What Is Numerology?

Claudine Aegerter, Founder of the Connaissance School and AIN

'Numerology is the philosophy of numbers. It explores the nature, the qualities, and therefore the inner meaning, of these wonderfully logical, harmonious little crystallisations of purpose in the mind of God. They are the transparent bricks (transparent because they are concepts) of the manifestation of the mystery of life.

When we learn to meet them and to know them, we can start to see patterns and cycles, and make sense of where we have been, where we are, and might yet be. Therefore, we understand the 'impulse', the 'heartbeat' of our own life. From understanding comes wholeness, peace of mind and compassion. Numerology offers the possibility to remove ourselves from the sea of illusion and to walk the clear path up the mountain of self realisation.

Each number is an expression of the quality of the life we lead. The understanding of their relationship and procession in our chart can provide great help in explaining the difficulties of past or present circumstances and therefore ease them greatly by helping us to take steps of least resistance.'

A History of Numerology

Colin-M Baker and Berenice Benjelloun

When mankind first emerged from the animal kingdom, and started the long journey of the evolution of consciousness, one of the first conscious activities was to start to count. As man's intelligence began to expand beyond instinctive behaviour and its boundaries of the senses, numbers were born. At first this step was very simple. and just served to differentiate one thing from another - this is the modus operandi of the number 2, the mind begins to recognise 'self' as one entity, and 'the other' as a separate being. We can imagine that once the idea of a 3rd principle came into play, everything must have expanded at a faster rate, and gained sophistication. The concept of number and its use at any point in history can be used to reflect the growth of consciousness in man. So we have a constant thread which runs through all civilisations and cultures since the time of the birth of the human kingdom. The concept of time itself can only be realised by the use of numbers, and the idea of history as a progression owes its existence to the idea of measurement.

As we cast our minds back through history we can appreciate the many different steps that have been taken on the journey-

First the simple practical function of being able to count the objects, people, or animals, in the tribal system and then also the rhythms and patterns of the environment itself, such as the passing seasons, night and day, and the tides of the sea. Once man could count he could observe these phenomena in a conscious way, rather than just being an unconscious part of them.

Another step was then taken into the idea of ownership, and this lead to another use of numbers, which was to measure the land to differentiate territorial rights. The word GEOMETRY has its roots is this activity Geo = land, and metry = measurement.

Then the creative use of sound emerged and lead to music, which is a system of measurement of sound, rhythms and vibrations which are part of this. Recognition and invention of a scale of measurement in the form of the musical scale of notes, is a further development.

As we emerged from simple tribal life, numbers gave rise to systems of all kinds, from the manufacture of utensils for everyday use, to systems of religious belief. Specific systems of number were developed for use in esoteric thought as well as in the understanding of personality and psychological factors and archetypes. These include those systems developed by the Chaldeans, the Hindus, the Mayans, the Hebrews (Kabbala) , the Chinese (Book of Changes), and the work of Pythagorus, amongst others.

All these Systems were originally intended to help understand the relationship between man and his God, but in many cases were diluted for Man's own use, for example for everything from health, wealth, and personal prediction. Many of the systems still tend to focus on one or other of these aspects, man's relationship with the cosmos an the one hand, and personal prediction on the other.

Pythagoras was a Greek master who established a Mystery School in Italy when he was 52 years old. He was born in Greece and lived between 582 and 507 BC, much of his life spent in study and travel. His Mystery School taught esoteric knowledge, which included the secret of number and vibration. The knowledge was passed down by word of mouth and a few manuscripts. The academic teaching rested on a foundation of Mathematics, Music and Astronomy. Much of Pythagoras' background in Egyptian philosophy and religion was based upon Number and Kabbalistic principle. He postulated that the triangle was particularly important, as it was the first complete shape, and constituted a blueprint. Thus form is preceded by a blueprint, and each stage of this process is measured through numbers, hence nothing exists without numbers.

