Numerology: Exploring the Mystical Connection Between Numbers and Life Events
Destiny Numbers and Personal Development
Numerology, once known as arithmancy before the dawn of the 20th century, is an esoteric belief that perceives a mystical or divine connection between numbers and concurrent events. It also explores the numeric values of letters in words and names using an alphanumeric system. When numerology is applied to an individual’s name, it is referred to as onomancy. This practice is often linked with astrology and the other divinatory arts.
A “numerologist” is a term that can describe those who find significance in numerical patterns and make inferences from them, regardless of whether they practice traditional numerology. For instance, Underwood Dudley, in his 1997 book “Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought,” discusses practitioners of the Elliott wave principle in stock market analysis under this term.
Origin
The term “arithmancy” originates from the Greek words “arithmos” (number) and “manteia” (divination), meaning divination through numbers. The word “arithmancy” traces back to the 1570s, while “numerology” first appeared in the English language around 1907.
Numerology History
Gematria, the practice of assigning numerical values to words and names and attributing them with religious significance, dates back to ancient times. An Assyrian inscription from the 8th century BC, commissioned by Sargon II, mentions a wall built to match the numerical value of his name. Rabbinic literature also employed gematria to interpret passages in the Hebrew Bible.
The Greek city of Miletus developed the practice of using alphabetic letters to represent numbers, known as the Milesian system. Early examples include vase graffiti from the 6th century BCE. Aristotle noted that the Pythagorean tradition, founded by Pythagoras of Samos in the 6th century, practiced isopsephy, the Greek precursor to Hebrew gematria. This system was prevalent during Alexander the Great’s reign and spread during the Hellenistic period, notably adopted in Egypt during Ptolemy II Philadelphus’s reign.
In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, deviations from state church beliefs were deemed civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology, known as isopsephy, persisted in conservative Greek Orthodox circles.
Some alchemical theories were intertwined with numerology, like those of Arab alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, who framed his experiments around an elaborate numerology based on Arabic substance names.
Numerology also features in Sir Thomas Browne’s 1658 work “The Garden of Cyrus,” where he explores the number five and the quincunx pattern in art, design, and nature.
Numerology Methods
Alphanumeric Systems
Various numerology systems assign numerical values to alphabet letters. Examples include Abjad numerals in Arabic, Hebrew numerals, Armenian numerals, and Greek numerals. In Jewish tradition, gematria assigns mystical meanings to words based on their numerical values and connections between words of equal value.
The Mandaean number alphasyllabary is used for numerology, with the Book of the Zodiac being a significant Mandaean text on the subject.
Pythagorean Method
The Pythagorean method assigns numerical values from 1 to 9 to the letters of the modern Latin alphabet, similar to ancient Hebrew and Greek systems’ place-value attributions.
Agrippan Method
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa applied arithmancy to the classical Latin alphabet in the 16th century in his “Three Books of Occult Philosophy,” mapping letters based on their place-value at the time.
Chaldean Method
The Chaldean method, popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, omits the number 9, considered divine and sacred. This method differs from the Pythagorean system by assigning values based on Latin letters’ sound equivalents to Hebrew letters, leading to various versions due to disagreements over letter-sound equivalents.
Angel Numbers
Defined by in modern times (2005), angel numbers consist of repeating digits like 111 or 444, with popular media publications suggesting their numerological significance.
English Systems
There are several English gematria or numerology systems, interpreting Roman script or English alphabet letters through assigned numerical significances. English Qaballa, discovered by James Lees in 1976, is a notable system.
The earliest English gematria system was used by poet John Skelton in 1523, followed by Willis F. Whitehead’s “English Cabala” in 1899. Subsequent systems include John P. L. Hughes’s “Suggestive Gematria” (1952), the Agasha Temple of Wisdom’s system described by William Eisen (1980–82), William G. Gray’s system in “Concepts of Qabalah” (1984), Michael Bertiaux’s “Angelic Gematria” (1989), and David Rankine’s “Prime Qabalah” (2004).
Related Uses
Scientific theories can be labeled “numerology” if they appear to be driven more by patterns than scientific observations. Notable examples include numerical coincidences noted by Paul Dirac, Hermann Weyl, and Arthur Stanley Eddington, involving quantities like the universe’s age relative to atomic time units and the disparity in force strengths between gravity and the electric force for electrons and protons. Wolfgang Pauli was also intrigued by the number 137 in physics.