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Numerology: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Using Your Numbers of Destiny, Key to Your Inner Self

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For lovers of tarot, astrology, and deepening your connection with yourself and others-- a divine roadmap to numerology

Ever notice how some numbers seem to follow us throughout the course of our lives? Consider the numbers we choose when buying a lotto ticket--birth dates, anniversaries, ages, and addresses as well as other hopefully lucky numbers. They each have some personal meaning. Through the centuries, numerologists have been studying the significance of  numbers and perfecting their art in the belief that numbers strongly influence both our behavior and our fate. They have learned that by understanding the meaning of numbers, we can gain greater insight into ourselves.

In Numerology: Key to Your Inner Self, world-renowned numerologist Hans Decoz and accomplished writer Tom Monte have teamed together to produce an easy-to-understand guide that introduces the reader to the basic concepts and applications of numerology. Presented here is a technique that relates the major questions of an individual’s life –his talents, challenges, career, and personal growth--with the basic numeric facts of his existence--his birth date and name.

The book begins with a fascinating explanation of what numerology is and an intriguing look at the philosophy that lies behind it. It then examines how numerology works, focusing on the numeric meanings of personal names, birth dates, and language in general. Included is a step-by-step guide to calculating your own numbers and interpreting them in chart form.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

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Hans Decoz

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Susan.
215 reviews7 followers
April 27, 2009
The book has may good descriptions of the meaning of each number. It puts the techniques to finding these numbers in easy to understand terms. It does not more and better descriptions on how to interept and blend all the numbers as a whole not just individually.
Profile Image for Mara.
11 reviews
February 2, 2021
I am entirely new to numerology, so I am not an expert. With that being said, I enjoyed this book. It gave me a new perspective on life and who I am. Personally, I believe in the power of numbers, whether it be angel numbers or pure Maths.
It was fun reading my numbers and what they meant. It definitely gave me a lot of insight on who I surround myself with, my habits, passions and hidden truths.
Profile Image for Song Văn.
17 reviews5 followers
April 16, 2022
Rất hay, cho ta một khía cạnh mới về Thần số học. Cá nhân mình khi tự xem cho chính mình và những người bạn mình thì tỉ lệ đúng phải 70-80%. Đây sẽ là một bộ môn có thể tham khảo được để thông qua đó hiểu mình và những người bên cạnh mình hơn
Profile Image for Carlos White.
4 reviews
June 25, 2014
Very Insightful... Has to be read more than once, to fully grasp the true value.
Profile Image for Lauren Heckman.
163 reviews20 followers
May 15, 2022
Great for basics and a little more! Highly recommend.
1 review
Read
December 11, 2010
It was very well written and with his website site it is a good companion volume.
Profile Image for Gold Dust.
320 reviews
January 18, 2025
Here’s a great app for automatically calculating all your numbers: World Numerology.

The preface seemed to anticipate my argument about arbitrariness, because it was already defending the numerology belief. It said that 1 is associated with will, beginning, courage, determination, originality, independence, and individuality because 1 is the the beginning, and something that begins has those traits. “There is nothing arbitrary about joining the number 1 with originality or inventiveness, because 1, no matter what language the number is used in, means the beginning, the origin, the first, the birth” (xii). But what IS arbitrary is why January should be the first month. Wouldn’t it make more sense if March were the first because that’s when spring begins? And the days of the month are also arbitrary. Why does January get 31 days but February only gets 28? There is no logic in this. The calendar is what’s arbitrary.

And so is the order of the letters in the alphabet or how a name is spelled. (Haley can be spelled Haley, Hailey, Hayley, Haylee, Haylie, Halee, or Haleigh! Each will have a different numerology number!)

“Many people argue that they were named by their parents, and that their names are arbitrarily chosen for them. But I believe that our parents chose names for us by subconsciously picking up on our vibration, and then naming us accordingly” (65). I totally disagree. Most kids are just named after some relative. Or just whatever name is trendy at the time or sounds good to the parents. Only a small percentage of parents even look into the meaning of their baby’s name, and they certainly don’t know anything about the numerological meaning of the name.

If these things are arbitrary, then you can’t get any meaning out of your numbers which might as well have been randomly assigned. Instead of saying “this is your personality because you are a 1,” it’s better to say “this is your personality because these are the traits and behaviors you have.” I don’t know why people should look to astrology or numerology to determine their personality, when it should be obvious with a little introspection. Maybe for the sake of prediction and compatibility, which people are less certain of than their own personality.

P. 12 tries to explain the logic behind the appearance of the numbers corresponding to certain personalities. It says 4 is down to earth, disciplined, never a dreamer, because it stands on the ground. That’s funny since in Enneagram, 4 IS a dreamer, a procrastinator, and not down to earth. These numbers we use today were not always used around the world. The Romans used Roman numerals, and the Chinese and Japanese use other different characters for the numbers. There are probably many other appearances for numbers that different societies came up with.

