Table of Contents – Number 6
- Meaning of Number 6
- Number 6 is a Perfect Number
- Number 6 Fun Facts
- Number 6 in Astrology and the Tarot
- June, the Sixth Month
- Braille
- The Sixth President
- The First Miracle of Jesus
- The 6 Wives of King Henry XIII
- Sami National Day
- The Six Items of Gleipnir – Norse Mythology
- Sonnet 6 By William Shakespeare
- Number 6 in Judaism
- Buddhism: Samsara – The Wheel of Life
Meaning of Number 6
The number 6is a symbol of completeness.
Number 6symbolizes beauty and high ideals.
Number 6 is a Perfect Number
The Pythagoreans acknowledged number 6 to be the first perfect number.
In mathematics a perfect number is when all the numbers divisors (excluding the number itself) are added, the sum equals the number itself. 1+2+3=6
In addition when including the number itself and dividing by two the result is the number itself. (1+2+3+6)/2 = 6
Perfect numbers are rare. The Ancient Greeks recognized four perfect numbers: 6 – 28 – 496 – 8,128. Throughout history perfect numbers have fascinated mathematicians and more perfect numbers have been discovered.
“Six is a number perfect in itself, not because God created all things in six days; rather, the convert is true God created all things in six days because the number is perfect.” Saint Augustine (The City of God)
Number 6 Fun Facts
Number 6is the symbol of luck, the highest number of the dice.
Sugar or candy marks the sixth year anniversary in western tradition.
The number6 is the symbol of Venus, the goddess of love.
“The sixth sense” refers to extra sensory perception (ESP). It is also common to use the phrase “the sixth sense” when meaning hunch or instinct.
Massachusetts was the sixth state of the United States. (February 6, 1788)
The number 6 is the atomic number for carbon.
There are six players on a volleyball team and an ice hockey team.
The standard flute has six holes.
The standard guitar has six strings.
Insects have six legs.
In the beehive honeycomb, the cells are six-sided.
Number 6 in Astrology and the Tarot
Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac. (August 23 – September 22)
Number 6 is the number of Venus. Number six is lucky for Libra and Taurus.
In the Tarot, six is the card of the Lover
The Lovers naturally symbolizes anything to do with the heart; love and also inner peace and harmony.
Reversed it warns of separation or temptation.
June, the Sixth Month
June is the sixth month.
June is named after Juno.
Juno was the queen goddess in Roman mythology.
She was married to Jupiter. Juno was the patron goddess of the Roman Empire.
Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Hera.
Juno was also the patroness of marriage.
This may explain why so many consider the month of June to be a favorable time to get married.
Braille
Every Braille cell is made up of six dots; two columns consisting of three dots on each side. Various dots are raised to specify different letters.
The Braille system is used by the blind to read and write.
The Sixth President
John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States. 1825 -1829.
He was the son of John Adams, the 2nd President. John Quincy Adams worked hard for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. He did not own slaves.
He was the first president to be photographed.
The First Miracle of Jesus
In the Bible, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus preformed his first miracle in Cana.
At a wedding six stone jars were filled with water.
Jesus turned the water into wine. (John 2:6-9)
The 6 Wives of King Henry XIII
King Henry VIII of England (June 28, 1491 – January 28, 1547) had six wives.
| Catherine of Aragon | Divorced. Mother of future Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) |
| Anne Boleyn | Beheaded. Mother of future Queen Elizabeth I. |
| Jane Seymour | Died after childbirth. Mother of future King Edward VI. |
| Anne of Cleves | Divorced |
| Catherine Howard | Beheaded. First cousin of Anne Boleyn |
| Catherine Parr | Survived. She died in 1548. Henry VIII was her third husband. She married a fourth time after his death. |
Mary Stuart was only six days old when she became Queen of Scotland. She was beheaded under the reign of Elizabeth I. Her son James VI and I succeeded Elizabeth I.
Sami National Day
February 6th is the Sami National Day.
