Friday 13th: Myths and Legends

In popular culture there are various gloomy beliefs and superstitions about the number 13.

In fact, the term triskaidekaphobia exists (from the Greek τρεισκαίδεκα treiskaídeka, "thirteen" and φόβος phóbos, "fear") which defines the irrational fear of the number 13.

It is not rare to find, in everyday life, sequences of numbers that omit this number considered harmful: very often the seats on the plane jump from 12 to 14, same thing for the floors of a skyscraper, for the civic number and so on, or they are replaced by 12b or something similar.

But where does this aversion come from?

The antipathy for the number 13 has very ancient origins but obviously they are not known with precision.

But there are theories and legends about it.

THE NUMBER THIRTEEN AND ITS MEANING

To understand the number 13 we should first compare it to the number 12:

- In numerology, 12 is considered a number associated with completeness,

- It is divisible by 2, by 3, by 4 and by 6.

- It can be associated with the 12 hours of the day and the night and the 12 months of the year,

- It is related to numerous religious symbols: the 12 zodiac signs, the 12 gods of Olympus, the 12 apostles of Christianity, the 12 labors of Hercules, etc.

The number 13 would consequently ruin the harmony and completeness brought by the number 12, thus representing disorder and excess.

According to the Christian religion, Jesus was crucified on Friday, the 13th of the month, on the same day of the month Cain killed Abel.

On 13 October 1307, again on Friday, Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of Knights Templars, thus ending the order. Moreover it is said that these Knights, at the time of execution, cursed this date.

According to traditional medieval witchcraft, the witch coven was complete only if they were 13, as it was a propitious number for them. This probably depended on the fact that many medieval witchcraft traditions were the result of a rebellion against Christian traditions, which in the dark ages were terribly oppressive, consequently if for Christians the 13th was a nefarious number, for witches, on the contrary, it was a number lucky.

The number 13 is formed by the numbers 1 and 3: The one is the principle of all things, the origin of the universe, the three instead represents the active force of the one, the realization. Consequently the number 13 represents the Alchemist, the Magician, who transforms the forces of the universe and channels them, causing a change.

The thirteenth Tarot card represents Death, who knows this divination method will know that this card does not represent a negative omen but predicts a drastic change, which can be for better or for worse, and to rebirth; most people are frightened by change, especially when the unknown is involved, and to be reborn it is necessary to go through a "negative" period, as in any initiatory path, in order to go back, one must first descend.

But why precisely on Friday?

As many of us will know, in many cultures and mythologies Friday is associated with the Goddess, fertility and the sacred feminine (Venus, Freya, Frigg etc ...), consequently, with the advent of modern Abrahamic and patriarchal societies, this day took a negative connotation.

As we can see, many of the facts presented as arguments to attribute a nefarious meaning to the number 13 originate from the Christian tradition.

Most of them are not confirmed, but they are good examples of how Abramite religions have always tried to alter history with the aim of imposing their influence on Western cultures.

♄Unornya

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