No matter who you are or where you live, you’ve probably faced some amount of instability in your life. And when things feel uncertain, we naturally seek out forms of guidance. For some of us, it’s astrology or tarot cards. For others, therapy. YMMV, as they say, but have you considered numerology?
Numerology is the practice of assigning meaning to (mostly) single-digit numbers and, based on those meanings and some simple calculations, interpreting messages about your life, personality, and destiny. It might sound intimidating, but according to writer, witch, numerologist, and author of The Witch’s Book of Numbers: Enhance Your Magic With Numerology Rebecca Scolnick, it’s the opposite. Upon encountering numerology, she says, “I saw numbers and immediately went, ‘Math? No, that’s not me.’ I think quite a lot of people have the same experience. I found that actually once I started to get to know the numbers and to work with them, it was one of the more straightforward modalities because it is quite practical. We use numbers in our everyday lives.”
So if you’ve already got your sun, moon, and rising signs down pat, might I suggest calculating your life-path number? Tania Gabrielle, an astro-numerologist, likens the life-path number to the sun sign: It’s really just the tip of the iceberg. “It is the number that reveals your purpose for being on earth,” she says. “What is the reason you’re here? What is your main lesson or lessons? How can you refine your manifestation goals, for example, to create more success? You do that by fulfilling the qualities in this life-path number.”
In numerology, calculations are always made by adding up the single digits of a numerical value — in this case, your full birthdate. Much like astrology, numerology maintains that your birthday says something essential about your personality. Also like astrology, there are several numbers in numerology that dictate different aspects of your life.
Okay, sure, skeptics argue that numerology is a pseudoscience and that numbers in and of themselves can’t confer meaning beyond their actual numerical value. Still, the practice has plenty of fans — including some gamblers who use it to choose lucky numbers at roulette tables and the like. Plus, it’s just fun. And for some folks, it actually just makes total sense. “We live in a universe that’s very mathematical,” says numerologist Hollow Hollis, who first learned about numerology from his grandmother and now teaches others on social media. “That’s how we find sense in all of it. Before we even had language and words, we were counting.”
Larissa Martincic, a former teacher turned full time numerologist, known as @goddessgiving on TikTok, also learned numerology from a family member, her Aunt Rita, and after it helped her through a difficult birth and the loss of her father, she realized it could lead to a whole spiritual world. “It’s a unique code that unlocks what’s already within you,” she says. “I’m not here to tell you something new about yourself. I’m here to open up a doorway so you can see yourself not for who your mother says you are, or your spouse, but for who God designed you to be.” Since numerology predates many modern religions, it can be practiced alongside most forms of faith without many clashes — numerology can be seen as a way to communicate with whatever higher power you believe in.
Whether you’re on your path to becoming a numerology diehard or just inclined toward fun superstitions, calculating your life-path number is a fun first step. Read on to learn how to do it and what yours reveals about you.
How do I calculate my life-path number?
Write out your birthday in digits and then add them all up. For example, if your birthday is November 2, 1998, or 11/2/1998, you would add 1+1+2+1+9+9+8 = 31. Then keep adding until you get a single digit: In this case, 3+1 = a life-path number of 4.
Scolnick says there are multiple schools of thought on what order to add the numbers in — some like to add together the digits of the month, day, and year before adding them to one another. She prefers the straight across method shown above because in her practice, it adds an extra layer of meaning. “The double-digit number you get before you reduce further is referred to as your turning-point age,” says Scolnick. “So it symbolizes a moment in your lifetime where things start to shift for you.”
This is pretty straightforward so far, but there is one math-related complication. If your initial calculation comes to 11, 22, 33, or, in very rare cases, 44, you can stop adding, because you’ve got yourself a master number. What that means (and whether it exists as a concept) is a bit dependent on which modality of numerology you’re practicing — scroll down for a comprehensive explanation. To start, we’re going to take a closer look at numbers one through nine.
Got your life-path number figured out? Now you can simply plug that number in below and find out everything that might ever happen to you. (Almost.)
What does my life path number mean?
“Just as you would have figures in a deck of tarot cards, or the qualities and traits of zodiac signs, the numbers also all have their own themes, their own energies,” says Scolnick. Each life-path number references a set of strengths and weaknesses, which Gabrielle calls the number’s positive expressions and shadow sides. When circumstances in your life are harmonious, you will tune in to your number’s positive expressions. But when things are unbalanced, you may find yourself struggling with your number’s shadow. Numerologist Jessica Cerato says it’s important to stay open minded toward the shadow qualities that could be seen as negative. “It doesn’t come from a mean, external place,” she says. “All of these things are within us.”