Pythagoras was also responsible for a major change in music. He invented the seven tone diatonic scale with the eighth note as octave above the root or first note of the scale. This enabled music to become more diverse, and some forms to be used in healing. During this period Astrology and Astronomy were taught as one subject. Pythagoras developed what he had learned from the Chaldeans by surmising how the movement of the planets related to the mathematical principles of the musical scale, and that the planets make sounds when they move, hence the music of the spheres.

Pythagoras did not invent numerology, but took it to a new level. For individuals he predicted the future, using their names and dates of birth, though this was not his primary interest in the subject.

This is a very brief look at both Pythagoras, and Numerology more broadly, and fascinating though it is, we are increasingly involved in the cutting edge development of the subject being undertaken in places such as the Connaissance School where numbers are seen as living, dynamic energy systems, accessed primarily through intuition.

The Cycle of Numbers

Colin-M Baker and Berenice Benjelloun

The whole system of Numerology is based on the basic cycle of 1 to 9; all other elaborations and combinations of numbers bringing us back to this cycle. We can see this like a journey, which leads us through to completion. It is a linear path mathematically but a multi-dimensional journey through time and space, and the numbers can be seen as the symbols of the different stages. So each number represents a pinnacle of a particular energy. In this model of a journey the number at the beginning, the number 1, is actually the one which travels through the 9 different stages, finding its point of completion at the number 9, and then starting the cycle again with the 1 in the 10, the 0 with the 1 denoting that it is a different cycle, with another potential. The 0 always represent that which is potential, unknown but promising a different vista.

There are no good or bad numbers, no lucky or unlucky ones, each number is equally necessary and important and each gives strength to the next one and takes what it needs from the one before. The cycle can be applied as a system of understanding to any process of life or understanding, to a whole lifetime, to a particular phase, to a project, to one day, or even 1 hour. To get an idea of the meaning of the symbols of numbers, we can take an example of the working through of a project, and see how the different numbers can represent the different stages.

The project - Building a house.

0 - The 0 being the no-thing, where everything starts, and where the potential is held, is where we can start. Everything is contained in this potential. In the case of building a house then the 0 can represent the mind of the builder.

1. Suddenly the man has the idea of building a house. A house of a new kind that has never been built before, there is no plan in existence that represents the house he has thought of, so the 1 is seen to carry the inspiration, the will, the idea, and the pioneering energy to instigate the process.

2. This is the next step. In order to take the idea further, some thought must be given to what the feel of the house is going to be, and what is needed in terms of proportions and materials to express that feeling, so this is the process of measurement. We are still in the realm of ideas, and the 2 gives us the aspect of choice, of duality, and opposites.

3. Once all these things have been thought about, then it's time to write it all down, and make the architectural plan out of all the measurements that have been gathered, so it can all be seen on paper.. So the 3 is the number of the blueprint, the expression of the mind. Once this stage has been reached the idea appears as if it might really be materialised, but as yet it has still only achieved a reality on paper, so we are still in the realm of ideas.

4. In the 4th stage it's time to actually collect together what is needed to materialise the idea into actual bricks and mortar. This is the long, testing, and potentially difficult stage where the plans are put to the test, and it can be seen if they can create in actuality the original inspiration. This is the "doing" process of the cycle, the practical application and the materialisation of the original thought, so here the materials are purchased, the land is bought, workers are hired, and the work is undertaken.

5. Once the house has been built, then the next stage is to actually live in it and see if it matches up to the original idea. What does it look like, feel like, is it warm, does everything in the house work as it should? The actual experience then is explored and evaluated. The number 5 carries the energy of the scientist who experiments in order to reach an evaluation.

6. Having experienced what it is like to actually live in the house, the 6 symbolises the stage of perfecting the work. Anything not in order, or not working is put right, so as to make the reality match the original inspiration. This requires a lot of devotion and care.

7. At this point in the cycle everything can come together, the house is known and experienced inside out, and a perfection has been reached, so where to go next? Matter and concept are coming close and becoming one, so the idea of synthesis comes in and there is a wish to create a plan for a perfect house.

