The Numbers of Heaven
13
The fear of the number 13 is known to medical science as
Triskedekaphobia. Although many modern day folk would deny that they believe in
'silly superstitions', the identifier for 13 is still commonly removed from hotels
and street addresses. The superstitious fear of 13 extends way back into more
ancient times. During the medieval ages, the rich forbid 13 people to sit at
the table. English folk belief holds that if a nosegay holds less then 13
flowers it must be protected by violets or else it is unlucky. However it is
fortunate should a hen lay 13 eggs. In the UK, a set of 13 baked items is
called a "Devils' Dozen", while here in the US, 13 is a "Baker's
Dozen" containing one item "extra". And of course everyone has
heard the warnings about "Friday the 13th" being especially unlucky.
Many believe that the fear of the number 13 began in a taboo long ago,
perhaps relating to the days when calendars were widely calculated according to
the moon. Over time, the moon was found to be a less accurate calendar system
and was abandoned in favor of a solar calendar. The lunar cycle is 354 days, 11
days short of a solar year. The 355th day starts on the 13th month. Modern
pagans still refer to these old lunar calendars when they use "a year and
a day" as a way of keeping track of time. There are 13 lunar months of 28
days which has 1 day left over, hence a "year and a day".
The number 13 often appears in folklore and myths, suspiciously with
authoritative overtones. In English heraldry the College of Heraldry has 13
members. In the US, 13 form the legal jury system. In Rome, the city founder
Romulus had 12 companions, while King Arthur had his 12 knights, Odin and 12
deities reigned over Norse Valhalla, Zeus and 12 deities over Greek Olympus,
Robin Hood had 11 merry men and Maid Marian, the Danish Hrolf had 12
berserkers, and by tradition, 13 members are considered the ideal for a witch
coven. The Egyptians featured a calendar of 12 months, with a 13th smaller
month representing the time out of time when the gods were born. In Babylon,
the god Marduk struggled against the chaos monster Tiamat to bring order into
the universe. She was assisted by 11 minor deities. Not to be undone, the
Hebrew Jahweh had his 12 tribes, and even Jesus had his 12 disciples. Although
some researchers may attest that the modern fear of 13 stems from such Biblical
myths as Judas the 13th member of the disciples betraying the Christos, as
happens in many cases, scratching the surface of the Christian veneer reveals a
thin mask covering a far older belief system.
Tracing the myth of 13 back in time, we find a folkloric tale from NY in
the Berkshire Hills area, circa 1796. One Francis Woolcott was said to be a
tall dark man who rode around with his 12 "Night Riders". This
nocturnal gang played tricks on the neighborhood "every night when the
moon was growing old." He tied horses tails into knots, made pigs walk
upright, and spoiled milk from cows. They met in a grove of ash and chestnut
trees. In 1662 we find a record from the witch trial of Isobel Gowdie which
states that she belonged to a coven of 13. Chaucer even uses the word
"convent" in Canterbury Tales to refer to an "assembly of
13". Coven is a variation of the word convent, and by association, the words
Covent, and Coventry. A poem from 14th century England mentions a
"coveyne" as a gathering of 13 people.
The 12 days of Christmas (originally Yule) was first recorded by
Christians at the end of 4th cent, at a time when Europeans were being
systematically converted from paganism to Christianity. The Christians declared
12 days as the time between Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve, deserving of a
holiday. Epiphany itself is the 13th, and in Europe is still sometimes
celebrated for 13 days and referred to as "the 13." In France the
Yule log is called "souche de Noel". In Provence on Christmas Eve the
whole family goes out solemnly to bring in the log. A carol is sung for
blessings on the house, the women carry children, goats, and ewes in the
procession, corn, flour and wine. The youngest child pours the wine, and the
log is lit. Some locals continue to burn the log for all 13 nights, reflecting
the habit of a far older custom. Memoirs from French immigrants in the US also
refer to an old country custom of lighting 13 fires outdoors during the Yule
season. A large fire is said to stand for Christ, while a smaller 13th is said
to represent Judas. At the highlight of the event, the townsfolk converge on
the smaller fire and stomp it out.
According to Christian missionaries who chronicled the exploits of the
pagan Vikings, Freyja was the Norse goddess of love, marriage and the dead,
wife of Odin. Her day was Friday, the luckiest day of the week, often used by
the Anglo-Saxons as a wedding day. In an act of vehement suppression, the
Christian church declared this most fortunate of days to be
"unlucky", and hence unavailable for pagan marriages. Mandatory
fasting, abstinence, and self denial reinforced the suppression of this day of
joy. The rumor was started that Freyja was number 13 of the Norse deities to
rule on Valhalla, and she herself led a troupe of 12 demons. After the
conversion of the locals to Christianity, it was said that Freyja would pursue
her former followers on each Friday the 13th to bring them ill will in revenge
for the abandonment of her rites.
