7 (seven) is the
natural number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country").
Numbers used for counting are called '' cardinal ...
following
6 and preceding
8. It is the only
prime number
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a Product (mathematics), product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime ...
preceding a
cube.
As an early
prime number
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a Product (mathematics), product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime ...
in the series of
positive integers
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country").
Numbers used for counting are called '' cardinal ...
, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
,
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
,
superstition
A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
. The seven
Classical planet
In classical antiquity, the seven classical planets or seven luminaries are the seven moving astronomical objects in the sky visible to the naked eye: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word '' planet'' co ...
s resulted in seven being the number of days in a week. It is often considered
luck
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
y in
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
and is often seen as
highly symbolic. Unlike
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, in
Vietnamese culture, the number seven is sometimes considered unlucky.
It is the first natural number whose pronunciation contains more than one syllable.
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the
beginning, Indians wrote 7 more or less in one stroke as a curve that looks like an uppercase vertically inverted. The western Ghubar Arabs' main contribution was to make the longer line diagonal rather than straight, though they showed some tendencies to making the digit more rectilinear. The eastern
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
s developed the digit from a form that looked something like our 6 to one that looked like an uppercase V. Both modern Arab forms influenced the European form, a two-stroke form consisting of a horizontal upper stroke joined at its right to a stroke going down to the bottom left corner, a line that is slightly curved in some font variants. As is the case with the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an digit, the Cham and Khmer digit for 7 also evolved to look like their digit 1, though in a different way, so they were also concerned with making their 7 more different. For the Khmer this often involved adding a horizontal line to the top of the digit. This is analogous to the horizontal stroke through the middle that is sometimes used in handwriting in the Western world but which is almost never used in computer fonts. This horizontal stroke is, however, important to distinguish the glyph for seven from the glyph for
one
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
in writing that uses a long upstroke in the glyph for 1. In some Greek dialects of the early 12th century the longer line diagonal was drawn in a rather semicircular transverse line.
On the
seven-segment display
A seven-segment display is a form of electronic display device for displaying decimal numerals that is an alternative to the more complex dot matrix displays.
Seven-segment displays are widely used in digital clocks, electronic meters, bas ...
s of pocket calculators and digital watches, 7 is the digit with the most common graphic variation (1, 6 and 9 also have variant glyphs). Most calculators use three line segments, but on
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...
,
Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. ...
, and a few other brands of calculators, 7 is written with four line segments because in Japan, Korea and Taiwan 7 is written with a "hook" on the left, as ① in the following illustration.
While the shape of the character for the digit 7 has an
ascender in most modern
typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are thousands o ...
s, in typefaces with
text figures
Text figures (also known as non-lining, lowercase, old style, ranging, hanging, medieval, billing, or antique figures or numerals) are numerals designed with varying heights in a fashion that resembles a typical line of running text, hence the ...
the character usually has a
descender
In typography and handwriting, a descender is the portion of a letter that extends below the baseline of a font.
For example, in the letter ''y'', the descender is the "tail", or that portion of the diagonal line which lies below the ''v' ...
, as, for example, in
.
Most people in Continental Europe, and some in Britain and Ireland as well as Latin America, write 7 with a line in the middle ("
7"), sometimes with the top line crooked. The line through the middle is useful to clearly differentiate the digit from the digit one, as the two can appear similar when written in certain styles of handwriting. This form is used in official handwriting rules for primary school in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, other Slavic countries, France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Romania, Germany, Greece, and Hungary.
Mathematics
Seven, the fourth
prime number
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a Product (mathematics), product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime ...
, is not only a
Mersenne prime
In mathematics, a Mersenne prime is a prime number that is one less than a power of two. That is, it is a prime number of the form for some integer . They are named after Marin Mersenne, a French Minim friar, who studied them in the early 17 ...
(since ) but also a
double Mersenne prime since the exponent, 3, is itself a Mersenne prime. It is also a
Newman–Shanks–Williams prime, a
Woodall prime, a
factorial prime, a
lucky prime, a
happy number (happy prime), a
safe prime (the only ), a
Leyland prime of the second kind and the fourth
Heegner number.
