Holy # 13
The Holy Goddess.
Slang words. Common phrases. Colloquial expressions. Superstitions. All of these get my soul juices flowing!
Why?
There is always more to what meets the eye, the tongue, and the phrases that seem to just slip out of past timelines into the Now.
I have a natural born curiosity as a Capricorn Sun & Ascendant, Sagittarius Moon + 3 more Sag placements, and two significant Aquarius placements.
This is ME ~ Truth Seeker; Soul Explorer; Change Maker; Life Adventurer, and a straight up Earthy Cappy.
I have also nurtured my own interest and skill level with both critical thinking, and clinical reasoning. Hello, Anthropology and Occupational Therapy degrees.
Yet more than these academic escapades, I feel the deep call from what I now name, my “Inner Wise Woman”. She knows there is more.
More beyond the veils of time. More steeped in the ancient ethers.
She is not satisfied with only the 3D exploration of this immense world, nor with what is presented to her as common “truths”, that “she must” blindly and obediently accept as her own.
This fuels my continued desire to expand my understanding and my personal belief systems through asking important, perhaps even unpopular or controversial, questions and remaining open to spiritual exploration as avenues of direct experience with the Divine.
Shamanic based practices, Yoga, Meditation, and various other Consciousness Raising experiences support access to the subconscious states and the vibrational dimensional realms which offer infinite wisdom from within the shared Oneness.
There, in those experiences, I find more eternal wisdom and validation of truths beyond time.
Do you need to have this same type of education, or exposure to spiritual practices to open to greater, higher understanding?
Nope!
One simple elucidative question, an open heart and willing mind is truly all you need to discover deeper truths and begin to attune yourself to the rich array of ancient, cosmic, and earthly wisdom.
“The Universe Shapes Around Your Questions”
This is a powerful statement to entertain, as a Co-Creative Being in this life….
This stuck with me for years. I cannot recall where I heard it, or read it. I thought it was either Deepak Chopra, or Anodea Judith but I cannot find a reference to either of them.
Nevertheless, it landed and became my personal pioneering compass.
So when it came to the fear I constantly noted around Friday the 13th (my own mother was born on December 13th) and my growing education of Goddess and Earth Based spirituality, and its evident connection with the number 13, the questions starting flowing!
Let’s shed some light on some very important and not well known information about the most sacred number 13.
The number of the Holy Goddess.
Holy No. 13
Time to RECLAIM and Re-IGNITE the beauty, power, and holiness of 13.
It is well known across the globe, in Western cultures in particular, there are negative connotations and “bad luck” superstitions associated with the number 13.
Particularly, FRIDAY the 13th.
Many hotels and apartment buildings do not include a thirteenth floor (but they actually did/do, they just label them 12 or 14!), and elevator button number 13 is excluded. People would have an extra child if they ended up having 13 children. It’s true! I know someone personally whose parents extended their family to add one more, so not to have the unlucky association of 13 children. There is actually a word for phobias related to 13, “triskaidekaphobia”. People will avoid anything labelled, or identified as having a quantity of 13. It is reported that western businesses actually see a slump in their economics on Friday the 13th as well and this is purported to be related to superstition.
It is suggested in the literature, and common social supposition that this superstition is in part due to the following cultural “his”torical events. That these past events and mythologies have since seeded fear in the common human psyche, which continues to create beliefs and subsequent behaviours that in turn perpetuate this fear.
We create what we believe folks!
It is a well known tactic within the patriarchal paradigm, and by those in positions of power, that they can more easily, and subtly, manipulate the populous when they are in a state of fear.
When one is in a psycho-emotional state of fear, the nervous system becomes dis-regulated and people are not fully present to their own intuitive knowing, somatic body wisdom, and grounded logical thinking. Their capacity to deal with complex problem solving is diminished. In other words, they are vulnerable to mental emotional manipulation, and actions are easily led by the power of suggestion around them.
Here are a few things I discovered as theories related to the fear and superstitions related to the number 13, and Friday the 13th, that have been present for hundreds, if not thousands of years!
The Knights Templar, who were a monastic military order responsible for the protection of Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, met their fate on Friday the 13th in 1307, in France. The King of France, King Philip IV, feared their power and wealth. He garnered Papal support to massacre, arrest and seize all the assets of this powerful group of Christian warriors.
The 13th guest, Judas, and last of the 12 Apostles, to join Jesus for the Last Supper was the very disciple who betrayed him and which led to his crucifixion on Good Friday.
Pre-Christian earth based and matriarchal spiritual faiths in the Triple Goddess (as the Great Mother), by its nature a “Trinity,” became manipulated throughout history as the patriarchal paradigm based in Christian Trinity (God, Mary, Jesus) ethos, expanded its versions throughout the world. This led to vilification of Goddess oriented symbols, practices, including lunar based ceremony, and natural cycles including the menstrual cycle, which came to be commonly referred to as “the curse”, considered “dirty” and “impure”.
Norse mythology shares the arrival of Loki, the trickster God, as the 13th UN-invited guest at a dinner gathering in Valhalla who then had Ullr (Loor) shoot and kill Baldr (Balder) son of Odin and Frigg. Superstition developed around 13 dinner guests would evoke a death , and became prevalent in Northern European cultures.
