What is numerology?
Numerology is the idea that numbers carry meaning, and that the numbers in your birth date and name describe your character and path. Here is where it comes from, how Starlight calculates it, and the numbers you will meet in a reading.
The full deep dive
An old idea
People have found meaning in numbers for thousands of years. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras, around 500 BCE, taught that numbers are the building blocks of the universe, and the system most people use today carries his name. Modern numerology as we know it took shape in the early twentieth century.
How it works
Numerology reduces your birth date and your name to single numbers from 1 to 9 by adding digits together. So 28 becomes 2 + 8 = 10, and 10 becomes 1 + 0 = 1. The exceptions are the master numbers 11, 22 and 33, which are kept as they are.
Each letter of the alphabet also has a number:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A J S | B K T | C L U | D M V | E N W | F O X | G P Y | H Q Z | I R |
The numbers in a Starlight reading
- Life Path: from your full birth date. Your core nature and the road you are on.
- Expression, Soul Urge and Personality: from your name. Your talents, your heart’s desire and the face you show the world.
- Personal Year: from your birthday and the current year. The theme of the year you are in.
The nine numbers
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 11, 22 and 33
Where traditions differ
Chaldean numerology, which is older, uses different letter values (1 to 8) and gives more weight to the name you use every day. Some numerologists also add up every digit of the birth date in one long line instead of reducing the day, month and year separately; that can occasionally hide a master number. Starlight uses the Pythagorean letters and reduces day, month and year separately, and shows every step.
Sources and perspectives
- Hans Decoz, Numerology: Key to Your Inner Self
- Ruth Drayer, Numerology: The Power in Numbers