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Pagina 1
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)ARTICLE 12
Stephen M. Phillips
Flat 7, “Grangewood,” 40 Norwich Avenue West. Bournemouth.
Dorset BH2 6AW. England.
E-mail: Stephen@smphillips.8m.com
Website: http://smphillips.8m.com
“In ancient times, music was something other than mere pleasure for the ear: it was like
an algebra of metaphysical abstractions, knowledge of which was given only to initiates,
but by the principles of which the masses were instinctively and unconsciously
influenced. This is what made music one of the most powerful instruments of moral
education, as Kong-Tsee (Confucius) had said many centuries before Plato.”
G. de Mengel, Voile d’Isis
Abstract
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Pagina 2
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)ARTICLE 12
Neew
wP
Pyytthhaaggoorreeaann A
Assppeeccttss ooff M
Muussiicc &
&
TThheeiirr C
Coonnnneeccttiioonn ttoo S
Suuppeerrssttrriinnggss
by
Stephen M. Phillips
Flat 3, 32 Surrey Road South. Bournemouth. BH4 9BP. England.
E-mail: Stephen@smphillips.8m.com
Website: http://smphillips.8m.com
“In ancient times, music was something other than mere pleasure for the ear: it was like
an algebra of metaphysical abstractions, knowledge of which was given only to initiates,
but by the principles of which the masses were instinctively and unconsciously
influenced. This is what made music one of the most powerful instruments of moral
education, as Kong-Tsee (Confucius) had said many centuries before Plato.”
G. de Mengel, Voile d’Isis
Abstract
The tetrahedral generalisation of the Platonic Lambda discussed in Article 11 is
shown to generate the tone ratios of the Pythagorean scale. Godname numbers
define properties of ten octaves, which conform to the pattern of the Tree of Life. The
latter is exhibited also in the 32 notes above the fundamental up to the perfect fifth of
the fifth octave, which has a tone ratio of 24. Being the tenth overtone and therefore
corresponding to Malkuth explains why this number is central to the physics of the
superstring. The numbers in the tetractys form of Plato’s Lambda are shown to be —
individually or in combination — the numbers of the various musical sounds that can
be played with ten notes arranged in a tetractys. The number of melodic intervals,
chords and broken chords is found to be the number of charge sources of the
unified, superstring force. The 72 broken chords and 168 melodic intervals and
chords correlate with the 72:168 division of such charges encoded in the inner form
of the Tree of Life and manifested in the distinction between the major and minor
whorls of the superstring described by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater. The 90
musical sounds generated by a tetractys of ten notes correlate with the 90 edges of
the five Platonic solids. Similarity between the root structure of the superstring
symmetry group E8 and the intervals and chords of the octave suggests that
superstrings share with music the universal mathematical pattern of the Tree of Life,
the eight zero roots of E8 corresponding to the eight notes of the Pythagorean scale.
Pagina 3
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)1. The tetrahedral Platonic Lambda
In his Timaeus, Plato describes how the Demiurge measured the World Soul, or
substance of the spiritual universe, according to the simple proportions of the first three
powers of 2 and 3. This is represented by his ‘Lambda,’ so-
1
2
called because of its resemblance to the Greek letter Λ(Fig.
3
1). These numbers line but two sides of a tetractys of ten
numbers from whose relative values the physicists and
9
4
8
musicians of ancient Greece worked out the frequencies of
27
the notes of the octaves of the now defunct Pythagorean
Figure 1. Plato’s Lambda.
musical scale. However, it was shown in Article 11 that, if we
ignore the speculative cosmological context in which this algorithm for generating the
relative frequencies of the musical notes was presented and regard the Lambda and its
underlying
1 = 13
construction
4
3
8=2
12
3
16
18
12
9
24
as
a
Pythagorean
This is because the numbers 1, 2, 3
8
6
of
purely
mathematics, then it is incomplete.
4
2
tetractys
16
32
36
and 4 were the basis of Pythagorean
64 = 43
48
number mysticism and its application
to the study of natural phenomena
such as musical sounds, whereas the
27 = 33
number 4 is missing as a generative
Figure 2. The tetrahedral Lambda tetractys.
factor from the Lambda, which uses
only 1 (the monad), 2 (the duad) and 3 (the triad) to generate its numbers. The
Pythagorean wholeness of the Lambda is restored naturally by realising that it is but two
edges of a tetrahedron having 1 at its apex and a third edge with the first three powers of
4 arranged along it (Fig. 2). It may be argued that this three-dimensional figure is not
consonant with the details of the cosmological theory that Plato presented in his Timaeus.
This, indeed, is the case. Nevertheless, the value and universality of mathematics exist in
their own right and do not have to be validated by the theories of any mathematician or
philosopher, however renowned that person may be. Properties of numbers are more
important than how they may have been interpreted.
The tetrahedron of 20 numbers has the following musical virtue: the extended Lambda
This is not intended as a criticism of Plato, who may have known about the tetrahedral generalisation.
Pagina 4
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)tetractys generates the tone ratios of octaves along one side and perfect fifths along
another side. But the numbers starting with 6 and generating the perfects fourths have to
be added by hand, so to speak, following ad hoc rules of multiplication by 2 and 3 that
were not part of Plato’s cosmological
8 = 23
theory and whose justification is
simply that they create the right
16
×4/3
12
numbers. Furthermore, whereas the
pairing of numbers separated by
×4/3
32
18
24
octaves or intervals of the perfect
fifth follows the natural geometry of
×4/3
43 = 64
48
36
27 = 33
the array of numbers set by the
extended boundary of the Lambda,
×2/1
Figure 3
×2/1
×2/1
×3/2
×3/2
the pairing of successive perfect
fourths does not respect the same
symmetry
×3/2
because
it
occurs
in
diagonal fashion across the array.
Worse still, the other possible diagonal pairing of numbers whose tone ratios differ by a
factor of 3 plays a relatively weak role in generating twelfths of the Pythagorean scale.
The traditional construction of the tone ratios of the Pythagorean clearly lacks symmetry
because the classical scheme is mathematically incomplete. On the other hand, the
fourth face of the tetrahedron is a tetractys of numbers whose pairings parallel to its three
sides create octaves, perfect fifths and perfect fourths with, respectively, the tone ratios,
2/1, 3/2 and 4/3 (Fig. 3). Its hexagonal symmetry means that, when extended in the
traditional manner of the Lambda tetractys, every number becomes surrounded by six
others that are octaves, perfect fourths or perfect fifths. The numbers may be divided by
any one of them to generate the same lattice of tone ratios of the Pythagorean scale,
e.g., the infinite, hexagonal lattice of numbers is invariant with respect to such division.
The number 24 (=1×2×3×4) is at the centre of the fourth face. Figure 4 displays the
lattice of tone ratios, starting with 1, the fundamental, that are created by dividing every
number in the tetractys and outside it by 24. Using any other number in or outside the
tetractys as divisor would have created the same lattice of tone ratios. Overtones are
shown in yellow circles, red lines connect octaves (×2), green lines connect perfect
6, the centre of the Lambda tetractys, is the fourth overtone and 24 is the tenth overtone. Integers 6, 8, 12
and 24 at the centres of the four faces have the ratios 1, 3/2, 4/3, 2, 3 and 4 of the integers 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Pagina 5
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Figure 4
Pagina 6
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)fourths (×4/3) and blue lines connect perfect fifths (×3/2). The tone interval of 9/8 is also
indicated by the orange line joining the centre of the tetractys (coloured grey) to one
corner. The tone ratios 27/16 of note A and 243/128 of note B are similarly defined by,
respectively, indigo and violet diagonals extending from the number 1 to corners of larger
triangles. Successive notes of the scale for each octave are joined by dashed lines. They
Table of tone ratios of eleven octaves of the Pythagorean scale
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Number
Of
overtones
1
1
9/8
81/64
4/3
3/2
27/16
243/128
0
2
2
9/4
81/32
8/3
3
27/8
243/64
2
3
4
9/2
81/16
16/3
6
27/4
243/32
4
4
8
9
81/8
32/3
12
27/2
243/16
7
5
16
18
81/4
64/3
24
27
243/8
11
6
32
36
81/2
128/3
48
54
243/4
15
7
64
72
81
256/3
96
108
243/2
20
8
128
144
162
512/3
192
216
243
26
9
256
288
324
1024/3
384
432
486
32
10
512
576
648
2048/3
768
864
972
38
11
1024
1152
1296
4096/3
1536
1728
1944
39
(Red cells enclose integer notes up to end of tenth octave)
zigzag between an octave, the seventh note of the octave and its perfect fourth, i.e.,
between the extremities of the Pythagorean scale and its midpoint.
