Friday the 13th of October, 1307. Order of the Pope, or the order of Philip IV? No matter, because either way, legends tells us that DeMolay got them both with his curse while he burned. The significance of the number 13 (or, as I like to think of it, 12+1) goes well beyond linkage to a group that may or may not have anything to do with the lineage of Freemasonry. Without checking, I am confident that October 1, 1307 fell on a Sunday.
The admonition should always be: separate the symbol from what is being symbolized.
For the superstitious, 13 is bad luck or misfortune, which certainly corresponds to the Templars (or at least many of them). It also corresponds to the 13th card in the Tarot, which is Death.
For those who study astrology, it might be the traditional 12 signs of the Zodiac, with 13 being the mysterious Ophiuchus.
From a standpoint of a more esoteric study of spiritualism, it might represent the test: suffering and death. Death to matter and birth into the spirit. Consider 13 attendees at the Last Supper.
Astronomers might see it as a lunar year: 13 months. Also, the moon moves 13° around the Earth every day.
It took Solomon 13 years to build his house (1Kings 7:1).
There are numerous references to 13 on the Great Seal of the USA. Do they all suggest the original 13 colonies?
13 cards in a suit.
13 is a prime number and appears in the Fibonacci sequence. 1.1.2.3.5.8.13. . . . .
There are 13 circles in Metatron's Cube, from which can be projected the 5 Platonic solids. That might be today's Daily Double, because it addresses geometric symbolism, and is a reference to Enoch, both topics worthy of additional study.
There are numerous theories for why the number 13 is considered unlucky. Accepting any one of them (or the myriad others) as the "final answer" is how things get lost, and absolutely the way things won't be found.
Is there a cure for triskaidekaphobia?