Numerology: 5, 4, 3, . .

As we’re fast approaching the small numbers of a countdown, it seems appropriate to remark briefly upon the significance of certain numbers, of which all authors and readers of literary fiction should be cognizant, when they inevitably appear in a narrative.

FIVE: Five fingers on the human hand (important in this novel–the thumb makes one more than just another beast,) five points on a human-rendered star, or pentagram. Would seem to indicate the (potential) divine or supernatural.  FOUR: seasons, directions of the compass, winds, even cycles in most naturally aspirated engines. Indicates Nature.  THREE (tomorrow will be three days from publication day): trinity of man, woman, and child—and some other notable trinities I might name. Three always seems to indicate the sophistication of the human mind: able to process gray, as well as black and white, or the middle of any two extremes. Jesus was human and divine.  TWO and ONE, of course, are even more resonant in literature, and arts of all kinds.  I devoted several pages pointedly to these.