Tetractys

The tetractys (Greek: τετρακτύς), or tetrad,[1] or the tetractys of the

decad[2] 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.[3]

Pythagorean symbol
The tetractys
1. The first four numbers symbolize the musica universalis and
the Cosmos as:
1. Monad – Unity
2. Dyad – Power – Limit/Unlimited (peras/apeiron)
3. Triad – Harmony
4. Tetrad – Kosmos[4]
2. The four rows add up to ten, which was unity of a higher order (The Dekad).
3. The Tetractys symbolizes the four classical elements—air, fire, water, and earth.
4. The Tetractys represented the organization of space:
1. the first row represented zero dimensions (a point)
2. the second row represented one dimension (a line of two points)
3. the third row represented two dimensions (a plane defined by a triangle of three points)
4. the fourth row represented three dimensions (a tetrahedron defined by four points)

A prayer of the Pythagoreans shows the importance of the Tetractys (sometimes called the "Mystic Tetrad"),
as the prayer was addressed to it.

Bless us, divine number, thou who generated gods and men! O holy, holy Tetractys, thou that
containest the root and source of the eternally flowing creation! For the divine number begins
with the profound, pure unity until it comes to the holy four; then it begets the mother of all, the
all-comprising, all-bounding, the first-born, the never-swerving, the never-tiring holy ten, the
keyholder of all.[5]

As a portion of the secret religion, initiates were required to swear a secret oath by the Tetractys. They then
served as novices, which required them to observe silence for a period of five years.

The Pythagorean oath also mentioned the Tetractys:

By that pure, holy, four lettered name on high,

nature's eternal fountain and supply,
 the parent of all souls that living be,
by him, with faith find oath, I swear to thee.

It is said[6][7][8] that the Pythagorean musical system was based on the Tetractys as the rows can be read as
the ratios of 4:3 (perfect fourth), 3:2 (perfect fifth), 2:1 (octave), forming the basic intervals of the
Pythagorean scales. That is, Pythagorean scales are generated from combining pure fourths (in a 4:3
relation), pure fifths (in a 3:2 relation), and the simple ratios of the unison 1:1 and the octave 2:1. Note that
the diapason, 2:1 (octave), and the diapason plus diapente, 3:1 (compound fifth or perfect twelfth), are
consonant intervals according to the tetractys of the decad, but that the diapason plus diatessaron, 8:3
(compound fourth or perfect eleventh), is not.[9][10]

The Tetractys [also known as the decad] is an equilateral triangle formed from the sequence of
the first ten numbers aligned in four rows. It is both a mathematical idea and a metaphysical
symbol that embraces within itself—in seedlike form—the principles of the natural world, the
harmony of the cosmos, the ascent to the divine, and the mysteries of the divine realm. So
revered was this ancient symbol that it inspired ancient philosophers to swear by the name of
the one who brought this gift to humanity.

Kabbalist symbol
In the work by anthropologist Raphael Patai entitled The Hebrew
Goddess, the author argues that the tetractys and its mysteries
influenced the early Kabbalah.[11] 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 point is assigned to Kether;

the line to Chokmah;
the two-dimensional plane to Binah;
consequently the three-dimensional solid naturally Symbol by early 17th-century
Christian mystic Jakob Böhme,
falls to Chesed.[12]
including a tetractys of flaming
The relationship between geometrical shapes and the first four Hebrew letters of the
Sephirot is analogous to the geometrical correlations in Tetraktys, Tetragrammaton.
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.[13] 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 Light Card to the right represents the influence of the
cosmos leading the individual to an action.
The Dark Card to the left represents the reaction of the
cosmos to the actions of the individual.

The third row of three positions represents three kinds of decisions

an individual must make.

The Creator Card is rightmost, representing new

decisions and directions that may be made.
The Sustainer Card is in the middle, representing
decisions to keep balance, and things that should not
change. A tetractys of the letters of the
The Destroyer Card is leftmost, representing old Tetragrammaton adds up to 72 by
decisions and directions that should not be continued. gematria.

