How Numerology Works

by Tracy V. Wilson

Introduction

In the world of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger's favorite subject is

arithmancy. The novels don't offer much detail, but they make it clear that
arithmancy involves the magical properties of numbers. Hermione learns to
use complex charts to perform numerical divination, or tell the future using
numbers.

In the real world, arithmancy is known as numerology. According to

numerologists, everything in the world is dependent upon the mystical
properties of numbers. These properties come from the numbers' inherent
vibration. Other new-age practitioners use the term vibration to describe
beliefs in the power of items like crystals, gemstones, colors and essential
oils.

As the theory goes, each number has a unique vibration, giving it certain
properties. These properties can shed light onto a person's behavior or
predict whether romantic partners are compatible. Numerological analysis
can determine a person's lucky number or lucky day. Recurring numbers can
offer clues into how the world works or the significance of people and events.
According to many numerologists, nothing happens by accident -- everything
happens because of numbers.

Public domain image

 Pythagoras

Most numerologists credit Pythagoras with founding the field of

numerology. Pythagoras was a philosopher who was born in Greece around
569 B.C. Historians don't know much about Pythagoras, since little of his
original work survives and most of the people who wrote about him did so
hundreds of years after his death. In fact, some historians believe that the
discoveries usually attributed to Pythagoras really came from several of his
followers. In addition, some historians argue that the personality traits
ascribed to him -- like that he would not allow his followers to eat or even
touch beans -- are apocryphal.

Pythagoras and his followers, known as Pythagoreans, studied mathematics,

music and philosophy. Many textbooks credit the Pythagorean school with
several important discoveries, including:

• The Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle,

the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the
squares of the other two sides (a2 + b2 = c2)
• The mathematical proportions in musical harmonies, likely
discovered through the use of stringed instruments
• The first irrational number, the square root of two, or Pythagoras'
constant

In addition, Pythagoras and his followers believed in mystical properties of

numbers. According to Underwood Dudley, author of "Numerology: Or What
Pythagoras Wrought", the Pythagoreans became interested in number
mysticism after discovering a particularly fascinating fact about numbers. If
you add up a series of odd numbers beginning with the number one, the
result is always a square number.
 The sum of sequential odd integers, beginning with
one, is a square number.

Discoveries like this led the Pythagoreans to the conclusion that "all is
number." According to one interpretation, this means that people can
measure everything in the world and describe it in terms of numbers and
proportions. This is a reasonable idea, and it has had a big influence on
science and mathematics. But according to another interpretation, "all is
number" means that everything in the world is made of numbers and can be
reduced to a numerical value.

The latter interpretation is the foundation of numerology. We'll look at what

else numerology involves in the next section.

The Properties of Numbers

In their study of mathematical concepts, the Pythagoreans sorted numbers

into categories. Numbers like 1, 4 and 9 were square because a
corresponding number of dots or pebbles could be arranged in a perfect
square. One, three, six and 10 were triangular -- one, three, six or 10 dots
can be arranged into regular triangles. Two, six and 12 were oblong, since
the corresponding number of pebbles formed rectangles.
Along with describing numbers in terms of math and geometry, the
Pythagoreans also described them in terms of non-numerical traits. These
traits had more to do with intuition and mysticism than science or
mathematics. For example, odd numbers were masculine, and even numbers
were feminine. The number one was creative, since the addition of multiple
ones can create any other number. Two represented duality and was female,
while three was male. As the sum of two and three, five represented
marriage, and since it fell exactly in the middle of the numbers one through
nine, it also represented justice.

Ten was a sacred number, largely because it is the sum of the first four
digits. The holiness of the number 10 led to a list of 10 fundamental
opposites:

• Limited and unlimited

• Odd and even
• One and many
• Right and left
• Masculine and feminine
• Rest and motion
• Straight and crooked
• Light and darkness
• Good and evil
• Square and oblong
After the death of Pythagoras, interest in mathematical mysticism ebbed. It
reappeared with the Neo-Pythagoreans around the first century A.D.
Pythagoras' non-mathematical theories eventually faded. In the late 1800s,
Mrs. L. Dow Balliett published several books on number vibration, music and
colors. Other writers may have published work prior to Balliett, but her books
seem to incorporate Pythagorean principles and add the concepts used in
numerology today.

According to Balliett and modern numerologists, each number has a specific

vibration. People, foods, objects and colors also vibrate. In order to live a
productive and harmonious life, people should make sure their environment
vibrates in harmony with their own vibrations. This concept appears
frequently in other new-age practices, some of which describe it as an affect
of the movement of subatomic particles. However, there has been little
scientific study to identify or quantify such a vibration or to analyze its affect
on human existence.

Some numerologists have also associated this vibration with the music of
the spheres, or the sound Pythagoras believed the planets and the Sun
made while orbiting the Earth. Pythagoras believed that the planets were
embedded within transparent, physical spheres and that the distance
between them corresponded to musical ratios. Science has since disproved
both of those ideas, as well as the idea that the sun orbits the Earth.

Unlike the Pythagoreans, modern numerologists apply numbers to people in

addition to applying intangible concepts to numbers. According to most
numerologists, the numbers one to nine have unique properties that are the
direct result of their inherent vibration. Some of these properties come from
Pythagorean writings, and others come from the way cultures around the
world use and approach numbers.

Different numerologists apply different attributes to numbers, but here's a

run-down of some of the most popular.
Some systems also designate numbers with repeating digits as master
numbers, which include all the attributes of two other numbers:

• 11: 1 and 2
• 22: 2 and 4
• 33: 3 and 6
• 44: 4 and 8

Numerology purports to tell the future, guide human behavior, predict the
outcome of relationships and otherwise divine the unknowable by figuring
out a person's numbers. For example, if the number nine has a particular
vibration, a person whose number is nine has the same vibration. That
person can choose what to eat, where to go and how to live based on which
choices have a vibration that is compatible with nine. We'll look at how
numerologists determine a person's number next.