8. So now that plan is about to be written down, everything has to be re-evaluated, and looked at again, with great honesty and objectivity. If something isn't practical or realistic it has to go. It has to work well and be inspiring at the same time. Also here is the idea of the plan being available to anyone else to use, and understand, and implement in their own way, so the plan has to be flexible, so as to adapt to any situation.

9. Now, at the end of the cycle, the ideas and experiences gained throughout can be taught, and passed on to others. The whole of the cycle is contained in the 9. All the time he's teaching, the builder is also continuing to refine the ideas. It has to be passed on in a way that is detached, so that if he sees other people using his plans in odd ways, he will be able to accept and acknowledge that it can be done differently from the way he did it. So at this stage the 'personal' interest in the house having to look a certain way is removed, and the passing on of knowledge about building houses is more important that his own interest. 9 is the number of knowledge, teaching, and being detached, so that personality can disappear, and the knowledge from the whole cycle can dissolve into the potential, ready to be activated in the new cycle.

10. Having brought the energy through the whole cycle and allowing it to dissolve in the realised 9, in the 10 it is taken back into the potential, which then activates a whole new cycle of a different dimension. Although the new cycle takes the energy into the unknown, the knowledge of the basic 1 to 9 can enable it to be navigated successfully. So in all the numbers which have more than one digit, we simply see combinations of the original format. If we take it back to our original story of the builder of a house, here we come back to the mind, which is ready to start a new project, and the 10 contains the seed of the new idea.

Numerology – Methodology

Colin-M Baker and Berenice Benjelloun

This concerns how we look at significant numbers and glean meaning from them. There are many different methods which are used in the art of Numerology. Sources of many number systems come from ancient wisdom teachings, and are inherited from different cultures all over the world. AIN encourages and promotes the use of all systems of Numerology, and the invention of new ones so as to bring in as much understanding as possible. The field of Numerology is rapidly expanding.

Two of the most common and important methods involve looking at the date of birth, and names of people or organisations.

Taking a date of birth (14th February, 1962) as an example:-

14.2.1962

(This is the date format used in the UK - day.month.year. In the USA the common format is month.day.year. However, whichever format is used will not affect the outcome here)

Each of the 3 component parts of this date i.e. day, month, and year can be looked at separately and in various combinations to see how they interact and influence each other. Each of the components has a different significance and interpretation.

The day and the month (the l4 and 2 ) can be added together to give an overall look at the personality aspect of the person. The resulting number, in this case a 16, gives a greater understanding of the tasks involving personality growth.

Then all 3 parts can be aggregated to, give an overall number. In this case we have the 14+2 = 16 which are added in their total and not as separate digits, then added to the year number, which is added together as separate digits - e.g- 1+9+6+2 = 18. Then the two resulting numbers are added together :- 16+18 =34. The resulting number, which is 34 in this case, is seen as one of the most important numbers in the chart and can represent the aspirations of the Soul. When double numbers are used the digits are added together to give an additional and "summing up" number. In the case of the 34 then we would have a 34/7. There are many other numbers which can be derived from the date of birth, to throw further light on what is happening in the chart.

Names are easily translated into numbers by using a reduction table:

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

An example of how this is applied is shown below:-

     1          5            9          7     1+5+9+7=22/4

W A L T E R M I T T Y

5        3  2       9  4         2   2        5+3+2+9+4+2+2=27/9

22+27=49/13/4

In this system the vowels are placed above and the consonants below and are totalled up separately, before an overall total is obtained. Y is treated as a vowel because in most cases it sounds like one phonetically.

The vowels generally signify inner qualities, and the consonants are more personality based, so the different components can be extracted and add to the understanding of the complete person, which we see in the overall total of 49/13/4.

This explanation is just a starting point and the numbers can be extended and developed using more numbers which are derived from the original date of birth
and name.