Arithmancy is a term I often use in my writings on Numerology. Some people think it came from the “Harry Potter” books, but it actually is much older than that.
From Wikipedia: “The name Arithmancy is derived from two Greek words – arithmos (meaning number) and manteia (meaning divination). Arithmancy is thus the study of divination through numbers.”
Arithmancy & Numerology
Since J.K. Rowling’s wonderful work captivated us all, many people have begun using it to mean the entire art of Numerology, but, sticking to the original word, it can be more clearly defined as methods of arithmetically working with numbers in order to acquire otherwise unavailable information.
Letters & Numbers
A major part of working with Numerology is the translation of letters of the alphabet to numeric values – this should properly be called Gematria, after the old term used by practitioners of Kabbalah. Once you have derived the numbers according to your system of preference (there are many systems that apply to different alphabets, or are used for different purposes), then you begin working with and interpreting the numbers; that is the work of the Arithmancer.
Many of the key numbers in a chart are single digits, usually resulting from what mathematicians call “modulo arithmetic.” When done with a modulus of 9, whatever the sums are above 9, all multiples of 9 are removed, and the remainder is kept. An alternate way of working with them is to sum all the numbers, and sum the individual digits of whatever those sums are, and keep going until the final digit is reached. Master Numbers, which are all multiples of 11 up to 99, are excluded from the final sum in some cases, like the Expression and the LifePath, but not all.
For instance, someone’s last name, after being translated from the alphabetic characters, may be 8, 5, 5, 4, 9, 9, 3, 8. The Arithmantic Sum is found as follows: 8+5+5+4+9+9+3+8 = 51; 5+1 = 6. If one were using Modulo Arithmetic, 51/9 = 5 with 6 as the remainder, so we keep the six. Just remember, though, there are many techniques of Arithmancy, and Modulo Arithmetic may not always give the right answer.
Almost every item that makes up a Numerology Chart has a different Arithmantic method of calculation; there are too many of them to be covered in this article, but eventually we will cover them all. What’s important to know, however, is that the Arithmantic method is often specific to the aspect of the chart we are trying to get some insight into.
Manifest Your Life
Many studies, such as the Life-Path Cycles, the Pinnacles and the Personal/Universal Vibrations all have specific calculations that may not be as straightforward, and may not be applied from one to another. If you’re learning Numerology, it’s a good idea to take these Arithmantic techniques one at a time, and get a sense of how and why they are done. A good start would be learning to properly calculate the Essence of the Day, because it is fairly easy to see how the vibrational patterns that we symbolize as numbers manifest in your life.
Arithmancy is a lot of fun, especially when you begin to see the link between certain types of calculation and the information they provide. When sticking with the “right tool for the right job” Numerology becomes easy and precise, and an excellent source of both self-knowledge, and knowledge of the world around you.
Your Professional Numerologist,
Roy Kirkland
