Seven

Wisdom - Mystery - Higher Truth

Seven is definitely one of my favourite numbers. There’s something elusive about it—something that feels just out of reach, yet deeply familiar. In the world of geometry, where I often find my understanding of numbers, seven stands apart.

When we divide a circle - 360 degrees - by most numbers, we get neat, knowable results. But not with seven. A circle cannot be evenly divided by seven. The result is a repeating decimal, a number that never resolves, never settles. It can only ever be approximated. This quality gives seven a special kind of mystery: it is something we can seek, but never quite grasp. It continually alludes us, like a truth we sense but can’t fully articulate.

Geometry, for me, is a language of intuition. It’s deeply reflexive—capable of holding opposites, of making space for paradox. While traditional mathematics demands precision, the geometric world welcomes nuance. I’ve learned to approach it through my own intuition, through instinct as much as intellect. In this realm, seven becomes more than a number. It becomes a symbol.

In ancient times, Pythagoras called seven the virgin number. Unlike other numbers, it is not the product of any multiplication involving the numbers 1 to 10 (except itself and one), and it cannot be neatly divided. It stood as untouched, indivisible—pure. For the Pythagoreans, it symbolised spiritual integrity, something whole and complete but untainted by the material world. It also represented the union of the physical (four) and the spiritual (three), yet remained somehow apart. Mysterious and sacred, seven came to embody purity, introspection, and the pursuit of higher truths.

Seven speaks to the seeker in us—the part that is always questing, always wondering. It represents the pursuit of wisdom, the call to look deeper, to ask questions that don’t always have answers. For those of us born with the need to understand, to uncover meaning, seven resonates profoundly.

It’s no surprise, then, that across cultures and traditions, seven is associated with higher knowledge, spiritual insight, and inner truth. It’s the number of the philosopher, the mystic, the questioner.

I can't discuss the number seven without mentioning its relationship with the number five. While five is sometimes viewed as representing the material world—five fingers, five senses, five limbs—it also holds a deeper, more sacred resonance. Five expresses itself through the pentagon and the pentagram, both of which are imbued with the golden ratio, or phi—a divine proportion that underpins natural growth, beauty, and harmony. Far from being merely material, five encodes the structure of organic unfolding, spiral dynamics, and intelligent design. It speaks to the living, growing nature of form, the sacred geometry of life itself.

When five and seven are brought together, they make twelve—a number rich with spiritual and symbolic meaning. There are twelve signs in the zodiac, twelve months in the year, twelve hours of day and night. But more intimately, there are twelve petals in the heart chakra (Anahata), the energetic centre that bridges the physical and the spiritual. It is the seat of compassion, balance, and the wisdom of love. In this way, twelve symbolises integration—the union of the seeking spirit (seven) and the embodied path of growth (five). It offers a sense of completeness, wholeness, and sacred rhythm.

And perhaps that’s what makes seven so compelling—not just its mathematical mystery, but its invitation to keep searching. It encourages us to bring together what we sense and what we know, what we question and what we feel, in an ever-deepening exploration of truth.