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Numerology: The Birth Number
In a previous journal entry here I introduced some of the basic concepts of modern numerology, with an eye toward a divination for the new year. That got an extremely lively response – lively enough that I agreed to post a series of entries here discussing numerology in more detail. This is the first of those entries. Since it’s an expansion of the material I learned from my late teacher John Gilbert, it also counts as the first installment of the teachings of the eccentric Golden Dawn offshoot he inherited and I received from him. (There will be plenty of those as we proceed.)A couple of details probably need to be mentioned before we proceed. First, there are many systems of numerology. The one I practice and teach, which is generally called Pythagorean numerology, was the most widely used version in early twentieth century American occultism. I originally encountered it in various books I read in my teen years, learned it again as part of my studies with John, and more recently found it discussed in a great many out-of-print books on the subject in online archives. It’s the one that reliably works for me, but your mileage may vary.
Second, there are many different theories about why it works. I don’t propose to get into those. If you follow the rules you’ll get meaningful results: that’s the promise of the system. Will it work for you? Try it and see. It's fashionable to reject numerology out of hand because it seems so absurd that the sum of the digits in your birth date, or (as we'll see) the sum calculated from the name you generally use according to a distinctly arbitrary system, should provide useful insights into your personality and destiny. I freely grant the apparent absurdity, but as Galileo said, eppur si muove: the universe is under no compunction to behave in ways that make sense to us.
With those points out of the way, let’s go on. In using numerology for personal guidance, three numbers matter: the birth number, the name number, and the time number. Each one of those has its own meaning and importance. I discussed the time number in the entry mentioned above, though there’s more to say about it and we’ll get back to it in due time. For now, we’ll start with the first of the three numbers: the birth number.
You find your birth number by writing your birth date in numerical form, adding up all the digits, and continuing to add the digits until you get a number between 1 and 9. For example, if you were born on September 3rd, 1987, you would write that out 9 3 1987, and then add 9 + 3 + 1 + 9 + 8 + 7 = 37; 3 + 7 = 10; 1 + 0 = 1. The birth number for a person born on that day would be 1.
There are two exceptions to the rule of adding up the digits. If you were born one day later, 4 September 1978, the digits would add up to 38, which equals 11. If you get 11, leave it – that’s a significant number, not simply an intermediate stage on the way to 2. Similarly, on those rare occasions (say, 6 June 2008) when your sum adds up to 22, leave that as well – that’s also a significant number. 11 is a rare birth number and 22 is a very rare birth number, but both do happen, and when they do, it’s worth noting.
Take the necessary minute or so to add up your birthdate. When you’re done, we’ll go on.
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Got your number? Excellent. Now let’s talk about what it means.
Your birth number is sometimes called your life path number or soul path number. It represents the fixed framework of your personality and your life, and it sums up the things about you that won’t change no matter what. It defines the lesson you have come into this incarnation to learn That’s not all of numerology by any means – the name number, which we’ll examine next, represents things you can change, and the time number (or, rather, the numbers generated by it) represent the things that change all by themselves. In any life, however, there are things fixed in place. You can learn to live with them, work with them, and build a happy life around them, or you can slam your head repeatedly into them until you pass out, but either way they won’t move. There are nine birth numbers, and then the special birth numbers 11 and 22. We’ll discuss them one at a time.
If your birth number is 1, the challenge this incarnation places before you is to be yourself, to go your own way and achieve something original with your life. You are equipped for this task withe a strong will and a robust ego. You dislike complexities and have no talent for dealing with them, but given a definite goal and a straightforward way to get there, you are in your element. Winning is everything to you. Your understanding of the world is always shaped by your own interests—your instinct is always, quite literally, to look out for number one—and you generally insist on having your own way. Your emotions tend to be blunt instruments, and you have little if any tolerance for subtlety; you are honest and frank at best, clumsy and rude at worst. Strong, self-assertive, and ambitious, you need to cultivate a sense of fair play and honesty, and remember that the needs and rights of others also have to be taken into account, or your selfishness will turn potential allies into enemies and lead you into fights you can’t win. You tend to suffer from back trouble and respiratory illnesses, and your fortunate colors are red and yellow. The Sun rules this number.