All number descriptions (p. 12-14):
1. Independent, leader, strong, unconventional, individualistic, innovative, masculine, brave, ambitious, goal-oriented, stubborn, opinionated, energetic ENTJ
2. Humble, sensitive, diplomatic, flexible, gentle, cooperative, tactful, supportive, feminine, subtle, vulnerable, loving, musical, dislikes confrontation, resilient, peaceful IF
3. Artistic/imaginative, enthusiastic, inspirational, self-expression, open, playful, motivating, optimistic ENFP
4. Down to earth, supportive, disciplined, detail-oriented, orderly, systematic, methodical, precise, reliable, punctual, dependable, honest, rigid, dislikes change, predictable, likes routine STJ
5. Open to experience, persuasive, adaptable, distracted, sensual, adventurous, brave, exploring, experimenting ESP
6. Loving, sacrificing, like a parent, sympathetic, protective, nurturing, responsible, domestic, artistic/creative NFJ
7. Thinker, hermit, seeker of truth, spiritual, analytical, abstract, withdrawn, philosophical, reflective, quiet INT
8. Balanced, ambitious, generous, money-conscious, leader, has big dreams/plans, oversees/manages, persevering, forgiving ESTJ
9. Humanitarian, giving, sharing, caring, idealistic, creative/artistic, aloof. Sounds like Aquarius, NF

Compared to Enneagram, only 2 and 9 are similar in both systems.

The author’s only explanation for how he arrived at these meanings for the numbers are that they supposedly are the stages of development for an idea (178-179). It makes sense for numbers 1 and 2–creating the idea, then pitching it to others. But then the explanation for numbers 3-8 just seem like BS—more work and creativity, worded in different ways, basically equivalent to #1. Another explanation given for how he arrived at these meanings for the numbers is how the numbers look. 6 looks pregnant, 9 is the opposite look of 6, 4 is standing on the ground, etc. (12).

Master numbers (p.14-15, 32-35):
11 - It’s like 1+2. intuitive, sensitive, nervous, shy, withdrawn, impractical, dreaming, charismatic, leader, energetic, inventive, reflective, humorous, passionate lover, tactful, self-conscious, self-critical, lack confidence, feel out of place. will find peace in faith, not logic. Confidence will unlock potential. Real success doesn’t begin until age 35-45.
22 - It’s like 11+4. powerful, successful, inspirational, intuitive, practical, methodical, disciplined, idealistic, big ideas/plans, leader, confident.
“They are called Master numbers because they possess more potential than other numbers. They are highly charged, difficult to handle, and require time, maturity, and great effort to integrate into one’s personality” (14). Master numbers are extremely challenging, have great potential, have a highly developed ability, but have a lot of inner tension (21).

The life path number is the most important number in a numerology chart, and it’s based on the date of birth (20). When calculating your number, make sure you turn the month, day, and year into single-digit numbers, not adding all digits together at once (20).

After the life path number, here are the next numbers in order of importance: birth day, expression, heart’s desire, personality, challenges, maturity, karmic lesson, hidden passion, subconscious self, balance, bridge, cornerstone, capstone, first vowel, rational thought, planes of expression (173-174).

I happen to have 11 as my life’s path number, but I think I’m most like 7. Most of the other numbers in my numerology chart weren't accurate of me.

Challenge numbers are about things you must overcome in your life (57).
1st challenge is from age 0-midlife - 3 which means forced joviality. Wrong.
2nd challenge comes next - 5 which means wanting to experience everything like drugs, sex, travel. Wrong!
3rd challenge is felt during the whole life - 2 which means conformity. True when it comes to pretending to be mannerly and friendly, but not true otherwise.
4th challenge begins in late mid-life and lasts til death - 2 - same as above.

“Your Expression number reveals your physical and mental constitution, the orientation or gaol of your life . . . A lifelong target at which you are aiming. You work at fulfilling this potential every day of your life. Thus, the Expression number reveals your inner goal, the person you aim to be. Your Expression number also reveals your talents, abilities, characteristics, and shortcomings” (66). “Your Life Path number, and all the other numbers based on your date of birth, represent the path you will walk during this life. However, your Expression number, more than any other number in your chart, shows the person walking this path. In addition, the Expression number is the number that indicates your career options more than any other number in your chart” (81). This expression number is gotten by adding up all the letters in your name, where A = 1, B = 2, etc. (No double digits.)

My expression number is 7, which is finally a number accurate of me.

The heart’s desire number (AKA soul urge number) is about what you want. It’s derived from the vowels of your name (85-86).

The personality number is about the part of yourself you share with people you haven’t gotten close to yet. It’s derived from the consonants of the full name (102). My personality number was false of me. It’s weird that the expression number is called that when it’s about the true self, and the personality number is actually about the part of you that gets expressed.

