History Main / RuleOfSeven

** According to the American publication, the Orthodox Study Bible, 777 represents the threefold perfection of the Trinity. Satan the arrogant and imperfect is represented with 666.

* In the backstory for the ''Literature/LoneWolf'' series, Nyxator the Dragon created the seven Lorestones for the forces of Good. In mockery, Agarash the Damned created seven Doomstones.

** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''

** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':

*** The flag of the kings of Gondor depicts seven stars with the White Tree, and there are seven palantíri.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Feanor has seven sons, which is remarkedly unusual for an Elf.
** The entryway to the Elven city of Gondolin is protected by seven gates (wood, stone, bronze, iron, silver, gold, and steel).

* ''Film/{{Se7en}}'', featuring a serial killer theming his crimes around the SevenDeadlySins.

* And ''Film/SevenSamurai'', upon which the previous was based.
* ''Film/NaCha'' ''and the Seven'' ''Devils''
* ''Film/JamesBond'' 007.

* In ''Film/HotFuzz'', Nicholas Angel's badge number is 777.
* Just like the book, ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' features Ramona Flowers' seven evil exes.
* In ''Film/DemolitionMan'', Simon Phoenix overrides a security program on a computer using a string of '7's, causing a cop to become electrocuted.

* ''Film/EscapeRoom2019'': There are ostensibly six contestants in the Escape Room challenge, but there is actually one more contestant: [[spoiler:the Game Master, who doesn't know that he took part in the game [[OhCrap until he is about to die]]]]. Repeated in [[Film/EscapeRoomTournamentOfChampions the sequel]], in which there are initially six contestants, only for one more to be added in the form of [[spoiler:a previous Escape Room contestant who was supposed to die in the previous film]].

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', a gun named [[NamesTheSame Killer7]] costs 77700 pesetas, and has initially a seven-bullet capacity.

* All over the place with ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' Wii's version of Aran Ryan. He can knock you out in seven punches, he always gets up from a knockdown on the seventh count, you can hit him seven times when he's stunned, and sevens pop up in his challenges in Exhibition Mode. He's Irish, so it's a "lucky seven"/"luck of the Irish" gag.

* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'': Seven Evil Exes. Gideon takes the [[ArcNumber "seven" motif]] UpToEleven. He then takes it up to ''twelve'' in TheMovie, even stating after he swallows his gum that "[[LargeHam It's gonna be in my digestive tract for SEVEN YEARS!]]"

** Finding the Seven Lost Lords is the mission behind The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

** King Tirian (The Last Battle) is seventh in descent from King Rilian (The Silver Chair).
** The Seven Friends of Narnia present in The Last Battle.

* Music/TheWhiteStripes: "Seven Nation Army" from ''Music/{{Elephant}}''. Starts out with seven singular notes.

* Microsoft Windows 7, the first to use the numbering scheme in its marketing since way back with Windows 3.1.

* Averted in the ''Illuminatus!'' trilogy where the magic number is five. Characters spend some time discussing whether the Law of Fives is real, or an artifact of perception, or if there's a difference.

