Back to Home Page or
Contents Page or Divination
or Index
Arithmancy
Divination by
numbers (sometimes wrongly called Arithmomancy). The ancient Greeks examined
the number and the values of letters in each name of two combatants. They
predicted the combatant having the name of the greater value would be victorious.
It was by using this science that some diviners foretold that Achilles would defeat Hector.
The Chaldeans also
practiced arithmancy. They divided their alphabet into three parts, each
part composed of seven letters which they attributed to the seven planets.
Through this arithmetic method they made predictions based on the planets.
The Platonists and Pythagoreans were also strongly attracted to this form
of divination which is similar to certain aspects of the Jewish Kabbalah. A.G.H.
Source: 9.