! Symbolically, that means the number thirteen holds the traits associated with the moon - femininity, emotion, cycles and mystery.

Numerologically speaking, thirteen contains the symbolic meaning of both 1 and 3. One deals with beginnings, unity and birth. While three is a powerful number that deals with creation and completion. For numerologists then - thirteen is considered to highlight a spiritual path that will bring unity and completion of the soul's journey. On Tarot cards thirteen is given to the death card which is actually symbolic of transition.

Looking at all of this I would say thirteen is a sacred spiritual number. So make the most of your 2013! :-)