Hi Sherlok!
Difficult to say....but here are some different sources taking on the significance of the number 12:
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Twelve Perhaps the most esoteric of all numerals; so profound was the reverence with which the ancients regarded it that the records concerning it are almost innumerable, found in virtually all branches of human thought and activity. Thus we find it in the twelve hours of the day and of the night; the twelve months of the year; the twelve great gods of ancient pantheons; the twelve apostles in the New Testament and the twelve tribes in the Old Testament; the twelve nidanas in Buddhism; and pointing directly to cosmogonical matters, the twelve signs of the zodiac.
As Plato puts it in the
Timaeus, the universe was constructed by divinity in accordance with geometrical laws, the first cosmogonic basis of which was the dodecahedron -- outside of the ever-productive and cosmically fecund One. Philo Judaeus likewise regarded twelve as a sacred number, writing that the sun visits serially the signs of the zodiac monthly, during the twelve months of the year, "and it is to honour that sign that Moses divided his nation into twelve tribes, established the twelve cakes (Levit. xxiv, 5) of the
shewbread, and placed twelve precious stones around the
ephod of the pontiffs (See
De Profugis)" (SD 1:649).
In the Qabbalah it is said that creation was accomplished during the twelve hours of a day: "The 'twelve hours of the day' are again the dwarfed copy, the faint, yet faithful, echo of primitive Wisdom. They are like the 12,000 divine years of the gods, a cyclic blind. Every 'Day of Brahma' has 14 Manus, which the Hebrew Kabalists, following, however, in this the Chaldeans, have disguised into 12 'Hours.' The
Nuctameron of Apollonius of Tyana is the same thing. 'The Dodecahedron lies concealed in the perfect Cube,' say the Kabalists. The mystic meaning of this is, that the twelve great transformatio
ns of spirit into matter (the 12,000 divine years) take place during the four great ages, or the first
Mahayuga" (SD 1:450).
In theosophic writings the complete number of globes of a planetary chain is given as twelve: five globes being unmanifested and seven manifested.
See:
Twelve: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary on Twelve
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"
12 Baptism; Sacrifice; Solar zodiac. The number of the hanged man, i.e., sacrifice. This is the individual as he is plunged into the world and at the same time apart from it."
See:
Numerology
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Numerology - Twelve
Twelve is a higher octave of the number three and is an indicator of great understanding and wisdom. Much of its knowledge is gleaned from life experiences, which enables a sense of calm to prevail in even the most turbulent of situations. Twelve is significant in ancient man’s life because there were twelve tribes in Israel, twelve disciples followed Jesus, there are twelve astrological signs in the zodiac, there are twelve months in the year, and our modern clock is divided into two groups of twelve hours. It is considered to be the ancient number of completion as it signals the end of childhood and the beginning stages of adulthood. Additionally, the ancient numbering and measuring systems are based on this number, as evidenced by terms such as a dozen (12), a gross (12 times 12), a shilling (12 pence) and a foot (12 inches). Negatively, twelve can suffer from a form of depression brought about by a feeling of resignation that life’s events have transpired in such a way.
See:
Numerology: Encyclopedia - Numerology
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...the beginning of David's dream: I was at a university twelve years in the future. I was 30. In the moment I felt persecuted. I knew that a whole team of policemen or your FBI or CIA were haunting me. Suddenly I began to run, and they were following me. I decided to break a glass (window) in order to get out of the building.
Cyndi begins to interpret for David:
The number 12 represents a powerful symbol of growth and development in one's life. It also represents the trinity: body, mind, soul. In numerology, numbers are added together to form a simple small number, so 12 would be 1+2=3. Similarly, 30 would be 3+0=3. We have the number 3 appearing twice already, which tells us that this dream has a spiritual message for you. This is most likely why you felt driven to find out what it meant. The setting of the university represents a situation of higher learning.
See:
Dream Interpretation: Example of Dream Interpretation
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Things that happened year 12:
12 - Events
- Annius Rufus is appointed Prefect of Judea.
- Ovid writes an epistle from his exile on the Black Sea.
- Germanicus and Gaius Fonteius Capito become Roman Consuls.
- Quirinius returns from Judea to become a counselor to Tiberius
12 - Births
- August 31 - Caligula, Roman Emperor
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Many different uses of number 12 are listed here:
12 number: Encyclopedia - 12 number
Hope it helps!
Jonas