This is one of those posts that I have been circling around. I don’t know if it will look like much, but it contains some important elements. It regards the significance of the number 72, so when I opened up WordPress and saw this in my feed, I decided it might be time to start working it out.

For the magicians out there, 72 likely puts them in mind of the number of goetic spirits. That number connects the goetic number to certain kinds of astrological lore (still eyeballing that book, haven’t purchased it yet) and links them to a number of other religious associations, especially in the Kabbalistic material. Picking and choosing my favorites from that list:

1. The numbers of degrees of Jacob’s ladder through which he ascends to the heavens
2. The number of God’s names in the Kabbalistic material
3. The number of languages spoken at the Tower of Babel
4. The number of Set’s accomplices who help him nail Osiris into a coffin
5. The portion of each day that Thoth receives from the moon to make the intercalar days; these days are linked to the sighting of Sirius and thus tied to Isis

These suggest an overlapping cross-cultural pattern of associations that relate the movement of the heavens, the passage of time, and eternity.

Continue reading “72, or Zones of Proximity” →