Tag: Numerological Grids

Sepharial’s Grid

~ Boštjan Lovrat ~ 2 Comments

In his book The Kabala of Numbers (1909), Sepharial published a special arrangement of numbers in a 3×3 matrix:

Based on my research, this is not necessarily Sepharial’s own invention, but it clearly belongs to the Chaldean tradition. However, since this grid was first published by Sepharial, I refer to it as “Sepharial’s Grid.”

This grid is derived from the Chaldean triangular groups:

1, 5, 7
3, 6, 9
2, 4, 8

These three groups originate in ancient Chaldean numerology and were published in modern times in 1908 by the Pythagorean numerologist Luo Clement in The Ancient Science of Numbers. It appears that someone may have combined this knowledge with the concept of the most masculine numbers -1 (the Sun), 3 (Jupiter), and 9 (Mars). As a result, the positions within the triangles 3–6–9 and 1–5–7 had to be adjusted, specifically by exchanging the positions of the numbers 1 and 6.

This grid may be of very ancient origin (a possibility I am currently investigating). It is also possible that Sepharial encountered it through Freemasonry, since the numerical arrangement of this grid can be interpreted through the Masonic symbol of the compass and the square. In the top row, the lowest number is placed in the center, with two higher numbers on the sides. In the second and third rows, the relationship is reversed. This produces the following pattern:

HIGHER – LOWEST – HIGHER
LOWER – HIGHEST – LOWER
LOWER – HIGHEST – LOWER

By connecting the first and second rows, we can draw the shapes of the letters V and Λ (Lambda). The letter V is formed by the numbers 3, 7, and 9, while the letter Λ is formed by 6, 1, and 5. Together, these shapes correspond to the Masonic image of the compass and the square. The same can be done with the first and third rows: here, the letter V is formed by the numbers 3, 8, and 9, and Λ by the numbers 2, 1, and 4.

Within this grid, Sepharial analyzed planetary conjunctions. He placed the digits of a person’s birth date (day, month, and the last two digits of the year) into the matrix. If two adjacent cells in the matrix were activated by the digits of the birth date, the relationship was interpreted as a conjunction between two planets. For example, the relationship between 4 and 8 was interpreted as a conjunction between the Sun and Saturn, while the relationship between 1 and 3 was interpreted as a conjunction between the Sun and Jupiter.

By the 21st century at the latest, Sepharial’s “Masonic” grid had become widespread in modern neo-Vedic numerology. Since older Indian sources from the 20th century do not mention this grid, we can conclude that its use in Indian numerology began only relatively recently, under the influence of Sepharial. It appears that Indian practitioners combined Sepharial’s 3×3 matrix with the concept of arrows, introduced into Pythagorean numerology in 1940 by Hettie Templeton. Following the example of Jyotish, the formations of these arrows were called yogas. Over time, some additional configurations were also classified as yogas, even though they do not appear in this matrix as straight arrows.

The Luo Shu Grid in Chaldean Numerology — But Does Such an Approach Work?

~ Boštjan Lovrat ~ 2 Comments

The Luo Shu (洛书; in an older Latinized spelling: Lo Shu) is a 3×3 matrix with a special arrangement of numbers. Only those vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines that include the central number 5 add up to 15, which represents wholeness. In China, this diagram appears in Feng Shui, where it is used to assign elemental influences to the eight directions and to define specific numerological configurations within the sectors of a structure (Fei Xing).

The idea of connecting the Luo Shu grid with Western numerology is relatively recent. Pythagorean numerologists developed the concept of “arrows” based on the standard matrix of lines (1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6; 7, 8, 9; 1, 4, 7; 2, 5, 8; 3, 6, 9; 3, 5, 7; and 1, 5, 9). In 1998, Richard Webster interpreted these arrows through the Chinese Luo Shu grid (lines 8, 3, 4; 1, 5, 9; 6, 7, 2; 4, 9, 2; 3, 5, 7; 8, 1, 6; 4, 5, 6; 8, 5, 2).

In recent years, Indian numerologists have been promoting the use of the Luo Shu grid within Chaldean numerology. One gets the impression that this represents one of the greatest discoveries of modern numerology. But is that really the case? The lines 1, 5, 9; 3, 5, 7; 4, 5, 6; and 8, 5, 2 are duplicated triplets from the standard matrix. Their interpretation does not depend on the Luo Shu grid as a crucial tool, and in roughly half of the cases, this therefore represents nothing new.

As for the use of the remaining triplets and of Chinese numerology in general within Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology, we must bear in mind that Chinese numerology developed in a very specific way. For example, nothing suggests that the number 4, as a form of yin wood in the Later Heaven arrangement and yin metal in the Early Heaven arrangement, resembles our conventional Western four; nor that the number 1, as a form of the water element in the Later Heaven arrangement and as a form of earth in the Early Heaven arrangement, resembles our fiery Western one. Furthermore, in China the number 1 is associated with Mercury in the Later Heaven arrangement and with Saturn in the Early Heaven arrangement. In the West, however, both Pythagorean and Chaldean numerology associate the number 1 with the Sun. The number 4 is associated with Jupiter in the Later Heaven arrangement and with Venus in the Early Heaven arrangement. In the West, the same number 4, like the number 1, is associated with the Sun, as well as with Uranus and the North Lunar Node.

I am not claiming that there is no common ground between Chinese and Western interpretations of numbers. Nor am I claiming that the Luo Shu square has no effects in Feng Shui. However, Chaldean and Pythagorean numerologists who apply Chinese techniques in new ways should explain the elemental nature of numbers in the Luo Shu grid and in Western numerology, as well as the relationship between them, and they should also clarify the conceptual differences in how numbers are linked to planets. What purpose does the Luo Shu grid serve in Feng Shui? And what purpose does the Luo Shu grid serve when applied to date-based and name-based numbers?

Personally, I do not use the arrows of the Luo Shu grid. At present, there are no satisfactory theoretical explanations in the public domain that would establish a bridge between East and West. The desire of Indian numerologists to present such a bridge is probably sincere. Unfortunately, that alone is not enough.