Origin of the Weekly Rhythm Every
week is the fractal of a quintessential journey, starting
Monday morning and ending Sunday night. It’s the journey from the Moon-day to
the Sun-day; from the changeable to the perpetual, the mundane to the sacred,
the emotional to the spiritual.
The seven days of the week are named after the seven celestial lights that move through the skies, the two luminaries Sun and Moon, and the five planets that are visible to the naked eye. It must be part of our human genome that we need to
analyze, categorize and understand our world. Under this premise we can be
certain that the conception of meaningful division of time (calendars), began
with the emergence of mankind, however we have no way of knowing how long ago that all
started. Bare with me, another time I will take you on a journey venturing
deeper into this wondrous subject.
So, organizing
time in units of years and months is kind of obvious. It takes one year for planet
Earth to revolve around our star; and 29.5 days from one full moon to the next.
It’s easy to conceive that these two units were important time markers throughout
the ages and have been observed by all cultures.
Unless astronomical calculations are
applied, pinpointing the exact moment of Fullmoon might
be challenging. Even more so, attempting to catch the moment when the Moon is new and lined up
with the Sun, therefore fully hidden . Two stations in the Moon’s monthly orbit offer themselves for
accurate measurement. It's the halfway points between new and full moon, the waxing
and the waning half moon, which occur pretty much seven days on either side of
full moon. By the nature of things it’s quite easy to nail down the moment
when the dividing line of the Moon’s lighted and dark halves appears perfectly straight.
So as
you see, the seven-day week is a fundamental rhythm of life on Earth, or in
other words an archetype. According to Wikipedia there’s “evidence
of continuous use of a seven-day week appearing with the Jews during the
Babylonian Captivity of the 6th century BC.” And we find another indication in the Bible: God is
reported to have created the world in six days, taking a rest on the seventh, to
review and enjoy his accomplishments.
Based on
this Biblical story it makes sense that Monday should be the beginning of the
week. Every week therefore, in essence, is a journey from the Moon to the Sun!
And
indeed, Mondays are lunar. We hear the call for survival, the urge to dive back
into the mundane world of ups and downs, of constant change. Mondays tend to be
more emotional than other days, as ‘getting back into the rhythm’ at times can
be quite upsetting and challenging. This is particularly so as we’re to depart from
that serene and elevated aura of solar unison. But more on that later…
Tuesday is
dedicated to Mars. By Tuesday we’re back in motion, reconnected to the routine,
ready for action, apt to take on anything. Tuesday is the best day for head-on
encounters. Driven by ego and will, this is the day to conquer the world!
Wednesday or “Mittwoch” (German for mid-week) is given to Mercury, nicely showing that
thought follows action (hmm…). This
is the day of reflecting what fiery Mars got us into, to pause for a moment and
think, trying to find out what’s this all about, to understand the greater
context of what we’ve maneuvered ourselves into. Mercury is the mediator. Consider that
everything we see in our universe began as a thought. When thought gets streamlined
like light waves in a laser, it can manifest in the blink of an eye. The way cropcircles come into existence in my humble opinion, is a fabulous example for that.
Thursday is Jupiter’s day. By far, Jupiter is the biggest planet, owning over 60% of the
Solar system’s angular momentum. In many respects therefore Thursday is the
highpoint of the week, the day we may reach out furthest into unknown
territory. Jupiter is expansive, to the point of being a megalomaniac. Such
energy should warn us to be cautious and extra careful.
Venus, “Freya”
in Norse mythology, rules Fridays. Celebrating beauty and harmony, our sister
planet reminds us that pleasure and enjoyment are paramount, that material
possessions are what makes life worth living. However, aside from being a ‘party
girl’, Freya is considered a magician, able to control and manipulate desires, owning
knowledge and power that are almost without equal. Hence her social status always
has been highly ambiguous, by turns she was exalted and feared; longed for, propitiated, celebrated, and scorned. Saturday is the day of Saturn. Known as ‘guardian of the threshold’, Saturn is the outermost planet that is still visible to the naked eye. 29.5 years it takes the ringed planet to revolve once around the Sun. Saturn represents old age, maturity and experience, accumulated wisdom and endings. Saturn is also the planner and architect, keeping us grounded and responsible, advising us to be moderate and cautious. With Sunday at last, we’re returning to source, reconnecting with the primordial life force. Give it a thought: all of life is an extension of the Sun, no wonder that all natural religions revere the Sun as their highest god figure head. Sunday is the day of celebration and rest. Consecrated by God, as told by the creation myth, this is the day to take a step back and review, to see ‘that it is all good’, to come full circle and make peace with oneself and the cosmos. |
© 2004-2013 - Khoji J.
Vihara |