Alchemy teaches that "the principle of the alchemists' magestery is 1, 4, 3, 2, and 1. — One is the unit from which all things come. Four are the elements of which all matter is composed. Three is Salt, Sulphur and Mercury. Two is Rebis, the volatile and fixed. One is the Stone, or that which is the fruit of the processes in all Hermetic labors."
Pythagoras called 4 the symbol of the Eternal Principle of Creation. Of a man who once came to him asking what he could teach him, Pythagoras inquired in turn, "Can you count?" The student replied by commencing to count: "1, 2, 3, 4." at which point Pythagoras interrupted him. "Stop there," said he, "Four is our sacred number."
Relative to this teaching of Pythagoras, we find the following diagram in the works of Franz Hartmann.
By mystic sages long antedating Pythagoras, 4 was considered the greatest of divine numbers, and was designated as the "quaternary." The holy name of Jehovah is expressed by the Hebrew letters Yod-He-Vau-He, and it is also frequently designated by One, Two, Three, Four, these numbers having reference to the sacred Four. Four represents the Principle of Creation manifesting as the four elements out of which all things are created. This is the meaning of the four rivers which flowed out of the Garden of Eden and watered the face of the entire earth. The four elements, out of which all things are created, are recognized upon this physical plane as fire, air, water and earth. On the higher or invisible planes these elements are recognized as spiritual forces. When they work harmoniously and in unison, a powerful nucleus of both spiritual and material power is generated which manifests the rhythm of 4 on all planes of manifestation.
Four letters compose the Sacred Name of nearly all the gods who have been worshipped by the human race. Note the following: Isis — Egyptian; Assur and Nebo — Assyrian; Deus — Latin; Odin — Scandinavian; Dieu — French; Gott — German; Zues — Greek; Atma — Hindu; and Jove — Roman. In Egypt the God who created mortal, or dust man, bore the name of Ptah. And in Hebrew we have that most sacred and magical name, the Tetragrammaton.
The Gnostics declared that the Triangle, or 3, is God, and that 1 is man, whereas the 4 is God in man. To the man who is God-like we may therefore ascribe the awakened spiritual powers of 4. Four designates a transition of consciousness in ever-increasing and ascending rates of vibration. Four is the door of Illumination or Initiation. The Initiate transcends the planes of a three-dimensional knowledge and understanding, his faculties having expanded to such a degree that he is able to function in the realms of the fourth dimension. Solomon, the wise king of the Old Testament Dispensation, represents the highest development of Four.
In 4 we find the number carrying the power to create and to attain. When the forms of 4 are centered on the material plane they manifest as creative abilities; when focused in the spiritual, they give the ability to open new avenues for investigation in the psychic and spiritual realms.
Thus teaches the. Ancient Wisdom: "The Fourth Spoke of the great chain is our Mother Earth. Reach the 'Fourth Fruit' of the Fourth Path of Knowledge that leads to Nirvana, and thou shalt comprehend for thou shalt see."
Four is the sacred Tetrahtis, the "Mystic Square" of the Illumined of all peoples. Most interesting is the symbology of 4 in our Christian Bible. Four represents the powers of the Cherubim which manifest as scintillating flames. These celestial Beings guard the gates of Eden with their swords of flame; they stand as guardians before the portals of the Temple of King Solomon; and as John testifies in the recorded vision which he beheld on the Isle of Patmos, they surround the very throne of God. It is their scintillating brilliancy which glorifies the visions of both Ezekiel and Isaiah, and which they described as revolving wheel within wheels, revealing ever new and wider vistas of supernal glory.
St. Martin, writing on the subject of mystic numerology, says: "The number Four is that without which nothing can be known as it is the universal number of perfection. The Supreme Cause; although connecting with the source of all numbers, proclaims itself especially by the number of the square, which is at the same time the number of man. By reason of the divine virtue in this number he has a direct action on all septenary beings, and it recalls the eminent rank which he has occupied in his origin. From this we are given to understand that 4 belongs properly to the Logos, the word that was in the Beginning, or in other words, to the World of Creation.
In the Fourth Day of Creation the dual power was born which is represented by the Sun and the Moon in the sevenfold creative processes. Four and Seven are related to what has gone on before, and also to that which is to follow. Standing as they do between 1 and 10, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, they have been characterized by students of this sacred science as divine Numbers.
