Seventy times seven
After sitting on three panels about YA literature, which is a hot market right now that I unfortunately do not write for, I started thinking about how fifty is the new fifteen.
That led me to the series of sevens that make up the magical numbers of the weeks and the pasages in our lives. Each week aligns with a phase of the moon, 28 days in total, and a year and a day in the lunar year of 13 months. More on that through the week.
The seventh day of creation
Every seven years, we are told, we have a totally new body, and the seven-year itch is a frequent destroyer of many kinds of relationships from marriages to hit TV shows.
A child changes at 7, at 14, and comes of age at 21. Then at 28, the new adult comes an adult with the Saturn return.
Other mile markers are 35, then 49, which marks the middle of middle age. Saturn again returns when one is 56, and begins the passage to the coming of old age, perhaps undeniable at 63, and more so at 70. Many folks these days even live to see a third Saturn return at 84, but not so many at 112.
Each seven-year brings a new body, a new perspective. It seemed like a good place to start for the seventh month of 2013.
First of all, I love your photo at the top of the blog! Very funny! Fun article – seven is an important number in the Bible, but this is the first time I’ve read this twist on it. And since I turn 56 next year, it was a little disheartening to read that it ushers in ‘old age’. Hmmm . . . maybe that’s a frog I shouldn’t kiss . . .
Thank you! the picture is from the cover of my novel, Maven Fairy Godmother, which features a character who starts a new life at in her mid-fifties.
My mom started a new career at 54, going into real estate, and I started doing web design in my 50s. The third age is a good one.
Age is only a state of mind. If you don’t state it, nobody minds.
It does help to think of it as elderhood, or wise-woman stage, even thought I don’t feel all that wise. At 56, it’s time to start taking care of yourself first, and let others manage their own issues, De-mom yourself. 🙂
Numerology is really important in christianity and I’ve never heard about the seven years new body perspective. I wish I had, so I would have known at 35 why I felt so incredibly new. I am now aware that at 49 I’ll be entering a new coming of age and I will be ready for it. I’ve been getting ready for it, and I have some years to go. I love this information. #UBC
Elizabeth T, Early Rise
Thanks, Elizabeth. I’ll be looking for more 7-ish information as a theme for the blog challenge. I know about the 7 days of creation, and a few other stories, but I’ll look into Christian numerology.
An interesting topic, I will definitely follow more… I recently (well in the last year and a half) hit the 28 and I know I’m nowhere near the same person I was so long ago. Do you think there is an interesting change in relationships if there is a gap in age?
I married a man who was about 28 when I was 40. There was a definite communication gap, and a gap in our values, but that was more because he was much more “old-school” that I realized. He actually told me that he had “title” to me since we were married. As you can imagine, it did not end well. I’m sure it could work, but my marriage to a man my same age had similar problems. Maybe I was the problem.
This makes me think of the British “7 Ups” documentary series, following several people from the age of 7, every 7 years – the most recent being “56 Up”. There are definitely some numbers – especially the number 3 – that have a lot of meaning in our culture.
I’ll have to look that up. It sounds fascinating. I’m approaching my 9th seven–I’ll be 63 next March.