Gematria: Esoteric Numerology Based on the Hebrew Kabbalah
Having long been fascinated with the mysterious power of numbers, enough to write two books on the topic, we often sidestepped the subject of numerology because of its lack of a true scientific basis. Yet ancient and esoteric traditions looked at numerology as not only a tool for divination, but a method of acquiring knowledge beyond that of the five senses, even as a path to know the divine itself.
W.E.B. DuBois once stated, “When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.” There are various systems of numerology that examine number associations with names, dates, and locations and then serve to interpret meaning behind them, usually in conjunction with predicting the future or in charting someone’s destiny.
Numerology evolved over time by also absorbing influences of Christian mysticism, Gnosticism, the Vedas, and eastern esotericism, yet is said to have its roots in Pythagorean mathematics. Pythagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician (570 to 490 BCE) who became known as the grandfather of mathematics.
