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What is Numerology?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Numerology is a branch of the occult which attaches meanings to numbers. According to the principles of numerology, it is possible to learn a great deal about a person by calculating the numbers involved with his or her name and birthdate. Numerology is also used to analyze texts, messages in dreams, and so forth, and it is an immensely popular branch of the mystical arts; many bookstores, for example, carry a wealth of numerology texts to cater to the demand.

Humans have probably been using numerology since the concept of numbers arose, as some numbers have mystical connections which are extremely ancient, such as the number 3, which is associated with balance and stability in numerous cultures. The Ancient Greeks and Romans both dabbled in numerology, using numerology to tell fortunes and to determine auspicious times for various activities, and some cultures continue to do this; in China, for example, people can pick up numerology booklets which they use to tell their fortunes throughout the year.

Numerology is a branch of the occult which attaches meanings to numbers.
Numerology is a branch of the occult which attaches meanings to numbers.

In numerology, every letter has a numerological association; in the Hebrew, the linking of numbers to specific letters is known as gematria. The tradition of associating numerical values to letters is quite old; Pythagoras, for example, believed that everything could be represented with numbers, and he dabbled in numerology quite a bit himself, which comes as a surprise to some modern mathematicians. Numerical values for letters vary, depending on the numerological tradition which someone follows; many people simply count the letters in their alphabets, adding digits together to get a single number to represent a letter when they reach double digits.

Fortune tellers may claim to use numerology to predict the future.
Fortune tellers may claim to use numerology to predict the future.

Some people consider numerology to be a forefather of mathematics, making it analogous to astrology and the study of astronomy, or alchemy and chemistry, with the study of all of these arts flourishing in medieval Europe. The Middle Ages and Renaissance also marked the publication of numerous texts on these subjects, with authors attempting to read new meanings into the world that they lived in. People certainly believed in numerology and used numerological principles to guide their lives until quite recently, and some people continue to do so.

A typical numerology reading will use the numbers associated with your name and birthday. For people with multiple names, things can get quite complex, as you might imagine. Numerologists may also take someone's place of birth or nation of birth into account when coming up with a reading, and depending on the type of numerology that someone practices, the reading might reveal information about someone's character, past, future, or all three.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

SnowyWinter

@dega2010: Many people learn numerology through books and the Internet. In order to learn numerology you need to know how to make letters correspond to numbers, the different combinations of letters by adding different numerology numbers, and the meaning of different numbers.

There are two basic ways to calculate numerology numbers for a person. The first is by adding the person’s birth date. The other is by adding together the letters in a person’s name. The easiest way is by adding numbers in a person’s birth date.

Next, you need to learn how a word or name can be added together to find its basic numerology numbers.

dega2010

I have always been fascinated with numerology and would love to learn to do it. How would I go about learning how to do numerology?

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    • Numerology is a branch of the occult which attaches meanings to numbers.
      By: Hunta
      Numerology is a branch of the occult which attaches meanings to numbers.
    • Fortune tellers may claim to use numerology to predict the future.
      By: tomas del amo
      Fortune tellers may claim to use numerology to predict the future.