"Numerology began when life began, because ‘in the beginning there was 1.’ The vibrations then began and the 2 appeared, the first pair, and ushered in the real beginning of universal geometry. Numbers, by themselves, represent universal principles through which all things evolve, and continue to grow in cyclic fashion [spirals]. The digits, 1 through 9 symbolize the stages through which an idea must pass before it becomes a reality. All manifestation is a result of these nine stages.

Esoteric numerology is the art and science of understanding the spiritual significance and orderly progression of all manifestation. Every word or name vibrates to a number and every number has its inner meaning. The letter and number code, when rightly understood and applied, brings us into direct and close relationship with the underlying intelligence of the universe.

We owe much of our spiritual and scientific understanding of numbers to Pythagoras, the father of mathematics. Pythagoras is most commonly remembered for the Pythagorean theorem, which states that : ‘The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.’ However, Pythagoras was primarily a mystic and a philosopher. He believed that ‘all things are numbers’, and that numbers represent spiritual entities who presence is felt in all existence. He discovered the mystical significance of numbers, noting that the numbers 1-9 stand, macrocosmically, for universal principles. On the personal level, microcosmically, they stand for characteristics, abilities and events. He saw in number patterns and geometrical ratios the explanations of all natural phenomena, musical harmony and tonal qualities [frequencies]. He knew that the stars and planets as vibrating bodies produced sound which became known as the ‘music of the spheres.’

Pythagoras was born around 582 B.C. on the Greek island of Samos, in the Aegean Sea. As a young man he left home and travelled to Egypt, where he was initiated into certain mathematical doctrines. He is also reported to have studied with Zoroaster, the Persian Sage, and to have learned the Kabbalah in Judea. The science of numbers he eventually taught was based on Kabbalistic principles. Pythagoras finally settled in Crotona in southern Italy and established a school of the mysteries. Before his students could proceed into the Pythagorean mysteries, they had to know the four sciences of arithmetic, music, astronomy and geometry. Plato was a follower of Pythagoras, and it is to him that we owe most of our knowledge of the Pythagorean school.

Pythagoras taught that, ‘Evolution is the law of life; Number is the law of the universe; Unity is the law of God.’ He believed that everything in the universe was subject to predictable progressive cycles [spirals]. His means of measuring these cycles were the numbers 1 through 9. He also taught that numbers have significance apart from the values denoted by the figures. Numbers are different from figures. Numbers represent qualities; figures represent quantities. Numbers operate on the spiritual plane, while figures are for measuring things on the material plane. A lucid understanding of these digits is essential in the study of numerology because every number over 9 ultimately reduces to one of these digits. With a comprehensive knowledge of the meaning of these numbers, one can understand the orderly progression of all life cycles. " - Numerology and the Divine Triangle, by Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker. The descriptions below for numbers 1-9 are from this book. See resources for more info.