Many people have commented on how Zoë had a magic to her that was unlike any infant they have ever met. That she seemed wise beyond her days, and months. That she was an old spirit. Now those who know me, or read my blog may have picked up that although I am very spiritual in some sense I am also deeply rooted in what I can touch, see, and know. So this next bit of information is not necessarily something that I believe ho-heartedly, but something that I am fascinated by…and in some way maybe it does explain Zoë.
When I went to college I lived in room 108 with 3 of the most amazing women who have ever come into my life. Sarah, Kim, and Elin I think of you all of the time. The moment someone brings up college I think of my 108 Cutie roommates, as we were nicknamed by others in the hall. So when Zoë was born not only on Sarah’s birthday, but at 108 in the morning I thought, “Zoë is a 108 Cutie the next generation!” I was thrilled.
But that is not where the strangeness lies. The number 108 has popped up in my life many times in odd ways, so I decided to look it up last month. Low and behold it is one of the most sacred numbers in numerology, and eastern, religion, as well as being quite the trick number for math, and scientists.
As far as the math goes 108 is an abundant number, a semiperfect number, a tetranacci number, a hyperfactorial of 3, and in Euclidean space it is the measure of the interior angles of a regular pentagon. There are 108 free polyominoes of order 7, and in base 10 it is a harshad number and a self number, as well as the degree used in creating the golden ratio. Now I will admit that I am not up on all of this math stuff…but…the terms “self”, “semiperfect, and golden” do make me smile when I think of them in relation to Zoë.
As for Science: the distance of the Sun from the Earth divided by the diameter of the Sun, and the distance of the Moon from the Earth divided by the diameter of the Moon is approximately equal to 108.
Hinduism, and Buddhism both have strong ties to 108. Hindu deities have 108 names, and the mala, or rosary has 108 beads used in ceremonies for repetitions of a mantra.
Buddhists in Tebet have similar rosaries with 108 beads. The Buddha is asked 108 questions in the Lankavatara Sutra, and another section of the same book Buddah lists 108 statements of negation. Most Buddhist temples have 108 steps. In Japan the Buddhist temples ring a bell 108 times at the end of a school year to finish the old and ring in the new year, each ring represents 108 temptations a person must overcome to reach nirvana.
There are 27 constellations which fall under 4 signs (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) 27X4=108. That coupled with the fact that there are 12 Zodiac signs and 9 planets…or 108 combinations. Just strikes me as an odd coincidence.
If we want to go very far back into some Western Religious beliefs, Stonehenge is approximately 108 feet in diameter.
I could probably write a whole book on this number…or it seems someone could, because this is just a wee bit of what I found online.
I know that people were shocked when I wrote that Zoë passed away at 12:26 PM on April 1, 2012, because she was diagnosed with cancer on 12/26/11. Perhaps I should look up 12, and 26, or 1226…but to me her being born at 1:08 AM is fascinating.
Well baby girl, it is nearing 8:00, and this time last year your Memere was visiting you for the very first time, and I was in a post-delivery high that lasted for days, even though I was in labor with you for 3 days. I could not sleep, I could not stop smiling. I had my little girl, and that was all that mattered.
May this day be a special one for you; it will always be very special for me.