Tracey-anne McCartney

Folklore that inspired my writing.  

See also 'Book Research' page.

 But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; 

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

- William Butler Yeats

 Angel, Study for the Lost Paradise, 1863-1867, Alexandre Cabanel. French Academic Painter (1823 - 1889)

Magical realism portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone. It brings fables, folk tales, and myths into contemporary social relevance.The existence of fantasy elements in the real world provides the basis for magical realism. Writers don't invent new worlds but reveal the magical in this world. The supernatural realm blends with the natural, familiar world.

The Sidhe (Shee)

Beings of wonder. mystical enchantment, beauty and peril. The Sidhe are known throughout the world by many names. They are magical beings who live close to, but not in our world. They mysteriously travel between worlds via a thin veil. They go by many descriptions in various mythologies - but all derive from the one/same source.

The people known as "The Sidhe" or people of the mounds, or "The Lordly Ones" or "The Good People" were descended from the "Tuatha de Danann" who settled in Ireland millennia ago and in being defeated by the Milesians they retreated to a different dimension of space and time than our own, believed to be living under mounds and fairy raths and cairns,  and also the land of "Tír na nÓg" a mythical island to the west of Ireland.  Placenames in Ireland with the pre-nouns Lis, Rath, and Shee are associated with these people for example Lismore, Lisdoonvarna, Sheemore, Rathfarnham etc.

Down through the ages the Sidhe have been in contact with mortals giving protection, healing and even teaching some of their skills to mortals - Smithcraft or the working of metals being one such skill.  Cuillen (Culann) is one such sidhe smith who has been told of in the legends of Cúchulainn and the later legends of Fionn mac Cumhail.

The Gaelic word sí or síog refers to these otherworldly beings now called fairies.  The Irish fairy is not like the diminutive fairies of other European countries, the Sidhe are described as tall and handsome in all accounts, also they are dressed very richly and accounts of their halls are of richly decorated places with sumptuous foods and drinks.

The Sidhe are generally benign until angered by some foolish action of a mortal.  Many trees and mounds are considered under their protection and if a mortal destroys or damages these then a curse is put upon himself and his family.  In some parts of the countryside people would not build their houses over certain "fairy paths" because of the type of disturbances which would ensue.

Whenever a host of the Sidhe appears there is a strange sound like the humming of thousands of bees also a whirlwind or shee-gaoithe is caused. 

More information HERE. A great site, full of info.

"For all the hillside was haunted

By the faery folk come again

And down in the heart-light enchanted

Were opal-coloured men"

The Sidhe (shee) are considered to be a distinct race, quite separate from human beings yet who have had much contact with mortals over the centuries, and there are many documented testimonies to this. Belief in this race of beings who have powers beyond those of men to move quickly through the air and change their shape at will once played a huge part in the lives of people living in rural Ireland and Scotland.

It is difficult to pin-point an exact historical era as the time when fairy lore began.

Many writers maintain that the people of Ireland and their Gods before the coming of the Gaels are the 'ancestors' of the sidhe.The belief in the sidhe is part of the pre-Christian religion which survived for thousands of years and which has never been completely wiped out from the minds of the Celtic people.

The hold that the Tuatha De Danaan had on the Irish mind was so strong that the new religion of Christianity could not shake it. In 'The Colloquy of the Ancients' a dialogue which supposedly took place between St. Patrick and the ghost of Caeilte of the Fianna, Patrick is amazed to see a fairy woman coming out of the cave of Cruachan, wearing a green mantle with a crown of gold on her head.

Whereas the fairy woman is young and beautiful, Caeilte himself is old and withered. When Patrick enquires of this, Caeilte tells him that:

"She is of the Tuatha De Danaans who are unfading...

and I am of the sons of Mil, who are perishable and fade away".

A notable feature of the sidhe is that they have distinct tribes, ruled over by fairy kings and queens in each territory. It would seem that the social order of the sidhe corresponds to the old aristocracy of ancient Irish families,which is in itself a reflection of the ancient Celtic caste system. 

It is interesting to note that many of the Irish refer to the sidhe as simply "the gentry", on account of their tall, noble appearance and silvery sweet speech. They have their own palaces where they feast and play music, but also have regular battles with neighbouring tribes.

A distinction is often made between the sidhe who are seen walking on the ground after sunset, and the 'Sluagh Sidhe', the fairy host who travel through the air at night,and are known to 'take' mortals with them on their journeys.

There are also guardian sidhe of most of the lakes of Ireland and Scotland.

These distinct categories of sidhe beings ties in with the testimonies of seers who divide the sidhe into wood spirits, water spirits, air spirits and so on, the elemental spirits of each place.

Lough Gur in County Limerick is a very magical place where we meet many of the sidhe kings and queens of Ireland. The lake lies within a circle of low lying hills, but once every seven years it appears as dry land, where an entrance to the Land of Youth may be found. The lake's guardian is known as Toice Bhrean (the lazy one) because she neglected to watch over the well, from which the lake sprang forth.It is believed that once every seven years a mortal meets their death by drowning in the lake, 'taken' by the Beann Fhionn, the White Lady.

More info HERE.

Popular Notions Concerning the Sidhe Race

From the earliest ages the world has believed in the existence of a race midway between the angel and man, gifted with power to exercise a strange mysterious influence over human destiny. The Persians called this mystic race Peris; the Egyptians and the Greeks named them demons, not as evil, but as mysterious allies of man, invisible though ever present; capable of kind acts but implacable if offended.

The Irish called them the Sidhe, or spirit-race, or the Feadh-Ree, a modification of the word Peri. Their country is the Tir-na-oge, the land of perpetual youth, where they live a life of joy and beauty, never knowing disease or death, which is not to come on them till the judgment day, when they are fated to pass into annihilation, to perish utterly and be seen no more. They can assume any form and they make horses out of bits of straw, on which they ride over the country, and to Scotland and back. They have no religion, but a great dread of the Scapular (Latin words from the Gospels written by a priest and hung round the neck).

All over Ireland the fairies have the reputation of being very beautiful, with long yellow hair sweeping the ground, and lithe light forms. They love milk and honey, and sip the nectar from the cups of the flowers, which is their fairy wine.

