NumbersThe 8 is also a number of resurrection because Jesus arose on the
eighth day, and 8 is a picture of “the below that rises above.” It came to
represent the law “As Above, So Below,” for by studying man and the
world around us, we come to understand the worlds above—the Universe
and spiritual man.
Ancient man discovered the shape of the 8 to be the orbit of planets.
It has since been proven that it is the natural path of activity for people
and animals as well. In 1928 a professor of zoology at the University of
Kansas, Asa A. Shaeffer, observed that people who have been lost in the
woods or blindfolded really do travel in the pattern of the figure 8. So
do swimmers and drivers who have been blindfolded, and pilots who are
lost in a fog; all will travel in spirals. Shaeffer concluded after many
experiments which included animals and even amoebas, that spiral mo-
tion is a universal property of living matter in form (Why Do Some
Shoes Squeak?, 221).
Pythagoras called the 8 “Light and Darkness.” The darkness is the
selfish material-minded moneymaker, and the light is the spiritual-minded
who offer light to those in the dark. This knowledge of spirit and matter
gives the 8 inspiration, leadership ability, and even genius. It is 4 plus 4;
the organizational abilities of the 4 doubled—44: Mastermind. Prosper.
Unlimited. (See Master Numbers for more on 44.)
\ 17/8 //
The 17/8 is a staunch individualist: the scientist, researcher, intellec-
tual. The 1 and 8 are the mental or intellectual numbers, and 7 is intuitive
and logical in thinking. Because 8 is the number of good judgement (the
balances) with the 1 and 7 preceding it, there must be success. The 17 has
great hopes for the future, as seen in the following 17-words:
Exact. Goal. God. Sense. Smart. Study. Success. Mason.
Monk.
It is interesting that GOD vibrates to 17/8 while CREATOR is 35/8.
We perceive God as being one (1) Original Cause, unseen and mysterious
(7), whereas Creator brings to mind the many and varied (5) types of
creation in all its beauty (3). We could also say that God (1) breathes the
breath of life (7) into man: “As Above -o, So Below -o.”
The 8 relates to justice. If a law is broken, the debt must be paid, for
this is the Law of the Circle: what goes out must return to the sender.
Occultists have long known that the thoughts and deeds of man are
moral (or immoral) forces that affect the world around him. Earth-
quakes, floods, all so-called “acts of God” are not acts of God at all, but
nature’s balancing of the scales of justice. All that we send out must
return to us.