2. The first ten octaves
The tone ratios of the 71 notes in the first ten octaves are shown in the table above (red
cells contain overtones and blue cells enclose notes beyond the tenth octave). The last
column lists as a running total the number of overtones of the fundamental with a tone
ratio of 1.
Pagina 7
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Comments
1. In the interval 243/128 between C and B, 243 is the 26thovertone and the 55th note
after 1, where
1
55 =
2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
and 128 is the 21st overtone and the 50th note (the last note of the seventh octave).
This shows how Ehyeh, Yahweh and Elohim, Godnames of the Supernal Triad,
prescribe the range of pitch between the first seven notes (1). 256, which is part of
the leimma 256/243 between notes E and F and between B and C of the next octave,
is the 36th note, counting from the beginning of the fourth octave. This shows how
Eloha, Godname of Geburah with number value 36, defines the ‘leftover’ between
adjacent octaves. The 36th note after 1 has a tone ratio of 36;
2. the first ten octaves span 71 notes, of whose tone ratios
4
40 =
4 4
4 4 4
4 4 4 4
= 4 + 8 + 12 + 16
are integers and 31 are fractions. This shows how the Godname El of Chesed with
number value 31 determines the number of notes whose tone ratios are not whole
numbers, whilst Eloha prescribes the number of notes because 71 is the 36th odd
integer. It also demonstrates how the Pythagorean Tetrad (4) defines the number of
integer tone ratios in ten octaves. The 71st note has a tone ratio of 1024 = 210. This is
the smallest number with ten prime factors (all 2), showing the Pythagorean character
of the last note of the tenth octave — the 40th note that is an integer;
3. The 70th note is 972 = 36×27, where 27 (=33) is the largest integer in Plato’s Lambda
and 36 (=13 +2 3+3 3) is the sum of the integers 1, 8, and 27 located at its apex and
extremities:
1
2 3
4
8
9
27.
The number values of the Sephiroth, their Godnames, Archangels, Angels and Mundane Chakras are
written throughout the text in boldface.
Pagina 8
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Hence, 972 = 33 + 6 3 + 93 . This property is an example of the beautiful, mathematical
properties of the first ten octaves (the reason for this will be given shortly). As 2700 =
33 + 6 3 + 9 3 + 123 and 100 = 13 + 2 3 + 3 3 + 43, the largest integer 27 can be
expressed as the ratio:
33 + 63 + 93 + 12 3
1 3 + 23 + 33 + 43
Once again, it is the Pythagorean Tetrad that expresses a number important to the
mathematics of the Pythagorean scale, for both the numerator and the denominator
in the ratio are the sum of four cubes. It was pointed out in Article 11 that Yahweh
prescribes the number 243 in the leimma because it is the 26th overtone. 243 = 33 +
63 , i.e., it is the sum of the first two of the three cubes summing to the value of the
tone ratio of the seventh note of the tenth octave. 3 and 6 are the integers in 36, the
number value of Eloha. The table indicates that 63 = 216 is the tone ratio next smaller
than 243. This is the number of Geburah whose Godname defines the number 256,
as indicated in comment (1), as well as the number 243.
Because the tone ratios of corresponding notes in n successive octaves all increase by
the same factor of 2, there are as many overtones in any such set of n octaves, taking
their lowest tonic as the fundamental, as there are in the first n octaves; the first note of
the first octave is set as 1 merely for convenience because the integers and fractions
represent relative, not absolute, frequencies.
D1 B1
E1 C1 A1
F1 G1
D4 B4
D7 B7
E4 C 4 A4 E 7 C7 A7
F 4 G4
F7 G7
D9 B9
D10 B10
D6 B6
E 9 C9 A9 E10 C10 A10 E 6 C6 A6
F9 G9
F10 G10
F 6 G6
D2 B2
D5 B5
D8 B8
D3 B3
E 2 C2 A2 E5 C5 A5 E 8 C8 A8 E3 C3 A3
F2 G2
F5 G5
F8 G8
F3 G3
Figure 5
The first seven octaves have 50 notes of which
21 are overtones up to 128. Counting from the
first overtone with tone ratio 2, the number value
of Elohim defines the next seven octaves whose
last note B first becomes an integer (243). This
is the 26th overtone, which is therefore also
prescribed by Yahweh. It is the (7×7=49)th note
and so is prescribed by El Chai, Godname of
Yesod. The 70th note (972) represents the
same note relative to 4, the tonic of the third
octave. It is, counting from this note, the 36th overtone. This is how these four Godnames
prescribe the 70th note of the first ten octaves.
Let us now represent the 70 notes of the ten octaves by what the author has called in
previous articles a ‘2nd-order tetractys’ (Fig. 5). The 21 notes of the first three octaves
Pagina 9
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)are arranged at the corners and centres of hexagons at its three corners and the 49 notes
of the next seven octaves are at the corners and centres of seven hexagons arranged at
the corners and centre of a larger hexagon (2). The ten tonics Cn (1≤n≤10) are at the
centres of the hexagons. The centre of the 2nd-order tetractys denotes the tonic of the
tenth octave with tone ratio 512 (C 10). This kind of tetractys is a more differentiated
version of the Pythagorean symbol of divine wholeness. It is why the 70th number, 972,
exhibits arithmetic properties typical of the beautiful harmonies manifested by this pattern.
Figure 6 displays the equivalence between the 2nd-order tetractysand the Tree of Life
with its 16 triangles turned into tetractyses. The ten corners of these triangles correspond
to the centres of the ten tetractyses (both shown as white circles). The tonics of the ten
octaves can be assigned to the positions of the ten Sephiroth and the remaining 60 notes
assigned to the 60 black yods. The first seven notes of each octave formally correspond
to a Sephirah. This is the reason for our considering the first ten octaves of the
Figure 6
=2
Pythagorean scale. The mathematical beauty of this Tree of Life pattern has already
begun to show itself in the properties of the 70th note discussed above.
Let us now consider the integer tones in the ten octaves. As pointed out in comment 2
above, their number 40 can be represented as a tetractys array of the number 4. The
sum of those 4’s at its corners is 12, leaving 28 as the sum of the seven other 4’s. Yods
at corners of a tetractys correspond to the Sephiroth of the Supernal Triad and the seven
other yods correspond to the Sephiroth of Construction. The 12:28 division of the 40
integer tone ratios therefore corresponds to the Kabbalistic distinction between the
Actually, it is a slightly different version of that shown in Figure 4. The difference is immaterial.
Pagina 10
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)subjective and objective Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. The largest number 27 in Plato’s
Lambda is the twelfth such tone ratio (A of the 5th octave). 4 is the fourth integer tone
ratio and 12 is the eighth. The former is the 15th note and the latter is the 26th. This
shows how the Godnames Yah with number value 15 and Yahweh with number value 26
that are assigned to the Sephirah Chokmah mark out notes that correspond to
successive members of the Supernal Triad. Yahweh also defines the twelfth integer tone
ratio because 27 is the 26th integer after 1 (for the Pythagoreans, 27 would be the 26th
true integer because they regarded the number 1 not as an integer but as the source and
principle of all numbers).
The 40 integer tone ratios comprise 11 octaves (note C) and 29 others. 29 is the 15th odd
integer after 1, showing how the Godname Yah with number value 15 defines the number
of overtones in ten octaves that are not merely octaves.
There are five whole tone intervals (9/8) and two leimmas (256/243) that separate the
eight notes of an octave :
C
D
9/8
E
9/8
F
256/243
G
9/8
A
9/8
B
9/8
C
256/243
This means that the 70 intervals between the 71 notes of the ten octaves are made up of
20 leimmas and 50 tones. The Godname Elohim with number value 50 prescribes the
number of tones spanning ten octaves. This
demonstrates par excellence the Tree of Life
pattern
formed
by
ten
octaves.
