Numerology

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Numerology

Numerology is any of many system

System

System is a set of interacting or interdependent entities, real or abstract, forming an integrated whole.The concept of an "integrated whole" can also be stated in terms of a system embodying a set of relationships which are differentiated from relationships of the set to other elements, and from relationships between an element of the se...
s, tradition

Tradition

The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
s or belief

Belief

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true....
s in a mystical

Mysticism

Number

A number is a mathematical object used in counting and measurement. A notational symbol which represents a number is called a Numeral system, but in common usage the word number is used for both the abstract object and the symbol, as well as for the numeral for the number....
s and physical objects or living things.

Numerology and numerological divination were popular among early mathematicians, such as Pythagoras

Pythagoras

Pseudomathematics

Pseudomathematics is a form of mathematics-like activity that does not work within the framework, definitions, rules, or rigor of Formal system mathematical models....
by most modern scientist

Scientist

A scientist, in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a system activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy....
s. This is similar to the historical development of astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
out of astrology

Astrology

Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of astronomical object and related details can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters....
, and chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
from alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy , a part of the Occult Tradition, is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties....
.

Today, numerology is often not associated with numbers, but with the occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g....
, alongside astrology and similar divinatory

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency....
arts.

The term can also be used for those who, in the view of some observers, place excess faith in numerical patterns, even if those people don't practice traditional numerology.

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History

Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylon

Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
ia, Pythagoras

Pythagoras

Alexandria

Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
, early Christian mysticism

Christian mysticism

Christian mysticism is traditionally practised through the disciplines of:* prayer ;* fasting, broadly understood as self-denial in general; and...
, the occultism of the early Gnostics

Gnosticism

Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a Nature created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God, and is contrasted with a superior entity, ref...
, the Hebrew

Hebrews

Hebrews are an ancient people defined as descendants of biblical Patriarch Abraham , a descendent of Noah.In the Bible, the patriarch Abraham is referred to a single time as the ivri, which is the singular form of the Hebrew-language word for Hebrew ....
system of the Kabbalah

Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
, The Indian Vedas

Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", and the Egypt

Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
ian "Book of the Master of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead).

Pythagoras

Pythagoras

Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionians Ancient Greeks mathematician and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mysticism and scientist; however some have questioned the scope of his contributions to mathematics and natural philosophy....
and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality.

St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers

Numerology and the Church Fathers

In the early years of Christianity, the Church Fathers commented extensively on numerology.The Fathers repeatedly condemned the magical use of numbers which had descended from Babylonian sources to the Pythagoreans and Gnostics of their times....
for early Christian views.

In 325 A.D., following the First Council of Nicaea

First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicea was convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperors Constantine I in 325 CE. The Council was historically significant as the first effort to attain consensus decision-making in the church through an legislature representing all of Christendom....
, departures from the beliefs of the state Church

Church Body

A local church is a Christian religious organization made up of a congregation, its members and clergy. They are organized more or less formally, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, sometimes seek non-profit corporate status in the United States and often have state or regional structures....
were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic". Despite this religious purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers had not disappeared; several numbers, such as the "Jesus number" have been commented and analyzed by Dorotheus of Gaza

Dorotheus of Gaza

Dorotheus of Gaza or Abba Dorotheus was a Christianity monk and abbot. He joined the monastery Abba Serid near Gaza through the influence of elders Barsanuphius of Palestine and John....
and numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek Orthodox circles. as well as other.

An example of the influence of numerology in English literature is Sir Thomas Browne

Thomas Browne

Sir Thomas Browne was an England author of varied works which disclose his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
's 1658 Discourse The Garden of Cyrus

The Garden of Cyrus

The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincunciall, or Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered is a Discourse written by Sir Thomas Browne....
. In it the author illustrates that the number five and related Quincunx

Quincunx

A quincunx is the arrangement of five units in the pattern corresponding to the five-spot on dice, playing cards, or dominoes. The Quincunx was originally a coin issued by the Roman Republic c.211-200 BC, whose value was five twelfths of an as , the Roman standard bronze coin....
pattern throughout art, nature and mysticism

Mysticism

Mysticism is the pursuit of communion with, Unio Mystica with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, Spirituality, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight....
.

