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Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... For other uses, see System (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tradition (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Believe. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which... For other uses, see Number (disambiguation). ...

Numerology and numerological divination were popular among early mathematicians, such as Pythagoras, but are no longer considered part of mathematics and are regarded as pseudomathematics by most modern scientists. This is similar to the historical development of astronomy out of astrology, and chemistry from alchemy. Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ... Pseudomathematics is a form of mathematics-like activity that does not work within the framework, definitions, rules, or rigor of formal mathematical models. ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... For other uses, see Chemistry (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ...

Today, numerology is often associated with the occult, alongside astrology and similar divinatory 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. For example, in his 1997 book Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought, mathematician Underwood Dudley uses the term to discuss practitioners of the Elliott wave principle of stock market analysis. For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Divination (disambiguation). ... The Trisectors by Underwood Dudley Underwood Dudley (born January 6, 1937) is a mathematician, formerly of DePauw University, who has written a number of research works and textbooks but is best known for his popular writing. ... It has been suggested that some of the information in this articles Criticism or Controversy section(s) be merged into other sections to achieve a more neutral presentation. ... A stock market is a market for the trading of company stock, and derivatives of same; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. ...

History

Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylonia, Pythagoras and his followers (Greece, 6th century B.C.), astrological philosophy from Hellenistic Alexandria, early Christian mysticism, the occultism of the early Gnostics, the Hebrew system of the Kabbalah, The Indian Vedas, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", and the Egyptian "Book of the Master of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead). For other uses, see Babylon (disambiguation). ... Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christian mysticism... Gnosticism (Greek: gnōsis, knowledge) refers to a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect spirit, the demiurge, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God. ... This article is about the Hebrew people. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Veda redirects here. ...

Pythagoras 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. Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ...

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. Augustinus redirects here. ...

In 325 A.D., following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state Church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic."^{[citation needed]} Through this religious purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers began to disappear. However numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek Orthodox circles. ^[1][2] The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the early Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ...

An example of the influence of numerology in English literature is Sir Thomas Browne's 1658 Discourse The Garden of Cyrus. In it the author illustrates that the number five and related Quincunx pattern throughout art, nature and mysticism. Sir Thomas Browne (October 19, 1605 – October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works that disclose his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. ... The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincuniall, or Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered is a work written by Sir Thomas Browne. ... Five dots forming a quincunx A quincunx is the arrangement of five units in the pattern corresponding to the five-spot on dice, playing cards, or dominoes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Methods

Number definitions

There are no set definitions for the meaning of specific digits. Common examples include: ^[3]

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. Completion.
10. Rebirth.

Digit summing

Numerologists often reduce a number or word by a process known as digit summing, then reach conclusions based on the single digit that is produced. In mathematics, the digit sum of a given numbers is the sum of all its digits, e. ...

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 values corresponding to each letter's place in the alphabet (e.g., A=1, B=2, through Z=26) are summed.

Examples:

• 3,489 → 3 + 4 + 8 + 9 = 24 → 2 + 4 = 6
• Hello → 8 + 5 + 12 + 12 + 15 = 52 → 5 + 2 = 7

A quicker way to arrive at a single-digit "summation" is simply to take the value modulo 9, substituting a 0 result with 9 itself. The word modulo (Latin, with respect to a modulus of ___) is the Latin ablative of modulus which itself means a small measure. ...

Different methods of calculation exist, including Chaldean, Pythagorean, Hebraic, Helyn Hitchcock's method, Phonetic, Japanese and Indian.

The examples above are calculated using decimal (base 10) arithmetic. Other number systems exist, such as binary, octal, hexadecimal and vigesimal; summing digits in these bases yields different results. The first example, shown above, appears thus when rendered in octal (base 8): For other uses, see Decimal (disambiguation). ... The radix (Latin for root), also called base, is the number of various unique symbols (or digits or numerals) a positional numeral system uses to represent numbers. ... The vigesimal or base-20 numeral system is based on twenty (in the same way in which the ordinary decimal numeral system is based on ten). ...

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

English letter numeric values

English letter numeric values — Chaldean method

Other

In some cases, in a type of numerological divination, the name and birth date of an individual will be used to analyze and define personality and propensities. For other uses, see Divination (disambiguation). ...

Chinese numerology

Main article: Numbers in Chinese culture

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. In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利) based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. ...

Chinese number definitions

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

1. 一 —
2. 二 — easy
3. 三 — live
4. 四 — considered unlucky since the pronunciation of 4 (sì ) sounds like the word for death or suffering (sǐ ).
5. 五 — the self, me, myself, nothing, never
6. 六 — easy and smooth, all the way.
7. 七 — a slang/vulgar word in Cantonese.
8. 八 — sudden fortune, prosperity
9. 九 — long in time, a slang/vulgar word in Cantonese
10. 十 — sure

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.
• 168 — road of prosperity or to be prosperous together — many premium-pay telephone numbers in China begin with this number.
• 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.

