Eye of Horus and Special Numbers

Image source: http://blog.candere.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Navratri-in-Gujarat.jpg

One of the interesting things I found about the Eye of Horus was the adding the 6 parts together was 1/64 away from being one. In one source I found, they stated that the leftover said to be attributed to magic or that nothing is perfect. Considering the Eye of Horus's mythological association, I think it's more likely that the magical explanation was used, but the notion that nothing is perfect is quite wise and a poetic thought as well. Another source talked about how it is the first known example of a geometric series which was pretty interesting. It would make a good introduction to the concept if taught in a classroom.

The only two numbers with a story I could think of off the top of my head were 0 and Pi but in my search, I also found numbers like 666, which is known for its association with the Devil in Biblical texts. However, I was not aware that an older text was found stating the number associated with the beast was actually 616 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_beast). The translation hasn't been completely agreed upon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_115) so it isn't a fully accepted association at the moment. I wonder if the switch over will occur in the case that older texts are found and confirm this. It is such a culturally ingrained association that it would likely be difficult to do so.

Coincidentally, a festival called Navratri (which translates to nine nights) started today. The Hindu religious story associated with the festival is that it is a celebration of the goddess Durga defeating the demon Mahishasura. The nine days represent nine forms or avatars of the goddess and people often do some form of fasting during this time. I learned about a new concept this year that some regions set up dolls on multi-tiered pedestals but the thing that struck me about this was that there could only be an odd number of steps in the display. I wasn't able to find a reasoning for this but some sources said the acceptable number of steps are 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9, while others said 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. I called my grandma to see if she had any insight but she said she didn't know. However, she said that 9 is an auspicious number in other Hindu religious stories as well so the choices are probably a reflection of which are closest in property to 9. For example, 9 is odd so 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11 are closer in property. Additionally, she pointed out that 9 multiplied by 1, 3, 5,  or 7 results in digits that add directly to 9 but 11 doesn't fit that pattern so that might be why some people exclude it. Others might include it because 99 is actually two nines so possibly double the good luck (and 999 (111 steps) would be excessive... ). However, these are just our guesses.