*Seven is the lowest natural number that cannot be represented as the sum of the squares of three integers. (See
Lagrange's four-square theorem#Historical development.)
*Seven is the
aliquot sum of one number, the
cubic number and is the base of the 7-aliquot tree.
*7 is the only number ''D'' for which the equation has more than two solutions for ''n'' and ''x'' natural. In particular, the equation is known as the
Ramanujan–Nagell equation In mathematics, in the field of number theory, the Ramanujan–Nagell equation is an equation between a square number and a number that is seven less than a power of two. It is an example of an exponential Diophantine equation, an equation to ...
.
*7 is the only dimension, besides the familiar 3, in which a vector
cross product
In mathematics, the cross product or vector product (occasionally directed area product, to emphasize its geometric significance) is a binary operation on two vectors in a three-dimensional oriented Euclidean vector space (named here E), and ...
can
be defined.
*7 is the lowest
dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coord ...
of a known
exotic sphere, although there may exist as yet unknown exotic smooth structures on the 4-dimensional sphere.
* divided by 7 is exactly . Therefore, when a
vulgar fraction with 7 in the
denominator is converted to a
decimal expansion, the result has the same six-
digit repeating sequence after the decimal point, but the sequence can start with any of those six digits. For example, and
:In fact, if one sorts the digits in the number 142,857 in ascending order, 124578, it is possible to know from which of the digits the decimal part of the number is going to begin with. The remainder of dividing any number by 7 will give the position in the sequence 124578 that the decimal part of the resulting number will start. For example, 628 ÷ 7 = ; here 5 is the remainder, and would correspond to number 7 in the ranking of the ascending sequence. So in this case, . Another example, , hence the remainder is 2, and this corresponds to number 2 in the sequence. In this case, .
*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.
Figurate numbers representing heptagons (including seven) are called
heptagonal numbers. Seven is also a
centered hexagonal number.
*There are seven
frieze groups, the
groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
consisting of
symmetries of the plane whose group of
translations is
isomorphic
In mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word i ...
to the group of
integer
An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign ( −1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the languag ...
s.
*There are seven fundamental types of
catastrophes.
*When rolling two standard six-sided
dice, seven has a 6 in 6 (or ) probability of being rolled (1–6, 6–1, 2–5, 5–2, 3–4, or 4–3), the greatest of any number. The opposite sides of a standard six-sided dice always add to 7.
*The
Millennium Prize Problems are seven problems in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
that were stated by the
Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. Currently, six of the problems remain
unsolved.
Basic calculations
In science
* Seven colors in a rainbow:
ROYGBIV
* Seven
Continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
s
*
Seven Seas
*
Seven climes
* The neutral
pH balance
* Number of music notes in a scale
* Number of spots most commonly found on ladybugs
* Atomic number for
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
In Psychology
*
Seven, plus or minus two as a model of
working memory
Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold information temporarily. It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, ...
.
* Seven
psychological types called the
Seven Rays in the teachings of
Alice A. Bailey
* In Western Culture, Seven is consistently listed as people's favorite number.
* When guessing numbers 1-10 the number 7 is most likely to be picked.
*
Seven-year itch: happiness in marriage said to decline after 7 years
Classical antiquity
The
Pythagoreans invested particular numbers with unique spiritual properties. The number seven was considered to be particularly interesting because it consisted of the union of the physical (number
4) with the spiritual (number
3). In Pythagorean
numerology the number 7 means spirituality.
References from classical antiquity to the number seven include:
*Seven
Classical planets
In classical antiquity, the seven classical planets or seven luminaries are the seven moving astronomical objects in the sky visible to the naked eye: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word ''planet'' comes from ...
and the derivative
Seven Heavens
*
Seven Wonders of the ancient world
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...
*Seven
metals of antiquity
*
Seven days in the week
*
Seven Seas
*
Seven Sages
*
Seven champions that fought Thebes
*
Seven hills of Rome and
Seven Kings of Rome
*
Seven Sisters, the daughters of
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...
also known as the
Pleiades
The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...
