The Magic of Number Nine

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Why is Number Nine a Magic Number?

Cats, as you know, have nine lives. Have you ever wondered why? I certainly have.

Many are the hours I've spent in contemplation of the eternal question : What is the meaning of Life and Why do I have Nine?

What's the story with nine? It's just the largest single digit in the base ten number system, nothing special. But on the other paw, the inner meaning of nine is pretty special.

Lucky Number Nine! Lucky Number Nine! Try and say that nine times without purring.

Is it Magic? Try it yourself

Count this with your Claws

Try it yourself. Pick a number, any two digit number will do.

Add the two digits together and then subtract the total from the original number.

The result will always be a multiple of nine, so adding the digits of your answer will always result in the number nine.

Amaze your friends, they may not have heard of it.

Easy Magic for Everyone

Using Number Nine

9 Card Trick
This well known sequence allows a person to discover a spectator's card simply by dealing cards.
The Incredible Magic Nine Prediction Trick
Mental Magic Tricks - Number Nine Magic Trick
Bar Magic. The Nine Coin Trick
A simple but effective bar trick which will amaze and entertain everyone who sees it.

For the serious minded

Mathematical Properties of Number Nine
Finding the Digital Roots by Casting nine

In many ancient civilisations, the number nine could symbolise, or signify, a deep religious truth

Number Nine in the Old Days

Some Ancient Cultures and Nine

The Chaldeans believed the number nine to be sacred, and kept it apart in their numerology from the other numbers. How they did this is beyond me.

Egyptians had nine cosmic levels.Something like steps in the sky I expect.

Etruscans, the pre-Roman people of north west Italy, worshipped nine gods. Not one of their nine gods helped against the Romans.

In ancient Rome, baby boys hold a purification ceremony when they were nine days old. Similar to christenings I suppose, but with the goddess Nundina in charge.

Greeks called nine "the horizon", the imaginary line at the edge of the sky. Demeter, usually carrying around nine ears of wheat, searched nine days for her daughter Persephone, and there are nine Muses who can inspire you. The Greeks didn't need much inspiration for number nine.

Nine is a bigtime number in Norse Mythology too. The god, Odin, hung himself on an ash tree for nine days to learn the wisdom of the Runes. There were nine Norse giantesses, who strode nine paces at a time and lived at the edge of the sea and land. Once, before Christianity, nine day fertility feasts were held every nine years.

Old English Medical Prescription

Whip it up in your kitchen in no time

For flying venom and every venomous swelling, on a Friday churn butter which has been milked from a neat or hind all of one colour, and let it not be mingled with water.

Sing over it nine times a litany and nine times the Paternoster, and nine times this incantation.

More Folklore Cures with Nine

Fix your Jaundice in a Jiffy

Up in the Hebrides a favourite folk cure for jaundice still consists in wearing a shirt previously dipped in water taken from the tops of nine waves, and in which nine stones have been boiled.

Troubled with warts? Simple stuff. Chant "Nine times, nine times, nine times, begone!"

There will be nine!

Nine in Numerology

Obviously associated with Cats

In Numerology, the positive characteristics of number nine are selflessness, fulfillment, completion, universality, universal understanding, interrelatedness, compassion, idealism tolerance, forgiveness, generosity, benevolence, humanitarianism, emotionalism, and justice.

Number nine is also associated with accomplished artists and thinkers who are inspired by universal truths.

Obviously we are talking about cats here.

Number Crunching

Numbers and You: A Numerology Guide for Everyday Living

Amazon Price: $4.28 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now


A good and easy to follow start on the strange topic of numerology. How real is it? Does it work for you?

The Nine Muses

Which one is yours?

The Ancient Greeks were inspired by the Nine Muses, and believed them to be the source of all creativity.

I don't really know why the Greeks did this, but it's an interesting concept - almost feline. I think there's something basically true in it.

Haven't you sometimes wondered where that blinding flash of inspired vision comes from? I have been asked if a Muse moves me, and perhaps one of these divine ladies does.

In that case, my own particular Muse would be Terpsichore, the Whirler, and often I will leap, spring, pounce and whirl about for no reason. I sing too and, if I may say so myself, in a deeply melodious manner. Perhaps Terpsichore is behind it.

