Mirror hour 17:17: symbolic meaning and how to read it

17:17: leaving the office

17:17 is, for many employees, the time when the working day ends, or almost. You tidy up your things, check whether public transport is running on time, think about the evening. At such moments the clock is checked at regular intervals, so regular patterns have every chance of being noticed.

The number 17 has several faces: it is a prime number (it is divisible only by 1 and by itself), and it is the number of syllables in a classic Japanese haiku, split 5-7-5. A small poem, a breath: this discreet association can inspire a moment of self-attention as you leave work.

The number 7 and the 17 in numerology

Calculation: 1 + 7 + 1 + 7 = 16, then 1 + 6 = 7. The total 16 reduces to 7, the number of introspection, study, the search for meaning and chosen solitude in modern numerology. The 17 reduces to 8 (1 + 7 = 8), the number of achievement and ambition.

A prime number, like 17, cannot be broken down: modern numerology makes it a symbol of uniqueness, even of independence. This reading is an analogy, not a theorem. It nonetheless explains why prime numbers (7, 11, 13, 17, 23…) appeal so much to lovers of symbols.

Imamiah, the angel of the 5:00 to 5:20 p.m. slot

In the system of the 72 angels, 17:17 falls in the fifty-second slot, that of Imamiah, of the choir of Principalities. Sources differ on the meaning of the name, so we do not give one here. Esoteric works make him an angel of perseverance in the face of adversity; this is not data drawn from ancient texts.

The 72 names themselves are taken from Exodus (14:19 to 21) and put into a list of angels by Reuchlin in 1517. Their distribution across the hours of the day is more recent, and two books may place them differently.

The Star, seventeenth card of the tarot

In the Marseille tarot, the seventeenth card is the Star: a naked woman pours water under a starry sky. Tarot readers see in it hope, the serenity regained after an ordeal, trust in the future. The image is one of the gentlest in the pack.

Linking 17:17 with the Star is a game of symbols. Do keep the idea of patience: after a long day, calm will return with the evening.

A reading grid and psychology

In popular reading, 17:17 is an hour of quiet review. Three questions:

• What have I accomplished today, however modestly?
• What am I deliberately leaving for tomorrow?
• What would do me good this evening?

Psychology brings us back to the mechanics of attention: we look at the time more often at the end of the day, hence the chance encounters with patterns. The tendency to connect unrelated events is called apophenia. It is nothing pathological as long as we remain aware of it. Bear in mind that some thirty glances a day lead you to a mirror hour (with an identical HH:MM form) about four days out of ten.

A haiku to end the day

To make the most of 17:17, try writing a haiku of 17 syllables, split 5-7-5, about one detail of your day. For example:

1. Five syllables to set the scene (a place, a sound, a light).
2. Seven syllables for an action or a sensation.
3. Five syllables for a twist, a contrast, a silence.

The result does not have to be beautiful: it is a way of looking at the day before you leave it.

Keeping a one-month notebook

To find out whether your mirror hours really come back more often than chance would predict, keep a notebook for four weeks. Each time you see one, note the date, the time, what you were doing and what you felt; each time you look at the clock without landing on a pattern, make a small tick mark.

At the end of the month, compare: the ratio between the “patterns” and the “ticks” will give you an honest idea of the frequency. Many people find that their impression of a constant phenomenon is stronger than the reality, and that is precisely what psychologists call the illusion of frequency.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to mirror hours.