1
Strengths: Ones are natural-born leaders. “The key words are independence, originality, achievement,” Gabrielle says. Noted for being original thinkers, they are also innovative, creative, determined, inspired, and courageous. “They’re very dependable, resourceful individuals,” says Hollis. Martincic, who is a one herself, agrees. “You do not like to be micromanaged,” she says. “You have to be in charge. A one is very strong, not afraid to take risks. The one energy is wonderful at starting things. It’s the birth of all things.”
Challenges: “When you’re out of alignment, you can be narcissistic because you’re focused on you,” Gabrielle says. Ones are caring to the point that they may be overprotective, intolerant, and domineering. Ones can also feel insecure, helpless, victimized, wishy-washy, or lacking in self-respect or self-esteem, Gabrielle adds. Martincic says the lower side of a one might mean they’re not so good at finishing things and that they don’t do well with criticism.
2
Strengths: “This is the sensitive number, the number of being supportive and diplomatic, patient, cooperative, and detail oriented,” Gabrielle says. Twos are intuitive, kind, and understanding, and they make excellent managers and mediators. Hollis describes a two as an observer, someone who’s soaking up their surroundings and able to deeply appreciate the beautiful, meaningful parts of life. As a result, a two might be more emotionally driven and better at building relationships.
Challenges: “Out of alignment, they are careless, indecisive, and shy to the point of not wanting to interact with others,” Gabrielle says. “They’re resentful, narrow minded.” Unaligned twos can also be timid, insecure, confused, and moody and be easily offended. Martincic says that a two can have trouble controlling their emotions and might struggle with narcissistic tendencies.
3
Strengths: “Threes love to communicate, and they love to make people happy,” Gabrielle says. Other descriptions of a three are joyful, artistic, outgoing, cheerful, enthusiastic, and charming. “Their greatest gift is their ability to speak their truth and to learn to spark joy in others,” says Martincic. For Hollis, the three is a particular favorite. “These are very old souls,” he says.
Challenges: According to Gabrielle, “The shadow side of the three is to worry, to lack concentration and focus, to easily get distracted.” Threes may also be plagued with a bad work ethic, jealousy, and a tendency to criticize and stir up drama. Martincic says they might struggle with anxiety and depression, as well as isolation, when going through a tough time.
4
Strengths: “Four is the most reliable number,” Gabrielle says. “They’re very loyal. They are diligent workers, practical, and accurate.” Other notable four trademarks include straightforwardness and conscientiousness. Fours seek security and stability and place value on the home, family, and friends. Hollis says a four might experience more hardships early on in life, and Martincic says they’re likely to take on responsibility, managing their own lives and the lives of others with the appearance of ease.
Challenges: Out of alignment, fours can be bossy, rigid, humorless, and argumentative. Fours may also be wary of innovation. “They want to stick with what’s already tried-and-true, so they may resist a new way of looking at something,” Gabrielle says. Martincic says a four might struggle with perfectionism, that they’re the type who never wants to take a break because they feel they have to be working hard all the time.
5
Strengths: Curious and resilient, fives are what Gabrielle characterizes as the number of freedom. “It’s fearless, flexible, and fun,” she says. Fives are social and love change and adventure. Other key words include: magnetic, witty, dynamic, entertaining, brave, and sensual. “Their biggest life mission is to break free from comfort zones,” says Hollis. Martincic says fives are easily bored and might cycle through careers, partners, and homes. “The fives are the seekers of the world who came here to experience all that life has to offer.”
Challenges: “You’re uncertain, indecisive, and impulsive; you gamble, take dangerous risks, or are careless,” Gabrielle says. “You’re dependent, easily overwhelmed, and restless.” Fives are also infamous procrastinators, lacking follow-through on projects they start. Martincic says fives are prone to a life of excess and have to be mindful about their pleasure-seeking habits: “They can overdo things because they’re chasing the extremes of life.”
6
Strengths: “People who are sixes like to comfort others,” Gabrielle says. “They like to uplift, share, and give advice, and they adore family. They’re very honorable, and they make great friends.” Sixes are poised, nurturing, unselfish, artistic, romantic, devoted, and sensible. “They came here to be the parent, the provider, the nurturer, the organizer,” says Martincic. “They are here to be of service.” Hollis says that sixes are, above all, focused on the experience of love.
Challenges: “Out of alignment, they can be perfectionistic, very critical, idealistic to a fault, and self-righteous,” Gabrielle says. “They meddle in other people’s business, constantly counseling others and giving unsolicited advice.” Sixes may also be marked by indulgence and self-absorption.
