Arithmancy

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Arithmancy

Divination by means of numbers (sometimes wrongly called Arithmomancy ). The ancient Greeks examined the number and value of the letters in the names of two combatants and predicted that he whose name contained the most letters, or letters of the greatest value, would be the victor. Using this science, diviners foretold that Hector would be overcome by Achilles. The Chaldeans, who also practiced it, divided their alphabet into three parts, each composed of seven letters, which they attributed to the seven planets, in order to make predictions from them. The Platonists and the Pythagoreans were also strongly addicted to this method of divination, which is similar to certain aspects of the Jewish Kabala.

Sources:

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Occult Sciences. 1891. Reprint, Secaucus, N.J.: University Books, 1974.