99 Ranch Market (also called Tawa Supermarket, its Chinese name) is one of the largest Asian American supermarket chains in the United States. ...

Other fields

Numerology and astrology

Main article: astrology and numerology

Some astrologers believe that each number from 0 to 9 is ruled by a celestial body in our solar system. Some astrologers believe that each number from 0 to 9 is ruled by a celestial body in our solar system -- the layout below is the most widely accepted system amongst modern astrologers but there are other conflicting systems as well. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ...

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. The Alchemist. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... 15th century European portrait of Geber, Codici Ashburnhamiani 1166, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, in Latin Geber, was one of the most notable Islamic alchemists. ... Arabic redirects here. ...

"Numerology" in science

Scientific theories are sometimes labeled "numerology" if their primary inspiration appears to be mathematical rather than scientific. 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. Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ...

The best known example of "numerology" in science involves the coincidental resemblance of certain large numbers that intrigued such eminent men as mathematical physicist Paul Dirac, mathematician Hermann Weyl and astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington. 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., page 3[1]). Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS (IPA: [dɪræk]) (August 8, 1902 – October 20, 1984) was a British theoretical physicist and a founder of the field of quantum physics. ... Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl (November 9, 1885 – December 9, 1955) was a German mathematician. ... One of Sir Arthur Stanley Eddingtons papers announced Einsteins theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. ... Victor J. Stenger (born January 29, 1935) is emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii and adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. ...

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 [2].

Numerology in the Bible

Biblical numerology is symbolism portrayed through numbers in the Bible. While numerical symbolism is studied by most theologians, the extent of symbolism is debated. While many numbers in the Bible, especially in the book of Daniel and Revelation, contain symbolic meaning, the majority of the numbers only portray their literal, mathematic connotations, devoid of any symbolic significance. (In other words, numbers that don't fit the pre-conceived meanings are ignored.)^{[citation needed]} Look up number in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ...

A well known example of Bible numerology is 666, the Number of the Beast.^[4] For other uses, see Number of the Beast (disambiguation). ...

Leading figures in the study of numerology in the Bible include E. W. Bullinger, the author of Number in Scripture,^[5], who had been influenced by Dr Milo Mahan's book Palmoni; ^[6] and Ivan Panin who produced numeric patterns that he claimed to be found in the Bible. Panin's patterns are sometimes called Bible Numerology. For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Ethelbert William Bullinger (December 15, 1837 - June 6, 1913) was an ordained Anglican clergyman, Biblical scholar, and dispensationalist theologian. ... Ivan Nikolayevitsh Panin (12 December 1855 – 30 October 1942) was a Russian emigrant to the United States who achieved fame for claiming that the text of the Hebrew and Greek Bible contained numeric patterns. ...

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, where Lucy dabbles in numerology, to a central element of the storyline, such as the movie π, in which the protagonist meets a numerologist searching for hidden numerical patterns in the Torah. I Love Lucy is a popular American situation comedy, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. ... Ï€ (or Pi) is a 1998 American psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky. ...

References

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (August 2007)

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

Bibliography

• Schimmel, A. (1996). The Mystery of Numbers. ISBN 0-19-506303-1 — a scholarly compendium of the connotations and associations of numbers in historical cultures
• Pandey, A. (2006). Numerology: The number game
• Dudley, U. (1997). Numerology: Or, What Pythagoras Wrought. Mathematical Association of America. — a skeptical survey of the field through history
• Nagy, A. M. (2007). The Secret of Pythagoras (DVD). ASIN B000VPTFT6
• E. W. Bullinger (1921). Number in Scripture. Eyre & Spottiswoode (Bible Warehouse) Ltd. 

Annemarie Schimmel (April 7, 1922 - January 26, 2003) was a well known and very influential German Iranologist and scholar who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. ... Pt. ... The Trisectors by Underwood Dudley Underwood Dudley (born January 6, 1937) is a mathematician, formerly of DePauw University, who has written a number of research works and textbooks but is best known for his popular writing. ... The Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is a product identification number used by Amazon. ... Ethelbert William Bullinger (December 15, 1837 - June 6, 1913) was an ordained Anglican clergyman, Biblical scholar, and dispensationalist theologian. ...

External links

• 2006 article about juror being removed from trial after using numerology
• Aesthetic views of numbers on human history — An analysis
• Comparative Numerology: Fundamental Powers: The Numbers One to Ten — Compares qualities of numbers of different numerological systems
• CARM - Biblical Numerology
• gotquestion.org - What is Biblical numerology?
• Symbolism of various numbers
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Eschatological Number Symbolism in Judaism and Early Christianity
• Jewish Encyclopedia
• the Theology of Arithmetic