SECRET TEACHINGS - 15. PYTHAGOREAN THEORY OF MUSIC & COLOR: Pythagoras and the Secret Symphony of Sound and Spectrum - Manly P. Hall

Chapter 15. THE PYTHAGOREAN THEORY OF MUSIC AND COLOR: Pythagoras and the diatonic scale - Therapeutic music - The music of the spheres - The use of color in symbolism - The colors of the spectrum and the musical scale - Zodiacal and planetary colors.THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES - An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic, and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy: Interpretation of the Secret Teachings concealed within the Rituals, Allegories, and Mysteries of all Ages - By Manly P. Hall (1928).Chapter 15 of Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928), titled "The Pythagorean Theory of Music and Color", with its subchapters—Pythagoras and the diatonic scale—Therapeutic music—The music of the spheres—The use of color in symbolism—The colors of the spectrum and the musical scale—Zodiacal and planetary colors—serves as a radiant exposition of ancient harmonic wisdom. Hall portrays Pythagoras as the supreme architect of a cosmic symphony, where numbers, sounds, and hues converge in immutable ratios to reveal the divine order underlying all existence. This chapter bridges the mathematical mysticism of the Pythagoreans with the sensory realms of hearing and vision, demonstrating that the universe is not chaotic but a grand, proportioned harmony emanating from the One. Hall begins with a metaphysical foundation: harmony is the essence of beauty and goodness. A thing is beautiful only when its constituent parts are in perfect proportion; the universe ascends from dense, less harmonious matter to pure spirit, the summum bonum. Evil arises not as an independent force but as disharmony among inherently perfect elements. The soul, bearing a divine spark, instinctively resonates with true harmony, recognizing it as a reflection of the Good. Pythagoras and the Diatonic Scale  This subchapter delves into Pythagoras's discovery of the diatonic scale, elevating music from mere art to mathematical science. Initiated into Egyptian Mysteries, Pythagoras returned to Greece with the insight that music is audible mathematics. The legendary blacksmith's hammers anecdote illustrates this: hammers of varying weights (proportional to 12, 9, 8, and 6) produced harmonious intervals when struck. Pythagoras experimented with weighted strings or, more accurately, the monochord—a single string over a sounding board with movable bridges—to isolate ratios: 2:1 for the octave, 3:2 for the perfect fifth, 4:3 for the perfect fourth. These proportions, rooted in the sacred tetractys (1+2+3+4=10, the triangular symbol of creation), govern consonance. Pythagoreans, called Canonici, prioritized rational judgment over sensory pleasure, yet acknowledged music's profound emotional impact. Hall emphasizes that number is the primordial law, preceding harmony and structuring all planes of existence. Therapeutic Music  Here, Hall vividly explores music's healing power, a cornerstone of Pythagorean practice. Each of the seven Greek modes carried a unique psychological influence: the Phrygian mode stirred passions, the Dorian promoted calm and courage, the Spondaic induced profound tranquility. Anecdotes abound—Pythagoras quelled a jealous youth's rage by switching from Phrygian flute to slow Spondaic rhythm, preventing arson; Empedocles disarmed a sword-wielding guest by altering the mode. Homer's verses, sung appropriately, treated spiritual maladies. In Crotona's school, days began and ended with prescribed melodies: invigorating morning songs to awaken intellect, soothing evening ones for restorative sleep. Hall quotes Iamblichus: Pythagoras "invented melodies as remedies against the passions of the soul… against despondency and lamentation… against rage and anger… and against desires." Music thus harmonized the microcosm (human soul) with cosmic order, curing imbalances through vibrational alignment. The Music of the Spheres  The chapter's most sublime section unveils the celestial harmony. Pythagoras reportedly alone could hear the Music of the Spheres—the inaudible symphony of planetary motions. The cosmos forms a vast monochord, stretched from absolute spirit to matter. Planetary spheres (Saturn to Moon, plus elements) emit tones based on orbital velocity and distance, forming diatonic intervals. Robert Fludd's Mundane Monochord diagram illustrates this: tones descend from high G (empyrean) to low C (earth), spanning an octave. Fire, air, water, and earth sing in progression. Biblical echoes ("morning stars sang together") and Shakespearean lines affirm this doctrine. The entire universe vibrates as a divine lyre, played by the Creator, where every motion contributes to eternal consonance. The Use of Color in Symbolism  Hall transitions seamlessly: color is vibration's higher octave, visible harmony. White light contains the seven spectral colors, mirroring divine emanation into seven creative powers (Seven Logoi). Ancient cultures encoded this—Ecbatana's seven concentric walls painted in planetary colors, Babylonian ziggurats and Indian fountains in rainbow sequence, Tibetan art selecting pigments for evoked states. Color influences subtle bodies and moods, serving as a symbolic language across traditions. The Colors of the Spectrum and the Musical Scale  This subchapter correlates spectrum and scale: red to do (C), orange to re (D), yellow to mi (E), green to fa (F), blue to sol (G), indigo to la (A), violet to si (B), with red recurring at the next octave. These affinities, not arbitrary, align with vibrational laws, later echoed in researchers like Edwin D. Babbitt. Hall includes a Theosophical table linking colors to man's seven principles and matter states: - Violet – Chaya (etheric double) – Ether  - Indigo – Higher Manas (spiritual intelligence) – Air  - Blue – Auric envelope – Steam or vapor  - Green – Lower Manas (animal soul) – Critical state  - Yellow – Buddhi (spiritual soul) – Water  - Orange – Prana (life principle) – Critical state  - Red – Kama Rupa (desire body) – Ice-like matter   This sevenfold pattern unifies macrocosm, microcosm, and phenomena under one law. Zodiacal and Planetary Colors  The chapter culminates in celestial assignments. Zodiacal signs cycle through the spectrum: Aries in fiery red, Taurus red-orange, progressing to Pisces violet-red, forming a chromatic wheel. Planets radiate distinct hues—Saturn somber low tones, Jupiter expansive blue, Mars martial red, Sun golden yellow—each emitting its note and color in perpetual interplay. This wheel influences earthly life through harmonic radiation. In conclusion, Hall transcends mere historical recounting; he revives Pythagoreanism as a living, verifiable philosophy. Modern parallels—Newlands' law of octaves in chemistry, sound and color therapy, synesthesia—vindicate ancient insights. Plato's caution about musical changes affecting societies resonates today amid frequency's impact on physiology and mood. This chapter invites contemplation of universal harmony, urging alignment with cosmic ratios for spiritual elevation. Through music and color, the soul attunes to the Divine Musician, realizing beauty as harmony manifest. #SecretTeachings #ManlyPHall #EsotericWisdom #OccultKnowledge #MysticalJourney #AncientWisdom #Symbolism #SpiritualQuest #HiddenMeanings #SacredGeometry #MysterySchools #Alchemy #DivineKnowledge #WisdomTraditions #PhilosophyOfLife #MetaphysicalExploration #UniversalTruths #CulturalSymbols #EnlightenmentPath #TimelessWisdom