Where did numerology come from?

Answer 1

Though we can't be certain of the exact moment numerology came into being, most practitioners of the art will accredit it to the philosopher, Pythagoras who lived approximately c. 570-c. 495 BC. There are also those followers of the Chaldean method of numerology who state that before Pythagoras, it was derived from the beliefs of those living in the Chaldean Empire (situated near the Persian Gulf, presently known as South Iraq/Kuwait). As we are addressing a time whereby documentation of any topic is rare, it is my belief that we can only speculate what has been verbally handed down through the ages.

It is presented that in 325 A.D., after the First Council of Nicaea, those beliefs classified as unapproved by the state Church became civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology, Astrology, other forms of divination and magic were not looked upon as favorable by the Christian Church and fell into this classification. Therefore, we can assume that those arts had been practiced and had notoriety before 325 AD.

Answer 2

We human beings are constantly looking for meaningful patterns in our environment, which is a fundamental technique by which we understand the world in which we live. However, we are not always successful in distinguishing between meaningful patterns and meaningless patterns. Numbers, and the many mathematical techniques that can be applied to numbers, yield an endless number of patterns. When we ascribe supernatural meaning to those patterns, we have numerology.