ecosophia | A New Year's Divination (Reply)

2022 is here, and since one of my resolutions for the new year is to teach more occultism. I figured I'd start things off right by showing my readers how to do a classic bit of American folk divination using numerology. As I noted in a post here a while back, numerology has a bad rap among serious occultists, but it's had a place in folk magic for a long time and my experiments with it have by and large had very favorable results. So...

The basic concept is that anything that has a number can be added up and, if necessary, the digits added together, until you get a number between 1 and 9. Since ancient times -- and I mean this quite literally; I can point you to sources from ancient Greece if you like -- each of those nine numbers has had its own rich body of symbolic meaning, and the theory is that anything that adds up to that number shares in that meaning.

The year 2021, now mercifully past, was a 5 year -- 2 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 5. In the system of numerology I learned from my late teacher John Gilbert, 5 is ruled by Mars; it is a number of crisis and change, and a year ruled by it is marked by instability and sudden shifts. It is a bad time to take unnecessary risks or to do anything on a whim, but a good time to take decisive action, once you've done the necessary research and know what the dangers are.

This year, 2022, is a 6 year -- 2 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 6. In that same system of numerology, 6 is ruled by Jupiter, and it's a number of harmony and peace. It's a favorable time for ease and comfort, for settling disputes amicably, for following precedents and using established approaches. It's a bad time for conflict, which will prove ruinous for those who start it, and unfavorable for direct action, sudden changes, or new beginnings. Slow and easy is the motto of a 6 year.

That's what numerology predicts for the world as a whole this year. Does that apply to your individual life? Nope. For that, you need your time number, which is calculated by adding together your birth and name numbers. You calculate your birth number by adding together the day, month, and year of your birth -- for example, a child born today, 1/1/2022, would have a birth number of 1 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 8.

table

The name number is a little more complicated. Each letter of the ordinary English alphabet has a number, as shown in the table on the right. You add up the numerical values of the letters of your name to get your name number. Which name? The one you usually use. If your legal name's John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith, for example, and you go by "Jay Smith" in ordinary life, then Jay Smith -- 1 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 2 + 8 -- is the name you use; that sums to 33, and you add the digits together: 3 + 3 = 6. So if Jay was born today, he'd add his name number of 6 to his birth number 8, resulting in a time number of 5 (6 + 8 = 14; 1 + 4 = 5).

You add the time number to the number of the year to get your personal year number, the number that tells you what kind of year it will be for you. Jay's looking at a 2 year -- 5 + 6 = 11, 1 + 1 = 2. (The numbers 11 and 22 can have special meanings in certain contexts, but we'll leave those aside for now.)

For those of you who've done the math, here's a brief summary of what the year numbers mean:

1. Ruled by the Sun, this is a number of new beginnings and opportunity. This is a time of practical action and constructive change. It's a good time to take direct action and to start new things in motion, so long as they aren't complex or evasive. Move ahead forcefully during this year.

2. Ruled by the Moon, this is a number of ups and downs, ebb and flow, and variability. This is a time of variable outcomes and of indecision, and is unfortunate for action. Spend the year weighing possibilities and researching options rather than trying to make things happen.

3. Ruled by Mercury, this is a number of complications, minor changes, and many things to do. Plenty of opportunities and challenges can be expected. Stay nimble and you can manage them all. Cooperation rather than conflict is highlighted.

4. Ruled by Venus, this is a number of stability and steadiness, but also of being stuck in one place. It is favorable for hard work and patience and is beneficial for small things, but trying to push events to a conclusion will have bad results. If you can, stay quiet and avoid trouble.

(5 and 6 have been described above.)

7. Ruled by Saturn, this is a number of contemplation and mystery. Things get weird during a 7 year as factors you don't yet know about take charge. It is favorable for study and preparation. Avoid depressing thoughts, as it will be easy to be dragged down by them.

8. Ruled by Uranus, this is a number of material success and practical effort. Sustained effort this year brings substantial rewards. Focus on the big picture rather than the little details, and work on finishing up projects already begun.

9. Ruled by Neptune, this is a number of completion and karma. The cycle that began with 1 ends this year, for good or ill; your actions in previous years will determine how this one turns out. If you don't like the outcome, learn from your mistakes and prepare to try again.

So there you are. The same system, by the way, can be used for daily divination: simply add your personal time number to the numbers of the day, month, and year, and replace "year" with "day" in the descriptions of the numbers. Have at it -- and have fun.