The Sami people are the indigenous people of northern Europe, mainly in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
The Six Items of Gleipnir – Norse Mythology
Gleipnir was the name of the super strong leash used to hold the dreadful Fenrir Wolf. The Fenrir Wolf was one the monstrous children of the trickster god Loki. The dwarfs had made this extraordinary leash.
The Fenrir Wolf only agreed to try the leash if Tyr put his hand in his mouth. The wolf bit off the right hand of the god Tyr. Tyr gave his name to Tuesday. Gleipnir consisted of six items:
1. The sound of a cat walking
2. The beard of a woman
3. The roots of a mountain
4. The sinews of a bear
5. The breath of a fish
6. The spit of a bird
The Vikings explained that the Gleipnir was the reason these six items no longer existed. The Fenrir Wolf will not break loose from Gleipnir before Ragnarok (the end of the world).
At Ragnarok the Fenrir Wolf will kill the chief god Odin.
Sonnet 6 By William Shakespeare
Number 6 in Judaism
The Star of David – Magen David
The Star of David or as it is called, Magen David, has become a universal symbol of Judaism.
It is now the most popular and recognized symbol of Judaism and the Jewish People.
Magen David means the “shield of David”.
There is no proof that the Star of David had anything to do with King David.
The symbol has also been associated with Solomon. Jewish mystics started using the symbol in the sixteenth century.
In the seventeenth century the Star of David started to appear on synagogues.
The Zionist movement adopted the Star of David as their emblem at the end of the nineteenth century.
Today we find the Magen David on the flag of Israel.
The Red Magen David is the equivalent to the Red Cross.
It was officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2006.
The Passover Seder Plate
The seder meal is celebrated on the first night of the Passover. The word seder means “order”.
During the meal the order in the Haggadah is followed.
Each person may receive the book/pamphlet called the Haggadah. This makes it easy to follow the ritual during the meal.
Haggadah comes from the Hebrew word “to tell”. During the seder meal the story of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt is told.
On the table is a plate with six symbolic items.
These items are pointed to during the meal as they follow the Haggadah and the story of the Exodus from Egypt is told.
More about the Seder Meal: go to Number 4
The Six Symbolic Items of the Seder Plate:
1. Maror
Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and hardship the Jews endured as slaves in Egypt.
Many Jews may mix freshly grated horseradish with cooked beets and sugar.
2. Hazeret
Typically romaine lettuce, the roots are bitter tasting.
3. Haroseth
A sweet, brown, pebbly mixture, representing the mortar to build the houses of Egypt.
Some may use chopped nuts, grated apples cinnamon and sweet red wine.
4. Karpas
A vegetable other than herbs. Parsley is common, representing spring.
The vegetable is dipped into salt water. This symbolizes the tears of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.
5. Zeroa
Roast lamb or goat shank bone, chicken wing or chicken neck.
This symbolizes a lamb that was offered in the Temple of Jerusalem.
6. Beitzah
A hardboiled egg, a reminder of life that transcends death.
Buddhism: Samsara – The Wheel of Life
Samsara or The Wheel of Life is the six spheres of existence that all are trapped in.
Everyone will upon death be reborn in a higher or lower state depending on their karma, good and bad deeds.
The only way to break out of Samsara is by obtaining enlightenment.
| Beings in hell | Hell is divided into a hot hell and a cold hell.The hot hell is for those who committed crimes in the heat of the moment. The cold hell is for those who committed calculating crimes. Both hells are gruesome. |
| Hungry Ghosts | They have a huge appetite. They have long necks and small mouths.They are constantly starving. |
| Animals | They are ignorant and their behavior is ruled by instinct. The animals only care about basic needs. |
| Asuras | The rebel gods.They are semi-gods and can be both good and very evil.They are filled with envy and are constantly at war. |
| Humans | They are both good and evil. |
| Deva | They have godlike powers. They live in a place with extreme luxury and little suffering. Selfish pride may keep them from enlightenment. They too are bound in the Samsara and grow old and die. |