* Practically every number you encounter in the ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' series is either somehow related to the number seven (often the result of adding the numbers together), or an homage to something or other. There's even a list at the end of the first book.
* Subverted in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', where the most magical number is 8. Magic being a very [[SpeakOfTheDevil dangerous thing to play with]], there are a lot of superstitions around the number (some people insist on calling it "7a").
* Gilbert L. Morris' books "The Seven Sleepers" series is about seven teenagers who have adventures in a post-nuclear attacked world.
%% "Seven Little Monsters".
* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': There are seven Saints, each one representing one of the seven available elements.
* In Laura Ingalls Wilder's book ''The Long Winter'' (part of the ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' series), Pa is hanging out at the general store when an old Native American chief comes into the store, accompanied by a younger Native American man who serves as a translator. This is highly unusual, because usually the Native Americans in the area stay away from the white people. The old chief tells the men in the store that the lore of their tribe states that there will be a severe winter every seven years, and that every seven times seven years (49 years), there will be an unbelievably severe winter. And that the current year is a seven times seven year. This turns out to come true, as the entire book is about an extremely severe winter that almost results in the Ingalls family starving to death.
* Lampshaded in ''Literature/LordDarcy'' stories, where the characters are making fun of a sect for thinking 7 is a magical number - in that world's magic, only five - and, to a lesser extent, six - are.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
*** The Seven Rings of the seven Dwarf Lords; also a ShoutOut to "Literature/SnowWhite".
*** The flag of the kings of Gondor depicts seven stars with the White Tree, and there are seven palantíri.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Feanor has seven sons, which is remarkedly unusual for an Elf.
* ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' has seven levels of Twilight.
* ''Literature/KeysToTheKingdom'' by Garth Nix has seven [[DayOfTheWeekName Morrow Days]] who are [[EvilOverlord Trustees]] of seven [[GottaCatchThemAll Parts of]] [[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Will]] which each represent one of the SevenHeavenlyVirtues and wield seven [[CosmicKeystone magic]] [[CapitalLettersAreMagic Keys]], who each hold jurisdiction over one of the [[HourOfPower seven days of the week]] and are in charge of one of the seven parts of [[BiggerOnTheInside The]] [[TheMultiverse House]] and due to breaking their [[MagicallyBindingContract contracts]], each suffer from one of the SevenDeadlySins.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Seven is an ArcNumber of the series.
** The largest polity in Westeros is called the Seven Kingdoms, which were once seven independent monarchies until the Targaryens came along.
** The Faith of the Seven is the dominant religion in the main setting. It worships a god that has seven aspects: the Father, the Mother, the Warrior, the Smith, the Maiden, the Crone, and the Stranger. It teaches seven heavens and seven hells, each more intense than the last. Their congregation hall is called a sept, and their godsworn people are called septons and septas; "sept" is French for "seven".
** The Kingsguard has seven members.
** Ned and Catelyn Stark raise seven children at the start of the series: their five biological children (Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon), Ned's bastard (Jon Snow), and Theon Greyjoy, who has been a ward of the Starks since he was 10 years old.
** Seven positions on the Small Council: Hand of the King, Grand Maester, Master of Coin, Master of Ships, Master of Whisperers, Master of Laws, and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
** Creator/GeorgeRRMartin is currently planning on making the series seven books long; [[TrilogyCreep whether he'll actually be able to do that]] [[FourLinesAllWaiting is another matter.]]
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', von Horn has not set foot on a place under American jurisdiction in seven years.
* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's ''Literature/OctoberDaye'' novel ''Rosemary And Rue'', Toby contemplates how she vanished longer than the seven years necessary to declare a human dead.
* In Creator/RuthFrancesLong's ''Literature/TheTreacheryOfBeautifulThings'', seven years pass between Tom's disappearance and Jenny's following him.
* In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, there are seven fairies in each series and seven magical items Jack Frost stole.
* In Creator/JulietMarillier's ''Literature/TheSevenwatersTrilogy'', the protagonist's family lives at Sevenwaters, which has a lake in the centre with seven streams feeding into it.
* ''Literature/TheOrdinaryPrincess'': The titular character is a seventh child and her full name has seven words. Her name is Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne.
* In ''Literature/MidnightsChildren'', Parvati-the-witch is born seven seconds after midnight, making her one of the most powerful of the titular children.
* ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' has the seven tribes of Deltora and the seven gems of the belt of Deltora. The third cycle adds the seven dragons.
* ''Literature/RowanOfRin'': "Seven hearts the journey make. Seven ways the hearts will break."