The
correspondence in the Tree of Life of this 20:50
division of intervals is the fact that, when the
former is constructed from tetractyses, there are
20 ( ) yods on the faces of the tetrahedron and
50 ( ) yods outside them (Fig. 7). The leimmas
correspond to the yods on the tetrahedron and
Figure 7
the tones correspond to the yods outside the
tetrahedron. In general, n overlapping trees
70 = 50
+ 20
contain (50n+20) yods, of which 20n yods lie on
This 5:2 division corresponds in the Tree of Life to the lowest, five Sephiroth of Construction, which are
always shared with overlapping trees, and to Chesed and Geburah, which are unshared.
Pagina 11
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)n tetrahedra, so that this 5:2 correspondence exists only for a single Tree of Life.
Counting from the fundamental of the first octave, there are ten overtones up to the
perfect fifth of the fifth octave with tone ratio 24:
2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 18, 24.
Of these, four (2, 4, 8, 16) are octaves, leaving six others. This 4:6 division corresponds
in the Tree of Life to the four lowest Sephiroth at the corners of a tetrahedron and the
uppermost six Sephiroth. The sum of the Godname numbers of the latter is
24
24 24
21 + 26 + 50 + 31 + 36 + 76 = 240 =
24 24 24
24 24 24 24 ,
that is, they sum to the number of yods in 24 tetractyses. This suggests something
Point
Line
Triangle
Tetrahedron
1
TOTAL
1
2
1
3
3
3
1
4
6
4
7
1
15
TOTAL = 26
Figure 8
special about the number 24. This might be suspected, because it is 1×2×3×4, i.e., the
number of permutations of four objects, which shows its Pythagorean character. It is also
the 26th note and the tenth overtone, both counting from 2, the first overtone. This
corresponds in the Tree of Life to the fact that the tenth Sephirah, Malkuth, is, as its
lowest point, the 26th and last geometrical element in its trunk (Fig. 8).
The significance of the perfect fifth of the fifth octave of the Pythagorean scale is that it is
the seventh of a set of perfect fifths, the first five being successive:
G1
D2
A2
E3
B3
F4
C5
G5
3/2
9/4
27/8
81/16
243/32
32/3
16
(Subscripts denote the octave number)
Pagina 12
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Including the tonic of the first octave, there are 33 notes up to G 5, where
33 = 1! + 2! + 3! + 4!,
i.e., 33 is the total number of permutations of four rows of 1, 2, 3 and 4 objects arranged
in a tetractys. Of these notes, 11 are integers and (33–11=22) are fractional, where
22 = 14 + 23 + 32 + 41.
The latter notes comprise 16 notes in the first three octaves and six notes in the fourth
and fifth octaves up to the last fifth. This 6:16 division corresponds in the Tree of Life to
the six Paths that are edges of the tetrahedron whose corners are the lowest four
Sephiroth and the 16 Paths outside it (see Fig. 7). The 32 overtones and notes up to G5
conform to the geometrical pattern of the Tree of Life, the ten overtones corresponding to
2
81/64
9/8
3/2
4
3
4/3
27/16
81/32
9/4
8/3
8
27/8
9/2
9
81/16
243/32
6
243/64
16/3
27/4
16
243/128
243/16
81/8
12
32/3
18
81/4
64/3
27/2
Figure 9
The Tree of Life pattern
of the first ten overtones
24
(Thick lines are Paths of the trunk of the Tree of Life)
the ten Sephiroth and the 22 fractional notes corresponding to the 22 Paths connecting
the Sephiroth (Fig. 9). The ordering of notes in Figure 9 follows the traditional Kabbalistic
Pagina 13
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)numbering of Paths. As the tenth overtone, the tone ratio 24 corresponds to the lowest
Sephirah, Malkuth, which signifies the outer, physical form of anything embodying the
universal blueprint of the Tree of Life. It is this correspondence that makes the number 24
significant vis-à-vis superstring theory, as will be explained in Section 6.
Arranged in a tetractys:
2
3
6
4
8
9
12 16 18 24,
the ten overtones have 16 combinations of two or more notes selected from each row.
They comprise ten harmonic intervals, five chords of three notes and one chord of four
notes. These correspond in the trunk of the Tree of Life to, respectively, its ten Paths, five
triangles each with three corners and the tetrahedron with four corners (see Fig. 9).
Alternatively, the 16 harmonic intervals and chords correspond to the 16 triangles of the
Tree of Life itself. The ten harmonic intervals correspond to the ten triangles below the
level of the path joining Chesed and Geburah, and the six chords correspond to the six
triangles either above or projecting beyond this line, which, according to Kabbalah,
separates the subjective Supernal Triad from the objective aspect of the Tree of Life
manifesting the seven Sephiroth of Construction. Of the six triangles, only one triangle is
completely above this line. It corresponds to the single chord of four notes. The complete
correspondence between the ten octaves and the Tree of Life is summarised below:
10 overtones
22 fractional tone ratios
16 harmonic intervals and chords
10 Sephiroth
22 Paths
16 triangles
Any set of ten successive octaves exhibits this same Tree of Life pattern because the
tone ratios of corresponding notes in successive octaves differ by a factor of 2, which
means that, relative to the first note of any such set, there are always ten overtones with
the same set of values as that found above for the first ten octaves, starting with a tone
ratio of 1 for the tonic of the first octave. The perfect fifth of the fifth octave, counting from
any given octave, is still an overtone with the tone ratio of 24 relative to the tonic of that
starting octave. The numbers in the table of tone ratios are not absolute pitches but
frequencies defined relative to that of the fundamental, which is normally given the
convenient value of 1. Their underlying Tree of Life pattern is, therefore, not dependent
Pagina 14
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)on a particular starting point but holds for any set of ten successive octaves. The fact that
most of their notes would fall outside the audible range of the human ear is irrelevant.
Counting from the tonic of the first octave, the tone ratio 24 (=1×2×3×4) is the 33rd note
(33=1!+2!+3!+4!) and the perfect 5th of the fifth octave. Counting from the latter, the 33rd
note is 576 = 242 and still the perfect 5th of the new fifth octave. This is the 65th note from
the tonic of the first octave, where 65 is the 33rd odd integer. The Godname Adonai
1st: 240 (=1)
65th: 242
129th: 244
2
4
1
3
33rd: 241
97th: 243
with number value 65 prescribes sequences of 33 notes whose last note has a tone ratio
always 24 times that of the first note. Only the first sequence (1) has ten overtones. The
second sequence (2) has 24 overtones in addition to the first overtone with tone ratio of
24. In general, the nth sequence terminates in the note with tone ratio 24 n. Notice that the
Godname of Netzach, the fourth Sephirah of Construction with number value 129,
determines the end of the fourth sequence with tone ratio 24 4, that is, (1×2×3×4) raised to
the fourth power. This shows the principle of the Pythagorean Tetrad at work.
The 1680 coils of each whorl in the UPA superstring have been shown in previous
articles to be due to 24 gauge charges of the superstring gauge symmetry group E8 , the
total number of 240 for all ten whorls corresponding to its 240 non-zero roots. The
number of yods in the lowest n Trees of Life is given by
Y(n) = 50n + 30.
The lowest 33 trees have Y(33) = 1680 yods. This is the same number as 24 separate
Trees of Life, each with 70 yods, because 1680 = 24×70. Just as the first 33 notes
culminate with the tone ratio 24, so the first 33 overlapping Trees of Life have as many
yods as 24 separate trees. This demonstrates the association of the numbers 33 and 24
Number of permutations
A
1! =
1
B C
2! =
2
D E F
3! =
6
G H I J
4! = 24
TOTAL = 33
in the context of the Tree of Life. Ten objects arranged in a tetractys can be arranged in
Pagina 15
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)their separate rows in 33 ways (see above). 24 of these are permutations of the last row
of four objects. In this case, the 33rd permutation is the last of these 24 arrangements.
The tone ratio 24 is the perfect fifth of the fifth octave. As the 33rd note, it has its
counterpart in the 33rd tree of what the author has called the ‘Cosmic Tree of Life’ — the
91 trees mapping all levels of consciousness (see Article 5). Counting upwards, the 33rd
tree represents the fifth subplane of the fifth plane (33 = 4×7 + 5). The fifth plane, called
in Theosophy the ‘atmic plane,’ expresses the Divine Quality of Tiphareth, so that its fifth
Tree Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
subplane also corresponds to this Sephirah.
