This glossary defines the terms you'll meet across the numerology traditions on this site, from Abjad and Gematria to Life Path and Ba Zi. Each entry is short and self-contained, so you can look up a single word without reading the whole page.
Abjad
The classical numbering system of the 28 Arabic letters, where Alif is 1, Ba is 2, and values rise to 1000. Used in Islamic numerology to find the Adad of a name or word.
Adad
The total numerical value of a name or phrase in the Abjad system, found by adding the values of its Arabic letters.
Atbash
A Hebrew letter-substitution cipher in which the first letter is swapped with the last, the second with the second-to-last, and so on.
Ba Zi
The Chinese Four Pillars of Destiny system, which builds a chart from the year, month, day, and hour of birth using heavenly stems and earthly branches.
Bhagyank
In Vedic numerology, the destiny number derived from a person's full birth date, reflecting life direction.
Chaldean
A numerology system traced to Babylon that assigns letter values by sound vibration rather than alphabetical order, treating 9 as sacred.
Destiny Matrix
A modern system that maps a birth date onto a 22-point wheel using the Major Arcana, revealing themes like talents, karmic tasks, and purpose.
Expression Number
In Western numerology, a core number from the letters of your full birth name, describing natural abilities and goals. Also called the Destiny number.
Gematria
The Hebrew practice of assigning numerical values to letters and reading the totals of words to find connections in meaning.
Isopsephy
The ancient Greek practice of adding the numerical values of Greek letters in a word, the direct ancestor of Hebrew Gematria.
Ism-e-Azam
The Greatest Name in Islamic tradition. In numerology, practitioners match a name's Abjad value with the 99 Names to find a shared root number.
Kua Number
A Feng Shui number derived from birth year and gender, used to find a person's auspicious and inauspicious directions.
Life Path Number
The central number in Western Pythagorean numerology, found by reducing the digits of your full birth date to a single digit or master number.
Master Number
The numbers 11, 22, and 33, which are not reduced to a single digit because they are treated as heightened, more demanding energies.
Mulank
In Vedic numerology, the root or psychic number derived from the day of the month you were born.
Nakshatra
One of the 27 lunar mansions in Vedic astrology, set by the Moon's position at birth, each with a ruling planet and deity.
Pythagorean
The most widely used Western numerology system, assigning letters values 1 to 9 in strict alphabetical order.
Soul Urge Number
A Western core number from the vowels in your name, describing inner desires and motivation. Also called the Heart's Desire number.