The fourth row of four positions represents the four Greek

elements.

The Fire card is rightmost, representing dynamic creative force, ambitions, and personal will.
The Air card is to the right middle, representing the mind, thoughts, and strategies toward
goals.
The Water card is to the left middle, representing the emotions, feelings, and whims.
The Earth card is leftmost, representing physical realities of day to day living.

Occurrence
The tetractys occurs (generally coincidentally) in the following:

the baryon decuplet

an archbishop's coat of arms
the arrangement of bowling pins in ten-pin bowling
the arrangement of billiard balls in ten-ball pool
a Chinese checkers board
the "Christmas Tree" formation in association football
Ten-pin bowling pins in a tetractys
In poetry
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.[14] A
sample tetractys would look like this:

Mantrum
Coat of arms of
Your /
an archbishop of
fury /
the Catholic
confuses /
us all greatly. / Church
Volatile, big-bodied tots are selfish. //
The tetractys was created by Ray Stebbing, who said the following about his newly created form:

"The tetractys could be Britain's answer to the haiku. Its challenge is to express a complete
thought, profound or comic, witty or wise, within the narrow compass of twenty
syllables.[15]

See also
Pascal's triangle

References
1. The Theosophical Glossary (https://books.google.com/books?id=24vBaQDNy8UC),
Forgotten Books, p. 302, ISBN 9781440073915
2. Eduard Zeller. Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy (13 ed.). p. 36.
3. Dimitra Karamanides (2005), Pythagoras: pioneering mathematician and musical theorist of
Ancient Greece (https://books.google.com/books?id=DQpSA4CEnIwC), The Rosen
Publishing Group, p. 65, ISBN 9781404205000
4. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie
5. Dantzig, Tobias ([1930], 2005) Number. The Language of Science. p. 42
6. Introduction to Arithmetic – Nicomachus
7. Bruhn, Siglind (2005), The Musical Order of the World: Kepler, Hesse, Hindemith-Siglind
Bruhn (https://books.google.com/books?id=q-1o3tUGcXMC&q=tetraktys+diatessaron&pg=P
A66), Pendragon Press, ISBN 9781576471173
8. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities(1890) – William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G.
E. Marindin, Ed. (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:
entry=musica-cn&highlight=pythagorean%2Cpythagoras)
9. Plutarch, De animae procreatione in Timaeo – Goodwin, Ed.(lang.:English) (https://www.per
seus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0386%3Asection%3D14)
10. Pennick, Nigel (January 2012), Sacred Architecture of London – Nigel Pennick (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=ehDG5mGUYAMC&q=tetraktys+diatessaron&pg=PA56), Aeon
Books, ISBN 9781904658627
11. Patai, Raphael (1967). The Hebrew Goddess (https://archive.org/details/hebrewgoddess000
0pata). Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-2271-9. - Chapter V - The Kabbalistic
Tetrad
12. The Mystical Qabalah, Dion Fortune, Chapter XVIII, 25
13. "Tetractys Spread" (http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/D-tet.html).
14. English Syllable Counters (http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englishsyllable.htm#Tetractys)
15. Search result for Tetractys (http://bensonofjohn.co.uk/poetry/formssearch.php?searchbox=Tet
ractys)

Further reading
von Franz, Marie-Louise. Number and Time: Reflections Leading Towards a Unification of
Psychology and Physics. Rider & Company, London, 1974. ISBN 0-09-121020-8
Fideler, D. ed. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library (http://www.american-buddha.com/
cult.pythagsourcebook.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150509045621/http://w
ww.american-buddha.com/cult.pythagsourcebook.htm) 2015-05-09 at the Wayback Machine.
Phanes Press, 1987.
 The Theoretic Arithmetic of the Pythagoreans – Thomas Taylor (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=5j0tQCKwpnMC&q=tetraktys+diatessaron)

External links
Examples of Tetractys poems (http://tetractys-ichthys.blogspot.co.uk)

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