We see that the 33rd subplane is the most
characteristic of Tiphareth, namely “Beauty.”
Little wonder then that it should determine
the number 1680 characterising the form of a
whorl component of a superstring, previous
articles by the author having displayed its
very beautiful properties.
7
Figure 10
Confirmation that the number 33 represents a
cycle of completion of a Tree of Life pattern
of which the ten overtones spanning 33 notes is an example comes from the concept of
tree levels. The emanation of the ten Sephiroth takes place in seven stages (Fig. 10).
Each Sephirah can be represented by a Tree of Life. Ten overlapping Trees of Life have
33 tree levels. This number thus parameterises the complete emanation of ten trees.
Nine Tree levels extend down to the top of the seventh tree, marking the last of the 25
dimensions of space. Below them are a further 24 tree levels representing the 24 spatial
dimensions at right angles to the direction in which the 1-dimensional string extends. This
9:24 differentiation in tree levels separating the purely physical plane from superphysical
subplanes corresponds to the nine permutations of 1, 2 and 3 objects in the first three
rows of a tetractys and the 24 permutations of the four objects in the fourth row. This is in
keeping with the four rows of the tetractys symbolising the four fundamental levels of
Divine Spirit, soul, psyche and body, i.e., the last 24 tree levels of the 33 tree levels
determine the physical form of a superstring because they represent geometrical degrees
of freedom as the dimensions or directions of space along which its whorls can vibrate.
Further confirmation of the cyclic nature of the number 33 in defining repeated Tree of
Life patterns is that there are 33 corners outside the root edge of every successive set of
Pagina 16
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Ashim, the Order of
Angels associated with
Malkuth, prescribes ten
overlapping Trees of
Life because its
number value 351 is
the number of corners
of the 70 polygons that
are enfolded in them.
Figure 11.
Pagina 17
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Figure 12
Pagina 18
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)seven polygons enfolded in overlapping Trees of Life (Fig. 11). In general, the number of
corners of the 7n polygons enfolded in n trees = 35n + 1, ‘1’ denoting the highest corner
of the hexagon enfolded in the nth tree (the highest and lowest corners of each hexagon
are shared with its adjacent hexagons). Hence, the 70 polygons enfolded in 10 trees
have 351 corners (Fig. 11). This the number value of Ashim, the Order of Angels of
Malkuth. As a set of (7+7) polygons has 70 corners, there are 64 corners outside their
root edge that are unshared with hexagons in adjacent sets. This is the number of Nogah,
the Mundane Chakra of Netzach, the Sephirah energising the music and art of the soul.
Another remarkable property of the number 33 is that the 33rd prime number is 137. This
is one of the most important numbers in theoretical physics (3) because its reciprocal is
almost equal to the so-called “fine-structure constant.” This determines the probability
that an electron will emit or absorb a photon and measures the relative strength of the
electromagnetic force compared with the nuclear force binding protons and neutrons
together inside atomic nuclei. As yet theoretically undetermined by physicists, the number
137 is encoded in the inner form of the Tree of Life as the 137 tetractyses whose yod
population is equal to the yod population of the (7+7) enfolded polygons when their
sectors are each transformed into three tetractyses (Fig. 12). 1370 is also the number of
yods in 27 overlapping Trees of Life (4), which gives another remarkable significance to
the largest number in Plato’s Lambda, which is prescribed by the Godname Yahweh as
Figure 13
1
2
3
4
144 + 144 = 288 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 1!×2!×3!×4!
the 26th number after 1. Indeed, 27 can be said to define the ten octaves of the
Pythagorean scale in the sense that 972, the largest of their overtones, is the 27th
overtone following the overtone 27, which is the 33rd note after the fundamental.
Remarkably, 972 is also the 33rd even overtone.
A tetractys of ten objects has (1!+2!+3!+4!=33) permutations of the objects in its rows. A
tetractys of ten different notes would generate one note and 32 melodic intervals and
broken chords formed from the other three rows of notes (see p. 22 for the definition of
these musical terms). Suppose that we were to play one note, next a melodic interval,
Pagina 19
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Figure 14
Pagina 20
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Figure 15. 236 yods are on the edges of the (7+7) enfolded polygons and 288 yods are inside them.
Pagina 21
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)then a broken chord of three notes and finally a broken chord of four notes. The number
of possible ways of playing ten notes in succession by following the pattern of the
tetractys is 1!×2!×3!×4! = 288.This is the number of yods lying on the boundaries of the
(7+7) regular polygons constituting the inner form of the Tree of Life (Fig. 13). Supposing
that the notes are arranged in the tetractys in either ascending or descending order, there
are 144 arrangements of ascending notes and 144 arrangements of descending notes.
They have their parallel in the two similar sets of seven polygons that are shaped by 144
yods on their 48 sides. Now suppose that we were to play one note, then either a
harmonic or a melodic interval, next either a chord or a broken chord of three notes and
finally a chord or broken chord of four notes. The numbers of possible musical sequences
created by playing 1, 2, 3 & 4 notes would be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
1
C1 = 1
C2 + P2 = 1 + 2 = 3
3
C3 + 3 P3 = 1 + 6 = 7
4
C4 + 4P4 = 1 + 24 = 25
2
2
The total number of musical elements is 36, which is the number value of Eloha, the
Godname of Geburah (Fig. 14). Playing 10 notes in the order of the rows 1, 2, 3 & 4
would generate (1×3×7×25=525) possible sequences of notes. One of them is the
sequence of one note, one harmonic interval and two chords, i.e., four musical sounds.
This is the minimum number of sounds created by playing the tetractys of 10 notes,
leaving 524 sequences, each with 5-10 sounds drawn from the 36 musical elements.
Compare this with the facts that the seven enfolded polygons in the inner form of the Tree
of Life have 36 defining corners and that the (7+7) enfolded polygons have 524 yods.
Moreover, there are (1!×2!×3!×4!=288) sequences of 10 successive sounds consisting of
a note, one melodic interval and two broken chords, leaving (524–288=236) sequences
with 5-9 sounds. These correspond to the 288 yods inside the (7+7) polygons and to the
236 yods on their sides (Fig. 15)! We see that the Tree of Life blueprint is inherent in the
musical potential of 10 notes played in four steps according to the pattern of a tetractys,
the symbol of the ten-fold nature of God (6).
3. The seven notes of the Pythagorean scale
The first seven notes of the musical octave:
C
D
E
F
2
G
2
A
288 = 17 – 1 = 3 + 5 + 7 + … + 33, where 33 is the 16th (16=4 ) odd integer after 1.
Pagina 22
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)have (2 7–1=127) different combinations, where 127 is the 31st prime number. This
indicates how the Godname El with number value 31, which is assigned to Chesed, the
first Sephirah of Construction, prescribes how many groups of notes can be played
together to make basic musical sounds using the 7-fold musical scale. These
combinations comprise the seven notes themselves and (127–7=120) harmonic intervals
and chords, where 7 is the fourth odd integer (also the fourth prime number) and 120 = 22
+ 42 + 62 + 82. This illustrates how the Pythagorean Tetrad, 4, determines both the
numbers of notes and their combinations. The number of harmonic intervals is 7 C2 = 21,
which is the number value of the Godname Ehyeh assigned to Kether. The number of
chords is therefore (120–21=99). This distinction between intervals and chords is
arithmetically defined as follows:
120 = 112 – 1 =
21
17 19
11 13 15
3 5 7 9
21 intervals
99 chords
In other words, the Pythagorean character of the number 120 is shown by its being the
sum of the first ten odd integers after 1, 21 being the tenth odd integer after 1 and 99
being the sum of the remaining 9 integers in this tetractys array. 99 is the 50th odd
integer, showing how the Godname Elohim with number value 50 defines the number of
chords that can be played with the first seven notes of the Pythagorean scale.