If your birth number is 2, the challenge you face in this incarnation is to interact well with other people. You are prepared for this task by being naturally tactful, considerate, and kind; you can be very persuasive and are skilled at supporting others. You prefer quiet and peaceful surroundings. You rely on your emotions more than your intellect, and this can result in mood swings and in veering back and forth between extremes of feeling. Left to your own devices, it can be very hard for you to make up your mind or choose a definite course of action, but you are skilled at helping others achieve their goals and can develop a talent for diplomacy and negiation. You give good advice to other people but have a much harder time taking care of your own needs. Patience and the ability to see both sides of an issue are your strengths. To thrive, you need to learn how to make decisions, even if you have to flip coins to do so, and learn how to give the same care to yourself that you give to others. You tend to suffer from headaches; your fortunate colors are white and gold. The Moon rules this number.
If your birth number is 3, the challenge you face in this incarnation is to express your creative abilities. You have been equipped for this task with talent in some field, and you also have a quick and versatile mind. You are easily entertained and easily distracted, and you have little tolerance for other people’s demands. You are best suited to work by yourself; it will be difficult for you to learn to keep your surroundings neat and clean, but if you do this you will find that it makes you happier and more productive. The difficult part of the work before you is learning to take life seriously, put your abundant energy to good use, and finish the things you start. It is very easy for you to think only of the present and let the future take care of itself, but if you let yourself follow this inclination you will land in one scrape after another and accomplish little with your life. Learn to make the most of the opportunities that come your way, and put your talents and your adaptability to good use, and you will accomplish marvels. You tend to suffer from illnesses caused by bad habits, excess, and personal neglect; your fortunate colors are light green and rose red. Mercury rules this number.
If your birth number is 4, the challenge you face in this incarnation is to learn self-discipline and build solid foundations. You are prepared for this task with a serious, sober mind; you are naturally risk-averse and prefer stability and security to change for its own sake. You will face some amount of hardship and labor in this life, but you can overcome them and achieve great satisfaction by patient effort. You can work hard, but only when you want to—otherwise you respond to demands with a stubbornness that others sometimes mistake for laziness. You like to take your time making sense of new ideas and new situations, and need to understand what you have to do before you do it. It is easy for you to become fearful of change, but if you let yourself fall into this trap you will miss opportunities for happiness and prosperity and condemn yourself to poverty and misery. Take things a step at a time, follow the rule of honesty and fair dealing, choose high goals you can work toward steadily over the long term, and then apply your talent for disciplined effort, and you can achieve a successful life and leave a meaningful legacy for the future. You tend to suffer from poor circulation and from illnesses caused by stress; your fortunate colors are dark green and dark blue. Venus rules this number.
If your birth number is 5, the challenge you face in this incarnation is learning the lessons of freedom, for you will spend this life in restless seeking and you will always choose your own path. You are equipped for this challenge with abundant energy and overflowing interest in the unfamiliar; you are impatient with routine and prefer change and excitement. You tend toward the eccentric and the extreme, and you tend to have sudden intense enthusiasms which do not always last long. You are quick to accept new ideas and are genuinely interested in people, you do unexpected things and are constantly heading for new places, and when you get into trouble – which happens fairly often! – you are good at finding a way out. Your great weakness is that you often have your eyes fixed so intently on the distant horizon that you fail to notice what’s right in front of your face. You tend to suffer from health problems caused by your own unhealthy habits; your fortunate colors are light blue, light green, and pink. Mars rules this number.
If your birth number is 6, the challenge you face in this incarnation is learning how to accept responsibility for others. You are prepared for this task with an open, generous spirit; you tend to be optimistic, tolerant, honest, and sincere, and people are naturally attracted to you. Treat them fairly and you will thrive. Good fortune tends to be come your way more often than not, so that you have plenty that you can share with others. You dislike conflict and discord and like to live in comfortable, pleasant surroundings. Your great weaknesses are complacency, self-satisfaction, and self-indulgence; if you are not careful you risk falling into hypocrisy and abusing the trust that others place in you, and this will land you in troubles from which you cannot easily extract yourself. If you avoid these mistakes and cultivate a sense of justice and balance, you will earn the trust of others and may rise to a very high position in life. You tend to suffer from heart trouble, nervous conditions, and problems with eyesight and hearing; your fortunate colors are orange and brown. Jupiter rules this number.