Pythagoras taught that 3 represents spirit, 4 signifies soul and 7 indicates awakened, responsible man. From the Holy Four, the Great Nameless Ones, the Lords of Destiny, symbolized throughout the Bible by the Lion, the Eagle, the Ox, and the Man, and correlated astrologically with the Lords of the Fixed Signs, Leo, Aquarius, Taurus and Scorpio, emanated the initial spiritual forces which later crystallized upon the earth in the form of the four elements of which all material things are composed, namely fire, air, water and earth. The visions of biblical seers were observed in that exalted state of consciousness which we refer to as Initiation, and which they have recorded for our enlightenment and inspiration, are descriptions of the cosmic processes of creation. From this high place of cosmic knowing comes the chant: "The Four from the One and the Seven from the Four." As previously observed, the Word, by which all things are made, represents the four forces designated as Fire, Air, Water and Earth.
In the sevenfold vehicle of man, these four primary forces work in and through their correlated principles. Fire is linked to the desire nature; air to the mind; water to the emotions, and earth to the physical body.
The gradual refinement of these elements within man constitutes the regenerative process. It is what Paul describes as putting off the carnal and puttng on of the celestial. It is a sevenfold process and its result is the awakened and illumined Four.
" The Fourfold spiritual powers of the four elements became the fourfold mind power which gives Eternal Life as symbolized by the cabalistic wheels of fire, the chariot of Elijah."
Again drawing on Franz Hartmann, we read: "Try to find the secret signification of the number Four which is alluded to so frequently in the allegories of both the Old and New Testaments. The number 40 is also frequent in the Bible. Everything consists fundamentally of four elements, they produce three Beginnings and from these originate the two sexes, the Sun and the Moon, but the latter two produce the Son, the mortal and divine man."
The work of the Fourth Creative Day as recorded in Genesis is, as previously observed, connected with the formation of the Sun and the Moon.
The above quotation of Franz Hartmann is descriptive in part also of the profound significance of the mystic, magic "Lost Word" of the Old Testament, Yod-He-Vau-He. It is the "I am that I am" which was given to Moses as the supreme talisman of power and authority. This magic soul word is representative of the four elements. Yod correlates to Fire; He, to Water; Vau, to Air, and the final He, which is feminine, to Earth. From the Fire (Sun) and the Water (Moon), the Air (Son) is produced.
It is on the earth which is the focusing point of the Ego in its concentrated redemptive work upon this material plane. To redeem matter and elevate it to a higher condition is the great task which necessitates the cycles of reincarnation upon this plane. It is only as the awakened spirit learns to redeem the fallen Eve or "He" principle within himself that he comes into possession of that Messianic or Christed power of the I am which enabled Moses to overcome the obstacles he encountered
when leading the children of Israel to the entrance of the Promised Land of the New Day and Age.
In the hidden meanings of the accompanying figure, the Tetragrammaton, carrying the powerful four-lettered name, Yod-He-Vau-He, is indicated the path of evolution for the masses, and also the way of the few who choose the more direct path of Initiation. It also reveals the four elements of which the body of the earth and all things upon it are composed, thus correlating it with the work of the Fourth Day. We may also discover in this same design the cross of matter until the great transmutation processes have been completed and man is resurrected into a new and more perfect day. From these considerations of the Tetragrammaton we may surmise something of the reverence with which even the uninitiated regarded the Holy Name, Yod-He-Vau-He, and why it was never pronounced in public. One who understands its proper intonation can, by its use, effect marvellous transformations within himself, his environment, and all things within his radius. Such a knowledge, together with the power it gives its possessor, does not come to one until proven entirely selfless and dedicated wholly in service to the powers of Good. It was only the High Priest that was permitted to exercise this power in the Holy of Holies, and furthermore, the times were restricted to the nights of the full Moon. It was then that the High Servant of the Lord pronounced the magic word as blessing and benediction upon his people for the ensuing month. It was after his initiation into the use of this high power of the "I am that I am", that Moses was enabled to talk with God as a man speaks with a friend, and to ascend Mount Nebo, the Mount of Wisdom, there to be translated into the glories of the Life Everlasting.
