Numerology

Nowadays it seems that newspapers seem to be giving us a small array of metaphysical options. Not happy with your horoscope? That’s all right, you can read your tarot for the day instead. If you’re the type of person that loves numbers, then you can get your own personal numerology reading along with the daily news. But what exactly is numerology and what do the numbers mean?

Numerology – the study of numbers and their “meaning” as it applies to, well, just about everything – was at one point in history considered a valid area of academic study, engaging such great mathematical minds as Pythagoras (considered the “father” of numerology). Using numerology, just about anything can be analyzed using numbers: simply reduce anything to a single digit – whether it is number-related (such as a house number or a birthday) or not – and reveal the mystery behind it. You can even tell your fortune by using some very simple equations – kind of like crystals for the math minded.

According to numerology, every number has a mystical meaning and each letter of the alphabet is assigned a number, one through nine, allowing for the analysis of names, places, and just about everything else one can spell. With some very simple math you, too, can reduce your being to a single number and find out what the cosmos have in store for you.

Although there are two main systems for working numbers, Pythagorean and Chaldean, most newspapers and magazines that offer do-it-yourself numerology readings in this country all work using the Pythagorean method and this chart:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z –

Ready to find out what your numbers mean? Grab a pencil and write down your first, middle, and last name. Using the chart above, find the numeric equivalent to each letter in your name. Once you have found a number for each letter, add each set (first name, middle, and last) of these numbers. If any of the numbers in each set are more than a single digit, continue to add each set until you come up with a single number. Once you have a single digit for each part of your name add these together. If that number is two or more digits, continue to “break down” the numbers until you have a single digit that represents your total being.

For example, let’s work the numbers for Frank Vincent Zappa:

Add the numbers for each name:

FRANK
6+9+1+5+2=23 > 2+3=5

VINCENT
4+9+5+3+5+5+2=33 > 3+3=6

ZAPPA
8+1+7+7+1=24 > 2+4=6

Then add the resulting digits together:

FRANK 2+3=5
VINCENT 3+3=6
ZAPPA 2+4=6

Then add those sums together:
5+6+6=17

Then reduce the sum until only a single digit remains:
1+7=8

Frank Zappa’s birth name reduces to 8.

So exactly what does “8” mean? Primarily it is the number of payback, the one where karma creeps up and reminds you of your past deeds – all of them, in this life and all that came before. However, since it is also the number associated with hard work and experience, hopefully you and your past lives, will have caught on at least a couple of millennia ago and has gone easy on you for the last couple hundred lives. This hard work might also be responsible for the monetary and material wealth associated with the number eight.

So sit down and do a little math. The chart below will help you find the hidden meaning of your name.

1 self sufficient, dominant, stubborn
2 insightful, introspective, but shy
3 social, playful, but prone to exaggeration
4 productive, traditional, but prone to limited thinking
5 influential, but self-indulgent
6 responsible and a natural caregiver, but anxious and guilt-ridden
7 spiritual, but often narrow in thinking
8 money-oriented, driven, occasionally ruthless
9 philosophical, intuitive, but can be somewhat flaky
(from www.members.aol.com/AspireA1)