Whats the deal with Nine?

What is the significance of the number nine?
My old favourite 432 = 4 + 3 + 2 = 9. So why are numbers so significant?

The number nine is a most remarkable number in many respects. All who study the occult sciences holds it in great reverence; and in mathematical science it possesses properties and powers, which are found in no other number. It is the last of the digits, and thus marks the end; and is significant of the conclusion of a matter. Likewise nine added or deducted from any number gives a figure with the numerical total unchanged. It is akin to the number six, six being the sum of its factors (3x3=9, and 3+3=6), and is thus significant of the end of man, and the summation of all man's works.

In Roman Catholic Europe, when the Angelus tolls (at morning, noon, and evening), it ring 3+3+3 and then 9 times, in celebration of the Virgin's conception of the Savior.

In ancient Greece, 9 was the number of the Muses, patron goddesses of the arts. They were the daughters of Mnemosyne ("memory"), the source of imagination, which in turn is the carrier of archetypal, elementary ideas to artistic, realization in the field of space-time.

The number 9, that is to say, relates traditionally to the Great Goddess of Many Names (Devi, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Artemis, Venus, etc.) as matrix of the cosmic process, whether in the macrocosm or in a microcosmic field of manifestation.

It is to be noticed, by the way, that 1+6+5+6 = 18, which is twice 9, while 4+3+2=9: 9 being a number traditionally associated with the Goddess Mother of the World and its gods. In India the number of recited names in a litany of this goddess is 108. 1_-0_8=99, while 108 x 4-432.

The ancient Greeks noticed the movement of nine planets around the Sun.

The Ennead, or nine-pointed star, is an ancient and sacred symbol. It comprises three trinities. The Egyptian, Celtic, Greek and Christian myths all have an ennead of nine gods and goddesses, representing the entire archetypal range of principles.

The tail feathers number nine, the number of degrees in the Chapter, Council, and Commandery of the York Rite of Freemasonry.

In traditional worldwide number lore, nine, or thrice three, was referred to as “the horizon” symbolizing the ultimate, the maximum, “the whole nine yards”. This class will look at the ways people have revered the number nine and its principles through their arts, crafts, architecture, literature, mathematics, mythology, religion and folk-sayings, from "cloud nine" and a pagoda’s nine levels to a cat’s nine lives. Casual attire: no need to “dress to the nines”.

Nine was considered sacred and not assigned a numerical equivalent to any letter in the Chaldean alphabet. It takes nine calendar months to bring a baby into the world from its initial conception. Nine carried a special significance for ancient Chinese regarding odd numbers as being masculine and even numbers as being feminine. "Nine", which is the largest single digit number was taken to mean the "ultimate masculine" and was, therefore, symbolic of the supreme sovereignty of the emperor. For this reason, the number "nine" (or its multiples) is often employed in palace structures and designs.

"The Ennead "flows around the other numbers within the Dekad like an ocean." Nichomachus of Gerasa" Multiplying by nine reveals mirror symmetry among numbers. If any number is multiplied by nine the resulting digits always add to nine. For example 2 x 9 = 18; 3 x 9 = 27, 4 x 9 = 36 and so on.

Thus, the Hebrews referred to nine as the symbol of immutable Truth.

The magic square is also considered sacred and full of power in the Islamic, Tibetan, Buddhist, Celtic, Indian and Jewish traditions. A magic square is when each number is used only once, but the horizontal, vertical and diagonal sums are all equal. The Chinese have patterned their architectural temples along the harmonious principles of the magic square.

In Indian philosophy the number nine is closely associated with the process of creation in the cosmic time cycle. The entire cosmic cycle consists of three phases -- creation, preservation and dissolution. Each of these three parts split into triads (3x3=9) brings the numerical order to nine.

Gurdjieff also uses it, called the Enneagram. This system is very old, and is believed to have originated with the Sufis in the Middle East. It groups people into nine types ('ennea' is Greek for the number nine.) The system teaches that people in a given type often behave and react in similar ways.

A Symbol of Truth, Source of Magic and Power and a System that categorises Human Behaviour - NINE certainly packs a punch as a number.

Watch your life this week and observe how much nine plays a part!