Chinese Culture >> Chinese Society, Traditions >> Chinese Numerology
Although the exact origins of numerology are
unknown, Chinese numerology is believed to be one of the earliest forms of
numerology. It is thought that the origins of Chinese numerology date back
nearly 4000 years to the banks of the Yellow River.
The tale that is told is that the first of the five mythical emperors of China,
Wu of Hsai, was working on the banks of the Yellow River trying to find a method
to prevent the floods that regularly devastated the communities located along
the river. It was during the course of this work that Wu found a tortoise shell,
which at the time was considered to be a very good omen.
This particular tortoise shell, however, was extremely rare, unique and special
because it had fascinating markings on it. The shell showed a magic 3x3 square
on its back that later became known as the Lo Shu Grid. The Lo Shu Grid was
particularly remarkable because every row, column and diagonal on the grid add
up to the number 15.
The number 15 was very significant because it is the number of days between the
new moon and the full moon. Additionally, the number 5 was highly respected in
ancient China, and was located in the important center square of the grid.
The Lo Shu Grid became the basis of Chinese numerology and is still used today
in the Far East.
The grid took on a different adaptation in the West, and eventually over time
Chinese numerology evolved into three different systems that are used today.
There is the Western Version of Chinese Numerology, Traditional Chinese
Numerology and the Ki system.
There is very little known about the origins of the Western version of Chinese
numerology, although Hettie Templeton is credited with its popularization.
Templeton taught classes and gave numerous public lectures and broadcasts
throughout Australia during the 1930's and 40's. Her teachings helped Western
Chinese Numerology gain the popularity it enjoys today, so most of the current
information regarding this form of numerology comes from Australia and New
Zealand.
The Western version of Chinese Numerology is by far the easiest of the three
versions of Chinese Numerology to learn, and it is believed by many to be the
most accurate. In fact, there are a large number of numerologists in China and
Hong Kong who use the Western version rather than the traditional version of
Chinese Numerology.
Chinese numerology uses only the numbers 1-9, and 0 is not included. Western
Chinese numerology uses a square made up of 9 boxes - 3 down and 3 across. You
can think of this square like a tic-tac-toe square or like a number sign (#)
Each box in the square has a number from 1-9 associated with it. The boxes are
numbered from 1-9 starting in the lower left square and moving up each column.
So, from bottom to top in the first column would be 1,2,3, from bottom to top in
the second column would be 4,5,6, and the last column from bottom to top would
contain the numbers 7,8 and 9.
The numbers from a person's date of birth are then input into these boxes one at
a time. So for instance, if someone was born in the year 1966, they would have
one 1 in the bottom left box, one 9 in the top right box, and two 6's in the top
middle box.
Depending upon how many of each number a person has in their grid, you can tell
a lot about their strengths and weaknesses, their character traits and more.
About the Author:
The Western Chinese numerology grid is much easier to understand with a visual representation. If you would like to see drawings of how the grid works or learn how to do Chinese numerology for yourself, visit AboutNumerology.com