More on the Muses

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Nine can be considered thrice sacred and thus represents
perfection, balance, order
the supreme superlative

Nine Resemblances of the Chinese Dragons

How to recognise a Chinese Dragon

The revered philosopher, Wang Fu, recorded a concise description of the Chinese Dragon, detailing the 'three joints' and the 'nine resemblances' of the dragon.


The three joints are from head to shoulder, from shoulder to breast and from breast to tail.

The nine resemblances

1. Horns of a stag
2. Head of a camel
3. Eyes of a demon
4. Neck of a snake
5. Scales of a carp
6. Claws of an eagle
7. Soles of a tiger
8. Belly of a tortoise
9. Ears of a cow.

Dragons!

Refresh your Memory on All Things Dragon

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Nine is a Symbol of Change

Number Nine was a Turning Point

The Chinese have, apart from dragons, an ancient Chinese Classic called I Ching, the Book of Changes, .

In this Book of Changes, nine was a crucial point of change and transformation. When a change occurred in one aspect of life, that change was a result of a change in its opposite. Therefore, as a symbol of extremity, the number nine in Chinese Culture is also a warning, a turning point.

(If you can grasp the essentials of the I Ching, then you have the intelligence of a cat. Congratulations!)

I Ching

Or Book of Changes

For centuries, The I Ching or Book of Changes has been consulted for sage advice at life's turning points.

When its wisdom is sought with sincerity and sensitivity, this Chinese oracle will help to promote success and good fortune and to impart balance and perspective to your life.

Its everlasting popularity lies in the lessons that it teaches about how to use your positive qualities in order to attain life's greatest rewards-prosperity, understanding, and peace of mind.

The I Ching or Book of Changes: A Guide to Life's Turning Points

Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

Brian Browne Walker's new, highly accessible translation of the I Ching is clear, direct, and allows you to make the wisdom of the ancient Chinese sages your own.

In Walker's work the essential meaning of the 64 hexagrams and of each of their 6 possible "changing lines" is clearly presented in less than two short pages per hexagram. There are no complex explanations or theorizing, no history, no multiplication of commentaries, and no cheapening adaptations

In Ancient China there was a Ninth Heaven

They had lots of doorknobs too



In ancient China, the number one represented the starting point and the number nine represented the extremity.

Jiu Zhou is a poetic name referring to the nine states, which means that the country encompasses so much territory that it is beyond measure.

The highest heavens were referred to as the "ninth heaven" and Jiu Quan, the ninth spring, where the afterlife was located beneath the deepest water.

In the royal palace the doors, windows, stairs and fixtures existed in multiples of nine or a number that contains nine. The numbers of the gilded knobs on the double doors of the major gates of the Forbidden City has nine rows of nine knobs, representing the supreme power of the Emperor.

A Chinese Festival worthy of keeping

In China the odd numbers are seen as male-yang. Number nine, the biggest, is the ultimate masculine so the ninth day of the ninth month has long been a very important festival known as the Double Yang Festival.

This is a time for wine and poetry inspired by the beautiful autumn scenery.

In the past, Chinese scholars would climb nearby mountains and look into the distance and think of their faraway friends. And that's a festival I wish you would find worthy of keeping up - no matter what value you place nowadays on the number nine.

More Feline Fortune

My Studies on Cats and Magic

The Cat Familiar
A Familiar is said to be a sort of shape-shifting minor demon with magic powers. The stereotypical Familiar in Western culture is the black cat.
The Magical Qualities of Cats
I can tell you exactly what the magical qualities of cats really are. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to grasp the concept.
Tarot for Cats
Tarot cards are mystic, mysterious and beautiful reminders of the importance of symbolism to the human spirit across the ages And to the feline spirit as well!
The Beckoning Cat
Have you ever wondered what those fat little cats with an upraised paw are doing? This is the Beckoning or Japanese Fortune cat, the Maneki Neko, a popular symbol of good luck and an invitation to prosperity and success in business.

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by

Vladi

Just imagine if there were nine of me!

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