Underneath the lakes, and deep down in the heart of the hills, they have their fairy palaces of pearl and gold, where they live in splendour and luxury, with music and song and dancing and laughter and all joyous things as befits the gods of the earth. If our eyes were touched by a fairy salve we could see them dancing on the hill in the moonlight. They are served on vessels of gold, and each fairy chief, to mark his rank, wears a circlet of gold round his head.

The Sidhe race were once angels in heaven, but were cast out as a punishment for their pride. Some fell to earth, others were cast into the sea.

If you walk nine times round a fairy rath at the full of the moon, you will find the entrance to the Sifra; but if you enter, beware of eating the fairy food or drinking the fairy wine. The Sidhe will, indeed, wile and draw many a young man into the fairy dance, for the fairy women are beautiful, so beautiful that a man's eyes grow dazzled who looks on them, with their long hair floating like the ripe golden corn and their robes of silver gossamer; they have perfect forms, and their dancing is beyond all expression graceful; but if a man is tempted to kiss a Sighoge, or young fairy spirit, in the dance, he is lost for ever--the madness of love will fall on him, and he will never again be able to return to earth or to leave the enchanted fairy palace. He is dead to his kindred and race for ever more.

On Fridays the fairies have special power over all things, and chiefly on that day they select and carry off the young mortal girls as brides for the fairy chiefs. But after seven years, when the girls grow old and ugly, they send them back to their kindred, giving them, however, as compensation, a knowledge of herbs and philtres and secret spells, by which they can kill or cure, and have power over men.

It is in this way the wise women and fairy doctors have acquired their knowledge of the mysteries and the magic of herbs. But the fairies do not always keep the mortal women in a seven years' bondage. They sometimes only take away young girls for a dance in the moonlight, and then leave them back in their own home lulled in a sweet sleep. But the vision of the night was so beautiful that the young girls long to dream again and be made happy with the soft enchantments of the music and dance.

The fairies are passionately fond of music; it is therefore dangerous for a young girl to sing when she is all alone by the lake, for the spirits will draw her down to them to sing to them in the fairy palace under the waves, and her people will see her no more. Yet sometimes when the moonlight is on the water, and the waves break against the crystal columns of the fairy palace far down in the depths, they can hear her voice, and they know that she is singing to the fairies in the spirit land beneath the waters of the lake.

The fairies can assume all forms when they have special ends in view, such as to carry off a handsome girl to Fairyland. For this purpose they sometimes appear at the village festivities as tall, dark, noble-looking gentlemen, and they wile away the young girls as partners in the dance by their grand air and the grace of their dancing. And ever after the young girl who has danced with them moves and dances with a special fairy grace, though sometimes she pines away and seems to die, but every one knows that her soul has been carried off to the Tir-na-oge, where she will be made the bride of the fairy king and live in luxury and splendour evermore.

Yet, though the fairies are fond of pleasure, they are temperate in their mode of living, and are besides honest in their dealings and faithful to their promises. If they borrow wine from the gentry they always repay it in blessings, and never indulge much in eating or drinking. But they have no objection to offer to mortals the subtle red wine at the fairy banquets, which lulls the soul to sleep and makes the reason powerless. 

They also much desire the aid of a powerful mortal hand to assist them in their fairy wars, for they have often disputes and battles amongst themselves for the possession of some coveted rath or dancing ground.

Once a fairy prince came to a great chieftain of Connaught, one of the Kirwans, and begged for aid against a hostile fairy tribe that had invaded his territories. The required aid being given, the fairies and their mortal auxiliaries plunged into the lake and fought the enemy and conquered; after which the Connaught men returned to shore laden with rich presents of silver and gold and crystal wine-cups as the expression of gratitude from the fairy prince.

It is said that Kirwan of Castle Hackett, the great Connaught chief, also received a beautiful fairy bride on that occasion, and it Is certain that all the female descendants of the family are noted for their beauty, their grace in dancing, and their sweet voices in speaking. Lady Cloncurry, mother of the present Lord Cloncurry, was of this race, and in her youth was the acknowledged leading beauty of the Irish Court and celebrated for the rare fascination of her manner and voice.

The fairies, with their true artistic love of all the gentle graces of life, greatly dislike coarse and violent gestures.

The fairies take great delight in horsemanship, and are splendid riders. Many fine young men are enticed to ride with them, when they dash alone with the fairies like the wind, Finvarra himself leading, on his great black horse with the red nostrils, that look like flames of fire. And ever after the young men are the most fearless riders in the country, so the people know at once that they have hunted with the fairies.

Sometimes the fairies appear like old men and women (use of glamour), and thus gain admission to houses that they may watch and spy, and bewitch the butter, and abduct the children, and carry off the young girls for fairy brides. 

Original source HERE.

Some say -                                                                    'The touch of Sidhe once felt, 

often has profound effects on the psyche and a person’s energy field, 

evoking a great yearning and longing to experience it once again.'

It is said that the Sidhes energy signatures vibrate at a very different, and yet compatible rate to ours, and their proximity to us causes our energy fields to subtly, and sometimes dramatically alter, opening up whole new vistas of awareness for us to experience.

Read more HERE.

In the Irish tradition, Sidhe or the Otherworld, is entered via barrow mounds, or in a journey across the sea (into the west). In the Irish tradition the Otherworld takes the form of many islands, and is a more detailed cosmology, with many different types of realms. There are also the four cities of the Tuatha de Dananns, from which they came to Ireland as gods and goddesses, before retiring into the hills and mounds (sidhe) to become the faerie race we hear of today.

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939).  The Wind Among the Reeds.  1899 - The hosting of the Sidhe HERE.

(The Shadowy Horses)

I HEAR the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,

Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;

The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,

The East her hidden joy before the morning break,

The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,

The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:

O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,

The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:

Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat

Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,

Drowning love’s lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,

And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet.

 Riders of the Sidhe,

by John Duncan, born in Dundee, Scotland (1866-1945)

He claimed to hear faerie music while painting.

The Aos Si

The aos sí (Irish pronunciation: "ees shee", older form aes sídhe, ("ays sheeth-uh") is the Irish term for a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, (usually spelled Sìth, however pronounced the same) comparable to the fairies or elves.They are said to live underground in fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans. This world is described in the Book of Invasions (recorded in the Book of Leinster) as a parallel universe in which the aos sí walk amongst the living. In the Irish language, aos sí means "people of the mounds" (the mounds are known in Irish as "the sídhe"). In Irish literature the people of the mounds are also called daoine sídhe, in Scottish mythology they are daoine sìth. They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods.