Is-Is, the four-lettered "Lost Word" of the Egyptians, here the same mystic power for the Wise Men of the Egyptian Temples. These spiritual forces are latent within all men, and they will become active as we enter into the fourth dimensional consciousness of the new Aquarian Age. In the New Age about to be ushered in, the present Law of the Triad will be succeeded by that of the Tetrad, and the mysteries and the glories of the inner worlds will be revealed. It is in this new, glad Day that death will be no more, that God will wipe away all tears for the former things (the three dimensional consciousness) will have passed away.
In all Mystery Schools, the development of the fourth dimensional consciousness has been connected with the Fourth Degree or Step of Enlightenment. It is correlated with what is spoken of as the formation of the Sun and Moon. In this Fourth Step the mystic Mason will find again the Lost Word of his Craft.
The symbol of Four is a Star, and its most important color is blue, the color of spirit. In the transmutation or cleansing and redemptive processes which constitute the supreme work of 4, we find that it becomes also the number of ripe fate, or the liquidating of present destiny. Hence the frequent use of the "40 year" period in the stories of the Bible. Forty, which is a higher power of 4, is the number under which debts are paid off. Many of the most prominent biblical characters passed through a probationary period of 40 years or 40 days, even the great Christ himself "anhungered 40 days." This same period of reparation is retained even today in the modern church in the Lenten Season observances. Such an interlude of 40 does not necessarily consist of exactly so many days or years, but has reference primarily to the regenerative powers of 4 as these manifest on all planes of being — physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Four is the magic wand of Transformation.
A 4 person is born for new opportunities. This physical incarnation opens for him the door that leads to different and larger spheres of knowing and becoming. If the nativity is centered in material living, the new experiences may come through worldly success and the accumulation of earthly possessions. If, on the other hand, the Ego is ready for a spiritual awakening, as is often true of a 4, the following words may find literal fulfillment: "After this, I looked and behold, a door was opened in Heaven." The third dimensional consciousness is expanded into that of the fourth dimension; the wonders and glories of realms hitherto invisible are revealed before the enchanted vision of the newly illumined one. He finds himself called into new and wider fields of service; he has qualified for that high and noble calling of conscious invisible helpership.
A marked characteristic of the Four person who functions largely in the material sphere of life, is self will that is so determined that it expresses itself as a decided stubbornness, tenaciousness, and an extreme sensitiveness.
Equally pronounced characteristics of a spiritually awakened Four are understanding, sympathy, and compassion that extends to all things, and a developed intuition that is truly the voice of the spirit within. The Four is wise if he heeds the voice of this inner monitor. He will come to learn that he is never mistaken when he does so, and as he follows this guidance from within ever more closely, he enters into an ever fuller realization that the voice of the spirit ever rings true. The one who understands these things gains both physically and spiritually when he learns to go daily into "his closet and there pray to his Father in secret." He will find a verbatim fulfillment of the promise: "His Father which is in secret will reward him openly." It was from the heights (in consciousness) of this secret place, or inner shrine, that Solomon gained both understanding and the wisdom that placed him among the greatest of Initiate-kings, and which made him an illustrious example of that to which a Four may aspire and to which he may ultimately attain.
One, Two and Three in their triadic emanations are largely masculine; Four, Five, and Six in their triadic; emanations are pronouncedly feminine. Four, therefore, is more successful and finds the largest sphere of usefulness in activities which are set in feminine rhythms of beauty and artistry, or in following those pursuits which are of some humanitarian or altruistic endeavor and require the exercise of feminine qualifications such as intuitive perception, tact, tenderness, sympathy and compassion.
Four opens a new doorway in the life that may lead to heights illimitable, to far vistas as yet unperceived, or to paths of psychic disillusionment. Four, in its highest aspects, voices the love tones of the awakened Christ within when He says: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if you will open for me, I will come in and abide with you."
As the Divine Spirit descends into physical incarnation, new forces are brought into manifestation, some possessing a masculine potency and others, a feminine.
1. What part in this evolutionary scheme is denoted by 4?
2. What correlation can you find between 4 and the 4th
Zodiac
3. What biblical character is attuned to 4 besides those referred to in this lesson?
4. Give some keyword descriptive of 4.
Note: These lessons are not intended for casual reading, but for careful study and meditation wherein it is hoped that by a lifting of consciousness the student may be able to contact the inner man — that source of light eternal which makes life complete both within and without.
— Corinne Heline
