In Chaldean numerology, certain numbers are traditionally classified as masculine or feminine. However, this distinction should not be understood too rigidly. Like all archetypal symbols, numbers rarely express a single quality in a pure and isolated form.
The numbers 1, 3, and 9 are generally considered masculine. Yet both 1 and 9 also symbolize wholeness and completion, qualities that encompass both masculine and feminine principles. For this reason, neither number can be regarded as exclusively masculine.
At first glance, this appears to leave 3 as the only truly masculine number. Even here, however, the symbolism is more nuanced. While 3 typically expresses itself through active, outward-moving, and traditionally masculine qualities, its deeper or formative nature may also contain a receptive, feminine dimension. Interestingly, in the Tarot the number 3 is represented by The Empress, one of the most prominent feminine archetypes.
A similar complexity can be found among the feminine numbers. Although 2 and 6 are generally associated with feminine energy, the number 2 is not entirely feminine in character. It also carries a subtle masculine component, a fact that becomes clearer when we examine the symbolic relationship between the Sun and the Moon.
In the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, agricultural rhythms were influenced as much by the lunar cycle as by the changing seasons. Because growth, fertility, and cyclical renewal were linked to the Moon, these cultures often associated the Moon with the feminine principle. The Sun, in turn, was frequently viewed as the masculine counterpart or companion of the lunar goddess. This symbolic relationship became deeply embedded in later astrological and numerological traditions.
In the more northern regions of Europe and Asia, however, seasonal changes played a much greater role in agricultural life. Here, the Sun was seen as the primary source of fertility and renewal. As a result, some cultures revered the Sun as a feminine deity, while the Moon assumed a masculine role. Traces of this symbolism can still be found in Slavic traditions, where the Moon is linguistically masculine and the Sun occupies a different grammatical category.
These differing traditions remind us that the Sun and the Moon are not strictly masculine or feminine symbols. Rather, each contains aspects of both principles and derives meaning through its relationship with the other. The same pattern appears in numerology. The solar number 1 contains traces of feminine energy, while the lunar number 2 contains traces of masculine energy.
Numbers 4 and 7 represent an even more blended expression of these forces. Since 4 follows the solar number 1, it reflects a softened form of masculine energy. Likewise, 7 follows the lunar number 2 and therefore expresses a more moderated form of feminine energy. In this sense, both numbers occupy a middle ground, combining and balancing qualities traditionally associated with both polarities.
The Mystery of Numbers, Luck, Worlds and Planets 