7
Strengths: Sevens are insightful, intellectual, serene, and private. They value history, nature, and alone time and tend to have faith in some kind of higher power. “They can be very into either science and technology or spiritual subjects,” Gabrielle notes. “They seek deeper universal truths.” Hollis says sevens are creative, likely to express themselves through artistic pursuits. Martincic calls them the bridge between the spiritual world and the physical world. “They are the truth seekers,” she says. “They’re here to go deep into all that they do and research and analyze and bring out the truth, reveal what’s hidden.”
Challenges: Sevens may be detached, unemotional, pessimistic, withdrawn, nervous, and aloof. “They can be repressed emotionally and can be deceitful as well,” Gabrielle says.
8
Strengths: Eight is a number of power, authority, and abundance. “Eight represents an energetic person — honorable, confident, dependable, and goal oriented,” Gabrielle says. They have big ideas and tend to delegate tasks to accomplish their vision. Eights are dependable and inspirational, making for great leaders. Cerato says eights are great manifesters who support other people’s dreams.
Challenges: Of eights, Gabrielle says, “They can be materialistic, thoughtless, and controlling and can abuse power and be careless about money.” Eights may also be egotistical, scheming, and impatient. They worry about being powerless, about feeling victimized and financially insecure.
9
Strengths: “They embody unconditional love, which is so hard to come by,” Gabrielle says of nines. These people are also open-minded, creative, romantic, empathetic, and magnetic. Gabrielle also notes that nine is a humanitarian number marked by charitableness, kindness, and idealism.
Challenges: On the flip side, nines can struggle with holding on to things. Gabrielle says, “They’re extremely sensitive, resentful, cautious, nervous, gullible, easily used by others, and pessimistic about the world and the future.”
What is a master number?
Okay, it’s time to talk about master numbers (a term Scolnick doesn’t love). When you’re calculating your life-path number, you’ll usually end up with a double-digit number that you then reduce down to its single digit. But if your double digit number is 11 or a multiple of 11 — usually 11, 22, 33, or, on rare occasion, 44 — you stop there. “These are idealized versions of energies,” says Scolnick. Hollis, who includes ideas about reincarnation in his understanding of numerology, calls master numbers star seeds. For him, a master number is someone who has completed the cycle of reincarnation and has come back to guide others how to do the same thing, whether through teaching, service, or being a role model of some kind.
Even if we’re not thinking in terms of reincarnation, Scolnick says a master number represents a divine energy that others can learn from. Martincic notes that this doesn’t always mean a master number’s life is better or easier; in fact, someone with a master number as their life-path number might be overcoming more intense challenges early on in life. “They’ll have to become more like an adult at a very young age.” But ultimately, she says, a master number’s life path is marked by choice. “You can walk among the average, or at any moment you can turn that master energy on to manifest greatness in your life. They are in control of how long they have to struggle and they can manifest with greatness and ease.”
Here’s a breakdown of the master numbers and their life paths.
11
Scolnick calls 11 the idealist. “It’s somebody who has one foot on the ground and one foot in the clouds, and that can make for beautiful, romantic, inspirational expansion,” she says. “It can also mean that this person has a really hard time yielding to the reality of boots-on-the-ground earth life, because they are aware of this other perspective.”
22
The 22 is what Scolnick calls the master builder. They are great at material manifestation, at making something out of nothing. The 22 usually has reached a level of spiritual mastery. Hollis says a 22 is likely to be a spiritual teacher of some kind. “These are going to be your yogis, professors, people who study religion,” he says. Within a 22, says Scolnick, practicality meets prodigy.
33
Scolnick calls 33s the great spiritual teacher, and Hollis calls them spiritual leaders. They’re people who are teaching on a mass level, with potential for a global impact. They can offer deep wisdom and insight and are also creatively flourishing.
44
44 is extremely rare, but Scolnick can attest that they exist. “There are a few 44s out there that I’ve calculated,” she says. In fact, Hilary Duff has a 44. She calls 44 the infinite creator and says their life path is marked by longevity, miraculous construction, everlasting energy, and inspirational leadership.
What’s the difference between a life-path number and an angel number?
Whereas your life-path number is a fixed number calculated based on your birth date, angel numbers, or as Scolnick calls them, repeating numbers, are numbers that show up repeatedly in your life — in license plates, clocks, phone numbers, addresses, etc. “Repeating numbers are a really quick way for the universe to get your attention,” says Scolnick. Martincic says that angel numbers are generally a positive communication, no matter what the specific number is. “When you see that sign, don’t stress out so much about what the actual numbers mean,” she says. “Just know that in that moment, you and your angels are in sync. Your prayers are being heard. You are aligning to that frequency of your guardians or your departed loved ones.”