Religion and mythology
Judaism
The number seven forms a widespread
typological pattern within
Hebrew scripture, including:
*Seven days (more precisely
yom) of Creation, leading to the seventh day or
Sabbath (Genesis 1)
*Seven-fold vengeance visited on upon
Cain for the killing of
Abel (Genesis 4:15)
*Seven pairs of every clean animal loaded onto the ark by Noah (Genesis 7:2)
*Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41)
*Seventh son of Jacob,
Gad, whose name means good luck (Genesis 46:16)
*Seven times bullock's blood is sprinkled before God (Leviticus 4:6)
*Seven nations God told the
Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stel ...
s they would displace when they entered the land of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
(Deuteronomy 7:1)
*Seven days of the
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
feast (Exodus 13:3–10)
*Seven-branched
candelabrum
A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.
Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures ...
or
Menorah (Exodus 25)
*Seven
trumpets played by seven priests for seven days to bring down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:8)
*Seven things that are detestable to God (Proverbs 6:16–19)
*Seven Pillars of the
House of Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1)
*Seven archangels in the deuterocanonical
Book of Tobit (12:15)
References to the number seven in Jewish knowledge and practice include:
*Seven divisions of the weekly readings or
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...
of the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
*Seven Jewish men (over the age of 13) called to read aliyahs in
Shabbat morning services
*Seven blessings recited under the
chuppah
A ''chuppah'' ( he, חוּפָּה, pl. חוּפּוֹת, ''chuppot'', literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a c ...
during a Jewish wedding ceremony
*Seven days of festive meals for a Jewish bride and groom after their wedding, known as Sheva Berachot or Seven Blessings
*Seven
Ushpizzin prayers to the Jewish patriarchs during the holiday of
Sukkot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tis ...
Christianity
Following the traditional of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
likewise uses the number seven as part of a
typological pattern:
*Seven loaves
multiplied into seven basketfuls of surplus (Matthew 15:32–37)
*Seven
demons were driven out of
Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2)
*
Seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross
*Seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom (Acts 6:3)
*
Seven Spirits of God,
Seven Churches and
Seven Seals in the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
References to the number seven in Christian knowledge and practice include:
*
Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
*
Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy and
Seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy
*
Seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and seven terraces of Mount
Purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
*
Seven Virtues: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility
*
Seven Joys and
Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary
*
Seven Sleepers of Christian myth
*Seven
Sacraments in the Catholic Church (though some traditions assign a different number)
Islam
References to the number seven in Islamic knowledge and practice include:
*Seven
ayat in
surat
al-Fatiha, the first book of the holy
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
*Seven
circumambulations of Muslim pilgrims around the
Kaaba in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
during the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
and the
Umrah
*Seven walks between
Al-Safa and Al-Marwah
Safa and Marwa ( ar, ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَة, Aṣ-Ṣafā wal-Marwah) are two small hills, connected to the larger Abu Qubais and Qaiqan mountains, respectively, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, now made part of the Masjid al-Haram. Mus ...
performed Muslim pilgrims during the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
and the
Umrah
*Seven doors to hell (for heaven the number of doors is eight)
*Seventh day
naming ceremony held for babies
*Seven enunciators of divine revelation (''nāṭiqs'') according to the celebrated
Fatimid Ismaili dignitary
Nasir Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi ( fa, ناصر خسرو قبادیانی, Nasir Khusraw Qubadiani) also spelled as ''Nasir Khusrow'' and ''Naser Khosrow'' (1004 – after 1070 CE) w ...
