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Properties and Symbolism of Seven

Seven is Nurgle's sacred number, and has a few additional associations in the Warhammer setting:

• The Imperial Fists were designated as Legion VII in the First Founding, under the leadership of Primarch Rogal Dorn.
• The Seven Devils of Dread Calyx are a group of powerful warp entities that hold sway over the fate of the Calixis Sector.
• The Seven Witches, hidden psykers who pronounce cryptic warnings of doom, that live in Footfall on the coreside edge of the Koronus Expanse.
• Yvraine proposed the Seventh Path, a course of action amongst the Eldar that winds between the darkness and the light. The Opener of the Seventh Way is spoken of in an Eldar prophecy by Kysaduras the Anchorite, and is said to be the nemesis of She Who Thirsts, who weaves the skeins at the dawn of the Rhana Dandra.
• Fleet Septimus, the "Silent Seventh" fleet, is the last of the Indomitus Crusade fleets. It had a hidden purpose set by Roboute Guilliman, and vanished without explanation.

Outside of Warhammer, seven is commonly regarded (particular in Western culture) as a lucky, mystical, or supernatural number. Indeed, informal polls have shown seven to be the most popular favourite number. Here are some additional properties of and notable references to the number...

Science

In Mathematics, seven is:

• The smallest regular polygon size that cannot be classically constructed.
• The only non-3D dimension for which a vector cross product can be defined.
• The first non-degenerate centred hexagonal number.
• The number of frieze groups, corresponding to the seven infinite series of axial groups.
• The smallest non-degenerate happy number, and indeed the smallest happy prime.
• The smallest natural number that cannot be represented as the sum of three squared integers.
• The smallest double Mersenne number.
• The only Mersenne safe prime.
• The lowest known dimension for an exotic sphere.
• The smallest Newman-Shanks-Williams prime.
• The only number D for which 2ⁿ-D=x² has more than two solutions for natural n and x.
• The number of fundamental catastrophes.
• The smallest Woodall prime.

In Nature:

• Seven notes in a diatonic scale, and thence traditional colours in a rainbow.
• Seven crystal systems.
• Seven Luminaries (Classical Planets) / Seven Heavens, and thence Seven Seas and days of the week.
• Seven Continents.
• Seven characteristics that define biological life.
• Seven groups of virus in the Baltimore classification.
• Seven cervical vertebrae in almost all mammals.
• The seven-year itch (originally referring to a contagious skin complaint).
• The seven base units of the Système international.

Culture

In Mesopotamia:

• The Apkallu, seven demigods that established civilisation.
• Seven gods who decree: four primary (Anu, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag) and three sky gods (Inanna/Ishtar, Nanna/Sin, Utu/Shamash).
• The seven gates to the underworld, through which Inanna passes.
• The Anunnaki, the seven judges of the underworld.
• The Seven (Sibitti), sons of heaven and earth, champions without peer, each assigned a destructive destiny.
• Shamhat has sex with Enkidu for seven nights continuously in order to civilise him.
• Humbaba gives seven auras to Gilgamesh in return for seven gifts.

In Egypt:

• Seven represents perfection and completeness.
• Seven palms in a royal cubit.

In Ugarit:

• Lotan is a mighty serpent with seven heads.

In Greece:

• Seven Pleiades, and thence other Seven Sisters.
• Seven Against Thebes.
• Seven Sages of Greece.
• Seven Liberal Arts.
• Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and thence others.
• A climacteric year occurs every seventh year in a person's life, and represents a critical turning point in their lifetime (it is from this that the age of adulthood is 21 in many cultures).

In Rome:

• Seven Hills of Rome, and thence Seven Hills of Constantinople and others.
• Seven Kings of Rome.
• Seven grades of initiation in Mithraism.

In India:

• The seven rays.
• Seven adho loka: the lower levels of the universe that form Naraka (Hell in Jainism).
• Saptak, seven notes in a musical scale.
• Saptarishi (Seven Sages), and thence Seven Wise Masters.
• Seven major chakras.
• Seven Factors of Awakening.
• Saptapadi (seven steps) and Satphere (seven circumambulations) of the Hindu marriage ceremony.
• Seven Logas (upper worlds) in Ayyavazhi.
• The Khasi people call themselves "The Children of The Seven Huts".

In China:

• Seven is lucky and symbolises togetherness.
• Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

In Japan:

• Seven Lucky Gods.
• The Seven-Branched Sword.

In Celtic tales:

• Cú Chulainn has seven pupils per eye, seven toes per foot, and seven fingers per hand.
• In Tam Lin, the Queen of Fairies pays a tithe to Hell every seven years.

In the Americas:

• The seven legendary monsters of Guarani mythology.
• Seven clans of the Cherokee.
• The Seven Cities of Gold sought by conquistadors.

In Judeo-Christianity:

• Seven represents perfection and completeness.
• Seven Sephirot of the conscious Divine Emotions.
• Shiva, the seven days of mourning for relatives.
• There are many references to seven in the Old Testament, New Testament, and other texts. These include...
• Seventh day of rest (Sabbath) following the creation of the world.
• Seven Laws of Noah.
• Seven lamps on the Temple menorah.
• Seven Last Words from the Cross.
• The Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of Mary.
• Seven Spirits of God, Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, Seven Seals and other mentions in Revelations.
• Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Heavenly Virtues.
• The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
• The seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy.
• The Seven Sleepers.
• The Seven Apostolic Men.
• The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

In Islam:

• Seven verses in Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, the first chapter of the Qur'an.
• Seven Ṭawāf (circuits) around the Ka'aba.
• Seven sa'i (searches) between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah.
• Babies are named on their seventh day.

In other faiths:

• The Seven Valleys by Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith.
• The Seven Fold Way (also called Hebdomadry) of the Order of Nine Angles.
• The Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple.

In Popular Culture:

• Opposite sides of six-sided dice add up to seven.
• A seventh son of a seventh son is variously thought to have supernatural power of some sort.
• Seven-league boots.
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• William Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man from As You Like It.
• James Bond has the code number 007.
• Important films include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), The Seventh Seal (1957), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), and Seven (1995).
• Seven layers in the OSI model of communication functions.
• Seven Dragon Balls in the eponymous manga.
• The character Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager.
• There are seven Millennium Prize Problems.

For many other references, see: 7.

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