Successive octaves comprise seven notes per octave and the eighth note beginning the
next octave. N octaves therefore span (7N+1) notes. The number of ‘Sephirothic levels’
(SLs) in the lowest, n overlapping Trees of Life is (6n+5). For what values of N and n are
the number of notes and SLs the same? The only solutions to:
7N + 1 = 6n + 5
up to N =10 can be found by inspection to be N = n = 4 or N = 10 & n = 11, i.e., four
octaves have as many notes (29) as the lowest four Trees of Life, whilst ten octaves have
as many notes (71) as eleven such Trees of Life have SLs. Every eighth note in
successive octaves is of the same type, whilst every seventh SL in successive Trees
corresponds to the same Sephirah. The Pythagorean Tetrad and Decad define
analogous successions of notes of the scale and the emanations of Sephiroth in
overlapping Trees of Life. Excluding the highest note belonging to the next higher octave,
four and ten octaves have, respectively, 28 and 70 notes, the same as the SLs in four
and eleven overlapping Trees of Life. In general, the counterpart of the last note of the
Pagina 23
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Nth octave shared with the next higher octave is Daath of the nth tree, which is Yesod of
the (n+1)th tree but which is not counted as an SL when the overlapping trees are
considered as a separate set.
4. Tetractys of ten notes
A harmonic interval is two notes played together. A melodic interval is two notes played
one after the other. A chord is three or more notes played simultaneously and a broken
chord is a set of three of more notes played in succession. The following discussion will
consider only melodic intervals and broken chords where the notes are all different.
Consider a tetractys array of ten different notes:
A
B C
D E F
G H I J
(Any notes can be considered here — the letters labelling them do not refer to the notes
of the Pythagorean scale). The number of intervals and chords that notes within the same
row generate when played will now be determined. A harmonic interval is a combination
of two notes, whereas a melodic interval is two notes played with regard to their order in
time, i.e. a permutation of two notes. A chord is a combination of three or more notes,
and a broken chord is a pattern of three or more notes played in quick succession, i.e., a
particular arrangement or permutation of these notes. The table below shows the
numbers of harmonic intervals and chords (combinations of notes) and melodic intervals
and broken chords (permutations of notes) for the notes in the four rows of the tetractys:
Number of notes, harmonic
Intervals and chords
1
2
3
4
A
B C
D E F
G H I J
C 1 = 21 – 1 =
1
2
2
C1 + C2 = 2 – 1 =
3
3
C1 + 3C2 + 3 C3 = 23 – 1 =
7
4
4
4
4
4
C1 + C2 + C3 + C4 = 2 – 1 = 15
Number of notes, melodic
intervals and broken chords
1
1
2
2
TOTAL = 26
P1 =
1
2
P1 + P2 =
4
3
P1 + 3P2 + 3 P3 =
15
4
P1 + 4P2 + 4P3 + 4 P4 = 64
TOTAL = 84
The number value 26 of Yahweh, Godname of Chokmah, is the number of notes,
harmonic intervals and chords that can be played within the four rows of notes, the
number value 15 of its older version, Yah, being the number that can be played from four
n
Notation: Cr = n!/r!(n-r)! and P r = n!/(n-r)!
Pagina 24
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)notes. There are (26–10=16=4 2) harmonic intervals and chords (10 intervals & 6 chords).
The number of notes, melodic intervals and broken chords is
84 = 12 + 32 + 52 + 72 .
This illustrates the defining role of the Pythagorean Tetrad because 1, 3, 5, & 7 are the
first four odd integers. The number of melodic intervals and broken chords = 84 – 10 =
74, which is the 73rd integer after 1. The number value 73 of
Chokmah determines the number of basic musical elements
(namely, melodic intervals and broken chords) that can be
played from sets of 1, 2, 3 and 4 notes. The number of
= 80
harmonic and melodic intervals, chords and broken chords =
16 + 74 = 90, and the number of notes, intervals and chords
of both types = 90 + 10 = 100 = 13 + 23 + 33 + 43 . This shows
how the Pythagorean integers 1, 2, 3, & 4 express the total
number of musical sounds created by playing notes from
Figure 16
each row of the tetractys. These results can be represented
by a tetractys array of the number 10:
10
10 10
10 10 10
10 10 10 10
The central number 10 represents the ten notes and the sum 90 of the remaining 10’s is
the number of intervals and chords that they can create. This beautiful result
demonstrates the power of the tetractys and the role of the Tetrad in defining its
properties, whatever the nature of the things symbolised by its yods.
The number of melodic intervals, chords and broken chords = 90 – 10 = 80, which is the
number value of Yesod, the penultimate Sephirah. This is the number of yods in the
lowest Tree of Life (Fig. 16). The meaning of Yesod is “foundation.” It is appropriate,
given that this tree is the base of any set of overlapping Trees of Life.
Now consider the three possible orientations of the tetractys of ten notes:
A
G
J
B C
H D
F I
D E F
I E B
C E H
G H I J
J F C A
A B D G
Pagina 25
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Geen tekst op deze pagina.
Pagina 26
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)showing how the Tetrad determines this number, for it is the sum of the first four powers
of 3. The number of notes and melodic intervals in the three arrays = 10 + 60 = 70.
Compare this with Figure 18, which shows that turning the 16 triangles of the Tree of Life
into tetractyses generates 60 yods in addition to those at their ten corners. The ten
Sephirothic points can be assigned the notes and the 60 other yods can be assigned the
melodic intervals that they generate.
We have seen that the number of harmonic and melodic intervals and chords and broken
chords is 270. The number of harmonic intervals, chords and broken chords = 270 – 60 =
210
21
21 21
=
21 21 21
21 21 21 21.
The number value 21 of Ehyeh determines how many harmonic intervals, chords and
broken chords the ten notes can create. The number of chords in each array = 3C3 + 4C3
+ 4 C4 = 6, that is, 3×6 = 18 in the three arrays. The number of broken chords in the three
arrays is therefore 210 – 18 - 30 = 162 (54 per array). The number of chords and broken
chords = 18 + 162 = 180 (60 per array). The number of harmonic intervals and chords =
30 + 18 = 48 (16 per array). In other words, the number of different combinations of the
ten notes (i.e., new sounds) that can be played simultaneously when selected from their
48 =
Figure 19. The seven separate polygons have 48 corners.
three possible tetractys arrays is the same as the number of corners of the seven,
separate regular polygons (Fig. 19). This illustrates the character of the number 48 (the
number of Kokab, Mundane Chakra of Hod) in quantifying the most basic degrees of
freedom making up a Tree of Life pattern — in this case the corners of the seven
polygons.
The same number appears in the context of what the ancient Greeks called ‘tetrachords.’
48 shows its Pythagorean character by being the smallest integer with ten factors, including 1 and itself.
Pagina 27
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)They did not experience the musical octave as one complete whole but rather as a twopart structure (5). The octave evolved through the completion of two groups of four notes,
or tetrachords. For example, the sequence of notes G, A, B, C below is a tetrachord.
B
A
C
D
B
E
G
D
A
F
E
G
F
They shared a central note that was always a perfect fourth with respect to the beginning
of the first tetrachord (G here) and the endnote of the second tetrachord (here F). The
number of permutations of four objects taken one, two, three and four at a time = 4 P1 +
4
P2 + 4P3 + 4P4 = 4 + 12 + 24 + 24 = 64 = 43. 64 is the number value of Nogah, the
Mundane Chakra of Netzach (astrologically associated with the planet Venus). The
number of permutations of four objects taken two, three and four at a time = 64 – 4 = 60.
Number of corners = 48 + 2 + 48
50
Figure 20
The number of permutations of four objects taken two at a time = 4 P2 = 12. Hence, each
of the two tetrachords in an octave has 12 melodic intervals and (60–12=48) broken
chords, the latter comprising 24 (=1×2×3×4) broken chords of three notes and 24 broken
chords of four notes. There are therefore two chords each of four notes and (48+48=96)
possible broken chords in an octave split up into two tetrachords. Compare these
divisions with the fact that the (6+6) enfolded polygons have two corners of their shared
root edge and 48 corners outside their root edge, 24 on each side of it, whereas, when
separated by the root edge, each set of all seven separate polygons also has 48 corners
(Fig. 20). As this set of 12 polygons constitutes a Tree of Life pattern in its own right (see
Article 8), we see that the ancient Greek depiction of the octave as two tetrachords
conforms to the pattern of the Tree of Life. Elohim prescribes the seven polygons and
root edge because, as Figure 20 shows, its number value 50 is the number of their
corners (two belong to the root edge).