Some secondary and tertiary sources including well-known and influential authors such as W.B. Yeats refer to aos sí simply as "the sídhe" (lit.: mounds).

In many Gaelic tales the aos sí are later, literary versions of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu") – the deities and deified ancestors of Irish mythology. Some sources describe them as the survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann who retreated into the Otherworld after they were defeated by the Milesians – the mortal Sons of Míl Espáine who, like many other early invaders of Ireland, came from Iberia. Geoffrey Keating, an Irish historian of the late 17th century, equates Iberia with the Land of the Dead.

In folk belief and practice, the aos sí are often appeased with offerings, and care is taken to avoid angering or insulting them. Often they are not named directly, but rather spoken of as "The Good Neighbors", "The Fair Folk", or simply "The Folk". The most common names for them, aos sí, aes sídhe, daoine sídhe (singular duine sídhe) and daoine sìth mean, literally, "people of the mounds" (referring to the sidhe). The aos sí are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.

Aos sí are sometimes seen as fierce guardians of their abodes – whether a fairy hill, a fairy ring, a special tree (often a hawthorn) or a particular loch or wood. The Gaelic Otherworld is seen as closer at the times of dusk and dawn, therefore this is a special time to the aos sí, as are some festivals such as Samhain, Beltane and Midsummer.

As part of the terms of their surrender to the Milesians the Tuatha Dé Danann agreed to retreat and dwell underground in the sídhe (modern Irish: sí; Scottish Gaelic: sìth; Old Irish síde, singular síd), the hills or earthen mounds that dot the Irish landscape. In some later poetry each tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann was given its own mound.

In a number of later English language texts the word sídhe is used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. However sidh in older texts refers specifically to "the palaces, courts, halls or residences" of the ghostly beings that, according to Gaedhelic mythology, inhabit them.

The fact that many of these sídhe have been found to be ancient burial mounds has contributed to the theory that the aos sí were the pre-Celtic occupants of Ireland. "The Book of Invasions", "The Annals of the Four Masters", and oral history support this view.

The story of the Aes Sídhe is found all over Scotland and Ireland, many tales referring to how the Norse invaders drove Scottish inhabitants underground to live in the hills. This part of the legend contributes to the Changeling myth in west European folklore.

The mythology, origins of the Aos Si

Mother goddess. Danu or Ana was the mother of the race of Tuatha Dé Danann. Danu was goddess of fertility and the earth. Some believed that Danu and Ana were separate entities, even both are mother goddesses.

Danu was widely worshipped mother goddess throughout Europe. She was known under various names, such as Danu, Dana and Anu in Continental Europe and Ireland. In Wales, she was called Don.

W.Y.Evans-Wentz notes that they are described as a race of majestic appearance  and marvelous beauty, in form human, yet in nature divine. They are divided into two  classes: those which are shining, and those which are opalescent and seem lit up by a  light within themselves.

Deisi 

The early histories of the Déisi are obscure. As a class that evolved from peoples tied by social status rather than kinship, groups had largely independent histories in different parts of Ireland. While some medieval texts attempt to give the Déisi an aristocratic origin, these are later fabrications dating to the period after the Déisi had gained political power.Despite their tributary origins, representatives of at least one Déisi population would eventually achieve spectacular success, founding a powerful medieval dynasty which is still in existence.

 "The regional kingdom of Déisi Muman must have existed in roughly its present location from a very early period. Ogams dating perhaps from the fifth century record unique first names associated with its kings."

The Déisi Muman are the subjects of one of the most famous medieval Irish epic tales, The Expulsion of the Déisi.

This literary work, first written sometime in the 8th century, is a pseudo-historical foundation legend for the medieval Kingdom of Déisi Muman, which seeks to hide the historical reality that the kingdom's origins lay among the indigenous tributary peoples of Munster. To this end it attributes to "the Déisi" an entirely fictive royal ancestry at Tara.

The epic tells the story of a sept called the Dal Fiachach Suighe, who are expelled from Tara by their kinsman, Cormac mac Airt, and forced to wander homeless. After a southward migration and many battles, part of the sept eventually settles in Munster.

At some point during this migration from Tara to Munster, one branch of the sept, led by Eochaid Allmuir mac Art Corb, sails across the sea to Britain where, it is said, his descendants later ruled in Demed, the former territory of the Demetae (modern Dyfed). The Expulsion of the Déisi is the only direct source for this "event". 

The Expulsion of the Déisi is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group that had gained political power in parts of Ireland during the Early Middle Ages. Part of the text's purpose is to provide the kings of the Déisi – historically the descendants of unlanded vassals to other tribes – with a mythical noble origin as the heirs to a dynasty expelled from Tara.

More HERE and HERE.

Seiðr 

In the books the Deisi use Seior - Seiðr (sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr or seith) is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery which was practised in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age. Connected with Norse religion, its origins are largely unknown, although it gradually eroded following the Christianization of Scandinavia. Accounts of seiðr later made it into sagas and other literary sources, while further evidence has been unearthed by archaeologists. Various scholars have debated the nature of seiðr, some arguing that it was shamanic in context, involving visionary journeys by its practitioners.

Seiðr practitioners were of both genders, although females are more widely attested, with such sorceresses being variously known as vǫlur, seiðkonur and vísendakona. There were also accounts of male practitioners, known as seiðmenn, but in practising magic they brought a social taboo, known as ergi, on to themselves, and were sometimes persecuted as a result. In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.

Within pre-Christian Norse mythology, seiðr was associated with both the god Oðinn, a deity who was simultaneously responsible for war, poetry and sorcery, as well as the goddess Freyja, a member of the Vanir who was believed to have taught the practice to the Æsir.

It has been suggested that the use of a cord in attraction may be related to seiðr, where attraction is one element of the practice of seiðr magic described in Norse literature and with witchcraft in Scandinavian folklore. However, if seiðr involved "spinning charms", that would explain the distaff, a tool used in spinning flax or sometimes wool, that appears to be associated with seiðr practice.

