Because, as I said on a recent Friendship Bench, I have a head full of disjointed nonsense, it occurred to me the other day that good and evil are four-letter words. And because I’m utterly untroubled by that disjointed nonsense, I opted to explore whatever meaning there might be in my observation about good, evil, and the number four.
As it turns out, the fact that they’re both four-letter words can be seen as a numerological reflection of their balanced and complementary nature. This symmetry can be interpreted as a symbolic representation of the duality of human nature and the universe, where good and evil are seen as opposing forces that coexist and interact. And there’s more.
In numerology, four is associated with stability, structure, foundation, and completeness — four elements, four directions, four seasons, four corners of a square, et al. The four-letter structures of good and evil may also, therefore, symbolize their roles as foundational concepts in moral frameworks, at least in English, acting as ethical elements to ground our understanding of right and wrong. Its association with balance might numerologically suggest good and evil exist in a state of equilibrium.
The Other Side of the Coin
In other cultures — and in languages other than English — four carries negative connotations. In Chinese culture and other East Asian cultures like Japanese and Korean, four is considered unlucky because it sounds similar to the word for death. In Mandarin, the word for four (sì) sounds almost exactly the same as the word for death (sǐ), which is why four is precluded in contexts like building floors, phone numbers, license plates, product serial numbers, and public transport registrations. Some East Asian companies even ensure their offerings are free of the number four to appeal to customers who may suffer from tetraphobia. That’s why most East Asian cultures practice cremation after death to preclude loved ones from being buried in four-cornered caskets. It’s why East Asian homes are typically round, with round portholes, rather than rectangular doors and windows. And it’s why East Asian cultures don’t participate in square dancing.
And in games, four can have still different connotations. In craps, for example, rolling a four (a 1-3 or 2-2 combination) has specific implications depending on the phase of the game. If you roll a four on the come-out roll, it establishes the point; although, the point may have nothing to do with good, evil, or tetraphobia. If the point is already established as a number other than four, rolling a four doesn’t directly affect the pass line bet; although, the people who don’t win the pass line bet might consider that outcome to be evil. The odds of rolling a four are three out of the possible 36 possible dice combinations. That could be good or evil, depending on the game’s context, the bets placed, and whether you win or lose.
Further Reading
Using the Gematria Calculator, the numeric sum of good is 41 [G(7) + O(15) + O(15) + D(4) = 41], while numeric sum of evil is 48 [E(5) + V(22) + I(9) + L(12) = 48]. Those sums differ by 7, which in numerology can represent spiritual insight or completion. Reduced to single digits (4+1=5 for good; 4+8=12, 1+2=3 for evil), 5 symbolizes change and freedom, while 3 represents creativity and expression—potentially implying that good drives transformation, while evil fuels divisive communication.
Both words have two vowels and two consonants, creating phonetic balance. Evil is a palindrome when reversed to live, suggesting a numerical/linguistic reversal theme (evil as the opposite of living fully). And though good lacks a direct reverse or palindromic parallel, it’s helpful (or good) to throw doog into a sentence now and then to keep people on their toes.
If there’s a moral to this story (I won’t go so far as to say a redeeming quality), the only one I can find is this: The fact that good and evil have four letters apiece likely reflects balance and the duality of human nature and the universe. So, it’s equally likely both of them are in all of us.
Choose wisely.
Originally Published on https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/category/lifecolumns/notes-to-self/