If your birth number is 7, the challenge before you in this incarnation is that of achieving wisdom through reflection and insight. You are prepared for this task with a keen and penetrating mind; you are contemplative, imaginative, and intuitive. You prefer solitude to crowds and the life of thought to the life of action. You are likely to have considerable talent in some field of scholarship or creative activity, but you will have to learn to put that talent to work and to overcome a reluctance to move from contemplation to action. Depression is your great obstacle; it is easy for you to become moody and dispirited, and to blame the world for its failure to recognize your talent when you’ve never given the world a fair chance to notice you! Patience, careful planning, and the courage to show yourself and your work to the public are essential if you are to shine. You tend to suffer from psychosomatic illnesses caused by mental and emotional issues; your fortunate colors are purple and gray. Saturn rules this number.
If your birth number is 8, the challenge this incarnation sets before you is that of worldly accomplishment. You are equipped for this task with drive, ambition, and a talent for some field of practical endeavor; you have a forceful nature and have no fear of hard work, and you like to see others working as hard as you do. You like to set things in order and get them moving, and you are good at details. Opposition simply spurs you on to greater effort, and you are rarely so happy as when you are facing a challenge. You are naturally good at business and can thrive under high pressure. Your great faults are a tendency toward selfishness, on the one hand, and a habit of judging everything and everybody in terms of superficial factors such as wealth and status, on the other. Learn how to help others be succesful on their own terms, rather than simply drafting them into service in your own quest for wealth and power, and you will accomplish great good in the world. You tend to suffer from digestive trouble; your fortunate colors are canary yellow and light brown. Uranus rules this number.
If your birth number is 9, the challenge that is set before you in this incarnation is that of service, for you must serve humanity in some way. Public attention is your life blood and you have some ability, talent, or gift that may enable you to get it. You can influence people – in fact, it will be difficult for you not to influence them! You are destined to some form of achievement and so it is essential that you recognize the difference between the things you can do well and the things you can’t, choose a course to follow, and pursue it. You face two serious obstacles, one at the beginning and the other later on. The first is failing to rise to the challenge your talent sets you, and refusing to try to become what you dream; the second is the overconfidence that comes from success, which can lead you to attempt things you know you can’t achieve. Avoid both of these and you will make your mark on the world. You tend to suffer from circulatory troubles and from problems with the reproductive system; your fortunate colors are red and dark brown. Neptune rules this number.
If your birth number is 11, you have the basic characteristics of 2, but in addition you have a gift for vitality, energy, and decisive action, and your intuition can enable you to do the right thing at the right time. You must cultivate these factors, however, or your life will simply unfold as though your birth number was 2. Develop your talents, and your patience, tact, and kindness then becomes a basis for achievement, and all the time you spent weighing both sides of each question enables you to choose your course of action with great skill. You have the capacity for great power and knowledge, but this can be a serious danger if you abuse it. This is the traditional number of the occultist and the mage, and you will likely be drawn to the study of one or more of the occult sciences. You tend to suffer from nerve problems; your fortunate colors are white and violet. The Moon rules this number.
If your birth number is 22, you have all the basic characteristics of 4, but with a rich inner life that often bears at least a trace, and often much more than a trace, of mysticism; this is the traditional number of the mystic. That inner life is your gift and your burden, and deserves its place at the center of your world. You will probably pass unnoticed by most people, and if you let yourself become obsessed with attracting public notice you will be frustrated and miserable. Be patient, and if you feel you must express your personal vision and your inner life in some form that other people can see, do it in a form which will outlast you and have an impact on the future—some of the great classics of mysticism and spirituality have come into being in this way. You tend to suffer from respiratory troubles, and from illnesses caused by neglecting your health; your fortunate colors are cream and coral. Venus rules this number.
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So there you have it. Take the time to think about your birth number and see how well it fits the recurring patterns and enduring factors in your life. If you have the chance to work out the birth number of other people you know well, do the same thing. Always remember that your birth number is only one of the numbers that numerology uses to understand your life, and it’s the only one that’s fixed. In the next installment of this series, we’ll talk about the one you can change. 
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