Seiðr involved the incantation of spells (galðrar, sing. galðr) and possibly a circular dance. Practitioners of seiðr were predominantly women (vǫlva or seiðkona "seiðr woman"), although there were male practitioners (seiðmaðr "seiðr-man") as well.

Source HERE

Wolstenholme 

I couldn't resist using my mother's maiden name for the main character - Bea (Bethany) 

English: habitational name from Wolstenholme, a place in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman conquest in 1066. Named from the Old English personal name Wulfstan -  Old Norse holmr ‘island’, ‘dry land in a fen’, translates as dweller at Wulfstan's farm  - (Wolf Stone).

Motto - In ardua virtus    (translation - Virtue against difficulties)

This interesting and unusual surname, with variant spellings Wolstanholme, Wolstenhulme, Woolstenhulme, Wostenholm, Woosnam, and Worsman, is of English locational origin from a place so called north west of Rochdale in Lancashire. Recorded as "Wolstonholme" circa 1180, and as "Wlstanesholme" in the 1278, 

Fine Court Rolls of Lancashire, the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Wulfstan", (Middle English, "Wolstan"), composed of the elements "wulf", wolf, and "stan", a stone, plus the Old Norse "holmr", an island or dry land in a fen. The reference here is probably to slightly raised ground surrounded by streams. 

The surname from this source first appears on record in the latter part of the 12th Century (see below). On March 10th 1571, Alexander Wolstenholme, an infant, was christened in Middleton by Oldham, Lancashire. 

An interesting namebearer was Sir John Wolstenholme (1562 - 1639), commissioner of the navy, 1619; he was a member of the Kings council for Virginia in 1624, and commissioner for the plantation of Virginia in 1631. 

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andrew de Wolstenholme, which was dated 1180, in Baines' "History of Lancashire", during the reign of King Richard 1st, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 

Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Source HERE

This interesting internet piece continued to inspire my imagination for The Heaven Stone - Spiritual Warriors.

In 1990, an odd type of blue stone, was discovered by geologist and archaeologist, Angelo Pytoni during one of his archaeological excavations in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

He sent the mysterious stone to be investigated at several laboratories around the world.

The tests were carried out at laboratories of the University of Geneva, the University of Rome, Utrecht, Tokyo and Freiberg, Germany. All experts say the same thing, namely that the blue stone does not exist because it is not even similar to any type of rock known in nature of this planet!

Therefore it must be an artificial stone. Since, the stone is blue with thin white veins, it was called "Skystone" or "Stone of Heaven".

Its composition was found to be more than 77% oxygen, along with traces of carbon, silicon, calcium and sodium. 

The composition makes the "skystone" similar to a kind of concrete or stucco, and seems to have been artificially colored. The natives living in the area where the stone was found, already knew about its existence because this stone-like artifact used to jump out during the diggings of holes in the ground. And sometimes this stone also circulated out of Sierra Leone, as the same stone was found years ago in a market in Morocco was called "Kryptonite" was analyzed in London and getting the same results, eventually to be forgotten, however, as is the case for all archaeological finds that have no explanation.

Another mystery related to the stone of heaven is that this artifact is always found in soil layers dating to at least 12000 BC. 

Link

 Professor Pythons holding an uncut piece of blue "Skystone"

Also in Sierra Leone, in the same medium in which the Pythons found Skystone, he also found the statues, which the locals call "Nomoli." Pythons stated that, on the basis of analysis, are about twelve thousand years ago. 

Such figurines were also discovered years ago, and some of them are in the British Museum in London and the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, where it has been possible to attribute to any known African culture and eventually the statues have come to be forgotten.

The Sindria (elementals) name originated, for me, from Siddhi

The science of siddhis, or psychic powers, has been known throughout the world for thousands of years, as long as tantra has existed. One can derive these powers from the practice of particular techniques, or they can be gained through direct contact with the guru. When the guru blesses the disciple by placing his hands on the disciple's head or back, then the transformation begins to take place. 

When this transformation is going on within you, your vision expands into a new dimension. For example, you may be able to see someone coming into the room who is not really physically present. This is not a ghost or some spirit entity; nor are you hallucinating. Rather, it is a definite change in the physiology of the physical body and in the conscious body which enables you to have this experience.

Many people practise tantra and yoga only to achieve the great siddhis. ( Heaven Stone Warrior ) - 

This energy is conducted in the nadis, the system of psychic nerve channels throughout the body. The rishis and munis tell us that the body contains 72,000 nadis. There are ten main ones and among these, three are most important. These nerve channels do not flow in a perfectly straight path, or have direct connections to the brain; they junction in various places in the spinal cord. In tantra, these junctions are called chakras (idea for Bea's visual meditation in book one). There are thousands of chakras in many locations in the body, but only seven are widely known

Siddhis are spiritual, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of spiritual advancement through sadhana (spiritual practices), such as meditation and yoga. There is a related Buddhist term, "Iddhi", that translates as "psychic powers", and is often used interchangeably. People who have attained one or more Siddhis are formally known as siddhas.

Siddhi is a Sanskrit noun which can be translated as "perfection", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success". In Tamil the word Siddhar/Chitthar refers to someone who has attained the Siddhic powers & knowledge. 

The earliest appearance in Indian history of the idea that magical powers (Pāli iddhi) are generated by spiritual practices, (Pāli jhāna) is the account that appears in the Buddhist canon, in the [Sāmaññaphalasutta] of the [Dīghanikāya].

The Yoga Sutras, of which Patanjali compiled around 400 BCE from many older traditions, goes into great depth about how to obtain the various Siddhis through a scientific-yogic approach.

The term siddhi is later found in the Mahabharata. 

In the Samkhya Karika and Tattva Samasa there are references to the attainment of eight siddhis by which one becomes free of the pain of ignorance, one gains knowledge, and experiences bliss. 

In Tantric Buddhism, siddhi specifically refers to the acquisition of supernatural powers by psychic or magical means or the supposed faculty so acquired. These powers include items such as clairvoyance, levitation, bilocation, becoming as small as an atom, materialization, having access to memories from past lives.

There is no power which can be compared to the power of the mind. Our ancestors tell us that the power of powers can summon the whole universe. It can create thousands of universes. The power of powers can make you enter the state of shoonya, void. 

