Chwech

Each of the six senses – hiraeth (longing), smell, hearing, touch, sight, and taste – is tested in conjunction with each of the six questions – who, what, when, where, why, how. For whom do you long? What do you smell? When do you listen? Where do you touch? Why do you look? How does it taste?

Underlying all of these tests is the presumed element of fear. Fear of misfortune. Fear of temptation or revulsion. Fear of siren or censure. Fear of pleasure or pain. Fear of curiosity or intrusion. Fear of excess or refusal.

And why six – senses, questions, fears? Because, between the volatility of five (witness, exactly half of ten, which equals one, or new beginning), and the phasic perfection of seven (witness, the total of any two opposing faces of a die [one of a pair of dice]), six is the number of choice, the realm of messengers and angels.