Gematria is an ancient occult system, it is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher which is used. The origin of gematria is uncertain and is up for debate. Most people believe that it may have originated in either ancient Babylon, Greece, or from the Hebrews, but it was also known that many other civilizations used it as well. Gematria makes it possible to assign value not only to single letters, but also to groups of letters - even whole words. It's a lot like numerology in this way.
What is Gematria?
Gematria assigns numerical values to the letters of the alphabet which are often seen as having symbolic or mystic significance. This system can then be applied to words or phrases for which one wishes to determine either their meaning or the number associated with them.
When gematria is applied to Hebrew names, English equivalents are created that represent how they are pronounced in English. Hence why the Hebrew name "Shlomo" becomes the English name "Solomon." Gematria can also be applied to other languages and systems other than Hebrew and English, and will still provide an equivalent numeric value.
How to Calculate Gematria Values
There is a simple and basic way to calculate gematria values.
For this blog we will use the english alphabet, which consists of 26 letters. The first step is to assign numerical values to the letters. A=1, B=2, C=3, and so on until you reach Z=26. Then you need to add up the values.
For example, if you wrote "Decode" it would be D=4 E=5 C=3 O=15 D=4 E=5 so, essentially you would add up all the numbers to find the specific value of that word.
4+5+3+15+4+5=36. This means that the GEMATRIA VALUE for the word "Decode" is 36. This is what is known as the English Ordinal Cipher. There are many other more advanced ciphers we can work with as well, but for starters this is the one that we suggest you practice with and get to know first.
The History of Gematria
The first documented use of gematria is from an Assyrian inscription dating to the 8th century BC, commissioned by Sargon II. In this inscription, Sargon II states: the king built the wall of Khorsabad 16,283 cubits long to correspond with the numerical value of his name (according to their unique language and system at the time).
"Although the term Gematria is Hebrew, it may be derived from the Greek γεωμετρία geōmetriā, "geometry", which was used as a translation of gēmaṭriyā, though some scholars believe it to derive from Greek γραμματεια grammateia "knowledge of writing". It is likely that both Greek words had an influence on the formation of the Hebrew word. Some also hold it to derive from the order of the Greek alphabet, gamma being the third letter of the Greek alphabet." - Sourced from Wikipedia
The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras was also known to use Gematria for studying gemstones, and was actually considered to be the Son of a gem-engraver of an island of Samos. He found that certain patterns emerged within them which led him to believe that they were messages from the Gods, and ultimately meant to be decoded using a special mathmatical number sequence. That number sequence is what we call The Full Reduction Cipher. Full Reduction or 'Pythagorean Gematria' goes back to Pythagoras, the Greek father of mathematics, who believed the only true numbers were 1 through 9. That means that the 10th letter, J, becomes 1 because 1+0 is 1. K(11) becomes 2 as 1+1 is 2 and so on up to R=9, then it starts all over again at S which is the 19th letter 1+9=10, which reduces to 1(1+0) etc.
Pythagoras also claimed and believed that the ultimate reality can be found through numbers.
The Future of Gematria
Gematria is a fascinating system of numbers that has been practiced since ancient times. It's been used by people from all around the world, for many different reasons.
In the present day, gematria is often used for more practical purposes. For example, it can be used to figure out what someone's name might mean or if their date of birth might hold any special significance, etc. Absolutely everything in our world can be decoded and analyzed or "unveiled" through this system. The more you practice the more connections you will find. The hidden patterns encoded into our reality are always waiting to be uncovered and discovered.
Conclusion
The practice of Gematria has been around for centuries and is still relevant today. There are still many mysteries surrounding this ancient numerical system. People are always discovering new information using gematria. Gematria has proved to be a helpful tool for understanding numbers and words in ways that we never knew before. As people continue to practice gematria today, who knows what else they will find/learn? The potential for what the future holds for Gematria is unclear, but this ancient system will always have a place in our "esoteric/occult" world.
Written and Copyrighted by: The Midnight Occult Society
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