Numerology
group of beliefs that seeks to establish an occult relationship between numbers, living beings and physical or spiritual forces
Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and metaphysical phenomena or ideas. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in words and names (e.g. gematria). When numerology is applied to a person's name, it is a form of onomancy. It is often associated with astrology and other divinatory arts.
Number symbolism is an ancient and pervasive aspect of human thought, deeply intertwined with religion, philosophy, mysticism, and mathematics. Different cultures and traditions have assigned specific meanings to numbers, often linking them to divine principles, cosmic forces, or natural patterns.
Etymology
The term arithmancy is derived from two Greek words – arithmos (meaning 'number') and manteia (meaning 'divination'). "Αριθμομαντεία" (arithmomanteía) Arithmancy is thus the study of divination through numbers. Although the word "arithmancy" dates back to the 1570s, the word "numerology" was not recorded in English before c.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Numerology” as group of beliefs that seeks to establish an occult relationship between numbers, living beings and physical or spiritual forces. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q140732. The Library of Congress control number is sh89004629. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Numerology” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.