Of the 162 broken chords generated by the three orientations of a tetractys of ten notes,
Pagina 28
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)six are descending and ascending tetrachords (two per orientation). Therefore, there are
(162–6=156) broken chords whose notes are not all in descending or ascending
sequence. 156 is the 155th integer after 1. This is how Adonai Melekh, the complete
Godname of Malkuth with number value 155, measures the number of sounds that can
be made by playing the [3×(3+4) = 21] notes in the rows of three and four of the three
tetractyses one after the other but not in order of their pitch. 21 is the number value of
Ehyeh, Godname of Kether.
5. The Platonic Lambda revisited
In Article 11, we found that the tetractys form of Plato’s Lambda:
1
2 3
4 6 9
8 12 18 27
is but one face of a tetrahedron whose fourth face is a tetractys that generates in a
symmetric way the tone ratios of the Pythagorean musical scale. Properties of this parent
tetractys are compared below with the various numbers of intervals and chords generated
from a tetractys array of ten notes.
1. Sum of 10 integers = 90 = number of both types of intervals & chords;
2. Sum of 9 integers surrounding centre = 84 = number of notes, melodic intervals &
broken chords;
3. Sum of 7 integers at centre and corners of hexagon = 54 = number of broken
chords;
4. Central integer 6 = number of chords;
5. Sum of 6 integers at corners of hexagon = 48 = number of harmonic intervals &
chords in 3 arrays or number of broken chords in set of 4 notes;
6. Sum of smallest integer (1) and largest integer (27) = 28 = number of notes &
chords in 3 arrays;
7. Sum of integers 1, 3, 9, 27 on side of Lambda = 40 = number of notes & harmonic
intervals in 3 arrays.
We find that the numbers making up the Lambda tetractys do more than define the tone
ratios of musical notes — a function known to musicians and mathematicians for more
than two thousand years. They also measure the various numbers of musical elements
that can be played by using the four rows of different notes arranged in a tetractys.
Pagina 29
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)etsPAE
TIOTIIRTPXTX
ANVANVANANDAN“(AN
Pagina 30
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)The number 90 is 10P2 , the number of permutations of two objects taken from a set of ten
objects, i.e., in this context the number of melodic intervals that can be played with ten
different notes without regard to their arrangement in a tetractys. In the context of the
UPA superstring, a point on each of its ten whorls has (10×9=90) coordinates with
respect to the 9-dimensional space of the superstring. Noting that Besant & Leadbeater
states in their book Occult Chemistry (6) that none of the whorls ever touched one
another as they observed them, this means that these ten, non-touching curves require
90 independent (but not necessarily all different) numbers as free coordinate variables.
As discussed in Article 12, 90 is the number of trees above the lowest one in what the
author calls the ‘Cosmic Tree of Life,’ i.e., the number of levels of consciousness beyond
the most physical level represented by the lowest tree. This means that a musical sound
containing up to four notes can be assigned to each of these levels of consciousness,
with the tetractys of ten notes itself assigned to the 91st level. The counterpart of the
latter for the superstring would be the time coordinate, the number that locates it in time.
Alternatively, a melodic interval generated from ten notes can be assigned to these
levels. As 7P2 = 42, there are 42 such intervals generated from seven notes sited at the
centre and corners of the hexagon in the tetractys and (90–42=48) intervals generated by
pairing either these notes with those at the corners of the tetractys or the latter
themselves. This 48:42 division corresponds to the 48 subplanes of the cosmic physical
plane above the lowest one and the 42 subplanes of the six superphysical cosmic planes.
Whether or not this correlation may have deeper significance, it demonstrates a beautiful,
mathematical harmony between the permutational properties of ten objects arranged in a
tetractys and what the author has shown in previous articles to be the map of all levels of
reality. The latter itself is a tetractys with the fractal-like quality that each of the nine yods
surrounding its centre is a tetractys and that the central yod is the repetition of this on a
spiritually lower but exactly analogous level.
The five types of musical elements are notes of the Pythagorean scale, their harmonic
intervals, melodic intervals, chords & broken chords. Their numbers are shown below:
notes
harmonic
intervals
melodic
intervals
chords
broken
chords
10
30 (3×10)
60 (3×20)
18 (3×6)
162 (3×54)
(The second number in each bracket is the number of musical elements per orientation)
See Article 5 for details about this map of the spiritual cosmos.
Pagina 31
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)There are (25 –1=31) combinations of these elements, where 31 is the number value of El
(“God”), the Godname assigned to Chesed, the first Sephirah of Construction. Some of
these were discussed above. In order of increasing size, these numbers are:
10, 18, 28, 30, 40, 48, 58, 60, 70, 78, 88, 90, 100, 108, 162, 172, 180, 190, 192, 202,
210, 220, 222, 232, 240, 250, 252, 280.
Notice that the 21st number is
210 =
21
21 21
21 21 21
21 21 21 21
and that the 28th (last) number is
280 =
28
28 28
28 28 28
28 28 28 28.
The 26th number is 250. Hence, the Godname Yahweh with number value 26 marks out
the number of notes, melodic intervals, chords and broken chords. This significance of
this is as follows: the number 250 comprises 10 notes, 60 melodic intervals and 180
chords and broken chords. This number was found in Article 11 to be the sum of the 16
(=4 2 ) tone numbers making up the four faces of the tetrahedron other than its corners.
The significance of 250 for superstrings was discussed in this and earlier articles. Its
relevance to the Tree of Life is that the 60 polygons of the first six types enfolded in ten
overlapping Trees of Life have 250 corners unshared with polygons enfolded in the next
higher tree (Fig. 21). They comprise the 10 lowest and highest corners of the ten
hexagons, the 60 corners of the triangle, square and pentagon that are outside their root
edges and 180 corners of the hexagon, octagon and decagon. The (6+6) polygons
constitute a Tree of Life pattern because they have 50 corners prescribed by the
Godname Elohim with number value 50 (Fig. 20; see Article 4 for how the other
Godnames prescribe their geometry). It is a remarkable demonstration of how Godnames
are fundamentally connected to the tetractys that the number of Yahweh should pick out
from all possible combinations of basic musical elements (themselves numbered by the
Godname of the Sephirah lying below Chokmah) just that number which is also the
number of geometrical degrees of freedom denoted by corners of polygons enfolded in
In particular, see Article 5.
Pagina 32
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)ten Trees of Life! Not five trees, nor nine trees, but precisely the Pythagorean and
Kabbalistic measure of Divine Perfection, namely, the number 10!
The number of melodic intervals, chords and broken chords = 250 – 10 = 240
4!
4! 4!
=
4! 4! 4!
(4! = 1×2×3×4)
4! 4! 4! 4!
Suppose that we consider a tetractys of nine notes with the central one missing:
A
B
● F
D
G
C
H
I
J
The numbers of musical elements now become:
harmonic
melodic
broken
notes
intervals
intervals
chords
chords
9 (3×3)
24 (3×8)
48 (3×16)
15 (3×5)
144 (3×48)
(The second number in each bracket is the number of elements per orientation)
The three tetractys arrays possess 240 notes, harmonic intervals, melodic intervals,
chords and broken chords — the same number as the number of melodic intervals,
Major whorl
A
Minor whorl
72 E 8 gauge charges
in 3 major whorls
72 intervals
168 E 8 gauge charges
in 7 minor whorls
168 notes, chords
& melodic chords
B
C
D
G
F
H
I
J
Figure 22. Gauge charges of superstring correspond to musical elements of tetractys.
chords and broken chords generated by a complete tetractys of ten notes. In terms of the
correspondence between the tetractys and the Tree of Life, the central yod symbolises
Pagina 33
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Geen tekst op deze pagina.
Pagina 34
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)simple roots of E 6 , an exceptional subgroup of E8, there being 168 non-zero roots of E8
that do not belong to E 6. Remarkably, the musical elements due to the notes
corresponding to Sephiroth above Malkuth correspond precisely in number to the gauge
charges mathematically associated with the non-zero roots of E8 and its subgroup E6 .
Transformed into single tetractyses, the lowest Tree of Life contains 80 yods (Fig. 23).
Using the numbers (shown above in brackets) of musical elements of each type
generated by a tetractys of ten notes, the total number of such musical elements is
(3 + 8 + 16 + 5) + 48 = 32 + 48.