Modern numerology has various antecedents. Ruth A. Drayer's book, Numerology, The Power in Numbers (Square One Publishers) says that around the turn of the century (from 1800 to 1900 A.D.) Mrs. L. Dow Balliett combined Pythagoras' work with Biblical reference. Then in the mid 1970s, Balliett's student, Dr. Juno Jordan, changed Numerology further and helped it to become the system known today under the title "Pythagorean".

Methods

Number definitions

There are no set definitions for the meaning of specific digits. Common examples include:

0. Everything or absoluteness. All
1. Individual. Aggressor. Yang.
2. Balance. Union. Receptive. Yin.
3. Communication/interaction. Neutrality.
4. Creation.
5. Action. Restlessness.
6. Reaction/flux. Responsibility.
7. Thought/consciousness.
8. Power/sacrifice.
9. Highest level of change.
10. Rebirth.

Digit summing

Numerologists often reduce a number or word by a process known as digit sum

Digit sum

In mathematics, the digit sum of a given integer is the Addition of all its numerical digits, e.g. the digit sum of 84001 is calculated as 8+4+0+0+1 = 13....
ming, then reach conclusions based on the single digit that is produced.

Digit summing, as the name implies, involves taking the sum of all of the digits in a number, and repeating the process as necessary until a single-digit answer is produced. For a word, the letters link a number:

1= a, j, s 2= b, k, t 3= c, l, u 4= d, m, v 5= e, n, w 6= f, o, x 7= g, p, y 8= h, q, z 9= i, r

and are then summed

Examples:

3,489 ? 3 + 4 + 8 + 9 = 24 ? 2 + 4 = 6
Hello ? 8 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 25 ? 2 + 5 = 7

A quicker way to arrive at a single-digit "summation" is simply to take the value modulo

Modulo operation

In computing, the modulo operation finds the remainder of division of one number by another.Given two numbers, and , a modulo n is the remainder, on division of a by n....
9, substituting a 0 result with 9 itself.

Different methods of calculation exist, including Chaldean, Pythagorean, Hebraic, Helyn Hitchcock

Helyn Hitchcock

Helyn Hitchcock is a modern writer of books about numerology, including the belief that turning the letters of names into numbers can divine hidden information about those objects....
's method, Phonetic, Japanese, Arabic and Indian.

The examples above are calculated using decimal

Decimal

The decimal numeral system has 10 as its Base . It is the most widely used numeral system....
(base 10) arithmetic. Other number systems

Radix

In numeral system, the base or radix is usually the number of unique Numerical digit, including zero, that a Positional notation numeral system uses to represent numbers....
exist, such as binary, octal, hexadecimal and vigesimal

Vigesimal

The vigesimal or Base - numeral system is based on 20 ....
; summing digits in these bases yields different results. The first example, shown above, appears thus when rendered in octal (base 8):

3,489₁₀ = 6641₈ ? 6 + 6 + 4 + 1 = 21₈ ? 2 + 1 = 3₈ = 3₁₀

Alphabetic systems

There are many numerology systems which assign numerical value to the letters of an alphabet. Examples include the Abjad numerals

Abjad numerals

The Abjad numerals are a decimal numeral system in which the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet are assigned numerical values. They have been used in the Arabic language-speaking world since before the 8th century Arabic numerals....
in Arabic, the Hebrew numerals

Hebrew numerals

The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.In this system, there is no notation for 0 , and the numeric values for individual letters are added together....
, Armenian numerals

Armenian numerals

The system of Armenian numerals is a historic numeral system created using the majuscules of the Armenian alphabet.There was no notation for 0 in the old system, and the numeric values for individual letters were added together....
, and Greek numerals

Greek numerals

Greek numerals are a numeral system using letters of the Greek alphabet. They are also known by the names Milesian numerals, Alexandrian numerals, or alphabetic numerals....
.

Other

In some cases, in a type of numerological divination

Divination

Chinese numerology

Some Chinese assign a different set of meanings to the numbers and certain number combinations are considered luckier than others. In general, even numbers are considered lucky, since it is believed that good luck comes in pairs.

