Chaldean Numerology: Method and Number Meanings

What Is Chaldean Numerology

Chaldean numerology is a system of letter-number correspondences traditionally attributed to the ancient Chaldeans. In its modern form it is known through 20th-century reconstructions, above all through Cheiro's book Cheiro's Book of Numbers. Two key features distinguish it from the Pythagorean school: letters receive values of 1–8 "by vibration" rather than by alphabetical position, and the number 9 is absent from the chart as a sacred number. All two-digit sums in the system are reduced to single digits. For the origins of the system and the reliability of the "Chaldean" attribution, see the sections "Origins and History" and "Controversies."

Origins and History

Historical Chaldeans: Background Context

The historical Chaldeans were Semitic tribes of southern Mesopotamia. In classical sources, "Chaldean astrologers" are virtually synonymous with Babylonian priest-astrologers: it was Babylon that gave the seven-day week and the zodiac. This is the general historical context, not evidence that an ancient "Chaldean numerology" existed: no direct continuity between Babylonian astrology and Cheiro's chart has been documented.

Cheiro and His Version of the Origins

The primary source of the system is Cheiro's Book of Numbers. Cheiro was the pen name of the Irishman William John Warner (1866–1936), an astrologer, palmist, and numerologist also known as "Count Louis Hamon"; the pseudonym derives from the word "cheiromancy."

According to his own memoirs, Cheiro studied palmistry, astrology, and "Chaldean numerology" in India: his guru was a Chitpavan Brahmin from a village in the Konkan valley (Maharashtra); after two years of study he returned to London. Skeptics, notably James Randi, have questioned these claims.

In the introduction to Book of Numbers, Cheiro writes that he learned the theory of numbers from "a sect of Brahmins" during his travels in the East, and that "the ancient Hindus together with the Chaldeans and Egyptians were absolute masters of the occult meaning of numbers" (translated from English; public domain text).

Regarding the alphabet itself, Cheiro states: "This ancient Chaldean and Hebrew alphabet gives a number or value to each letter. It is the best system I know of; its origin is lost in antiquity, but it is believed to have been created by the Chaldeans, masters of the magical arts, and handed down by them to the Hebrews" (translated from English). Cheiro names two schools of numerology — "the Pythagorean and the more ancient known as the Chaldean" — and urges readers to "return to the original Chaldean, Hindu, and Hebrew system."

The Source Problem: A 20th-Century Reconstruction

It is important to note: no direct ancient Chaldean numerological texts have survived. The system is known through 20th-century reconstructions (by Cheiro and other authors), and Cheiro himself acknowledges that the alphabet's origin "is lost in antiquity" — that is, even by his own account there is no ancient source text. The "Chaldean" attribution is disputed; below it is presented as a claim of one school rather than an established fact.

The first reliably documented publication of the system is Book of Numbers (London, Herbert Jenkins). According to the Open Library catalogue, editions from 1930 ("The London publishing company") and 1932 ("Garden City publishing company", USA) are known, as well as a 1978 reprint (Barrie and Jenkins); scans on Archive.org are Indian reprints by D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. (Bombay, copyright 1959, reprint 1964). Open catalogues do not pinpoint the exact year of the first edition — it dates to the 1920s–1930s.

Calculation Method

Letters 1–8 and the "Sacred Nine"

In the Chaldean chart, letters of the Latin alphabet receive values from 1 to 8. The number 9 is absent from the chart. Cheiro explains: "In the above alphabet there is no number 9, because the ancient masters of occultism knew that in the 'Supreme Sphere' the number 9 represents the nine-letter name of God, and for this reason it is not assigned to any letter" (translated from English). If the sum of the letters in a name yields 9 or a composite number in the nines series (18, 27, etc.), the interpretation is taken from the chapter on the number 9. Cheiro does not name the specific nine-letter name of God (see "Controversies").

Reduction: "Natural Addition"

All two-digit sums are reduced to single digits by "natural addition" from left to right. Cheiro: "11 is 1 plus 1, that is, 2; 12 is 1 plus 2, that is, 3; 13 repeats 4… 19 becomes 1 plus 9 = 10 and again repetition of 1; 20 represents 2, and so on indefinitely" (translated from English).

This is a direct difference from the Pythagorean school: in the Chaldean system all two-digit numbers are reduced, including 11 and 22. Baldwin = 22 → 4, Washington = 11 → 2. There are no "master numbers" in the Pythagorean sense, although composite numbers retain their own symbolism (see below).

Terminology: Root, Fadic, and Composite Numbers

According to Cheiro, single (root) numbers 1–9 describe "how a person appears in the eyes of others" — these are the numbers of individuality. Composite (double/compound) numbers from 10 to 52 represent "hidden influences," the spiritual and occult side of a person. "12 has the root or fadic number 3, but 1 and 2 of which 12 is composed are compound and have their own meaning" (translated from English). The symbolism of composite numbers, according to Cheiro, "seems to have always existed."

The term "fadic number" is Cheiro's term for the root single digit: the fadic number of 12 is 3, the fadic number of 22 is 4.

