Greetings brothers and sisters. I’m writing to seek your help in clarifying a potential insight into the nature of the 18 day cycle and other biorhythmic cycles which are spoken about in The Law of One. I humbly request that you up-vote this thread to allow for the greatest possible collaboration/engagement on this topic – I think by the time you are done reading this you will be equally as excited as I am to pursue this mystery. My hope is that through this we will grow in our understanding as students of the archetypes, our evolution and ultimately The Law of One both as individuals and as a family (76.9).
I have been fascinated by the idea of the 18 day cycle as described by Ra ever since I first read about it. I’m excited by anything which can help us to increase our psychic ability, our magical potency, and our overall access to intelligent infinity. Ra describes this cycle as one which, at the highest point of its sine wave, sharpens one’s ability to pick up “signal”. The signal is correspondingly weak at the lowest point (the nadir) of the wave, with the days of transition between positive and negative sides being particularly difficult, especially if these transitions occur during the transitions of another cycle(s) at the same time (see 64.10-12 & 89.5).
As an aside, one can find what day of this 18 day cycle one is on by following these simple steps:
- Visit to www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html
- Under “Start Date” enter your birthday.
- Under “End Date” press “Today”.
- Make sure the “Include end date in calculation” box is checked.
- Press the green “Calculate Duration” button.
- The number of days will be calculated. Take down this number.
- In a Google search bar enter: *number of days from previous step* mod 18
- The resulting calculation will be your current cycle day.
This process can also be used to find one’s cycle day for any of the other biorhythm cycles confirmed by Ra by changing out the 18 for the number of days associated with the cycle (these other cycles and their number of days are described below).
But the question arises: what is the basis of this cycle – why 18 days? In my mind, for this or any number to work it must be reflected in nature at a macrocosmic scale. “As above, so below. As within, so without.” Ra seems to confirm this aspect of reality. This insight, of course, is the key insight in astrology and Ra confirms astrology without any ambiguity. This is the core of Hermeticism – the wisdom of Egypt. Some scholars even argue that the name Poimandres (the first book of the Hermetica) actually derives from the Coptic P-eime n-te-Rē, which translates to “The Knowledge of Ra.” So what can we find in our skies which reflect this cycle in man at a greater magnitude?
The Cycle of the Gateway of Magic, or what we could call “The Spiritual Cycle” (18 days) seems to me to be a microcosmic Saros Cycle which predicts solar eclipses (~18 years). It is well known in the mystery traditions that the cycles of our solar system are shadowed down to the beings on Earth at one order of magnitude greater than those on Earth with orders of magnitude being the ratio of 1:365 (there is more than one reason to believe that this ratio was at one time 1:360, but that is a discussion for later). One year in the sky is equal to one day on earth. It is also well known and virtually universal to these traditions that the solar eclipse is the time when the veil separating the physical and metaphysical words is the thinnest. This is exactly how the 18 day cycle is described by Ra. A perfect match as far as I can tell (check out what’s in the sky on card 22).
As well as introducing us to the 18 day cycle, Ra confirms the existence of biorhythms (see 61.3). The Biorhythm Theory is an idea which gained significant popularity in the 1970’s. These cycles were originally developed by European researchers (most notably Wilhelm Fliess and Hermann Swoboda) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are based on the idea that from the moment of birth, three distinct biological “clocks” begin to oscillate in a sine wave pattern which functions exactly like the sine wave of the 18 cycle as Ra describes. The three clocks or rhythms are:
The Physical Cycle (23 days): Thought to influence coordination, strength, stamina, and overall vitality.
The Emotional Cycle (28 days): Also called the “sensitivity” cycle. It is thought to affect mood, creativity, and sensitivity.
The Intellectual Cycle (33 days): Seen to govern logic, memory, mental alertness, and analytical ability.
I found myself asking if one could also find the analogues for these in our sky? Those who first introduced us to these cycles did not look for any external analogues, but it would follow that if the 18 day cycle mirrors the eclipse cycle, that the three biorhythmic cycles would also be reflected in major cycles of our solar system. It would seem to throw a wrench in the gears to discover that none could be found. I did a little digging and, much to my excitement, there are three major cycles which not only reflect the timing, but also the themes associated with each of the biorhythms.