Source HERE

 Sidhe of the Sindria - The Heaven Stone

The Sidhe (Shee) are an advanced civilization. Not in the knowledge of high technology, but an advancement in which they have reached of level of understanding to live in equilibrium with their world. It is a spiritual advancement/journey (not religious) that we have yet to achieve.

Many of my ideas' for the Heaven Stone, stem from a mix of older religions' and mythologies.

Blue stones, that supposedly originated in Ireland and spread to Sumeria, Egypt, India, and Southern France. The blue stones, called Blue Apples in Southern France, were used  to open gateways or passages to other realms. Gnostic Christians maintain they were  present at the Crucifixion. Afterwards, they were in the possession of the Cathars who pocessed the secrets of the blue stones.

The Dark Age Church stuck out its velvet-wrapped iron fist and attempted to disarm  the Cathars of this strange secret. The question remains - where are these stones today?

Druids of Danu - the old path

According to the Irish myths, the Tuatha Dé Danann come from four cities: Falias, Gorias, Finias and Murias. In each city, there was a wizard-bard (druid). Each one would teach the Danann the various knowledge and skills, which include art, science, poetry and magic.

There is not much detail about these four druids, except for their names, the cities that they belonged to, and the four gifts (talismans) from the goddess. The four druids were named Morfesa of Falias, Esras of Gorias, Semias of Murias and Uiscias of Findias. 

Falias Morfesa Lia Fail ("Stone of Destiny")

Gorias Esras Gáe Assail (Spear of Lugh)

Murias Semias Cauldron of Dagda

Findias Uiscias Freagarthach ("Answerer" – sword of Nuada)

Figol was another druid of the Danann, who took part in the battle against the Fomorians.

Below are list of druids and druidesses, who appeared in Irish myths.

Eolas (knowledge), 

Fios (intelligence) 

& Fochmarc (enquiring) Three Partholonian druids; they are brothers as well.

Relbeo Nemedian druidess, daughter of the King of Greece and mother of Fergus Lethderg and Alma One-Tooth.

Mide Nemedian druid. The province of Mide (Meath) was named after him.

Lóbais Fomorian druid.

Fer Fidaill Druid of Manannán Mac Lir.

Bresal Etarlám Danann druid, who assisted Fuamnach with his spell, in turning Etain into a butterfly.

Figol Danann druid.

Dornoll Druidess in Scotland, who normally trained heroes in warfare, particularly Laegaire, Conall and Cu Chulainn. 

Daughter of Domnall Mildemail.

Crom Deroil & Crom Darail Foster sons of Cathbad, and druids of Ailill and Medb.

Máel Druid of Conn Cetchathach.

Dubh or Duibhlinn The city of Dublin was named after her.

Cuimne An old witch who helped Mongan win back hhis wife.

Rothniam Prophetess, associated with Fingein Mac Luchta, king of Munster.

Eliavres A druid and sorcerer in the Breton legend.

 Tara

The Hill of Tara, known as Temair in Gaelic (the language of the children of the Ge-Al, fair, bright, the Sun), was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland - 142 Irish Pope-Kings of Tara are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. 

The Hill of Tara. Maps show that it is concentric rings.

Irish archaeologists recently discovered an enormous egg-shaped temple lies directly underneath the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland. Conor Newman, an archaeology lecturer at the National University of Ireland at Galway, located the temple, which he believes dates from 2500 to 2300 B.C. Since 1992, Newman has been preparing a survey of the area for the state-funded Discovery Programme. He found the Tara monument using an underground radar device. the egg-shaped temple at its greatest width measures 186 yards. While the oak posts that probably once comprised an entire forest have long since disappeared, the existing post holes indicate each tree was approximately 6.6 feet wide.

The exact use of the monument remains unclear, but Newman and Aoife Kane of the Discovery Program speculate that it held some ritualistic meaning.

One of Tara's most famous monuments is the phallic-shaped Lia Fáil, or Stone of Destiny. It likely played a role in early fertility rituals, and was later probably used to initiate the area's earliest kings. Mac Suibhne explained, "The fertility idea merged into politics, as kings were believed to marry the land."

In addition to the temple and the Stone of Destiny, the Hill of Tara houses the remains of a number of large ring forts and tombs. Several other standing stones are at the site as well. Legend has it that would-be kings had to race their chariots towards two such stones.

According to Mac Suibhne, the site lost political importance around the 10th century as Dublin grew in prominence.

The Pleiades  

An open star cluster known as seven sisters constellation (M45). 

Seven hot blue stars representing the seven Sindria - the star of stars, Amanara lays beyond this.

The Magical Seven

Seven - The symbolic number for the Sidhe.

The number seven has always resonated with me, and I thought that it would be nice to share some information with things relating to the no.7 . Cultures and religions from Mesopotamia to Hinduism to Christianity have all found the number deeply meaningful, and once you start looking the no 7 shows up everywhere!

In magical lore and mysticism, seven is a magical number, though all numbers are ascribed certain properties and energies. Seven is a number of great power, a lucky number, a number of psychic and mystical powers, of secrecy and the search for inner truth. 

The origin of seven's power lies in the lunar cycle. Each of the moon's four phases lasts about seven days. The Sumerians, who based their calendar on the moon, gave the week seven days and declared the seventh and last day of each week to be uncanny. Life cycles on earth also have phases demarcated by seven, and there are seven years to each stage of human growth.

- here goes :o)

Seven days in the week

Seven colors in the rainbow

Seven Chakra's

Seven the number of musical notes in the traditional Western diatonic scale (major or minor)

Seven Sea's

Seven Continents

Seven Heavens

Seven against Thebes

Seven Kings of Rome

Seven Emperors (and period; Rome, history)

Julius Caesar, Augustus, Galba, Hadrian, Nerva, Sallust, Vespasian

Seven hills of Constantinople

Seven hills of Rome

Seven Liberal Arts

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in China

Seven Sages of Greece

Saptarishi Seven Sages concept in Ancient India

Seven Wise Masters, a cycle of medieval stories

Seven Wonders of the ancient world

Seven stars - Pleiades

Seven ages of man

Seven primary colors

Seven objects in the span of attention

Seven digits in the span of immediate memory

Seven was considered a God number in ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh usually ordered things in groups of multiples of 7. For a time, 7 was not even used in writings for the people of Egypt.

