Friday, 13 August 2021
Thirteen Context
There are many articles on why Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, and some of them are playful (BBC). Christian beliefs are related to the number of guests at the Last Supper where Judas attended (history.com). It was similar to Valhalla in Nordic mythology, where twelve gods assembled to feast, and Loki gate-crashed it to cause mischief (Wikipedia 1 and Wikipedia 2).
Back when I did a numerology course, the number 13 was considered a karmic number, as was the number 14 – there are other karmic numbers, of course, but today is about the number 13.
In numerology, numbers get added together and pulled apart into their visual components. For instance, 13 is made up of one and three and add to make four. One is leading and being the first, and the three is about multiple activities happening simultaneously. The number four is about foundations or the building of them.
I had heard at some point; the number thirteen was considered unlucky by the simple fact that innumeracy was prolific in the past and couldn’t count to thirteen. Twelve was a high as was practical to measure. The innumeracy argument was thin, but it became more robust when people who could count to thirteen were considered witches or heretics.
Seeking Patterns
So, how does this make it a karmic number? In truth, I don’t know. Karmic numbers, from what I remember, are numbers with significant consequences. There is a degree of complexity concerning karmic numbers that applies to individuals and their birth dates.
Suffice it to say that a person’s birthday becomes their personal “karmic” number. Recurrences of this number, either manufactured, coincidental or serendipitous, have applicability to that individual.
A work colleague in Melbourne often recanted the number of times the number thirteen entered her life. You see, Sylvia was born on the thirteenth of X month. Sylvia was fond of saying she met her husband, got married, divorced, second husband, settled house loan, et cetera, but you get the picture.
Basically, while having a birthday on such a divisive day, Sylvia relished in the number’s infamy, thereby seeking it out and further adding to the list of “thirteens” in her life. As far as she was concerned, the bingo call sign of “Number 13 – lucky for some” was as apt as they come. After all, her birthdays got celebrated by a loving family, and it brought gifts and cake.
The critical point about Sylvia’s story is, if you go looking for a connection or pattern, you’re most likely going to find one.
Neglecting Karmic Numbers
Now, look at the number thirteen as the bringer of significant change to foundations. How you approach the challenge or how the foundations hold up comes down entirely to attitude. Bear in mind that a substantial change does not have to be something dramatic or earthshattering; it can be subtle and unremarkable – at first.
The shift for the number thirteen will happen even if you pretend the number doesn’t exist. It’s the order of things, you can call thirteen twenty-six, but it will still be that position however you brand it. A tree is a tree is a tree. You can no more change its order like you can change the way the sun rises and sets.
You are ignoring the number thirteen only compounds the work the karmic number fourteen has to do. Thirteen is about challenging foundations, and fourteen is about holding steady, rebuilding or sweeping debris. Although you can’t compound day 13 and day 14 or any month, you can compound on human-made orders such as floors and hotel rooms.
I love the hotel on Thursday Island because it put me in room Thirteen. It was a balanced hotel. Why did this hotel have a number thirteen? Easy. The locals didn’t even know that “thirteen” was a thing not to have. Nobody local ever worried about it. Torres Strait Islanders’ heritage is different and did not have a base of Christian or Nordic.
Don’t worry; each culture has its owns culture-induced fears. Nonetheless, change still occurs for the locals on karmic days, even if it isn’t a big deal. Change happens all the time. It’s simply humankind’s way of explaining the world.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Thirteen Analysis
Carryover Cards
One card carried over from yesterday; Inner Voice moved from Outcome to Influence position.
Cross
Distant Past’s Slowing Down creates a Recent Past of Change that prompts an Understanding which influences a need for Silence.
At the beginning of the day, the desire for a Goal around balance and Control formed. In the end, The Source is Future Energy.
The above translates to taking time to think on the number thirteen. For me, the number had a minimal impact today, except maybe understanding the effects of the number thirteen.
Base
My exposure to numerology had given me an understanding of how things might fit together. Personally, thirteen has been good and bad and sometimes simultaneously so. For instance, my parents got divorced when I was thirteen. It was traumatic for my mother, and I knew things were changing, but I wasn’t aware of the impact.
In the end, their divorce was a blessing for me. It wasn’t until I gained Maturity, and these are my Feelings, that I fully understood the benefits of something, which was at the time an upheaval.
Others’ Views are of Comparison, or they see me as doing a lot of comparing. I can’t argue with that!
As for the Hopes & Fears card of Adventure, apart from the obvious of me wanting to simply hope for an enjoyable adventure and fear that the odds will eventually throw an unexpected Adventure my way.
Morality is in the Outcome position, and Morality is about doing things in a socially and societally acceptable way. When it comes to the number thirteen, I will probably be like Silvia and enjoy the infamy while at the same time being slightly wary. Hey, a baker’s dozen is always a bonus!
From what I understand, a baker’s dozen was always twelve plus one for the road.
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
- As opposed to Day 224, today was bigger than I intended. Looks like my lifetime character-arc still needs work.
