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7 Stars
The seven stars signify stages or governing powers of an initiatory transformation, culminating in a state of divine illumination.
- Orphic Hymn 7, To the Stars, line 8:
- Plato, Republic 616c–617c - the Myth of Er
- PGM XIII.24-26 (= GEMF 60)
- Revelation of John
- Compare to Leary and Wilson
- see also
Orphic Hymn 7, To the Stars, line 8:
Ἄστρων οὐρανίων ἱερὸν σέλας ἐκπροκαλοῦμαι,
εὐιέροις φωνῇσι κικλήσκων δαίμονας ἁγνούς.
Ἀστέρες οὐράνιοι, Νυκτὸς φίλα τέκνα μελαίνης,
ἐγκυκλίοις δίνῃσι πυριρρόθιοι κυκλέοντες,
ἀνταυγεῖς, πυρόεντες, ἀεί, γενετῆρες ἁπάντων,
μοιρίδιοι, πάσης μοίρης σημάντορες ὄντες,
θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων θείην διέποντες ἀταρπόν,
ἑπταφαεῖς ζώνας ἐφορώμενοι, ἠερόπλαγκτοι,
οὐράνιοι χθόνιοί τε, πυρίδρομοι, αἰὲν ἀτειρεῖς,
αὐγάζοντες ἀεὶ νυκτὸς ζοφοειδέα πέπλον,
μαρμαρυγαῖς στίλβοντες, εὔφρονες ἐννύχιοί τε·
ἔλθοιτ’ ἐπ’ εὐιέρου τελετῆς πολυΐστορας ἄθλους
ἐσθλὸν ἐπ’ εὐδόξοις ἔργοις δρόμον ἐκτελέοντες.
I call forth the sacred radiance of the heavenly stars, summoning the pure daimones with sacred voices.
Heavenly stars, beloved children of black Night, revolving in circular whirlings, rushing with fire,
Reflecting light, fiery, ever begetters of all things,
Destined, being the signifiers of every fate,
Directing the divine path of mortal humans,
Watching over the sevenfold radiance (seven luminous) zones, wandering through the air,
Both heavenly and earthly/chthonic, running with fire, forever unwearied,
Ever illuminating the dark-formed veil of Night,
Glittering with flashes, kindly and nocturnal,
May you come to the knowledge-rich labours of the sacred initiation,
Bringing a noble course to completion through glorious works.
- θυμίαμα ἀρώματα - Fumigation: aromatics.
The hymn invokes the stars as cosmic powers and asks them to attend a sacred τελετή, a rite or initiation.
Seven luminous zones → divine celestial powers → fate and the human path → sacred initiatory labours.
Plato, Republic 616c–617c - the Myth of Er
Plato provides a fourth-century BCE witness to an elaborate Greek cosmology associated with the soul's journey after death.
He describes:
- Fixed stars - outermost heaven
- Κρόνος - Kronos
- Ζεύς - Zeus
- Ἄρης - Ares
- Ἑρμῆς - Hermes
- Ἀφροδίτη - Aphrodite
- Ἥλιος - Helios
- Σελήνη - Selene
Eight nested celestial circles: an outermost circuit and seven inner circuits.
the order is part of the structure of the spindle of Necessity (Ἀνάγκη). Each circuit has its own movement, and each carries a Siren producing a single tone. Together the eight tones form μία ἁρμονία - one harmony.
Reversing the sequence gives an inward-to-outward arrangement beginning with Selene and ending with the fixed stars.
The spindle depicts the cosmic order encountered by the psyche/psuche.
- Seven powers: the seven celestial divinities.
- Eighth: the encompassing cosmic harmony of the fixed stars.
- Beyond the eight: Ἀνάγκη, the governing principle of the entire arrangement.
A Siren upon each circle, producing a cosmic harmony.
ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν κύκλων αὐτοῦ ἄνωθεν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστου βεβηκέναι Σειρῆνα συμπεριφερομένην, φωνὴν μίαν ἱεῖσαν, ἕνα τόνον· ἐκ πασῶν δὲ ὀκτὼ οὐσῶν μίαν ἁρμονίαν συμφωνεῖν.
And upon each of its circles above stood a Siren, carried around with it, sending forth one voice, one tone; and from all eight, being eight, one harmony sounded together.
The three Moirai governing the revolutions of the heavens.
Souls passing through this cosmic arrangement before their next incarnation.
The spindle turns upon the knees of Ἀνάγκη, Necessity.
Plato says the souls spend seven days in the meadow and depart on the eighth day (Republic 616b).
PGM XIII.24-26 (= GEMF 60)
the so-called Eighth Book of Moses
This formulary incorporates planetary correspondences, incense substances, divine names, and a rite intended to bring the practitioner into direct contact with a supreme divine power.