Chinese number definitions

Cantonese frequently assign the following definitions, which may differ in other forms of Chinese:

? — sure
? — easy
? — live
? — considered unlucky since the pronunciation of 4 (sì ) is a homonym
Homonym

In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings, usually as a result of the two words having different origins....
with the word for death or suffering (si ).
? — the self, me, myself, nothing, never
? — easy and smooth, all the way.
? — a slang/vulgar word
Cantonese profanity

The five most common vulgar words in Cantonese profanity are Diu , gau , lan , tsat and hai , where the first literally means fuck, while the rest are sexual organs of either gender....
in Cantonese.
? — sudden fortune, prosperity
? — long in time, a slang/vulgar word
Cantonese profanity

The five most common vulgar words in Cantonese profanity are Diu , gau , lan , tsat and hai , where the first literally means fuck, while the rest are sexual organs of either gender....
in Cantonese

Some lucky number combinations include:

99 — doubly long in time, hence eternal; used in the name of a popular Chinese-American supermarket chain, 99 Ranch Market
99 Ranch Market

RANCH 99 is both the largest Asian American supermarket chain in the United States, and in Canada, operating under the name T & T Supermarket ....
.
168 — road of prosperity or to be prosperous together — many premium-pay telephone numbers in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
begin with this number. It is also the name of a motel chain in China (Motel 168).
518 — I will prosper, other variations include: 5189 (I will prosper for a long time), 516289 (I will get on a long, smooth prosperous road) and 5918 (I will soon prosper)
814 — Similar to 168, this means "I will be wealthy my entire life". 148 also implies the same meaning.
888 — Three times the prosperity.
1314 — whole lifetime, existence.

Other fields

Numerology and astrology

Some astrologers

Astrology

Numerology and alchemy

Many alchemical theories were closely related to numerology. Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, inventor of many chemical processes still used today, framed his experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the names of substances in the Arabic language

Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
.

"Numerology" in science

Scientific theories are sometimes labeled "numerology" if their primary inspiration appears to be mathematical rather than scientific

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to techniques for investigating phenomenon, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and Measure evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning....
. This colloquial use of the term is quite common within the scientific community and it is mostly used to dismiss a theory as questionable science.

The best known example of "numerology" in science involves the coincidental resemblance of certain large numbers

Dirac large numbers hypothesis

The Dirac large numbers hypothesis refers to an observation made by Paul Dirac in 1937 relating ratios of size scales in the Universe to that of force scales....
that intrigued such eminent men as mathematical physicist Paul Dirac

Paul Dirac

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, Order of Merit , Royal Society was a United Kingdom theoretical physicist. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics....
, mathematician Hermann Weyl

Hermann Weyl

Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl was a Germany mathematician. Although much of his working life was spent in Z?rich, Switzerland and then Princeton, New Jersey, he is associated with the University of G?ttingen tradition of mathematics, represented by David Hilbert and Hermann Minkowski....
and astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington

Arthur Stanley Eddington

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, Order of Merit was an English people astrophysicist of the early 20th century. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honour....
. These numerical co-incidences refer to such quantities as the ratio of the age of the universe to the atomic unit of time, the number of electrons in the universe, and the difference in strengths between gravity and the electric force for the electron and proton. ("Is the Universe Fine Tuned for Us?", Stenger, V.J.

Victor J. Stenger

Victor J. Stenger is an United States physicist, and an advocate of naturalism , skepticism, and atheism.Active for many years in particle physics research, he is now mainly known as a critic of intelligent design, the aggressive use of the anthropic principle, and other pseudoscience ideas....
, page 3).

Large number co-incidences continue to fascinate many mathematical physicists. For instance, James G. Gilson has constructed a "Quantum Theory of Gravity" based loosely on Dirac's large number hypothesis.

Popular culture

Numerology is a popular plot device in fiction. It can range from a casual item for comic effect, such as in an episode titled The Seance of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is an United States situation comedy, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15 1951 to April 1 1960 on CBS....
, where Lucy dabbles in numerology, to a central element of the storyline, such as the movie p
Pi (film)

p is a 1998 in film black-and-white United States psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky, who won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award....
, in which the protagonist meets a numerologist searching for hidden numerical patterns in the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
.

External links

— An analysis
— Compares qualities of numbers of different numerological systems

Numerology

History

Methods

Number definitions

Digit summing

Alphabetic systems

Other

Chinese numerology

Chinese number definitions

Other fields

Numerology and astrology

Numerology and alchemy

"Numerology" in science

Popular culture

See also

External links