Methodology & Sources

What numerology is, and is not

Numerology is a symbolic tradition. It assigns meanings to numbers and to letters converted into numbers. It is not a science: there is no reliable evidence that it predicts events, personality or compatibility. We present it as a tool for reflection and entertainment, and we do not offer health, legal, financial or relationship advice.

How we calculate

• Reduction: multi-digit numbers are added digit by digit until one digit remains. Stopping at 11, 22 or 33 (master numbers) is optional in the tradition, and AngelSign keeps them.
• Life path: month, day and year are each reduced, added, and reduced again.
• Pythagorean names: A to I are 1 to 9, J to R are 1 to 9, S to Z are 1 to 8. Soul urge uses A, E, I, O, U; personality uses the other letters (Y counts as a consonant).
• Chaldean names: letters carry values 1 to 8 grouped by sound; 9 is not assigned to any letter. The compound number and its single digit are both shown.
• Personal year: reduced birth month + reduced birth day + reduced calendar year, reduced again.
• Lo Shu grid: digits of the birth date are placed on the 3x3 magic square; zeros are ignored.

All calculations run in your browser. The arithmetic is deterministic: the same input always gives the same output. The interpretations are not testable claims.

What the history supports

• “Pythagorean” numerology is named after the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, but the modern letter-to-number table is a 20th-century development, usually credited to writers such as L. Dow Balliett. There is no evidence that Pythagoras used it.
• “Chaldean” numerology is traditionally attributed to ancient Chaldea (Babylon). Historians have not found Babylonian evidence for the letter table, and the system became popular in the early 1900s through writers such as Cheiro.
• The Lo Shu square is a 3x3 magic square from Chinese tradition in which every line adds up to 15. The mathematics of the square is well documented; the numerological readings built on it are interpretive.
• “Angel numbers” such as 111 or 444 are a modern spiritual practice. The digit sum is ordinary arithmetic; the meanings are lore, not part of a classical numerology text.

Books we draw on

• L. Dow Balliett, The Philosophy of Numbers: Their Tone and Colour (1908).
• Cheiro, Cheiro’s Book of Numbers (1926).
• Florence Campbell, Your Days Are Numbered (1931).
• Juno Jordan, Numerology: The Romance in Your Name (1965).
• Dan Millman, The Life You Were Born to Live (1993).

Where books disagree, we show the version we use and say so on the calculator page.

Corrections

If you find an error in a calculation or a claim, tell us on the contact page. We correct factual errors and update the “last updated” date on the page.