Numerology and Synesthesia

Numerology applies non-numeric concepts to numbers.
Similarly, synesthesia is a neurological condition in which
a person associates one sense with perceptions from an
unrelated sense. For example, a person with synesthesia
 might associate colors with words or smells with musical
notes.

Translating Names to Numbers

The process of translating words to numbers is central to numerology. The

practice has roots in Greek, Latin and Hebrew gematria, or the practice of
turning words into numbers for the purpose of divination. People have used
gematria to study and interpret the Torah, the Bible and other religious texts.

Most of the time, numerologists focus on people's names, using a simple

chart to change names into numbers. Different numerology systems use
different charts, but an easy one begins with "a" equaling 1, "b" equaling 2
and so forth.

Numerologists typically use the name a person received at birth. Some argue
that unborn babies select their names themselves and communicate them to
their parents psychically, making sure their name will suit them and yield the
correct number. According to numerologists, the name a person receives at
birth is more significant than nicknames, names taken upon marriage, or
otherwise changed names.

To determine a person's number, the numerologist picks the corresponding

numbers from the chart and adds them together. If the result has two or
more digits, the numerologist will add those digits together, repeating that
step until arriving at a single digit. For example:
The total for the name "Harry" is 34, "James" is 12, and "Potter" is 31, for a
total of 77. In some systems, the number 77 might be a master number, but
most would add the two digits together for a total of 14, and then add one
and four for a total of 5.

The Number of the Beast

The technique used to determine a person's number has
also been used to associate people's names with the
number of the beast, or 666, which appeared in the
book of Revelation. Many people associate this number
with the end of the world or the devil, although with
enough tweaking it's possible to make virtually anyone's
name total 666.

Many numerology systems also use a person's date of birth to arrive at

another number known as the birth, life or destiny number. Harry's birthday,
July 31, 1980, becomes:
Some numerologists use charts or diagrams to examine the numbers and
letters in relations to one another. These diagrams can resemble astrological
charts and can add additional layers of meaning to the numerological
reading. But regardless of whether a numerologist uses a simple or complex
system to determine the results, the final analysis will often sound much like
a horoscope.

Numerologists will interpret the results and the connotations of each number
to make recommendations or theorize about a person's future.
Recommendations often include:

• Lucky days or lucky numbers

• Optimal career paths for a person's numerological temperament
• Negative tendencies to avoid
• Positive attributes to emphasize
• What to look for in a romantic partner

Like astrology, numerology is a type of applied mysticism - it correlates a

mystical symbol with a person's life. For this reason, some people have
credited numerology with helping them to make personal or financial
decisions. However, there's no proof that the system works or that there is
any real correlation between the numbers and their associated concepts.
We'll look at this and some of the other controversies surrounding
numerology in the next section.

Criticism of Numerology

Some people notice the repeated appearance of a particular number in their

daily lives, in historical records or in religious texts like the Bible. It often
seems that the repetition is too frequent to be coincidental. In some cases,
people have theorized that these repeating numbers have special
significance or demonstrate the influence of a deity or supernatural force.
Although not strictly part of numerology, this perception often assigns
numerology-like attributes to the frequently appearing numbers. This has led
to the 23 Enigma and other beliefs that specific numbers are at the center
of a pattern or conspiracy.

Critics, on the other hand, dismiss such occurrences as coincidence for a

number of reasons:

• People are good at recognizing patterns. While this helps people learn
to read, count and recognize faces, it can also encourage people to
interpret random events as patterns.
• Because of the small number of numerals that exist in the world,
repetitions are inevitable.
• Because of the small number of round, square or otherwise distinctive
numbers in the world, repetitions of those are inevitable as well.

The Birthday Paradox

People often express excitement when they learn that a
friend or acquaintance shares their birthday. However,
shared birthdays are common -- in a group of only 23
people, there is a 50 percent probability that two will have
the same birthday. To learn more about the birthday
paradox, check out The Birthday Problem from Wolfram
Math World or our question of the day on the subject.

These criticisms can also apply to the practice of numerology. For example,
some practitioners say they see their numbers everywhere, and that this
confirms that numerology is real. However, according to critics, the frequent
appearance is coincidental. In addition, critics point out that people are likely
to remember seeing their numbers and forget seeing other numbers. In other
words, a person whose number is seven will remember seeing lots of sevens
while disregarding all the sixes, eights and other numbers he encounters.
People are also more likely to remember the numerical attributes that apply
to them while disregarding the ones that don't. This phenomenon is known
as confirmation bias.

But the biggest criticism of numerology is that it's based on an invented

system of counting. This system developed to allow people to count objects
in groups of ten, most likely because most people have ten fingers on which
to count. Even the English words for numbers, which come from Old English,
reflect these groupings of ten. "Eleven" means "one left," and "twelve" is an
abbreviation of "two left."
However, this system, known as a base-10 system, isn't the only -- or even
necessarily the oldest -- system of counting. Indigenous tribes in Australian,
New Guinea, Africa and South America developed number systems that
counted in pairs. Rather than one, two, three, four, five, six, these
progressed more along the lines of one, two, two plus one, two twos, two
twos plus one, three twos. Some societies also used base-12 and base-60,
which we still use to tell time.

In other words, numerology, like astrology, is based on an invented system

that people developed to better organize the objects around them. While
people often find such systems helpful on a spiritual or emotional level,
there's no scientific evidence to prove that the system really works the way
practitioners say it does.