Do life-path numbers share compatibility?
While there are no real incompatibilities in numerology, some numbers are more compatible than others. First, says Scolnick, the nine main life-path numbers are sorted into three categories: mental/intellectual (three, six, and nine), physical/emotional (two, five, and eight), and practical/logical (one, four, and seven). Those whose numbers are in the same category are likely to connect and relate to one another more easily. Martincic emphasizes that numerological compatibility should never be a negative thing; it’s about better understanding the other person and how you can accommodate one another’s traits so that you can come to the relationship thoughtfully.
And then, of course, there are more calculations you can do. “A lot of numerologists do regard the combination of a couple’s life-path numbers to be their marriage number,” says Martincic. “You can take your life-path number and add it to the life-path number of someone else, and you can come up with a relationship’s composite energy,” says Cerato. “That number of the relationship shows you the challenges in that relationship and the empowered side of that relationship.”
Are there different types of numerology?
In the U.S., the most common form of numerology is one that is modernized from the Pythagorean lineage, what we might call contemporary Western numerology. It has a strong relationship to astrology and tarot and is often practiced congruently with those modalities. But there is also a more traditional Pythagorean numerology, in which one is not counted as a life-path number but 10 and 11 are. “One is a part of all of us, so no one has a life path of one,” says Cerato. She also doesn’t believe in master numbers and doesn’t use them in her practice.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! There’s also Chinese numerology, Babylonian or Chaldean numerology, Tamil numerology, and Kabbalah numerology, all of which have long histories. “A lot of modern spiritual practices have been appropriated,” says Scolnick. “It’s really important to know where the information that you’re using comes from and to honor and respect that lineage, even if it’s been cut off.” But whatever form of numerology you’re practicing, there are usually connections to be found with other practices. “I like to think of it as a dialect,” says Martincic. “Let’s just say we all speak English. Well, I have a New York accent versus a Southern accent. We can still get the point across, and each system is all about self discovery, a self-help tool, and a learning tool.”
What other numbers can you calculate in numerology?
For Scolnick, the life-path number is one of three particularly significant values in a numerology chart — what she jokingly refers to as the “holy trinity” of numerology. The other two are your yearly cycle number and your public persona number. The yearly cycle is found by adding the month and day of your birth to the current year, so if your birthday is November 2 and it’s 2014, you’d add up the digits in 11/2/2014 (1+1+2+2+1+5), giving you 12, and then add up 1+2 for a final result of 3. “The yearly cycle is the most zoomed-in perspective,” says Scolnick. It tells you the themes you’re likely to feel the most influence from during that year.
The public persona is perhaps the simplest, found by adding the month and day of your birth. If your birthday is November 2, you’d add 1+1+2 to get a public persona number of 4. “You’ll share this number with anyone who shares your birthday. It bridges the gap between the long game and the right now; the public persona speaks to how you are showing up in the world,” says Scolnick. “This could be your personality traits. But really, it’s like, what energy are you meeting the world with?”
In her charts, Martincic likes to calculate the destiny number, which is based on your name. First, based on where each letter is in the alphabet, you’d assign it a value. Let’s say we’re calculating the name “Jane Doe.” In digits, J is 10, A is 1, N is 14, E is 5, D is 4, O is 15, and E is 5. Reduce down J to 1, N to 5, and O to 5, and then add them up: 1+1+5+5+4+6+5. You’ll get 27, which you’ll then reduce down to 9, giving Jane a destiny number of 9. If you have a middle name, make sure to include it too.
Why am I doing so much math?
Yes, the math can be intimidating. But Scolnick says that numerology is a callback to a time when there was less separation between the reasonable and the spiritual. “There is this lineage of great thinkers whom we revere in our society today: Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Kepler, Galileo,” she says. “There are all of these people who did use this information and worked with numbers both in a scientific or mathematical way and in a spiritual way. A lot of great thinkers really thought that getting to know numbers meant getting to know that which they called God.”
You don’t have to believe as those guys did to see the value in numerology, though. “The life-path number can be a really good reminder that you are on a larger journey, and it can help you to identify what’s going on in your life presently that might be tied to that,” says Scolnick. “Just like some people do find a lot of comfort in math, because there’s always an answer, I do think the same is true for numerology. You can crack it, but we’ll never know exactly what makes it tick.”
