Your online guide to divination and positive magic

Also known as Numeromancy and Arithomancy, Numerology is a system of divination and occult practice based on the idea that the universe is mathematically constructed, and all things can be expressed in numbers, which correspond to vibrations. The meaning of the word numerology comes from the Latin word "numerus", which means "number", and the Greek word "logos", which means "word", "thought", "expression". The formal study of numerology can be linked to the work of the philosopher Pythagoras, who developed many of the basic theorems that form the foundation of modern mathematics.

"… all things are number and that numbers influence the essence of things. Thus number is the mediator between the divine and the earthly. So, if one performs various operations with numbers, theses operations also affect the things related to these numbers”.

 Each number has its own characteristics and values (male/female, strong/passive, harmony/disharmony and so on) and also corresponds to a letter of the alphabet. By applying the principles of numerology - and using only the name and birth date as the basic data – one can decipher a person's personality, strengths and abilities, personal challenges, inner needs, emotional chemistry, and ways of interacting with others. Numerology is also used to determine propitious days for certain activities, such as selecting marriage partners or choosing a baby's name. Frequently it can be combined with other divinatory forms such as astrology, cartomancy, geomancy, and dream interpretation.

The modern phase of numerology began at the turn of the twentieth century when an American woman, L. Dow Balliet, and others during that time published books on the subject. In light of more research on the subject, interest in numerology has grown over the last fifty years.

Gematria

In addition to the occult meanings of numbers , another principle is basic to numerology- -that of gematria, or cryptograph. In Hebrew, consonants are used as number signs, but by providing them with vowels, one can often read them as words and can read words as numbers. Through this way of applying sound and number they were able to determine that by adding the numeric values of letters and words together they could create values that equaled the 'vibration' or 'quality' of the actual letter or word that was being spoken. This method was eventually named Gematria: "a system for discovering the true and hidden meaning of words, using numbers and letters of the alphabet. The numerical values of the letters of words are added together, and then interpreted according to other words with the same numerical values", from Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience. This allows special reading of the Hebrew Bible to find secret or hidden meanings in the text.  A combination of gematria and Pythagorean number symbolism formed the basis for the number magic of the medieval Cabala.