Sentence:  For they considered the odd numbers as male and the even ones as female , <WSD>equating</WSD> the two groups with the Yang and Yin principles in Nature ; and in this square , the respective pairs made up of large and small odd ( Yang ) numbers , and those composed of large and small even ( Yin ) numbers , were all equal to each other . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous