Nine

Nine is associated with the moon. In folk tales and other archetypal imagery, it is a recurring motif that a treasure or other coveted object becomes visible every nine years (just as the moon comes and goes regularly). Demeter wanders for nine days when Persephone is abducted by Hades.

Nine is also connected to the nine months of pregnancy. The treasure is born after a period of gestation. “The unconscious generally follows such rules,” Jung says. (Visions, p. 1366f.) Sometimes a dream foretells something that will be “born” in nine months or reflects something that was born nine months earlier. “I have seen this very often,” Jung says.

Nine is three times three and shares this number’s symbolic value (time, fate, motion, and so on).

Swedish professor Sigurd Agrell argued that nine was Odin's number, emphasizing in particular the connection between the number (and the god) and necessity; for example, Odin hung for nine nights to have the runes revealed to him.

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