The Physical Cycle (~23 days)
This cycle, also called the masculine cycle, reflects The Solar Cycle (Hale Cycle) perfectly. Every 11 years the Sun’s magnetic poles flip, completing a full magnetic cycle in ~22 years. This cycle governs the “Physicality” of the Earth; it governs its weather patterns, solar storms, and overall geomagnetic health. This cycle is sometimes referred to as the “heart beat” of the solar system. It would naturally follow, then, that this cycle, shadowed down, would imbue man with a cycle who’s length of time is one order of magnitude smaller and which would have some connection to one’s vitality. This tracks perfectly as it is well known to anyone who studies astrology for any length of time that the Sun is our strength, stamina and overall vitality. The Sun is also the ultimate archetype of masculinity. Another perfect match.
The perceptive reader will have no doubt noticed the discrepancy between this supposed 23 day cycle and the 22 year Solar Cycle. While Ra gives us the exact number of days involved with The Cycle of the Gateway of Magic they only confirm the existence of the other three. Given the perfect physical and archetypal match between this biorhythm and The Solar Cycle, I suspect that the researchers who discovered biorhythms in the late 19th century were seeing a real pattern but may have been slightly off in their measurement. This is completely understandable given the novelty and subtlety of this phenomenon. How often do we get it perfectly right the first time? I hypothesize that this physical biorhythm is actually a 22 day cycle, not a 23 day cycle. Another hint which seems to point in this direction is the fact that the number 22 is essential to the blueprint used by our Logos as described by Ra and the mystery traditions. There are 22 archetypes, not 23. There are 22 pathways on the tree of life, not 23. My hope is that further study in this direction will make it more clear that this is the case as it pertains to this particular biorhythm as well.
The Emotional Cycle (28 days)
I propose that this rhythm/cycle, also known as the feminine cycle, is actually one cycle which unifies two great cycles of our solar system, and is beautifully demonstrative of that great principle “As above, so below.” Students of astrology will already be familiar with this profound relationship, that is the union of Saturn and the Moon. These are the great gatekeepers of the seven who’s unified concept reflects both the timing and themes of this biorhythm precisely.
Firstly, this cycle seems to be a microcosm of the orbit of Saturn which takes roughly 28 years. Secondly, this cycle is a pure reflection of The Lunar Cycle which takes 28 days. The Lunar Cycle is already the microcosm of the orbit of Saturn, so it would follow the timing of this particular aspect remains the same (28 days). This unified biorhythmic cycle is independent of The Lunar Cycle which also effects the Earth with its own timing of the same duration.
This relationship tracks with the concept of an emotional biorhythm. While the Moon governs immediate and fluctuating moods and emotions, Saturn governs our long-term emotional landscape. Saturn provides the metaphysical structure to our watery Lunar emotional aspect. The Moon allows emotion to be fluid, sensitive, and light (silver), while Saturn gives weight to emotion (lead) and provides the depth necessary to allow us to grow. The connection between this biorhythm and the greater cycles of Saturn and the Moon check the boxes of proper lengths of time macro/microcosmically (28:28), as well as both physical and metaphysical attributions.
The Intellectual Cycle (33 days)
This cycle of 33 days seems to relate to The Solar-Lunar Cycle which lasts 33 years per cycle. It is every 33 years that the solar calendar and the lunar calendar realign to the same day. I find it difficult to express just how beautiful this congruency is, but I will try.
Remember that the intellectual biorhythm governs logic, memory, mental alertness, and analytical ability. In Hermeticism, Alchemy, and Western Esotericism, the number 33 is deeply tied to the “Intellectual” or “Mastery” phase of a human life (e.g., the traditional age of Christ’s ministry/death). It is a symbol of Spiritual Completion, the “Mastery of the Self.”
Just as this cycle is a microcosmic reflection of The Solar-Lunar Cycle, so to is the number 33 seen as the representation of the point of intersection between the Microcosm (Man) and the Macrocosm (Universe). It is also seen as a representation of the union of the opposites (Solar and Lunar, Active and Passive) into a singular, balanced power as seen often in the symbol of The Phoenix/Double-Headed Eagle. This is the mind’s ability to synthesize opposites into a single truth.
The human spinal column consists of 33 vertebrae. In various traditions (including Kundalini and Western Alchemy), spiritual energy must “climb” these 33 steps to reach the skull, or the “Temple of Solomon.” Upon reaching this “33rd degree” the Kundalini energy reaches the Pineal Gland and the gateway to intelligent infinity is opened. Here the ego is surrendered to the divine.
There are many other interesting associations with the number 33 (e.g., the Pythagorean “Master Numbers”, its recurrence in scriptures, its association with service-to-others) but by now I’m sure the link is quite clear.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I’m very much interested in hearing what your impressions/intuitions are regarding this possible connection. Can you find any place where I’ve gone wrong, or where this doesn’t line up? How can we test these ideas together? I’m grateful and I love you all!