The original diameter in inches of the 45rpm format gramophone record

There are seven musicians in a septet or a septuor

There are seven basic swaras [saptaswaras] in Indian Carnatic music

The number of dastgahs in Persian traditional music

Seven in Folk Lore 'Seventh son of a Seventh son' is born with formidable magical and psychic powers

Seven The figurative number of seas

Seven year itch (marriage)

Shakespeare's seven ages of man

seven dwarves

seven members of a water polo team

seven bones in the neck of a giraffe

Nic Cage gets a new ­tattoo every seven years (? had to add to list, to wake you up! Lol)

The number seven is widely held to be a lucky number, especially in matters of love and money.

Hinduism

The Sanskrit word sapta refers to number seven.

Indian Music has "Saptak Swaras," seven octats (sa re ga ma pa dha ni) which are basics of music, using which hundreds of Ragas are composed.

Celestial group of seven stars are named as "Sapta Rishi" based on the seven great saints.

Seven Promises, Seven Rounds in Hindu Wedding and Seven Reincarnation

According to Hinduism, there are seven worlds in the universe, seven seas in the world and seven Rishies (seven gurus) called sapta rishis.

Seven hills at tirumala also known as ezhu malaiyan means Sevenhills god

There are 7 Chakras in the basic model used in various eastern traditions and philosophies.

Old Testament

Seven days of Creation (Genesis 1)

Anyone who dares to kill Cain 'will suffer vengeance seven times over' (Genesis 4:15)

Lamech in his "Song of the Sword" claims that 'if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold', he himself shall be 'seventy-sevenfold' (Genesis 4:24)

Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41)

In regards to the sin sacrifice, the anointed priest was to sprinkle the bullock's blood seven times before the lord (Leviticus 4:6)

Seven days of the feast of Passover (Exodus 13:3–10)

Seven day week and the pattern concerning distribution and use of manna (Exodus 16)

The Menorah (Hebrew: מנורה), is a seven-branched candelabrum lit by olive oil in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 25)

Seven year cycle around the years of Jubilee (Leviticus 25)

Jericho's walls fall on the seventh day after seven priests with seven trumpets march around the city seven times (Joshua 6:8)

Seven things that are detestable to the LORD (Proverbs 6:16–19)

Seven Pillars of the House of Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1)

New Testament

Seven loaves multiplied into seven basketfuls of surplus (Matthew 15:32–37)

Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive those who sinned against him up to 7 times; Jesus responded by saying to forgive them 'seventy times seven times', remembering so the curse of Cain and the song of Lamech in Genesis 4.[6]

The seven last words (or seven last sayings) of Jesus on the cross

Seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom (Acts 6:3)

In the Book of Revelation, seven is a central figure of quantities: Seven Spirits of God, Seven Churches (to which the book is addressed);

Seven of the following appear in Revelation: golden lampstands(1:12), stars(1:16), torches of fire(4:5) seals(5:1), angels and their trumpets(8:2), last plagues(15:1), golden bowls(15:7), thunders(10:3), horns and eyes(5:6), diadems(12:3) and kings(17:10). See Category:Seven in the Book of Revelation.

Other sevens in Christian knowledge and practice include:

The Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy and Seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other traditions

The Seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride

Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary, of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other traditions

The Seven Sacraments in the Catholic faith (though some traditions assign a different number)

The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other traditions

There are seven suicides mentioned in the Bible (OT and NT).[7]

The seven terraces of Mount Purgatory (one per deadly sin)

The Seven Virtues: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility

In the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is 77th in a direct line

The number of heads of the three beasts (7 × 10 × 7 + 7 × 10 × 10 + 7 × 10 = 1260) of the Book of Revelation, and of some other monsters, like the hydra and the number of seals

Islam

The number of ayat in surat al-Fatiha

The number of layers of the Earth in Islamic religion is seven

The number of skies in Islamic religion is seven

The number of circumambulations (Tawaf) that are made around the Kaaba

The number of walks between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah mountains—that is travelling back and forth—seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah

The number of heavens in Islamic religion, i.e. levels in heaven.

The number of hells in hell is also seven i.e. levels in hell.

The number of doors to hell is seven (for heaven the number of doors is eight).

In Verse 12:46 (see Islamic view of Joseph) of the Quran, Joseph (Yusef) is asked to interpret the King's dream where seven fat cows were dreamt to have been devoured by seven skinny cows and seven green spikes, and others shrivelled.

The number of the big sins or vices is seven which are from a Hadith of the prophet Mohamed : "Avoid the seven sins polytheism, witchcraft, the killing of the soul which Allah has forbidden except by right, consuming riba, consuming the wealth of the orphan, to escape from the battles and slandering chaste women"

Judaism

Shiv`a (another pronunciation of the Hebrew word for 7—(Hebrew: שבעה ; "seven")), is the number of days of mourning. Hence, one sits Shiva. As in Shiva (Judaism)

The weekly Torah portion is divided into seven aliyahs, and seven Jewish men (or boys over the age of 13 who are considered men; Bar Mitzvah) are called up for the reading of these aliyahs during Shabbat morning services.

Seven blessings are recited under the chuppah during a Jewish wedding ceremony.

A Jewish bride and groom are feted with seven days of festive meals after their wedding, known as Sheva Berachot ("Seven Blessings").

The number of Ushpizzin (also known as the "Seven Shepherds") who visit the sukkah during the holiday of Sukkot: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David.

The number of nations God told the Israelites they would displace when they entered the land of Israel (Deut. 7:1): the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

In Breslov tradition, the seven orifices of the face (2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 2 ears, and the mouth) are called "The Seven Candles."

The 7 Sephirot of primary conscious emotion that are attributes of the creator.

Deity, being, or character

The Seven Lucky Gods refer to the seven gods of good fortune in Japanese mythology.

The number of archangels according to some systems.

In Buddhism, Buddha walked 7 steps at his birth.

In Khasi mythology, the seven divine women who were left behind on earth and became the ancestresses of all humankind.

The number of sleeping men in the Christian myth of the "Seven Sleepers."

The number of sages in Hindu mythology; their wives are the goddesses referred to as the "Seven Mothers."