= 80.
Each yod in the lowest Tree of Life can denote a musical element! Moreover, there are 48
yods up to the level of Chesed, the first Sephirah of Construction, illustrating once again
the nature of this number in quantifying the number of formative degrees of freedom that
are needed to express the part of the Tree of Life that manifests in an objective sense.
The 48 yods up to Chesed denote the number of broken chords and the 32 yods above
this level denote the number of notes, intervals and chords. In this remarkable way, the
number of musical sounds (80) created by the notes corresponding to the nine Sephiroth
above the objective one, Malkuth, and their division into melodic chords of three and four
notes (the beginning of melody) reflects precisely the 48:32 pattern of the lowest Tree.
The number 240 is the number of yods generated in the lowest Tree of Life when its 19
triangles are transformed into three tetractyses, that is, yods in addition to its 11
Sephirothic points (Fig. 24). These 240 hidden or potential degrees of freedom
3×24 = 72
4! = 24
4! = 24
A
B
C
H
I
D
7×24 = 168
G
F
J
4! = 24
Figure 25
correspond to the potential of 240 musical elements that can be played with the set of
nine
notes
corresponding
to
the
Sephiroth
above
Malkuth.
Notice
that
correspondence is both qualitative and quantitative because the 11 Sephirothic points of
Pagina 35
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)the lowest tree constitute its most basic outer form (its Malkuth aspect), so that the
hidden 240 yods represent what is beyond this aspect, just as the 240 musical elements
denote sounds generated by notes corresponding formally to Sephiroth above Malkuth.
A 72:168 pattern similar to that found above for three tetractyses with their central note
missing also exists when the latter is present. The number of melodic intervals, chords
broken chords with three notes. The (3×80=240) melodic intervals, chords and broken
chords generated by the three orientations of the tetractys comprise (3×24=72) broken
chords of four notes and (3×56=168) melodic intervals, chords and broken chords of
three notes. It mirrors the 72 E8 gauge charges carried by the three major whorls and the
168 such charges carried by its seven minor whorls (Fig. 25). In terms of the charge
sources of all the forces other than gravity that superstrings of ordinary matter can exert
on one another, superstring physics conforms to the same pattern as the melodic sounds
generated by playing the ten notes of a tetractys in its three orientations.
7. The Platonic solids represent the 90 musical elements
In Article 3 it was shown how, when seen as constructed from the tetractys (the
Pythagorean symbol of ten-fold Divine unity), the first four regular polyhedra embody
numbers of significance to the mathematics of superstring forces. It will now be proved
tetrahedron
octahedron
cube
dodecahedron
icosahedron
Figure 26. The five regular polyhedra, or Platonic solids.
that the five Platonic solids (Fig. 26) also embody in a geometrical way the numbers of
different types of musical sounds that can be generated from a tetractys of ten notes.
The numbers of edges in the five Platonic solids are shown below:
tetrahedron
octahedron
cube
icosahedron
dodecahedron
6
12
12
30
30
The total number of edges is 90, which is the same as the number of musical elements
generated by a tetractys array of ten notes, that is, sounds other than the notes
themselves. They comprise six harmonic intervals generated from the row of four notes,
Pagina 36
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)12 harmonic and melodic intervals generated from the rows of two and three notes, 12
melodic intervals generated from the row of four notes, 30 chords and broken chords of
three or four notes generated from the rows of three and four notes (six chords, 24
broken chords of three notes from the row of four notes) and 30 broken chords (six from
the row of three notes, 24 from the row of four notes). The correspondence between the
edges of the Platonic solids and these musical elements is:
Tetrahedron
6 edges
6 harmonic intervals from the row of 4 notes;
Octahedron
12 edges
12 harmonic & melodic intervals from rows of 2 (3)
& 3 (9) notes;
Cube
12 edges
12 melodic intervals from the row of 4 notes;
Icosahedron
30 edges
30 chords & broken chords from rows of 3 (1) & 4
notes (29);
Dodecahedron
30 edges
30 broken chords from rows of 3 (6) & 4 notes (24).
(Numbers in brackets are the numbers of musical elements generated by the stated row)
Notice how the complexity of the musical elements builds up correspondingly with the
number of edges of the Platonic solids. They start with the harmonic intervals (the
simplest musical sounds), which correspond to the edges of the tetrahedron, the simplest
Platonic solid, and finish with the broken chords (the most complex sounds), which
correspond to the edges of the dodecahedron, the last of the regular polyhedra. This
natural progression argues against the agreement between the various numbers of edges
and musical elements being merely a coincidence or a concoction.
The Godname Elohim with number value 50 assigned to the Sephirah Binah prescribes
both the form of the Platonic solids and the set of ten notes and their musical
combinations because the former have 50 corners and the latter comprise 100 musical
elements in one array, where 100 is the 50th even integer. They include 26 single sounds
(notes, harmonic intervals and chords), where 26 is the number value of Yahweh,
Godname of Chokmah. The number of notes, melodic intervals and broken chords
generated by a tetractys of notes is 84. As 84 = 3×28 = 3(1+2+3+4+5+6+7) = 3 + 6 + 9 +
12 + 15 + 18 + 21, this is how the number value 21 of Ehyeh, Godname of Kether,
determines the number of such musical sounds. The number of musical sounds made up
of notes played in succession is 74, which is the 36th even integer after 2. This is how
Pagina 37
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Eloha, Godname of Geburah with number value 36, prescribes the number of sounds of
this type. The number of broken chords of four notes generated by the fourth row of a
tetractys = 4! = 24. The three possible tetractys arrays therefore have (3×24=72) such
chords, where 72 is the number value of Chesed, the fourth Sephirah from the top of the
Tree of Life. 72 is the 36th even integer. It is therefore also prescribed by Eloha.
8. The octave as analogue of the rank-8 gauge group E8
The number of combinations of the eight notes of the musical scale = 28 – 1 = 255
= 8C1 + 8C2 + 8 C3 + 8 C4 + 8C5 + 8C6 + 8 C7 + 8 C8.
The (8 C7 =8) combinations of seven notes comprise the combination (let us call it ‘17’) of
its first seven notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, B and seven combinations (call this ‘77’) of the
octave with six of the first seven notes. ( 8C8 =1) denotes the single group of eight notes
(call this ‘18 ’).
255 = 8 + 28 + 56 + 70 + 56 + 28 + (17 + 77) + 1 8.
255 – 77 = 248 = 8 + 28 + 56 + 70 + 56 + 28 + 1 7 + 18
‘8’ denotes the first seven notes and the octave.
248 – 8 = 240 = 28 + 56 + 70 + 56 + 28 + 17 + 18.
= (56 + 56) + 28 + 70 + 28 + 17 + 18
= 112 + 128,
where 112 = 56 + 56 and 128 = 28 + 70 +28 + 1 7 + 18. 112 is the number value of Beni
Elohim, the Order of Angels assigned to the Sephirah Hod; 248 is the number of Raziel,
the Archangel of Binah (see ref. 1). Compare this with the fact that the superstring gauge
symmetry group E 8 is defined by its 248 simple roots, which comprise eight zero roots
(seven of one kind and one of another kind) and 240 non-zero roots. The latter comprise
112 non-zero roots of one kind and 128 non-zero roots of another kind. The following
correspondence emerges between the Pythagorean scale and the root structure of E8 :
1. 248 combinations of 8 notes other than
248 roots of E 8;
groups of 7 containing the octave;
2. 8 notes of the octave (first 7 notes +
8 zero roots of E 8 (7 of one kind,
1 of another);
octave itself);
It is unnecessary to explain here their difference in the technical terms of group theory.
Pagina 38
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)3. 240 combinations of 8 notes other than these
240 non-zero roots;
notes & groups of 7 containing the octave;
4. 240 combinations comprise 112 groups of 3
240 non-zero roots comprise 112
& 5 notes & 128 groups of 2, 4 & 6
of one kind & 128 of another.
notes, the first 7 notes & all 8 notes.
The number 240 can be also written as:
240 = (70 + 1 7 + 18 ) + (28 + 56) + (56 + 28)
= 72 + 168,
where
72 = 70 + 17 + 18 ,
and
168 = (28 + 56) + (56 + 28)
= 84 + 84.
