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Thirteeen

00:35 / 24.10.06

It was Friday the thirteenth for the second time this year recently, and I was curious about the history of the superstition that 13 is unlucky. I'll get the links tomorrow, but there's been a bit in the stupid questions thread and some interesting angles on it, this thread to chew it over.

nyarlathotep's shoe horn

05:39 / 24.10.06

13 assembled at the Last Supper

13 lost tribes of Israel

13 is a prime number

13 is a Fibonacci number

13 smells like teen spirit

07:23 / 24.10.06

Well, I don't know about luck (at least without checking my handy book I don't) but I'll point out the obvious: 13 is the Death card in the Tarot, for whatever reason, and is also Ghede's number (I assume a direct correlation).

To me it makes sense, because 12 is a traditional number of completion. I guess they had base 12 counting back in Sumeria, and it's just a very useful number for obvious mathematical reasons. So if 12 is the number of completion, then 13 is the number of beyond completion - death.

In working with Ghede I have taken a look at certain patterns around 13, and one of them is, of course, that there's 52 weeks in a year, divided into 4 seasons of 13 weeks each - the same as a standard deck of cards, used for gambling.

--Ember--

11:24 / 24.10.06

I thought a lot of it originated with the Templars getting disbanded on Friday the 13th, but it's probably way older. I've not really looked into it though, and think any stuff about 13 being unlucky before 1312 would probably be interesting to learn about. Lucky/unlucky numbers aren't really something I believe in, but it'd still be good to read about where some of this started out.

13:40 / 24.10.06

Fianna, I thought that too (the Templar massacre) but it seems to predate it. Ember, that of course is the reverse of 13 months of four weeks each.

Here's my initial post in the questions thread, and then a few pages later digital horus eye comes back to it and links to the Christ Conspiracy, a book that has mixed reviews, from;

This book has simply been the most comprehensive and well done I have ever come across.

...to;

it gets totally ridiculous when she takes literally everything mentioned in the Bible and trys to imply that it REALLY refers to the ancients observation of planetary bodies and other obscure lost lore. This astrological junk as well as some inflamatory anti judeo-christian rehtoric ultimately knocks this book off the shelf of credulous research.

The book description starts;
Controversial and explosive, The Christ Conspiracy marshals an enormous amount of startling evidence that the religion of Christianity and Jesus Christ were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion!

Hmm. Not having read it I can't say for sure but I'm inclined to take it with a big pinch of salt.

The Ghost of Tom Winter

16:13 / 24.10.06

Strange we were just discussing this today in my Mesoamerican archaeology class.

13 is the number of baktuns in the Mesoamerican long count.
It is also the number of original gods.
There was also the Tzolkin which consisted of a numbered week of 13 days, in which the days were numbered from 1 to 13

Let us not forget 13 steps on the pyramid in the United States seal, 13 leaves on the olive branch the eagle is holding, 13 arrows as well. Of course this could relate to the 13 original colonies.

The Ghost of Tom Winter

16:19 / 24.10.06

Oh I meant to say that some propose that sence many Native Americans found the number 13 to be of luck then the Christians wanted to denounce that by making it unlucky.
I don't know how much truth is within that. I need to research it later.

16:50 / 24.10.06

the Christians wanted to denounce that by making it unlucky.

Well, the unlucky thirteen superstition predates the colonisation of America by at least four hundred years so that seems unlikely.

E. Coli from the Milky Way

17:34 / 24.10.06

I would link the astrotheology hypotesis to these links: Starlarvae hypothesis and this entheogenic experience with Sun ivolved at erowid.org.

17:41 / 24.10.06

Well, the unlucky thirteen superstition predates the colonisation of America by at least four hundred years so that seems unlikely.

But that may account for the apparent increase in triskadekaphobia after that time. Apparently it had a spike in prevalence in the 17-1800's in America.

--Ember--

E. Coli from the Milky Way

08:35 / 29.10.06

Nice essay on astroteology here

21:56 / 02.11.06

I read that 13 was the number of transition between states (or moving to higher levels of energy) hence the 13 witches in a coven or Jebus + twelve and that organised religions were so down it because they strove for continuity and resisted change 9and the subsequent loss of power)

really though its biker slang for cannabis (maryjane starts with the 13th letter)

Rollo Kim, on location

08:27 / 03.11.06

In Tarot terms, 13 could be seen as unlucky, or scary, because it's a mystery. In the Marseille Tarot at least, the death figure appears to be wearing a mask... he / she is not what he / she seems to be.

16:17 / 03.11.06

I always took the death card to mean transition, a change between states and very much dependant on the surronding cards.
Ie the end of a relationship could be positive if it was a shit relationship, same for careers etc.

death=reseruction?

change=life