*
Circle Seven Koran, the holy scripture of the Moorish Science Temple of America
Hinduism
References to the number seven in Hindu knowledge and practice include:
*Seven worlds in the universe and seven seas in the world in Hindu cosmology
*Seven sages or
Saptarishi
The Saptarishi () are the seven rishis of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do s ...
and their seven wives or Sapta Matrka in
Hindu mythology
*Seven
Chakras
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
in eastern philosophy
*Seven stars in a constellation called "
Saptharishi Mandalam" in Indian astronomy
*Seven promises, or
Saptapadi, and seven circumambulations around a fire at Hindu weddings
*Seven virgin goddesses or
Saptha Kannimar worshipped in temples in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
*Seven hills at
Tirumala known as Yedu Kondalavadu in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
, or ezhu malaiyan in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
, meaning "Sevenhills God"
*Seven steps taken by the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
at birth
*Seven divine ancestresses of humankind in
Khasi
Khasi may refer to:
* Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India
* Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India
* Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India
See also
* Khasi Hills
* ...
mythology
*Seven octets or
Saptak Swaras in Indian Music as the basis for
Ragas compositions
*
Seven Social Sins Seven Social Sins is a list that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi published in his weekly newspaper ''Young India'' on October 22, 1925. Later he gave this same list to his grandson, Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper on their final day together sh ...
listed by
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
Eastern tradition
Other references to the number seven in Eastern traditions include:
*
Seven Lucky Gods
In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune (, shichifukujin in Japanese) are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historic ...
or gods of good
fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
in
Japanese mythology
*
Seven-Branched Sword in Japanese mythology
*
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in China
*Seven minor symbols of
yang in Taoist
yin-yang
Other references
Other references to the number seven in traditions from around the world include:
*Seven palms in an Egyptian ''
Sacred Cubit''
*Seven ranks in
Mithraism
*
Seven hills of Istanbul
*Seven islands of
Atlantis
*Seven
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...
clans
*Seven lives of cats in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Romance language-speaking cultures
*Seven fingers on each hand, seven toes on each foot and seven pupils in each eye of the Irish epic hero
Cúchulainn
*Seventh sons will be
werewolves in
Galician folklore, or the son of a woman and a werewolf in other European folklores
*
Seventh sons of a seventh son will be magicians with special powers of healing and clairvoyance in some cultures, or vampires in others
*Seven prominent
legendary monsters in
Guaraní mythology
*Seven gateways traversed by
Inanna during her descent into the
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...
*''
Seven Wise Masters'', a cycle of medieval stories
*Seven sister
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...
es or
fates
The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads o ...
in
Baltic mythology called the
Deivės Valdytojos.
*Seven legendary Cities of Gold, such as
Cibola, that the Spanish thought existed in South America
*Seven years spent by
Thomas the Rhymer
Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, better remembered as Thomas the Rhymer (fl. c. 1220 – 1298), also known as Thomas Learmont or True Thomas, was a Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston (then called "Erceldoune") in the Borders. Thomas ...
in the faerie kingdom in the eponymous British folk tale
*Seven-year cycle in which the
Queen of the Fairies pays a tithe to
Hell (or possibly
Hel) in the tale of
Tam Lin
*''
Seven Valleys'', a text by the Prophet-Founder
Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í faith
*Seven superuniverses in the cosmology of
Urantia
*Seven
psychological types called the
Seven Rays in the teachings of
Alice A. Bailey
*The sacred number of
YemayaYemaya
Santeria Church of the Orishas. Retrieved 25 November 2022
In culture
In literature
* Seven Dwarfs
* Seven features prominently in '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' by George R. R. Martin, namely, the Seven Kingdoms and the Faith of the Seven
In sports
* Sports with seven players per side
** Kabaddi
** Rugby sevens
** Water Polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...
** Netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
** Handball
** Flag Football
** Ultimate Frisbee
* Seven is the least number of players a soccer team must have on the field in order for a match to start and continue.
* A touchdown plus an extra point is worth seven points.
See also
* Diatonic scale (7 notes)
* Seven colors in the rainbow
* Seven continents
* Seven liberal arts
*Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...
*Seven days of the Week
* Septenary (numeral system)
*Year Seven (School)
Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the Unit ...
* Se7en (disambiguation)
* Sevens (disambiguation)
* One-seventh area triangle
* Z with stroke (Ƶ)
* List of highways numbered 7
Notes
References
*Wells, D. '' The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers'' London: Penguin Group
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initia ...
(1987): 70–71
{{DEFAULTSORT:7 (Number)
Integers
7 (number)