Tetractys


The []tetractys, or tetrad, or the tetractys of the decad is a triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows: one, two, three, and four points in each row, which is the geometrical representation of the fourth triangular number. As a mystical symbol, it was very important to the secret worship of Pythagoreanism. There were four seasons, and the number was also associated with planetary motions and music.

Pythagorean symbol

  1. The first four numbers symbolize the musica universalis and the Cosmos as:
  2. # Unity
  3. # Dyad – Power – Limit/Unlimited
  4. # Harmony
  5. # Kosmos.
  6. The four rows add up to ten, which was unity of a higher order.
  7. The Tetractys symbolizes the four classical elements—fire, air, water, and earth.
  8. The Tetractys represented the organization of space:
  9. # the first row represented zero dimensions
  10. # the second row represented one dimension
  11. # the third row represented two dimensions
  12. # the fourth row represented three dimensions
A prayer of the Pythagoreans shows the importance of the Tetractys, as the prayer was addressed to it.
As a portion of the secret religion, initiates were required to swear a secret oath by the Tetractys. They then served as novices for a period of silence lasting five years.
The Pythagorean oath also mentioned the Tetractys:
It is said that the Pythagorean musical system was based on the Tetractys as the rows can be read as the ratios of 4:3, 3:2, 2:1, forming the basic intervals of the Pythagorean scales. That is, Pythagorean scales are generated from combining pure fourths, pure fifths, and the simple ratios of the unison 1:1 and the octave 2:1. Note that the diapason, 2:1, and the diapason plus diapente, 3:1, are consonant intervals according to the tetractys of the decad, but that the diapason plus diatessaron, 8:3, is not.

Kabbalist symbol

There are some who believe that the tetractys and its mysteries influenced the early Kabbalah. A Hebrew tetractys has the letters of the Tetragrammaton inscribed on the ten positions of the tetractys, from right to left. It has been argued that the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, with its ten spheres of emanation, is in some way connected to the tetractys, but its form is not that of a triangle. The occultist Dion Fortune writes:
The relationship between geometrical shapes and the first four Sephirot is analogous to the geometrical correlations in Tetraktys, shown above under #Pythagorean symbol, and unveils the relevance of the Tree of Life with the Tetraktys.

Tarot card reading arrangement

In a Tarot reading, the various positions of the tetractys provide a representation for forecasting future events by signifying according to various occult disciplines, such as Alchemy. Below is only a single variation for interpretation.
The first row of a single position represents the Premise of the reading, forming a foundation for understanding all the other cards.
The second row of two positions represents the cosmos and the individual and their relationship.
The third row of three positions represents three kinds of decisions an individual must make.
The fourth row of four positions represents the four Greek elements.
The tetractys occurs in the following:
In English-language poetry, a tetractys is a syllable-counting form with five lines. The first line has one syllable, the second has two syllables, the third line has three syllables, the fourth line has four syllables, and the fifth line has ten syllables. A sample tetractys would look like this:
The tetractys was created by Ray Stebbing, who said the following about his newly created form: