Any system that believes in or assigns a meaning to numbers other than their mathematical meaning, and/or connects numbers and patterns found in groups of numbers with events, objects, or people in the real world, is known as numerology. There are several numerological systems, and a numerologist is someone who uses one of these systems to practice numerology or provide occult interpretations of numbers.
The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Pythagoras, who claimed that all things can be expressed in terms of numbers, and his followers, the Pythagoreans, are credited with the invention of numerology. Each number, in their opinion, had a mystical meaning. Even those who don’t believe in numerology but, for example, have a lucky number can see the effects of this type of thinking.
The use of numbers as a source of revelation was once known as arithomancy or arithmancy. These approaches to numbers, which were used the Chaldeans, Greeks, and Hebrews in ancient times, align the letters of the alphabet with a set of numbers according to some standardized rule. A numerologist, who adds the individual values together and interprets the meaning of the results, can thus render any word in numeric form. Using a similar system, a numerologist today might interpret a person’s name to reveal his or her personality, talents, aptitudes, and future. Some believe that a numerologist can divine a person’s inner life, outer life, and path based on their name.
Despite their ancient origins, arithmancy and numerology continue to pique the interest of many people today. The second word may be familiar to you because it was the name of a course Hermione took in Harry Potter’s The Prisoner of Azkaban. Many websites exist dedicated to arithmancy, numerology, and Harry Potter. Numerologists today may have ties to astrology or the tarot. In modern times, the practice is also linked to the I-Ching and Feng Shui, as well as Kabbalah or Qabbalah.
Gematria, or gimatria, is a Hebrew numerology practice associated with the Kabbalah. It’s an alphabetic substitution technique used a numerologist to reveal hidden meanings in scriptural and other texts. The first ten letters of the Hebrew alphabet are aligned with the numbers one through ten; multiples of ten from 20 to 90 are aligned with the next eight; and the first four hundreds—100, 200, 300, and 400—are aligned with the final four letters in this system. The English alphabet has four more letters than the Hebrew alphabet, and the numerical associations for today’s numerologists are different. However, the underlying search for meaning and comprehension in both pursuits has a lot in common.