The seven planetary incenses - PGM XIII.16–20
A planetary incense correspondence associated with this text is:
| Order | Planetary deity | Incense |
| 1 | Κρόνος - Kronos | Styrax |
| 2 | Ζεύς - Zeus | Malabathrum |
| 3 | Ἄρης - Ares | Costus |
| 4 | Ἥλιος - Helios | Frankincense |
| 5 | Ἀφροδίτη - Aphrodite | Indian spikenard |
| 6 | Ἑρμῆς - Hermes | Cassia |
These are seven planetary correspondences.
These seven planetary powers also correspond to the seven classical celestial spheres, with the fixed stars sometimes forming an eighth sphere.
The seven flowers - PGM XIII.24–26
It Instructs the practitioner to collect The seven flowers of the seven stars.
The seven flowers are:
- Marjoram
- White lily
- Lotus
- ερεφύλλινον (erephyllinon, plant identification uncertain)
- Narcissus
- Gillyflower
- Rose
The instruction is to gather them 21 days before initiation, pulverize them in a white mortar, and dry them in the shade.
The number 21 is itself interesting: three times seven.
The text calls them “the seven flowers of the seven stars,” but does not explicitly assign each flower to an individual planetary deity.
It would be tempting to align the two lists positionally, making marjoram belong to Kronos, lily to Zeus, and so forth. In the two versions of the ritual, and their ingredient sequences differ. Consequently, we cannot assume the flower sequence encodes the same planetary order as the incense sequence.
Spyros Piperakis investigates precisely this problem in:
- Sacrificing to the Planets: Planetary Incenses and Flowers of P.Leid. I 395 (PGM XIII.16–20, 24–26)
Revelation of John
Ἰωάνης ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις ταῖς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἑπτὰ Πνευμάτων ἃ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ,
John, to the seven assemblies in Asia: grace to you and peace from the one who is, and the one who was, and the one who is coming, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.
Καὶ ἐπέστρεψα βλέπειν τὴν φωνὴν ἥτις ἐλάλει μετ’ ἐμοῦ· καὶ ἐπιστρέψας εἶδον ἑπτὰ λυχνίας χρυσᾶς,
And I turned to see the voice which was speaking with me; and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
καὶ ἐκ τοῦ θρόνου ἐκπορεύονται ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί· καὶ ἑπτὰ λαμπάδες πυρὸς καιόμεναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, ἅ εἰσιν τὰ ἑπτὰ Πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ·
And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and voices and thunders; and seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of the theos.
καὶ ἔχων ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ἀστέρας ἑπτά ...
And holding in his right hand seven stars ...
τὸ μυστήριον τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀστέρων οὓς εἶδες ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς μου, καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ λυχνίας τὰς χρυσᾶς· οἱ ἑπτὰ ἀστέρες ἄγγελοι τῶν ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησιῶν εἰσιν, καὶ αἱ λυχνίαι αἱ ἑπτὰ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι εἰσίν.
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are messengers of the seven assemblies, and the seven lampstands are seven assemblies.
Τάδε λέγει ὁ κρατῶν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ, ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἑπτὰ λυχνιῶν τῶν χρυσῶν·
These things says the one holding the seven stars in his right hand, the one walking among the seven golden lampstands.
Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας·
These things says the one possessing the seven spirits of the god and the seven stars.
καὶ ἑπτὰ λαμπάδες πυρὸς καιόμεναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, αἵ εἰσιν τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ.
And seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of the theos.
ἔχων κέρατα ἑπτὰ καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἑπτά, οἵ εἰσιν τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπεσταλμένοι εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν.
Having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of the theos, sent into all the earth.
Καὶ εἶδον τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλους οἳ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἑστήκασιν, καὶ ἐδόθησαν αὐτοῖς ἑπτὰ σάλπιγγες.
And I saw the seven messengers who stand before the theos, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Compare to Leary and Wilson
| Stage | Hellenic power | Leary/Wilson circuit |
| 1 | Σελήνη - Selene | Bio-survival: bodily security, instinct |
| 2 | Ἄρης - Ares | Emotional-territorial: power, dominance, struggle |
| 3 | Ἑρμῆς - Hermes | Semantic: language, symbols, intellect |
| 4 | Ζεύς - Zeus | Socio-sexual: social order, morality, roles |
| 5 | Ἀφροδίτη - Aphrodite | Neurosomatic: ecstasy, bodily bliss |
| 6 | Κρόνος - Kronos | Neurogenetic: ancestral and evolutionary consciousness |
| 7 | Ἥλιος - Helios | Metaprogramming: awareness of and control over one's own consciousness |
| 8 | Beyond the seven | Non-local quantum: transcendence of ordinary space-time consciousness |
Wilson explicitly discusses near-death experiences as triggers for the eighth circuit.