Numerology in the Lessons (pt. 1)

I’m trying to build a case for one (or the way things are going, several) possible candidates for Kirkbride’s Hidden Amaranth hunt. Honestly things are so chaotic over on those threads that I think Kirkbride could actually whip right past the correct answer (and evidence) so I’m trying to build up a series of articles explaining the various arguments.

But first I’ve got to establish a collection of peer-approved theories, and I’m starting with the Numerology hint that Kirkbride gave us early in the Hunt.

“29. 2. 9. 11. 7. 18.”

“Then it gets all messed up with 4.5.”

These next few posts will deal with the existence and concept of numerology in the 36 Lessons, and how that system can be applied in this particular Hunt. I’m not sure how well this system holds up to extended inspection, but it’s a toy that doesn’t break quickly, judging from my relatively meek fumbling.

The easiest thing to do is to start with the framework of numbers, which are references to Sermon 29 in the 36 Lessons of Vivec.

29: The Captive Sage
2: Enantiomorph
9: The Missing
11: The Number of the Master
7: The Sword at the Center
18: The Egg, or Six Times the Wise
4.5: I’ll deal with this later

These numbers and their titles indicate that we are looking at a system of numerology. There are a ton of numerological systems in the real world, and though many of them contradict each other, most of them share similar themes, because the myths of man are universal in their images.

This website collects a diverse selection of meanings for many numbers in many systems, so it’s a good site to flip through to get a "feeling" for the logic behind numerological systems. The important thing to remember about numerology is this:

Every number is a concept. The way you combine those concepts together has an equivalence in mathematics. For example, in the movie PI, we learn that every letter in the Hebrew language is represented by a letter. So the Hebrew word for Father (Ab) consists of two letters, Aleph (1) and Bet (2). Together they add up to three. The Hebrew word for Mother (Am) is Aleph (1) plus Mam (40) which is 41. Add the two together, Mother + Father, and you get 44. The Hebrew word for Child is Yeled. Ye(10) plus Le (30) plus D (4) is 44. Mother + Father = Child. 3 + 41 = 44.

The process of addition is symbolic as well. As you can already tell, “adding” a mother and a father together yields a child. Each number represents a concept, and not always a literal entity or character. However, there are many characters who match or share these concepts. The relationship between these numbers will lead us into the Amaranth itself, so let’s cover them one at a time.

29: The Captive Sage

The Captive Sage actually first appears in Sermon 28, but its (his?) testimony appears to be the bulk of Sermon 29’s content. In Sermon 28, the Captive Sage is nothing more than some poor mystic loyal to Vivec who is wrapped in the armor of the Ruddy Man and starts spewing out data. That data is part of (or perhaps all of) Sermon 29. And already we’re in to the symbolism of the Hidden Amaranth:

Bound in the Ruddy Man’s armor, the Captive Sage is completely encased, with only two golden rods stuck into the epidermis so that he can breathe. He is now in a state of sensory deprivation. Here’s an article about sensory deprivation on Wikipedia. Read it, because it’s important that you understand the process.

So if nothing else, remember the Captive Sage as an entity (mortal or otherwise) of great knowledge or skill, trapped or placed in a state of sensory deprivation and, as a result, hallucinating a product.

2: Enantiomorph

Read this

An enantiomorph is the combination of two mirror-images. Think of it as the combination of Yin and Yang that forms the Tao. Mostly this is the term used to describe the interplay between Anu and Padomay, and perhaps the two beings themselves. But this can also be used to describe divinity, and the state of godhood in general.

The content of Sermon 2 is also relevant to the Hunt. In the last third of the Sermon, Vivec, as the Egg, is visited by Mephala, his Anticipation. Mephala takes Vivec from his mother’s womb, blinding her in the process, and Vivec takes from Mephala many secrets. This is an Enantiomorphic Event; the combination or interaction of Vivec with Mephala, and the blinding of the witness to the event, Vivec’s mother, and is just one of the many events comparable to the original Enantiomorphic Event which we are examining.

7: The Sword at the Center

This was a tough one for me. The trick is that you have to understand what a Sword symbolizes in the 36 Lessons, and there is still room for argument and interpretation here. Sermon Seven’s content seems to have little to do with Swords, but it does reveal the words of power written on the Hortator’s palms: GHARTOK PADHOME GHARTOK PADHOME, which will become relevant later in this section.

But aside from being one of the Six Walking Ways to reach heaven by violence, most people seem to agree on the following:

The Sword can also represent improvement by removing the excess. Trimming fat from lean. Pulling weeds from your garden. By destroying everything that is not beautiful or useful, you approach divinity through flawlessness.

The Sword at the Center, however, seems to combine the act of improvement-through-destruction with the Wheel motif, as the “Center” is the void at the center of a Wheel. The Wheel itself deserves an essay of equivalent length, but for the moment let’s just abbreviate it by saying that a Wheel is a dream, a concept, a religion, and a system. And perhaps it is all those things at once, because perhaps all those things are the same.

The Sword at the Center is mentioned by name as a “threat” hanging over ALMSIVI. It’s not hard to guess that this could mean the Nerevarine, who is the mechanic of the Tribunal’s demise. GHARTOK PADHOME. “These hands are weapons”, or perhaps even: “Hands of Change”.

For the purposes of the 36 Lessons system of numerology, it’s good to think of the Sword at the Center as representing the act of destruction (in the “destroy, improve, rebuild” sense), or division.

9: The Missing

The easiest comparison here is Shezarr, or even Lorkhan, the Missing God. Sermon 9 deals with the Nordic heroes, which include YSMIR, so there is a connection made to the concept of Shezarrines and of powerful Mortal beings.

However, in the metaphysical sense, The Missing can also describe the removal of power, the absence of a concept. This can also mean mortality, or the introduction of mortality to divinity, and by extension Man, or mortal creatures (including Mer) in general.

11: The Number of the Master

After the “prelude” of the 36 Lessons, in which we learn the manner of Vivec’s birth, the Lessons begin in earnest, and in Sermon 11 we are introduced to the concept of the Ruling King, the Master of the World. The exact definition of a Master is never given to us, but there are several, and Vivec is one, Nerevar another.

One possible definition of 11 is given as the concatenation of two 1’s, Nerevar and Dagoth Ur. 1 is the Dragon Break, or the Tower, an event of immense import and a symbol of royal power. We learn that the Sharmat and Nerevar are indistinguishable except to Vivec, and this also means that the Sharmat is a Ruling King, but one who is endangered, something made obvious by the etymology of his title, Shāh Māt, (in English: Checkmate) which means “The King is Helpless” (or “ambushed”, but not dead).

The 36 Lessons are Lessons written to instruct the next Ruling King, which most people agree is the Nerevarine, the player’s character in Morrowind. But if you want to entertain the idea, the importance of the 36 Lessons to the Landfall, as described in the Loveletter, might lead you to believe that the Next Ruling King has not yet arrived.