On the Complete Book of Numerology

What is it that makes some spiritual, symbolic systems feel more “true” than others? Why am I fully on board with Jungian archetypes and astrological natal charts but not with numerology and crystal vibrations? It’s hard to say, and this book did little to ease my skepticism. From the outset, David Phillips claims its contents are received wisdom passed teacher-to-student since the time of Pythagoras. That isn’t true. It is true that Pythagoras was all about numerology and numerical systems — his innovations in mathematics were an attempt to tap that source — and it’s a shame we don’t find any of that here. Instead we get systems for calculating numerical birth charts (divided into mind, soul, and body planes), ruling numbers, life paths, and connections between numerology and astrology — that last, unsurprisingly, wholly ineffective.

The system of ruling numbers I’d encountered before in The Life You Were Born to Live, and this book echoes it, so at least it isn’t bullshit invented by a single guy; there’s a club of them, and the ruling numbers struck me as more compelling than the rest. One piece I did find genuinely interesting was the pyramidal life cycles: from your date of birth you can calculate four life paths for different stages, starting at ages twenty-seven to thirty-four and running until death. Cool — and now I know how to read it. Mine says, essentially, to focus on spirituality and intuition for the next seventeen years, then on material progress, and finally on the intellect. Good to know! It’s fun, but not really helpful. There are die-hard believers in numerology out there. I’m not one, and this book didn’t convince me.