* The Senior Council in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' is composed of the seven most powerful Wizards in the world (although often there's a lot of politicking involved in choosing a new member). Additionally, there are Seven Laws of Magic (more like seven prohibitions on using it).
* The second volume of the ''Literature/BookOfSwords'' series deals with the Seven Sealings of Benambra's Gold, which are: The hidden location of the treasure, the dragon guarding the entrance, a complex maze, a garrison of guards, a magical barrier, a demon bound to the grounds, and the greed of the thieves seeking to rob it.
* In ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', Jacob Marley has been dead for seven years (to the day) when the story begins.
* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfStrongVanya'':
** Vanya spends seven years lying on his home's stove, living off seven sacks of sunflower seeds and relying on seven sheepskin blankets to keep himself warm. After leaving his home, he travels through sevent countries and seven kingdoms during seven times seven weeks until he crosses the White Mountains.
** Foma Drachensohn, the Stone Knight, is armed with three swords. The smallest of them weighs seven times seven Russian Poods (1 Pood=16,38 kgs). His second sword weighs seventy-seven Poods, and the third one weighs seven times seventy-seven Poods.
** The old blind Tsar declared his daughter will only get married to the one who brings the armor of the Tsar Ivan Vasilievich. However, if no suitor succeeds in fulfilling the task in seven years and seven times seven weeks, the law states the Vasilissa must get married to her most distinguished suitor.

* Several religions regard 777 (RuleOfThree and RuleOfSeven united) as special:

** The seven sages in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', and there ''were'' Seven Sages in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' before [[spoiler:Ganondorf killed one of them]].
** The following games have exactly seven dungeons/stages each: ''[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink The Adventure Of Link]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' and (when including DLC[[note]]Sword Monk Shrine from ''Master Trials'' and Final Trial from ''The Champions' Ballad''[[/note]]) ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''.
** Seven Zora eggs in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''. The number is relevant because ''all seven'' must be grouped together so they can hatch. For the same reason, the song the newborn Zora children teach to Link to cure Lulu's disphonia and enter the Great Bay Temple has seven musical notes in its chorus.

* [[ArmiesAreEvil Gjallarhorn]] in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is ruled by a council of the seven descendants of the families who originally formed the organization. Although by the time we see them, they only have six members, the seventh died of an unspecified illness offscreen and [[SingleLineOfSuccession his successor]] [[spoiler:died in battle against Tekkadan as a result of another Gjallarhorn member's machinations for power.]]

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' features seven worlds, with seven sleeping keyholes. It also introduces the concept of seven lights, a component of the χ-Blade, later revealed to be seven Keyblade wielders (Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Ventus, Aqua, and Lea).

* "Seven Little Monsters".

* ''Film/EscapeRoom'': There are ostensibly six contestants in the Escape Room challenge, but there is actually one more contestant: [[spoiler:the Game Master, who doesn't know that he took part in the game [[OhCrap until he is about to die]]]]. Repeated in [[Film/EscapeRoomTournamentOfChampions the sequel]], in which there are initially six contestants, only for one more to be added in the form of [[spoiler:a previous Escape Room contestant who was supposed to die in the previous film]].

* In Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "LiteratureTheThreeFlowers", Katie and her brothers fall victim to a spell when she picks three blossoms she had been told to not touch: for seven years she will be unable to speak, and they will remain transformed into deers.

** In Creator/GrantMorrison's ''JLA'', the original seven are reunited, except with [[LegacyCharacter Legacy Characters]] for the then-dead ComicBook/GreenLantern and Flash.
** In the ComicBook/{{New 52}}, [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Cyborg]] is now a founding member rather than the ComicBook/MartianManhunter, but the number is still seven.

* Creator/WarrenEllis often used this in his {{Creator/Wildstorm}} work: the faux JLA in ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', the pulp era heroes in the first issue of ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'' (and the other faux JLA that they fight), and the members of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' (whose leader {{Lampshade}}s the trope).

LuckySeven is a subtrope about examples where it is considered a lucky number. Also see MagicalSeventhSon, SevenDeadlySins, and SevenHeavenlyVirtues.

* ''Literature/TheGiantWhoHadNoHeartInHisBody'': Seven princes.

* The [[FanNickname Sexy Seven]] from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}''.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} odd numbers in general, and especially odd primes, are considered auspicious, as they represent the unity and indivisibility of God. As seven is odd and prime, it shouldn't be any surprise that seven shows up at several points in Islam, although not as much as five. The most prominent is probably the ''Iman al-Mufaṣṣil'', or Detailed Statement of Faith, in Sunni Islam, which states: "I believe in God [1] and His Angels [2], His Books [3] and His Messengers [4], in the Day of Judgment [5], that all things good or ill are the will/fate of God [6], and in resurrection after death [7].