The Complete Guide to Chaldean Numerology

Chaldean numerology is the oldest of the numerological systems. It comes from ancient Babylon — the Chaldeans — and unlike the simpler modern methods, it is built on the sound and vibration of numbers and names rather than a plain A-equals-one alphabet. Cosmiclogy uses it, and only it. This page is the map of the whole thing; each part links to a fuller guide.

What makes it Chaldean

Three things set it apart:

• Letters are valued one to eight. Not one to nine. The value is drawn from the sound a letter makes, which is why the ordering looks unfamiliar at first.
• Nine is sacred. It is held apart and assigned to no letter, though it still turns up when a date or name reduces to it.
• Compound numbers matter. A number like 26 is not simply flattened to 8; the compound carries a character of its own on top of the root beneath it.

The Chaldean letter values

This is the table the whole system rests on. Tap any number to see which letters carry it and the planet that rules it — and notice that nine has no letters at all.

Your core numbers

From your date and your name, Chaldean numerology draws three numbers that do most of the work. Each has its own guide.

• Birth Number — the day of the month you were born, reduced. Your inner self: temperament and instinct. Read the Birth Number guide →
• Life Path — your full date of birth, reduced the Chaldean way (each part first, then added). Your direction and what you move toward. Read the Life Path guide →
• Name Number — the letters of your name, summed. What you present to the world — and, unlike your date, the one number you can actually change. See the name calculator →

They are not read in isolation. A person is the conversation between them — which is also why two people born the same day still live different lives, once their names are counted in. Why same-day lives differ →

Master numbers

Most numbers reduce to a single digit. Three do not: 11, 22 and 33 are master numbers, and Chaldean numerology keeps them intact rather than flattening them. An 11 carries the vibration of 2 at a higher pitch, a 22 that of 4, a 33 that of 6 — the same underlying planet, with more asked of it.

Numbers and planets

Every number in Chaldean numerology answers to a planet — 1 to the Sun, 2 to the Moon, and so on down to 9 and Mars. This is the bridge between your numbers and the sky, and it is why a birth number or life path carries the flavour of a particular planet. The letter-value table above shows each number's planet; the full correspondence is its own subject.

Why one method only

It is worth repeating, because it is the thing most numerology sites get wrong. Different systems give different answers, and averaging them gives nonsense. Cosmiclogy commits to Chaldean and applies it consistently — in this guide, in your birth chart of numbers, and in every reading. If a number here differs from one you got elsewhere, a different system is almost always the reason.

What to remember

Chaldean numerology values letters one to eight, holds nine sacred, and reads compound numbers as well as roots. Your birth number is your inner self, your life path your direction, your name number the part you can shape. Masters 11, 22 and 33 stay whole, every number answers to a planet, and the whole thing is kept to one method.

Common questions