In Iran, German, Spanish, and other cultures that speak Romance Languages, cats are said to have 7 lives as opposed to English, where cats are said to have 9 lives.

In Irish mythology, the epic hero Cúchulainn is associated with the number 7. He has 7 fingers on each hand, 7 toes on each foot, and 7 pupils in each eye. In the Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge, Cúchulainn is 7 years old when he receives his first weapons and defeats the armies of the Ulaidh and his son Connla is 7 years old when he is slain by Cúchulainn in "The Death of Aife's Only Son."

In Galician folklore, a seventh son will be a werewolf. In other folklores, after six daughters, the seventh child is to be a son and a werewolf. In other European folklores, the seventh son of a seventh son will be a child with special powers of healing and clairvoyant seeing, and in other cultures that seventh son of a seventh son would be a vampire.

In Guaraní mythology, the number of prominent legendary monsters.

In the eponymous British folk tale, Thomas the Rhymer went to live in the faerie kingdom for 7 years.

Mahatma Gandhi's list of the destructive Seven Blunders of the World that cause violence: Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice and politics without principle.

The cosmogony of Urantia gives an explanation to the sacredness of the number 7 in some religions, including those based on a triple deity: 7 indeed is the number of all the possible combinations of three elements taken one by one, two by two, or by three. It therefore expresses all the associative possibilities of the three fundamental aspects of the absolute (Christian Trinity, for example, or Trimurti in Hinduism) which organizes the Creation. The seventh of these combinations being the one that combines the three aspects, 7 therefore also expresses spiritual achievement.

Place

The number of main islands of mythological Atlantis.

The number of gateways traversed by Inanna during her descent into the underworld.

Cibola was one of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold the Spanish thought existed.

In the Bahá'í faith, the text The Seven Valleys, by the Prophet-Founder Bahá'u'lláh, relates the journey of the soul through the seven "valleys" of Search, Love, Knowledge, Unity, Contentment, Wonderment, and finally True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness.

Scripture

Circle Seven Koran, the holy scripture of the Moorish Science Temple of America

Thing, concept, or symbol

The Seven-Branched Sword in Japanese mythology.

The Theosophical teachings of Alice A. Bailey divide the human race into seven psychological types called the Seven Rays, which she calls "the basis of New Age psychology".

The minor symbol number of yang from the Taoist yin-yang.

The number of palms in an Egyptian Sacred Cubit.

The number of ranks in Mithraism.

The number seven is of particular significance within Cherokee cosmology.

Time

In British folklore, every 7 years the Queen of the Fairies pays a tithe to Hell (or possibly Hel) in the tale of Tam Lin.

Astronomy

The number of stellar objects in the solar system visible to the naked eye from Earth – the Sun, the Moon and the five classical naked eye planets: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.

Messier object M7, a magnitude 3.5 open cluster in the constellation Scorpius.

The New General Catalogue object NGC 7, a 14th magnitude spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor.

The number of main stars in the constellations of the Big Dipper and Orion.

The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on -2595 July 15 and ended on -1008 February 22. The duration of Saros series 7 was 1,586.6 years, and it contained 89 lunar eclipses.

The Roman numeral VII stands for white dwarfs in the Yerkes spectral classification scheme.

The Roman numeral VII (usually) stands for the seventh-discovered satellite of a planet or minor planet (e.g., Jupiter VII).

Evolution of the glyph (7):

In the beginning, various Hindus wrote 7 more or less in one stroke as a curve that looks like an uppercase J vertically inverted. This horizontal stroke is, however, important to distinguish the glyph for seven from the glyph for one in writings that use a long upstroke in the glyph for no.1.

A seven-sided shape is a heptagon. The regular n-gons for n ≤ 6 can be constructed by compass and straightedge alone, but the regular heptagon cannot.

A seven sided shape Septagram. 

The septagon is simply put a 7 pointed interconnected star usually seen without a circle. This symbol is a symbol of the number 7, is ruled by Jupiter, and may be associated with both the Faerie path of Wicca, Blue path of Wicca, and the Otherkin subculture. It is occasionally linked with Kabbalistic teachings and also with High Magick as a Seal of Jupiter ( contributed to the Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon as the Sigilum Dei Aemeth). This particular seal is used to conjure and control and dismiss spirits. It is a particularly powerful tool in the practice of necromancy, protection, and exorcism but may be used for other things as well. Basicly anything you could attribute to a spirit could be controlled through this seal.

The number seven has immense spiritual significance. Its said that there are 7 levels of heaven, 7 levels of angelic hosts, in some cultures 7 levels of the universe, and 7 is the number of perfection.

 It represents a balanced universe and balance between heaven and earth. The attributes of this number is continual but all in all it represents perfection. 

The star of seven is considered a gateway to the higher self and serves as a meeting point where the higher self and the lower self may merge for elevated consciousness. For most though, this symbol serves more as a gateway between the worlds where beings of higher level existence commune with humanity.

As a tool for this communion, it serves to align the seven points of existence, or the seven directions : North, South, East, West, Within, Above, and Below. It aligns the numerical number of heaven 3 with the numerical number of earth 4. This symbol is particularly aligned with the Pleadian and Pleadian Sisters as an area of astronomical significance. For many seeking communion with the Fae realms, and especially for Otherkin, this serves as a gateway to draw them into this realm of existence.

Elementally the seven points represent the elements of Moon, Sea, Magick, Spirit, Forest, Wind, and Sun and it is from these elements that the Fae connect to the physical realm. 

Initially this was a tool for angelic communication and ritual work. It was intended to be used by higher beings to communicate and glean wisdom from beings even higher up on the vibrational scale. 

It is very specific with each point representing not only a planetary alignment, but also a harmonic and angelic alignment. Each point is represented by a specific color and is used to connect with harmonic of planetary energies and planetary rulers, angelic hosts. For the most part the element of Spirit is completely excluded from ritual work, but represented singularly as the All. On a higher level of magickal work, the septagram removes the barrier between the worlds and allows complete communion between higher level and earthly beings.

 More Info HERE.

Seven is the lowest natural number that cannot be represented as the sum of the squares of three integers. 7 is the only dimension, besides the familiar 3, in which a vector cross product can be defined. 7 is the lowest dimension of a known exotic sphere, although there may exist as yet unknown exotic smooth structures on the 4-dimensional sphere.