Letter Correspondence Chart (Chaldean)

The full Chaldean chart according to Cheiro (all 26 Latin letters):

Verification note: in the text OCR layer of the scan, the chart was dropped as graphics; the values were restored from the scan of page 70 of the original and cross-checked against six name examples in the book's text (Baldwin, Lloyd, George, John Smith, Washington, Napoleon). A full verification against the examples is provided in the "Name Number" section.

Birth Number

The birth number in the Chaldean system is the day of the month of birth, reduced to a single digit:

According to Cheiro, the birth number is "the most important," the "key to the chief fadic number influencing the life." Reasons: first, it is unchangeable; second, it is connected to the planetary influence at the moment of birth; third, there is the "mysterious law of vibration."

Caveat: the term "life path number" (reduction of the full date of birth) belongs to the Pythagorean school; it does not mechanically transfer to the Chaldean system: Cheiro works specifically with the day of the month and the name number.

Name Number

The name number is the sum of the letter values of the name by which a person is "best known": the most frequently used first name and surname are added together; if the surname is used more often, it provides the key number. Titles Mr./Mrs./Miss are not included in the calculation.

Examples from the book (which also serve as a cross-check of the chart):

• Baldwin: B=2, A=1, L=3, D=4, W=6, I=1, N=5 → 22 → 4 ("total 22, in single digit — 4");
• Lloyd George: Lloyd (L=3, L=3, O=7, Y=1, D=4) = 18 → 9; George (G=3, E=5, O=7, R=2, G=3, E=5) = 25 → 7; 7+9 = 16 — composite "Shattered Citadel" / "Tower Struck by Lightning," single digit 7;
• John Smith: John (J=1, O=7, H=5, N=5) = 18 → 9; Smith (S=3, M=4, I=1, T=4, H=5) = 17 → 8; total 8;
• George Washington: George = 25 → 7; Washington (W=6, A=1, S=3, H=5, I=1, N=5, G=3, T=4, O=7, N=5) = 40 → 4; 7+4 = 11 → 2 (composite "Awakening" / "Judgment");
• Napoleon: "Napoleon" = 5, "Buonaparte" = 5 → 5+5 = 10; after the spelling change "Napoleon Bonaparte": 5+8 = 13 (composite "skeleton with scythe," "Power").

According to Cheiro, the name number and the birth number should be "in vibration" — in harmony with each other. The name number can be changed: by adding a letter or altering the spelling. If the numbers are not in vibration, it is advised to change the name number. An example from the book: John Smith (name number 8), born under number 2 — i.e., 2, 11, 20, or 29 — in this case he is advised to add a letter with value 3 (C, G, L, or S): 17 + 3 = 20 → 2, and the name number comes into alignment with the birth number. If, however, John Smith was born under number 8 (8, 17, or 26), changing the name is not advised — the numbers are already in harmony, and he should work under the number 8. People of numbers 4 and 8 are advised to "live under" the stronger numbers 1, 3, 5, and 6.

Numbers 1–9 and Planets According to Cheiro

According to the Chaldean school (Cheiro), each number from 1 to 9 corresponds to a planet:

Cheiro identifies "paired numbers": the Sun and Uranus are interconnected, so 1 is recorded as 1–4; the Moon and Neptune as 2–7. People of numbers 1–4 (born on 1, 4, 10, 13, 19, 22, 28, 31) are sympathetic to people of numbers 2–7 (born on 2, 7, 11, 16, 20, 25, 29). Days of the week in the system: Sunday — 1–4, Monday — 2–7, Tuesday — 9, Wednesday — 5, Thursday — 3, Friday — 6, Saturday — 8.

Brief characteristics of the numbers from chapters III–XI of Book of Numbers (all below is "according to tradition," per the Chaldean school (Cheiro)):

Applications

The practical purpose of the system, according to Cheiro, is to "find the day of any month whose vibration will be favorable, or 'lucky,' for a person" — through the occult number of the letters in their name (translated from English). An example from the book: John Smith (name number 8, born January 8) — favorable dates are the 8th, 17th, and 26th.

The same logic applies to house numbers: a person born on the 8th, 17th, or 26th (number 8) is advised not to live in a house with the number 4, 13, 22, 31, 40, etc.; people of number 4 are advised against 8, 17, 26, 35, 44. Numbers 4 (Uranus) and 8 (Saturn) are antagonistic to number 9 (Mars).

Other areas of application in the book: colors and numbers (chapters XXIII, XXVII), cities and places (chapter XXIX), health, diseases, planets and herbs (chapter XXVIII), months and zodiac signs (chapter I: Aries = 9, Taurus = 6, Gemini = 5, Cancer = 2–7, Leo = 1–4, Virgo = 5, Libra = 6, Scorpio = 9, Sagittarius = 3, etc.; planets in "positive" and "negative" aspects), horse racing (chapter XXX). Cheiro separately asserts that the fear of the number 13 is unfounded (chapter XVIII).

The letter-to-number correspondence chart shown above is the foundation of all practical calculations in the Chaldean system: manual addition of the name number, online calculations, calculators, and "translating numbers to letters" — finding the number from the letters of a name.

