On October 9th, Yoko Ono, in honor of what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, will light his Peace Tower in Iceland, and perform a memorial concert.
The number 9 always had profound significance for John, especially after first meeting Yoko at a London art gallery on November 9, 1966. His second wife was a serious student of the occult and of Cheiro, the father of modern numerology.
Like John, she identified herself as a Number 9 person, 9 being the sum of the numbers of her own birthday on the 18th (of February, 1933).
Cheiro stated that 9 represented creative, universal consciousness. He characterized Number 9 personalities as fiercely independent, energetic, strong-willed, and domineering, often subject to great struggles in youth, but great success later on.
The number played uncannily in the lives of John and Yoko. Due to many previous miscarriages, plus John’s low sperm count, doctors told Yoko she had little chance of conceiving: but she delivered Sean by Caesarian on October 9, 1975. She subscribed to the Asian superstition that a child born on his father’s birthday would inherit his soul.
Yoko had suffered three earlier miscarriages. The second had occurred on October 9, 1969, on John’s 29th birthday.
After their marriage that year, John had immersed himself in numerology. With Yoko’s guidance, and that of her many astrologers, he governed his latter life according to her numbers. In one of his last interviews, he told Playboy magazine: “She’s the teacher and I’m the pupil. She’s taught me everything I fucking know.”
He had written the famous “Revolution 9,” “#9 Dream,” and “One After 909.” By 1978, the former Beatle told his tarot reader, John Green, “The big plan is that I do nothing for the next four years. Mother [Yoko] says that everything I do is doomed to failure until the year 1982. That year, according to the numbers, I’ll conquer the world again.”
In his book Dakota Days, John Green writes of Lennon’s dedicated mystical practices – his meditation, his psychic training, his cleansing fasts, his vows of silence, his Tarot study. His card was the 9th, The Hermit, presenting contemplation and introspection.
Article comments
1 - Jeremy
Exceptional look at the significance of the number 9 as it relates to Lennon. And the thing about multiplying 9 never occurred to me. Fascinating stuff.
2 - grapost
I wish the media would STOP promoting and portraying John Lennon as some kind of Saint. He was a great musician AND THAT IS ALL! As a person he was very eccentric, Abusive and Violent towards women, a regular drug user and a Heroin Addict in the early 70's, prone to rediculous publicity stunts for Peace that accomplished NOTHING, not very educated, and a lousy, absentee, uncaring father to his first son Julian. He had NO OTHER successes in his life outside of music. There are 1,000 other people who did more for the Peace movment than sing songs and make speeches who got no MEDIA COVERAGE. He owes much of his importance to being a "Darling Of The Media" for the past 46 years. I have been a Beatles fan since I was 12 years old in 1964, but I can still be OBJECTIVE, which the media has never been with Lennon. As Paul McCartney said in his Bio, "ever since John died people have tried to make him out to be Martin Luther Lennon. He was just a regular guy, and no more." Which is the TRUTH! But the comment was later removed after a HUGE outcry by the media and fans. People don't want the truth, they want to believe in the myths the media creates.
3 - anon
Which would you rather the media focus on? John Lennon or Sarah Palin? Yes, it's true, many don't receive enough recognition for their work. Some would rather not be in the limelight, esp. every detail of their life, and some use the media for good things. John did that and he was a threat to many for it.
4 - frank
i heard somewhere he was sent from allah to send a message, that all crap in my opinion cause of Islam99 and 'why dont we do it on the road' and before Christ comes , people will fornicate on the road. i think its all coincidents with alittle bit of bs
5 - Manojj N
Excellent work...