Going back even farther, we find that Roman wedding ceremonies for the
upper class required a party of 13 to establish the proceedings as legal. The
happy couple would consume salt, water, and flour infront of 10 witnesses and a
priest known as the Pontifex Maximus. February 13th is also the Roman holiday
of the Lupercalia, Christianized to St. Valentines Day and the celebration
moved to the 14th. On this eve, the Romans would choose lots for all single people
so that they might have a partner for the next year and a day. The ancient
Norse Frisians believed in a council of 12 wise elders called the Asegir. Once,
the story goes, they wished to collect all the local laws of the land in order
to establish a comprehensive legal code. Completed, they journeyed by boat to
find a place to establish the new center for their future legal moots. Caught
in a storm, they called upon Forseti, the son of Balder who appeared and led
them safely to an island with a sacred spring. As the leader and 13th, he
assisted them in establishing the new legal center then disappeared. This
island became holy ground, where the Frisans met thrice a year to dispense
justice.
Another record mentions that Eudoxus the Greek went to Egypt and spent 13
years studying in their temples to learn math, science and astronomy, referring
to the 13 years of study as a relevant number. In some ancient texts, the
number 13 does indeed play a role as a 'significant' number. The Egyptian
temple of Ammon Ra was constructed in such a way as to force the pilgrim into a
12 day journey, arriving at the temple on the 13th. In the Hindu Reg Veda,
there are 13 mentions of the war god Indra and his band of accompanying Maruts.
In the Tarot deck, 13 is the number of the Death card. In Genesis, the 13th
chapter contains the foreshadowing of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In
the Hebrew Exodus tale, the tribes camped around the central tabernacle in 4
groups of 3, making the 13th feature the tabernacle itself.
December 13th in Sweden is St Lucia's (light) day, also called
"Little Yule". The youngest girl in the house is dressed in white,
with a whortleberry wreath and candles placed on her head. She proceeds through
the house giving sleepers sweet drinks or coffee in bed. In Lower Austria,
Christians believe that this day is a time of witchcraft, and that the
procession is done to ward off evil. Originally a Norse holiday devoted to the
sun, the Christians tried to take over the pagan holiday on the 13th by claiming
Lucia carried church candles rather then a fire brand representing the sun. A
lingering folk belief in Sweden belies it's pagan origins by saying that the
13th was the shortest day of year, literally the demise of the old sun before
renewal. The legend of King Arthur proclaims the fabled king fought 12 battles
against the Saxons before succumbing on the 13th and making his journey to
Avalon the Isle of Immortality. English King William Rufus was mysteriously
slain in New Forest in 1100, during the 13th year of his reign at the harvest
festival Lammas. It has long been rumored that this was related to ancient
pagan practices concerning the length of kingship in the area. The Greek
champion Heracules performed 12 labors before dying at the hands of trickery, where
after he was taken to Olympus and reborn as a god.
But the real significance for the number 13 may lie farther back still.
Unbeknownst to many, even modern astrology enthusiasts, is that there was, and
still is a 13th sign of the zodiac known as Ophiuchus Serpentarius, the Serpent
Holder. This constellation lies between Sagittarius and Libra, somewhat over
Scorpio, and infact the sun spends more time in Ophiuchus (16 days) then it
does Scorpio. (9 days) In 16-17th century this constellation was called
Alpheichius, or variations thereof. Known as the "God of Invocation"
in Greek, this starry asterism was named after a legendary healer who was said
to have the ability to raise the very dead. Ophiuchus holds 2 serpents in his
hands, the same serpents which would later be used as the medical symbol in the
US. A statement made by Plato seems to nail the matter right on the head, as he
calls this 13th sign "the god of the underworld", and insisted even
in his time that it be included in the cycle of the zodiac. "The law will
say that there are 12 feats dedicated to the 12 gods...Pluto is to have his
feast in the 12th month and not be excluded as a denizen of the underworld, for
warlike men should realize that he is the best friend of man". Unfortunately,
Christians too attempted to suppress this 13th sign during the medieval ages,
changing it into the figure of St Paul holding a viper, before dropping it
altogether.
From there, it was only a short while until the origin of the
superstitious dread faded from popular memory. Once the starry symbol of death
and transformation, 13 still lingers in modern day culture as a forgotten
remnant of a time gone by.