Comparison with Other Systems

Pythagorean Numerology

The Pythagorean method assigns values of 1–9 to the letters of the Latin alphabet by alphabetical position (A–I = 1–9, J–R = 1–9, S–Z = 1–8). In several schools of the Pythagorean tradition, the two-digit numbers 11 and 22 ("dominant," master numbers) are not reduced; mathematically, reduction is equivalent to modulo 9 division.

Standing apart is Agrippa's arithmancy (16th century), which applied numerical values to the classical Latin alphabet using a "position-value" principle: A=1…I=9, K=10…S=90, T=100 and so on by hundreds (U, J, W were not part of the alphabet at that time). This is a third variant, distinct from both the modern Pythagorean 1–9 chart and the Chaldean 1–8 chart.

Chaldean School (Cheiro): Key Differences

1. Letters receive values by "vibration," not by alphabetical position.
2. Coverage of numbers 1–8; nine is sacred ("nine-letter name of God") and has no letters.
3. All two-digit sums are reduced — 11 and 22 too (Baldwin 22→4, Washington 11→2). There are no "master numbers" in the Pythagorean sense, but composite numbers have their own symbolism up to 52.

Kabbalah and Gematria

Gematria is a method of Jewish exegesis: the numerical values of the letters in words are summed, and words with equal totals are considered symbolically connected. The values of Hebrew letters: 1–9 (aleph–tet), 10–90 (yod–tsadi), 100–400 (qoph–tav).

Cheiro calls his chart a "Chaldean and Hebrew alphabet" and refers to the "nine-letter name of God," but applies the chart to Latin letters of English names (Lloyd George, Baldwin, Washington). Identifying this with actual Hebrew gematria is incorrect: the Chaldean chart is Cheiro's reconstruction, not a literal transmission of the ancient Hebrew tradition.

Criticism and Scientific Status

From a scientific standpoint, numerology is superstition and pseudoscience, using numbers to create an appearance of scientific validity. Two skeptical experiments produced negative results: in the United Kingdom (1993) and in Israel (2012; professional numerologist, 200 participants, experiment repeated twice).

R. T. Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary notes: there is no evidence that Pythagoras "analyzed the personalities of his students by assigning numbers to letters in their names and dates of birth." Moreover, different languages have different alphabets, and different cultures have different calendars, so "it is unclear which 'reading' of a person's numbers is correct"; the question of the "correct reading" is itself meaningless (paraphrase of Carroll's position in our own words).

A methodological objection also applies directly to the Chaldean system: its chart assigns values to letters of the Latin alphabet but claims ancient Chaldean-Hebrew origins; in classical Hebrew gematria the numerical values of letters are different (1–9, 10–90, 100–400), so the "Chaldean" chart cannot be a literal transmission of the ancient Hebrew tradition.

All descriptions in this article are "according to tradition," per the Chaldean school (Cheiro); they are not scientifically established facts.

Controversies: Chaldean vs. Pythagorean

• The "Chaldean" attribution is disputed. No direct ancient Chaldean (Babylonian) numerological texts have survived; the system is known through Cheiro's reconstruction (20th century), who himself writes that the alphabet's origin "is lost in antiquity." This is a claim of one school, not an established fact.
• Different number coverage. The Chaldean chart covers 1–8, the Pythagorean 1–9. In Cheiro's system, nine is absent as "sacred" and has no letters; in the Pythagorean method, 9 is an ordinary digit.
• Reduction of "master numbers" — a direct contradiction between the schools that should not be glossed over: in the Pythagorean tradition, 11 and 22 are "dominant" and not reduced; in the Chaldean system of Cheiro they are always reduced (11→2 for Washington, 22→4 for Baldwin) while the composite number retains its own symbolism.
• Planetary numbers. In Cheiro's system, 4 = Uranus and 7 = Neptune — planets discovered only in the 18th–19th centuries (Uranus — 1781, Neptune — 1846). "Chaldean" antiquity could not have included such correspondences; in the classical astrological scheme, 7 is associated with Saturn. This is a 20th-century reconstruction.
• Cheiro's "Hebrew alphabet." The chart is attributed to "Chaldeans and Hebrews" but contains values for Latin letters A–Z; Hebrew gematria uses different values (1–400). The identification is Cheiro's claim, not a fact of the tradition.
• The "nine-letter name of God." Cheiro does not name the specific nine-letter name. In the Kabbalistic tradition, names of God of various lengths are known — for example, the seven-letter Ararita in Agrippa, the four-letter Tetragrammaton, the 72-letter Shem HaMephorash. The claim of a "nine-letter name" is Cheiro's private interpretation; no primary sources are cited.
• Scientific status. Numerology as a whole is pseudoscience and superstition; two independent tests (1993, 2012) produced negative results. All interpretations of the system are "according to tradition," not verified facts.

See Also

• Number 7 in Numerology — according to the Chaldean school, seven corresponds to the planet Neptune
• Number 9 in Numerology — according to the Chaldean school, nine corresponds to Mars
• Pythagorean system (pythagorean) — a comparative article is being prepared for publication; the link will appear after the card is released