72 (the number of Chesed, the first Sephirah of Construction) is the sum of the number
(70) of chords of four notes created from the eight notes of the Pythagorean scale, the
chord of the first seven notes (1 7) and the chord of all eight notes (1 8). 168 is the number
of harmonic intervals and chords of three, five and six notes. The point of this exercise is
that the composition of musical sounds created from the eight notes of the Pythagorean
scale can be viewed as analogous to the
72:168 division of the non-zero roots of the
superstring symmetry group E8 and their
corresponding
gauge
charges,
which
previous articles by the author have shown
to be encoded in the inner form of the Tree
84 yods
of Life. As discussed earlier, this difference
84 yods
Figure 27
corresponds to the distinction between the
three major whorls and the seven minor whorls of the UPA superstring, that is, to the
distinction in the Tree of Life between the Supernal Triad (the triple Godhead) and the
seven Sephiroth of Construction.
168 is the number value of Cholem Yesodeth, the Mundane Chakra of Malkuth. The
84:84 division of the number 168 that emerges naturally above from the rearrangement of
combinatorial numbers is reflected in its encoding in the first (6+6) enfolded, regular
Pagina 39
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)polygons of the inner form of the Tree of Life (Fig. 27) because there are 84 yods in each
set of polygons outside their shared root edge. This splitting into equal numbers is
reflected in the UPA itself as the spiralling of each whorl with 1680 coils 2½ times around
the axis of the UPA, returning to its top by making 2½ narrower twists (see Fig. 25). Each
half of the whorl comprises 840 coils, which is the number of yods shaping the 60
polygons of the first six types enfolded on each side of the central pillar of ten overlapping
Trees of Life that represent each of the ten whorls of the superstring. The division of the
structural parameter 168 into two halves, as physically manifested in the inner and outer
halves of the superstring, is due to the mathematical fact (referring to the equation at the
beginning of this section) that 8 C2 = 8C6 = 28 and 8C3 = 8 C5 = 56. In terms of the octave,
this means that 28 harmonic intervals and 56 chords of three notes (making 84) can be
played with an octave, as can 28 chords of six notes and 56 chords of five notes (also
making 84). In terms of the first six polygons, namely, the triangle, square, pentagon,
hexagon, octagon and decagon, there are, respectively, 5, 8, 11, 14, 20 and 26 yods
along their edges outside their root edge. The square and octagon has (8+20=28) yods
and the triangle, pentagon, hexagon and dodecagon have (5+11+14+26=56) yods. For
one set of polygons, the harmonic intervals can be represented by the yods of the square
and octagon, whilst the chords of three notes can be represented by the yods of the
triangle, pentagon, hexagon and decagon. For the other set, the square and octagon
represent the chords of six notes, and the four other polygons represent the chords of five
notes. No alternative combinations of polygons are possible. The musical potential of the
Pythagorean octave finds its counterpart in the sacred geometry of the inner Tree of Life.
9. Conclusion
The numbers of Plato’s Lambda tetractys should not be seen simply as generating the
tone numbers of the Pythagorean scale and all its octaves. Their absolute, as well as
their relative, values have a meaning that is both metaphysical and musical. In the former
case, the central number (6), the sum (48) of the six numbers at the corners of the
hexagon, the sum (84) of the numbers surrounding the centre of the tetractys and the
sum (90) of all ten numbers measure, respectively, the levels of physical consciousness
above the most rudimentary, the cosmic counterparts of these levels, all superphysical
levels and all levels of consciousness. In the latter case, these numbers refer to the
See Article 4 for how the Godnames prescribe this set of polygons.
Pagina 40
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)various musical sounds that can be played with a tetractys of ten notes. They are,
respectively, the chords, next, the broken chords of three or four notes played from the
base set of four notes, then, the notes, melodic intervals and broken chords, and, finally,
the harmonic and melodic intervals, chords and broken chords. The numbers of the
Lambda refer to higher levels of consciousness (analogous levels in the case of the
above combinations) that bear a correspondence to the basic music sounds playable with
a tetractys of notes. This is the real meaning of the music of the World Soul. The number
value 280 of the Hebrew name of the Archangel of Malkuth is the number of musical
sounds that can be played with a tetractys of notes in its three possible orientations. The
Pythagorean scale conforms to the pattern of the Tree of Life, which maps each of the 91
levels of consciousness. As the perfect fifth of the fifth octave, the tenth overtone and the
22 fractional notes that precede it complete a Tree of Life pattern. Its tone ratio 24 is
central to the structure and dynamics of superstrings. Music, the study of number in time,
and geometry, the study of number in space, come together in the five Platonic solids.
Their 90 edges correlate with the 90 harmonic and melodic elements, chords and broken
chords that can be played with a tetractys of ten notes. This number also characterises
the superstring because each of its ten string components extends in nine dimensions,
their oscillations described by 90 independent variables. Music, the vibrations of
superstrings and the spectrum of consciousness are interrelated in universal
correspondence and harmonious proportion through the Pythagorean symbol of the tenfold nature of Divine Unity.
“Intellectual and celestial music, finally, was the application of the principles given
by speculative music, no longer to the theory or the practice of the art pure and
simple, but to that sublime part of the science which had as its object the
contemplation of nature and the knowledge of nature and the knowledge of the
immutable laws of the universe. Having then reached its highest degree of
perfection, it formed a sort of analogical bond between the sensible and the
intelligible, and thus afforded a simple means of communication between the two
worlds. It was an intellectual language which was applied to metaphysical
abstractions, and made known their harmonic laws, in the way that algebra, as the
scientific part of mathematics, is applied by us to physical abstractions, and serves
to calculate relationships.”
Antoine Fabre D’Olivet, 18th century Pythagorean.
Pagina 41
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)Geen tekst op deze pagina.
Pagina 42
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)9/8 : 4/3 : 243/128
≠ (9/8)2 : 3/2 : 27/16
8.
DGA
EFB
9/8 : 3/2 : 27/16
≠ (9/8)2 : 4/3 : 243/128
9.
DGB
EFA
9/8 : 3/2 : 243/128
≠ (9/8)2 : 4/3 : 27/16
10.
DAB
EFG
9/8 : 27/16 : 243/128 ≠ (9/8)2 : 4/3 : 3/2
Only the chords DFA and EGB listed in (6) made up of alternate notes and spanning
the interval of a fifth exhibit the same proportions of their tone ratios, their
corresponding notes being each separated by a whole tone. Musical harmony
between a pair of chords exists in this sense only for one of the ten pairs. All seven
notes form 7 C3 = 35 chords of three notes, that is, (35–20=15) more chords than the
other six notes. The number value 15 of the Godname Yah is therefore the number of
chords of three notes containing the tonic. The chord EGB is the chord DFA lifted by
a whole tone. Just as the six Sephiroth of Construction above Malkuth consist of two
D
E
B
G
C
E
B
A
D
A
F
F
G
C
triads, so the six notes above the tonic, which is assigned to the central yod
symbolising Malkuth, form uniquely two harmonious chords. The pairs of notes (E,
D), (G, F) and (B, A) have the same relative tone interval of 9/8. Note E corresponds
to note D, G corresponds to F and B corresponds to A. This is consistent with their
assignment:
B
E
G
A
D
F
C
Chesed
Geburah
Tiphareth
Netzach
Hod
Yesod
Malkuth
This is because Netzach, which is below Chesed on the Pillar of Mercy, is its
Pagina 43
Bekijk in PDF(opent in een nieuw venster)counterpart in a new cycle of differentiation, whilst Hod similarly is the counterpart of
Geburah below it on the Pillar of Judgement and Yesod, the psyche, is the human
reflection of the spiritual individuality represented by Tiphareth lying above it on the
Pillar of Equilibrium.
3. The God Particle, Leon Lederman (Bantam Press, 1993), pp. 28-29.
4. The number of yods in n Trees of Life ≡Y(n) = 50n + 20. Hence, Y(27) = 1370.
5. Cosmic Music, Joscelyn Godwin (ed.) (Inner Traditions, Vermont, 1989).
6. Occult Chemistry, Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater (Theosophical Publishing
House, Adyar, Chennai, India, 1951).
7. The Universal Nature of Sacred Geometry and its Scientific Meaning, Stephen M.
Phillips (to be published).