Gurdjieff says that the work on oneself should be accompanied by studying the universe and its laws. Since each individual is a cosmic entity, the possibilities of development are closely linked to the laws that operate the cosmos. Therefore he strongly emphasizes understanding the two Cosmic Laws – the Law of Three and the Law of Seven – which we must study by observing them in ourselves and in the world.
“The next fundamental law of the universe is the law of seven or the law of octaves… [it] gives us an entirely new explanation of the whole of life, of the progress and development of phenomena on all planes of the universe observed by us.”
In Search of the Miraculous (pgs. 122 & 126)
The Law of Seven is described by Gurdjieff as the first fundamental cosmic law. This law is used to explain process. The basic principle of the law of seven explains why nothing in nature and in life constantly occurs in a straight line, that is to say that there are always ups and downs in life which occur lawfully. Gurdjieff claimed that since these periods occur lawfully based on the law of seven that it is possible to keep a process in a straight line if the necessary shocks were introduced at the right time.
“All matter in the universe consists of vibrations descending toward manifestation of form (“involution”) or ascending in a return to the formless source (“evolution”). Their development is not continuous but characterized by periodic accelerations and retardations at definite intervals. The laws governing this process are embodied in an ancient formula that divides the period in which a vibration doubles into eight unequal steps corresponding to the rate of increase in the vibrations. This period is called an “octave,” that is to say, “composed of eight”. This formula lies at the basis of the Biblical myth of the creation of the world, and our division of time into workdays and Sundays. Applied to music, the formula is expressed in the musical scale do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do, with semitones missing at the intervals mi-fa and si-do. The inner movement toward consciousness requires a “conscious shock” at these two intervals in order to proceed to a higher level, that is, a new octave.”
The Reality of Being (pg. 296)
The Law of Three is referred to by Gurdjieff as “the second fundamental cosmic law”. According to this law states that every phenomenon consists of three separate forces, which are Active, Passive and Reconciling or Neutral. This law applies to everything in the universe including organic life on earth.
The Law of Three Forces (the Law of Three). In Gurdjieff’s teaching every phenomenon, on whatever scale, from molecular to cosmic in whatever world, results from the combination of three opposing forces – the positive (affirming), the negative (denying), and the neutralizing (reconciling) force. The possibility of unity depends on a confrontation between the “yes” and the “no”, and the appearance of a third reconciling force that can relate the two. The third force is a property of the real world – “what is” and what “I am”
The Reality of Being (pg. 296)