The seminal 1956 George Miller paper The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information is a true classic. In it, Miller observed that the results of a number of 1950's era experiments in short-term memory had something in common: most people could only retain 5 to 9 items in their short-term memory. This study is commonly cited as the reason why Bell chose to make telephone numbers exactly 7 digits long. I can't find any formal citations to support this, but the timing is right: by 1957 or thereabouts, most telephone numbers in the US were standardized to the 7-digit format, as are numbers in the UK.

More info HERE.

Perhaps there is something deep and profound behind all these sevens, 

something just calling out for us to re-discover?

IF YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHERS - please email details - Thank you Trace ;o)

• In Neoplatonic mysticism, numbers are used as symbols. Numbers three and seven are of primary importance.
  

The sixth century BC philosopher, Pythagoras, was said to have theorized that there are three kinds of people, each characterized by their level of spiritual development: those who love profit, those who love fame, and those who love wisdom. Plato continued this idea by stating that each person has three souls: the Sole of Appetite, the Soul of Will, and the Soul of Reason, which he symbolized as a chariot with two winged horses and a driver. These three represented a spiritual hierarchy and as individuals developed and balanced each through the practice of virtue they were able to advance spiritually and operate at a higher soul level. The keys to spiritual advancement were the Cardinal Virtues. Plato and later philosophers assigned three virtues.

The importance of the number seven was derived from its role in ancient cosmology. From the ancient world until the late Renaissance, the Earth was believed to be the non-moving center of the universe and the fixed stars, formed into constellations, revolved around the Earth from east to west. Between the fixed stars and the Earth, there were believed to be a series of seven crystal spheres, forming seven layers each one closer to the stars as they ascended. On each sphere the ancients placed a planet that orbited independently from the fixed stars. When the sky is viewed with the naked eye, the planets are the only celestial objects that seem to do this. The planets were each named after a god; from the bottom up, they were: Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The planets were, also, believed to from a ladder between Heaven and Earth that the soul would descend at birth and at each planet the soul was given certain qualities by the god of the planet. These qualities are the source of the lists or seven virtues and seven vices.

The seven planets were thought of as the soul centers of the cosmos and corresponding soul centers could be found ascending the spine, from the sacrum to the crown of the head, in the microcosm of the human body. Pythagoras developed the diatonic music scale with seven notes to capture the sound that each planet made as it orbited the Earth. This was called the music of the spheres. He marked each note with one of the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet and through a musical treatment used this scale to bring the human soul centers into harmony with the planets. These notes functioned as virtues meant to heal each soul center. Later, lists of seven virtues meant to cure seven vices-each associated with a soul center-began to appear in Hermetic, Gnostic, and mystical Christian philosophy.

Written by Robert M. Place, world renowned Tarot scholar, illustrator, and author.

(Source Here)   To See the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery please go to the The Alchemical Egg.

  "Tektraktys of the dekad." - 

(image above)

The Dekad = 10 -  highest level of Seelie Court Guards, ten in number

The Pentad = 5 - The highest five of Seelie Court Guard (Excluding Saras)

Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans - Science and Religion

The tetractys (Greek), or tetrad, is a triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows: one, two, three, and four points in each row, which is the geometrical representation of the fourth triangular number. As a mystical symbol, it was very important to the secret worship of the Pythagoreans.

Ten as the triangle of four. It showed at a glance that 1+2+3+4=10.  

It is the first number that has in it an equal number of prime and composite numbers. 

• The first four numbers symbolize the harmony of the spheres and the Cosmos as:
  

(1) Unity (Monad)

(2) Dyad - Power - Limit/Unlimited (peras/apeiron)

(3) Harmony (Triad)

(4) Kosmos (Tetrad).

• The four rows add up to ten, which was unity of a higher order (The Dekad).
  
• The Tetractys symbolizes the four elements — fire, air, water, and earth.
  

• The Tetractys represented the organization of space:
  

the first row represented zero-dimensions (a point)

the second row represented one-dimension (a line of two points)

the third row represented two-dimensions (a plane defined by a triangle of three points)

the fourth row represented three-dimensions (a tetrahedron defined by four points)

A prayer of the Pythagoreans shows the importance of the Tetractys (sometimes called the "Mystic Tetrad"), as the prayer was addressed to it:

"Bless us, divine number, thou who generated gods and men! O holy, holy Tetractys, thou that containest the root and source of the eternally flowing creation! For the divine number begins with the profound, pure unity until it comes to the holy four; then it begets the mother of all, the all-comprising, all-bounding, the first-born, the never-swerving, the never-tiring holy ten, the keyholder of all".

As a portion of the secret religion, initiates were required to swear a secret oath by the Tetractys. They then served as novices for a period of silence lasting three years.

"The Tetractys [also known as the decad] is an equilateral triangle formed from the sequence of the first ten numbers aligned in four rows. It is both a mathematical idea and a metaphysical symbol that embraces within itself—in seedlike form—the principles of the natural world, the harmony of the cosmos, the ascent to the divine, and the mysteries of the divine realm. So revered was this ancient symbol that it inspired ancient philosophers to swear by the name of the one who brought this gift to humanity."

There are some who believe that the tetractys and its mysteries influenced the early kabbalists. A Hebrew Tetractys in a similar way has the letters of the Tetragrammaton (the four lettered name of God in Hebrew scripture) inscribed on the ten positions of the tetractys, from right to left. It has been argued that the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, with its ten spheres of emanation, is in some way connected to the tetractys, but its form is not that of a triangle.

In a Tarot reading, the various positions of the tetractys provide a representation for forecasting future events by signifying according to various occult disciplines, such as Alchemy.

In English-language poetry, a tetractys is a syllable-counting form with five lines. The first line has one syllable, the second has two syllables, the third line has three syllables, the fourth line has four syllables, and the fifth line has ten syllables.  

A sample tetractys would look like this:

1.Your /

2. fury 

3. confuses 

4. us all greatly. 

5. Volatile, big-bodied tots are selfish. 

The tetractys was created by Ray Stebbing, who said the following about his newly created form: 

The tetractys could be Britain's answer to the haiku.