The Misconception of 13

Thirteen.  The mere mention of the number is enough to make some people start signing the cross, hoping to clear away the bad omen their ears have just perceived.  Contractors and Architects have created many a scheme to avoid constructing buildings with a 13th floor: some going straight from the twelfth to the fourteenth, others using a 12a and 12b floor, with no listing for, or stopping on a thirteenth floor; as if by some miraculous event the connecting floor vanished from the numerical account and accuracy of the buildings stature.

Bartleby.com states: " the Turks so dislike the word thirteen that it is almost expunged from their vocabulary.  The Italians never use it in the making up of the numbers in their lotteries and in Paris no house bares the number, and persons called Quartorziennes are reserved to make a fourteenth at the dinner table."

Fear and misguided information has long since been the basis behind such extremes, so much so that the number 13 has earned a placement in the psychological documentation of phobias; Triskaidekaphobia is the irrational fear of the number 13.  Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th, which according to Wikipedia is a specialized form of its forerunner Triskaidekaphobia. 

The above mentioned barely scratches the surface of the negative phenomenon encompassing the number 13.  What is it about this number that causes such hysteria, such misconception?  What has society manifested or bought into through our fear-based reality?  Is the number 13 so powerful that it can alter peoples' lives, shift the construction of buildings, and create an accredited phobia within the medical doctrine to further fatten the psychological wallets of the experts and the pharmaceutical providers?  The answer is in the questioning and the answer is undoubtedly yes!

Conversely, the power sustained within the number 13 does not draw its strength from an "evil" source, nor does it donate an onslaught of bad luck or negative happenings; quite the contrary, its power is derived directly from the main acronym, the key fitting in all of the doors: God/Goddess, the Creator, the One, the Source.        . 

To understand how and where this mistaken belief first took root we must venture into the origin of its superstition, thus leading us into a maze or as you will, a labyrinth of religious connotations and conspiracy theories, a labyrinth so vast with twists and turns one could be lost within its make-up for months, years, centuries.

Throughout my research, I found the most common misconception of its origin to be a distortion of the story concerning the Last Supper with Jesus and the twelve disciples.  (Twelve plus one equals 13.)  Judas, who rose first from the table, was the first to die, hence the reason it is considered bad luck by some to have a table seating of thirteen.

In mystic symbolism, the number thirteen signifies redemption, transformation, rebirth and resurrection--a prevalent fact in the ancient mystery schools, one often associated with the waxing and waning of the Moon: there are thirteen lunar cycles in one solar year.  Our moon travels 13 degrees per day across the sky.  The 13 lunar months of 28 days = 364 days in one year.

The ancient figure of the pregnant Mother Goddess from Laussel, a 27,000-year-old carving found near the Lascaux caves in France and cited as an icon of matriarchal spirituality, depicts a female figure holding a crescent-shaped horn bearing 13 notches and is believed to be the first lunar calendar known.*  For Pagans, it is traditional to allow a waiting period of "a year and a day" to elapse from the time a person decides to become a Pagan or a Wiccan/Witch, and the time that person actually is initiated into a coven, tradition, or inner circle. A year and a day is actually a lunar year of 13 months of 28 days and several hours each.  The Celtic Druids used a lunar zodiac of thirteen signs, rather than the solar zodiac of twelve. 

In Aztec cosmology, the number 13 is the number of the sun along with the 12 constellations indicating the thirteenth heaven, which refers to the sky and heavenly paradise.  The Glyph, which represents both the start and end of the Aztec calendar, is known as 13 Cane, symbolizing the death of one cycle, followed by the birth of another: the Alpha and Omega. Congruently, the 13th rune, called Eiwaz in Northern European mysticism, represents the balance point between light and dark, the creative force and the destructive force, or the heavens and the Underworld.

To the ancient Egyptians, life was a quest for spiritual ascension that unfolded in stages: 12 in this life and a 13th beyond, thought to be the eternal afterlife.  Therefore, the number 13 symbolized death--not in terms of dust and decay, but rather a magnificent and revered transition.

** The Torah begins "In the beginning God created (alef-tov)" This is the alpha and omega of the Hebrew alphabet.  The 22 sacred letters are the raw material of creation that translates the will of God into reality.  The gematria of the word for "one," echad, is aleph (1) + chet (8) + dalet (4) = 13.  Thirteen is the number of God's qualities of mercy recounted in the covenant with Moses, which is recited on Yom Kippur.  Incidentally, thirteen is also the number of attributes God spelled out in the prayer Ani Ma'amin.

All central points within the mystery schools, all from seemingly dissimilar cultures, yet all contain a doctrine concerning the potent number 13, leaving you, the reader, to decide or research what is truth and what is myth.
 
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Maria Lupinacci is a Certified Massage Therapist, Reiki Master and Integrated Energy Therapist. www.marialupinacci.com

Sources:
* From Rites of Passage by Pauline Campanelli www.webofshadows.com
 ** From YHVH Kabbalah and Spiritual Practice YHVH and the Hidden Dimension of the Hebrew Language
http://groups.msn.com/yhvh
Quest13 Quantum Energy for Self Transformation -The Significance of the Number 13 Adapted from an article by Cynthia Isis Titania http://www.quest13.co.nz/tn030604.shtml
www.biblewheel.com
www.about.com
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/13th
www.13moon.com
http://paganastronomy.net/topics.htm
 

* This article first published in The Blueprint - December 2005.