Those who begin to take an interest in numerology soon discover that there is no single system. The two most widespread are Pythagorean numerology, today the most used, and Chaldean numerology, considered by many to be older and more «esoteric». Applying the two tables to the same name often produces different numbers. Let us see why, and what we really know about their origins.
Two names, two origin myths
Both systems bear names that evoke antiquity. The first recalls Pythagoras and his school; the second the Chaldeans, the people of Mesopotamia who for the Greeks and Romans were synonymous with astrologers and sages.
In reality, in the form in which we know them, both are modern constructions. Present-day Pythagorean numerology developed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Chaldean system too, as it is used today, spread in the same period, in particular thanks to the famous palmist known as Cheiro, who made it popular in his books of the early decades of the twentieth century. There is no evidence that the ancient Chaldeans used this table, which in any case applies to the Latin alphabet, unknown in Mesopotamia.
Knowing this does not make the two systems less interesting as symbolic languages, but it helps not to confuse the name with the history.
The two tables
The Pythagorean system
The letters are arranged in alphabetical order across nine columns, and each letter is worth the number of its column, from 1 to 9:
| Value | Letters |
|---|---|
| 1 | A, J, S |
| 2 | B, K, T |
| 3 | C, L, U |
| 4 | D, M, V |
| 5 | E, N, W |
| 6 | F, O, X |
| 7 | G, P, Y |
| 8 | H, Q, Z |
| 9 | I, R |
The Chaldean system
The letters do not follow alphabetical order, but an order that the tradition links to the sound or «vibration» of the letters. The values range only from 1 to 8:
| Value | Letters |
|---|---|
| 1 | A, I, J, Q, Y |
| 2 | B, K, R |
| 3 | C, G, L, S |
| 4 | D, M, T |
| 5 | E, H, N, X |
| 6 | U, V, W |
| 7 | O, Z |
| 8 | F, P |
The missing 9
The most evident difference is that in the Chaldean system no letter is worth 9. The traditional explanation is that 9 is considered a sacred, complete number, which cannot be assigned to a single letter. It can, however, appear as the result of a sum.
This choice makes the Chaldean system less «mechanical» than the Pythagorean one, but also harder to memorise.
A side-by-side example
Let us take the same invented name used to illustrate the Pythagorean system: Laura Bianchi.
With the Pythagorean table:
- LAURA: 3 + 1 + 3 + 9 + 1 = 17
- BIANCHI: 2 + 9 + 1 + 5 + 3 + 8 + 9 = 37
- total 54, which reduces to 9.
With the Chaldean table:
- LAURA: L 3 + A 1 + U 6 + R 2 + A 1 = 13
- BIANCHI: B 2 + I 1 + A 1 + N 5 + C 3 + H 5 + I 1 = 18
- total 31, which reduces to 4.
The same name produces two different numbers. This is not a mistake: the two systems are two different languages, and each must be read according to its own rules.
Compound numbers
Another peculiarity of the Chaldean system is its attention to compound numbers, that is, the two-digit totals before reduction. In the example, 31 is not considered merely a step towards 4, but has a meaning of its own. Cheiro and his successors assigned specific interpretations to the numbers from 10 to 52.
Pythagorean numerology, by contrast, tends to focus on the final reduced number, with the exception of the master numbers.
Which name is used
The two schools also differ on the name to be calculated:
- Pythagorean numerology usually uses the full birth name;
- Chaldean numerology prefers the name by which the person is actually known and called, because that would be the one that «vibrates» in daily life.
Which system to choose
There is no «true» system and «false» one. The Pythagorean is simpler, more widespread and more consistent in its alphabetical logic; the Chaldean is more complex and tied to the idea of sound. Studio Esoterico Cornelio advises learning one system thoroughly before comparing it with the other, and not mixing the tables in the same calculation: clarity of method is the first condition of serious reflection.
In short
- Pythagorean and Chaldean numerology are two different systems, both modern in their current form.
- The Chaldean system was made popular by Cheiro in the early decades of the twentieth century.
- In the Chaldean table the values range from 1 to 8: no letter is worth 9.
- The same name can give different numbers in the two systems.
- The Chaldean system values compound numbers and the name in use; the Pythagorean the birth name.
