Welcome to your first OWL lesson in Arithmancy! This lesson will focus on the development of Arithmancy throughout history, and how its been shaped by differences in geography and time periods. For those of you more interested in the science behind the numbers themselves, I suggest the second lesson choice, which will focus more on the work of mathematicians who tied the world of numbers to the world of magic. In both lessons, the basic origins of Arithmancy will be covered, as well as the meaning of numbers and Arithmetic calculations. Before you can actually practice Arithmancy, it is important you understand it!
The word Arithmancy derives from the Greek work Arithmos (meaning number) and Manteia (meaning divination). It is also sometimes referred to as the practice of Numerology.
Arithmancy developed almost simultaneously in two different places of the world, having roots of origin linked both to the practice of Greek Isopsephy as well as Hebrew/Aramaic Gematria.
Greek Isopsephy derives from an Ancient Greek tradition, and literally translates to “equal pebbles”. The Greeks used rocks to teach themselves basic math, such as counting. Eventually, they developed the idea that each letter of the alphabet corresponds to a number 1-9 and that you could add up the “numbers” of a word to get a single number. They used pebbles to figure out and add up these numbers, giving rise to the practice of Isopsephy.
The Hebrew similarly practiced Gematria. A practice even more ancient than that of the Greeks, it originated in Babylon. It was a system of coding messages as numerical sequences originally, however, as the Jewish culture continued to develop the numbers became more symbolic, adopting their own meanings. They believed that words with the same number were connected spiritually, such as two people whose names added to the same number being considered a good match.
As language modernized, the two processes eventually adapted until they both became branches of one, universal concept: Arithmancy. Though it was still split into two different methods—Agrippan and Chaldean—it began to look more like a practice we may recognize today.
The Chaldean method of Arithmancy is far more ancient than the Agrippan method, and has far less in common with the way today’s Arithmancy is practiced. It continued to use the Hebrew alphabet, as Gematria had. It used a chart based on the numbers 1-8 as well.
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The Agrippan method was not developed until the 18th Century, by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. It is often referred to as the Pythagreon method, despite having no relation to the ancient mathematician Pythagoras. It used the Latin alphabet, and is deemed the more modern method as it is more commonly practiced in today’s time. It was the root of the today’s Arithmancy, using 9 numbers instead of 8, and containing more letters than the Chaldean method. It did not take off until the Latin alphabet was modernized, with “ij” and “uv” finally being written as separate letters rather than being considered only one.
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Now that we’re aware of what numbers are associated with which letters in our modern Arithmetic system, it is important to learn the personalities of the various numbers. Otherwise, learning to calculate them (which will be the focus of Task 2) won’t do you much good!
The number 1 generally symbolizes the beginning or the creation of something. It is often viewed as the catalyst of an event. It can also symbolize unity, as it represents the center or essence of things. In other cases, though, it may represent more negative emotions of isolation.
The number 2 most commonly represents stability through the rooting effects of opposites, reflection, and dependence. As opposed to the number 1 which represents a point, 2 represents a length, and thus is the first number to represent a deviation from complete unity, revealing the flip side of the number two. Aside from stability, it can also represent much the opposite--alteration and conflict--because it symbolizes opposing sides which might not always balance each other out, but may result in violent resolution. The negative aspects of two also include the idea of sin, as it represents the ability to deviate from the first path (that of good) and travel down the opposite, second path (that of corruption).
The number 3 is the first number to represent completion as it includes a past, present, and future or a beginning, middle, and end. This idea is evident all around the real world: triangles (three is the lowest number of points needed to form an actual shape), the Pythagorean Triples, and life itself. Three is one of the most complicated numbers to interpret, as it is viewed as SO important, , so let’s look at a couple of these examples in further depth.
Triangle: Excluding the circle, it requires three or more points to form a shape, with a triangle being the only shape containing three points. This physically means that without the number three, nothing is able to take on a physical form or shape. Spiritually, it represents completion and manifestation into physical being as opposed to spiritual and emotional being.
Life: The reason that 3 has taken on such a prominent role in alchemy and arithmancy is due to the what the human body experiences during death, or as life leaves. There is scientific evidence suggesting that while most systems in your body will fail almost instantly after, it takes three days for the brain to completely register that the body is shutting down. After death has hit, the emotional presence of a person remains connected to the physical body for three days after death.
The number 4 represents wholeness. While 3 represents completion, 4 represents completion with stability in the fact that it has the static-ness of the number two, while still being "complete". There are four cardinal points, four directions, four winds, four seasons, four hemispheres, four elements, four sides to a cross (and four rivers to Paradise, to delve a little bit into the Muggle meaning and ties to religion), four infernal regions, and four quarters of the moon to name a couple.
The number 5 represents perfection in the way of something coming "full circle" as it is the first "circular" number after 0 itself. Because a pentagon has five points and not four, shapes become more and more rounded and less rectangular after reaching five. This idea of perfection was adapted to fit the human form, as it represents individuality in perfection because of its "endlessness" (a circle never ends, as there are no points). Its literal connection to humans is the shape of the human body when layed down and the limbs (arms and legs) extended.
The number 6 is often viewed as being a lucky number, as it is believed to bring perfection, beauty, and whatever else one desires. 6 symbolizes the perfection of humanity, as two interlocking triangles represent the marriage of male and female resulting in new life (a downward facing triangle represents a female as it points to earth and water, and an upward facing triangle represents a male as it points to fire and air) and they contain six points. The largest example of this idea of 6 bringing good luck in the real world is gambling and dice games using a six sided die, in which rolling a six is generally seen as good.
The number 7 is seen as the number of complication (not always in a negative manner, but one that simply suggests diversity and deviation from basic being). 7 is an important number as it connects the body to the spirit and thus it is no surprise that there are 7 ages of man, 7 world wonders, 7 heavens, 7 hells, and many more.
The number 8 represents happiness as in the spiritual world it generally denotes having obtained entrance to Paradise after successfully passing through the 7 circles of heaven to reach it. In a more physical aspect it represents the perfection of 2 and 6 as 2+6=8 but more so because 8 represents the first number of points able to form a 3D cube, which has 6 faces and 6 is a number of luck. It represents 2 in the way that 8 represents pairs of opposites.
The number 9 is seen as the most powerful number as it takes the number 3, which we have already learned represents completion, and TRIPLES it (or multiples it by THREE). Because of this, it is known as the Triple Triad.
Now that we’ve established the meaning of numbers, we must also familiarize ourselves with the different meanings of different Arithmetic calculations before we attempt to perform them. While I won’t be explaining the method in which each is derived during this task, I do want to at least introduce their different uses.
A person’s Character Number represents the general character of an entire person. It is the easiest to calculate, and is often the number focused on when doing a singular, overall calculation.
A person’s Heart Number represents the inner feelings of a person, such as their fears and desires. These numbers may not match our outward opinion of people, because they deal with more private matters.
Lastly, a person’s Social Number represents the outer personality, or the personality someone chooses to show others. It may not be one’s true personality, but it is the one they choose to put forward.
HOMEWORK: For Task 1’s Assignment I’d like you to do a little further research on your own, and write me two brief responses on what you learn (roughly 250 words each). For the first question, please choose either the difference between Isopsephy and Gematria or the Agrippan and Chaldean methods. Tell me more about the two and what makes them similar / different than the intro I gave in the lesson. For the second question, choose anywhere from one to three numbers (however many you feel you can do a good job on in 250 words) and further explain their meaning / where it comes from / common associations or anything else that seems relevant to your chosen number(s).
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