Karmic Debt numbers = 13, 14, 16, 19 (p. 15-180. You should avoid them if possible (235). These are different than karmic lesson numbers which indicate where we’re weak and what we have to work on in this life. “Karmic Lessons are indicated when one or more of the nine single-digit numbers are missing in your name. A Karmic strength is suggested when a number is represented two or more times” (113). So people who have long names will tend to have more letters and thus have a smaller likelihood of having letters missing, so that means they will have less weaknesses (114). So that would mean people with short Chinese names automatically have a lot of weaknesses. Dumb.
My Karmic Lesson number is 7. This is supposed to mean I’m weak in knowledge (118). That contradicts my expression number being 7 which means I’m strong in knowledge.

The hidden passion number is about your strength/talent, indicated by the numbers most often represented in your name (119).

The subconscious self number “reflects the confidence you have in your personal power and competence, as well as in your ability to deal with sudden events and situations. It shows your capacity to correctly assess a situation and to respond appropriately” (124). My subconscious self number is 8, which is that ESTJ personality (126). So not really true of me.

The balance number provides guidance on how to deal with tough situations (127). It’s found by adding the numerical values of the initials of the full name (128).

The cornerstone/special letter number is about the meaning of the first letter of your name. “It gives you an indication of your character, particularly in the way you approach opportunities and obstacles” (130).

Planes of expression:
Each letter got assigned to a group: creative, vacillating, or grounded (138). No explanation is given for how this was arrived at, or how any of the claims in this book were arrived at.

My planes of expression numbers:
Physical: 6, which means practical, artistic, loving, emotional, curious, nosy, idealistic, imaginative, good marriage partner, parent, teaching & healing come naturally (142) (partly true)
Mental: 8, which means business-oriented, ambitious, competitive, arrogant, demanding, seek wealth & power (146-147) (not true)
Emotional: 8, which means dominating, controlling, ambitious, competitive, status-conscious (150) (not true)
Intuitive: 3, which means original, imaginative, artistic, inspiring, intuitive (152) (mostly true)

“Your maturity number indicates an underlying wish or desire that gradually surfaces around age 30-35” (163). It’s arrived at by adding the life path and expression number and reducing the total to a single digit. My maturity number is 9, which means I’m supposed to be more humanitarian, altruistic, and artistic (167-168). I don’t think this is true of me.

The rational thought number is about your way of thinking (169). You find it by adding the sum of all the letters in the first name to the day of birth. My rational thought number is 3, which means creative, scattered, unfocused, & illogical (170). 3 is the ENFP number, so not much like me.

Period cycle numbers: Your life is divided into three parts, and each part is assigned a number. When each part ends depends on your life path number (213).

Then there are the pinnacle cycle numbers (218):
1st (age 0-36 minus life path number)
2nd (9 more years)
3rd (9 more years)
4th (the rest of life)

“The influence of he Pinnacle Cycles is generally stronger felt than that of the Period Cycles. The Pinnacle Cycles depict more specific events and experiences, while the Period Cycles are subtle and indicate a somewhat hidden, underlying current” (230).

House numbers foretell the kind of events and experiences that you will likely encounter during your stay in that house (234-235).

The bridge numbers indicate how you can reach your potential (157). The book talked about personal year numbers, transit letters, essence numbers, but the app didn’t tell me what mine were, so I didn’t bother to record info on these number either. Too lazy to bother calculating them when I’m pretty sure the whole system is BS anyway.

The author claims you can find lost objects by writing down a random nine digit number, then adding them together but don’t reduce to a single digit (236). Definitely no science behind this. I guess he just came up with random locations off the top of his head and applied them to random numbers.
Profile Image for Steven.
Author 1 book66 followers
July 27, 2013
A fair number rating for this book would be a big fat zero. Over 260 pages of nonsense about numbers.
5 reviews
June 12, 2014
Interesting to try for personal knowledge and assessment of self. Can be quite insightful to the nature of your action.
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1 review
December 25, 2023
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Profile Image for Riddhika Khanna.
126 reviews43 followers
July 31, 2023
A good book if you are a beginner. It will give you a basic sense of numerology. However, I felt that it has a lot of repetitive stuff and many times you will find the exact same lines and same paragraphs copied from one page to another. I wish the author gave more thought into this book.
Nonetheless, a good one to get introduced to numerology.
Profile Image for Erin Gagabuan.
6 reviews3 followers
September 6, 2022
This book is a great introduction to Numerology! It's easy to follow and understand. I enjoyed working through the book to do my own chart and will do it again for others I know.
Profile Image for Kaya W..
216 reviews
December 27, 2021
Well written and insightful. I enjoyed learning about the various life path numbers.
Profile Image for Jane.
1 review
January 21, 2013
Pity this book is not available for a Kindle. I use his website a lot but would so love to get an edition of the book for my Kindle LOL.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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