Ancient Sumerians (Mesopotamia 4000-3500BC) are reported to have believed the number 12 to be a “perfect number”, and therefore considered the number that followed it to be decidedly “non-perfect", of lesser value or even inviting imperfect associations.
I find this all so fascinating and thought provoking. I hope you do too!
Let’s explore, and revive, the innate Holiness and Feminine Wisdom of the sacred No 13 & the word Friday!
FRIDAY
Frjádagr, or frīġedæġ in Old English translates to mean the "day of Frigg".
All of the 7 days of the week within the current Gregorian (Roman origin) calendar are associated with a specific planet. Historically, there was a clear shift by the Romans away from the Germanic/Norse god/goddess associations, which were not only related to specific Gods/Goddesses but also linked to the moon cycles and planets.
The Germanic goddess Frigg was Odin’s wife, the Queen of Asgard. This was the capital city of the Gods & Goddesses in the Norse traditions. Frigg is associated with romantic love, marriage, fertility, domesticity, mothering, creativity, being a protector and supporter of young women, including that capacity of being a “Seer” providing her with prophetic capabilities. There is suggestion that Frigg, and Goddess Freja, may have been manifestations of one another.
The West Germanic latin derivative of Friday is “dies Veneris”, which means “Day of Venus”.
In Roman dialect Friday is “Vineri” and in French “Vendredi”.
Ancient Rome associated the 5th weekday with the Roman goddess Venus, with whom the day is associated in many different cultures.
Venus is the goddess of love, fertility, fecundity, beauty, protection and prosperity AS is Frigg. There is a complex mythology regarding Goddess Venus, and she also has an association with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, which is still within the Greco-Roman realms of debate.
Goddess Venus - Painting by Botticelli
Goddess Frigg - Artist Unknown
13
13 beholds an inherent energetic frequency of natural cycles and rhythms, of harmony, and purposeful fluid phases of life.
One of the earliest associations of the Goddess and the No 13, is the Neolithic stone carving of “Venus of Lassau”, found in Southern France. The bison horn in her right hand has 13 line etchings (thought to represent the 13 Moon Cycles) and her left hand rests on her (presumed) pregnant belly. *See main blog post photo image.
Below is a list of Divine Feminine wisdom related to the # 13.
13 Lunar Cycles within 1 year.
Lunar cycles are deeply connected to feminine biology, ancient, and modern goddess spirituality.
13th day of the (28 day) menstrual cycle is the most fertile time, and also considered the most powerful bio-energetic time for conception, and creation.
Planet Venus moves around the Sun in an 8 year cycle, each containing 5 cycles = 13
13 marks the halfway point between the Full Moon (ovulation - rebirth) and the New Moon (menstrual shedding - death).
Ancient Goddess cultures revered the Full Moon time as a time of heightened creative and life giving power of the feminine. The bleeding times of the New Moon were honoured for at that time a woman embodied her most magical, intuitive, psychic and prophetic prowess.
13 Moon/Lunar Calendar of the Ancient Maya & Maya, and many North American Indigenous cultures (E.g. Anishinnabe; Iroquois) associate the 13 sections of the Sacred Turtle Shell, with the 13 lunar cycles of the year. Denoting living in harmony and balance with the great Earth Mother. *Image below.
13 Moon/Tree Ogham Lunar Calendar of the pre-Christian Celts also embodies the feminine wisdom of the moon and earthly seasonal cycles. *Image below.
There are other positive spiritual associations with the number 13, such as the highly auspicious time in Hinduism, called Triyodashi. The 13th day of the lunar fortnight belongs to Lord Shiva and is said to bestow long life, peace and good fortune.
Numerology often defines 13 as symbolic of the Divine and brings good fortune, prosperity, growth and positive change.
What is truth to YOU is what will form the basis of your belief systems, and how you dance with the events of life.
Yet, so much has been insidiously shaped in the subconscious of humanity for generations that many accept without question, and acceptance of seeming relevance to their personal lives.
I for one, want to not only have an awareness of why I believe what I do, and why I react in the ways I do, but I want to be an active participant in my mindset and choices in every way that is possible this earth walk.
I now have a broader appreciation for the varied associations and historical referencing of the Number 13, and Friday the 13th.
I get to choose what they both represent for me.
And so do YOU!
I am inspired to reclaim this day as the most Blessed Holy Day of the Great Goddess.
Care to join me?
Thirteen holds the power, grace and beauty of the Divine Feminine.
Friday the 13th evokes the capacity for love, desire, prosperity, and authentic potential to be both seeded and ready to make manifest in life, through the feminine mystery within every human. All genders.
In my world, Friday the 13th
will now be the
Blessed Holy Day of the Great Goddess.
HOLY # 13
Thanks for reading!
I hope you have enjoyed learning about the sacredness of the number 13 & Friday.
XO Amanda
Celtic Tree Ogham Lunar Calendar
https://mylittleoccultshop.blogspot.com/
13 Moon - Lunar Calendar
oneidalanguage.ca
