Investigating Correspondences Between Numerology and Astrology Part 3 — Introducing Numerology (Pythagorean) à la Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker

Part 3 of this series introduces you to another numerology system. This one uses what is known as the Pythagorean conversion chart and a figure of the Pythagorean theorem for calculating and displaying your life cycles. The interpretations for each number calculated in this numerology system combines besides basic numerological symbolism, also elements of the Tarot and astrology.

The system is taught by Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker in their book Numerology and The Divine Triangle (Whitford Press, 1979). Further insights into numerology and interpretations of numbers can be found in Faith Javane’s book Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order (Whitford Press, 1988).

Please see part 1 of this series for a general overview of the foundations of numerology. See part 2 for an introduction to Cheiro’s numerology system (Chaldean).

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1. The Pythagorean conversion chart
2. Numerology template
3. Your 4 personal numbers
4. Your personal year and personal month number
5. Your life cycles and the Divine Triangle
6. Correlations between the Divine Triangle and astrology
7. Additional information in Javane’s and Bunker’s book
8. About the astrology assignments in the system
9. Final thoughts

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1. The Pythagorean conversion chart

The key used for calculating your numbers in the system by Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker is the one known as the Pythagorean conversion chart. As in part 1 mentioned, this chart is based on the ordinal numbers of the 26-letter Latin alphabet (same letters that comprise the English alphabet). The table below on the left shows you how the assignment of numbers to the letters of the alphabet is derived from their ordinal numbers.

For practical use, it is helpful trying to remember letters in groups based on their reduced number. For example, C, L, and U all reduce to number 3. This group can be easily remembered because its letters sound pronounced together like the word ‘clue’. The group around number 6 is also easy to remember—FOX, like the animal. The table above on the right will help you remember the assignments more easily.

2. Numerology template

To make it easier for you to calculate your numbers, I created a simple numerology template. This is for your own personal, non-commercial use. The template opens in a new window by clicking on the image below or the following link: Numerology Template Divine Triangle Livingincycles.blog 2020.

Below an example how the template looks when it is filled in. I will explain how the numbers are calculated and how the template is filled in step by step in this article.

3. Your 4 personal numbers

In the system taught by Javane and Bunker, we calculate four personal numbers derived from your full birthdate and full name at birth. These numbers are called Life Lesson Number, Soul Number, Outer Personality Number, and Path of Destiny Number.

It is worth checking your birth certificate to make sure you really use the full name given to you at birth, including middle names. Name changes are not taken into account when calculating your four personal numbers. Prefixes and suffixes (Mrs., Jr., Sr., III, IV) are not taken into account either.

Javane and Bunker work with both reduced and unreduced numbers. Unreduced numbers express further the energies of reduced numbers. The number scale used in their system reaches from 1 to 78, seventy-eight being the amount of Tarot cards there is. Their interpretations of each number are said to be derived partly from the Tarot (which is obvious) and partly from astrology. We will come back to this later in this article.

When calculating your four personal numbers, Javane and Bunker always assign reduced numbers to each letter. Only the result is written in both its reduced and unreduced form. For example, 25/7 (25=2+5=7). Unreduced numbers come further into play when calculating your personal life cycles as expressed visually in the so-called Divine Triangle. Master numbers in this system are 11, 22, 33, and 44. These numbers remain in their unreduced form, meaning you do not reduce them to a single digit.

You can find a wide set of interpretations for every number from 1 to 78 in Javane’s and Bunker’s book Numerology and The Divine Triangle. I will give a small sample of some interpretations for the numbers we calculate in this article. Below the core meanings of the numbers 1 to 9 as found in the book mentioned above. The interpretations of each number from 1 to 78 are partly derived from these. After the vertical bar you’ll find the keywords for each number as found in Javane’s book Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order.

• Number 1: represents the male principle | activity, independence, unity
• Number 2: is the pair | tact, diplomacy, balance
• Number 3: combines the qualities of 1 and 2 | manifestation, understanding
• Number 4: is stability | practicality, the builder, the worker
• Number 5: is freedom | intellectual, change, progress
• Number 6: is conscientious | artistic ability, patience, domesticity
• Number 7: seeks answers | intuition, mystical ability
• Number 8: will assume power | ambition, effort, power
• Number 9: is selflessness | universality, emotion, perception

Now, let’s calculate the first number—the one your birthdate adds up to.

Life Lesson Number

The Life Lesson Number represents the lessons we must learn this lifetime. It is said to be significant in choosing a career. Therefore, this number is also called your career number. Sometimes the number your birthdate makes is called Life Path Number. I think Life Lesson Number expresses well the keypoint of this number. You are not a full expression of your Life Lesson Number yet, but learning characteristics symbolized by that number during this lifetime. It is about being drawn to a specific type of energy. This energy needs to be tapped into and its expression refined in the best way possible.

The Life Lesson Number is the easiest to calculate. You only need to add the numbers of your full birthdate and reduce the result to a single digit. Javane and Bunker advise doing the calculation in three steps: 1. Write your full birthdate, 2. Write your birthdate with the reduced number of your birth year, 3. Add all numbers together and write the result as unreduced and reduced numbers.

As an example, we will use known from part 2 of this series our Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin 🧙‍♂️, who was born on January 5th in 1245. His Life Lesson Number is calculated as shown below. Note: The number of the year adds up to 12 (1+2+4+5=12), which in this case is the same two digits as at the beginning of the full birth year number. Just in case you wonder.

Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin’s Life Lesson Number is 18/9, nine being the reduced number of eighteen (18=1+8=9). As you see, I have used the format DD.MM.JJJJ for displaying the date. You can use whatever format you are used to. The result is always the same. Only make sure to write the full year before starting to calculate your Life Lesson Number. Javane and Bunker use the format MM.DD.JJJJ.

Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin’s Life Lesson Number 9 indicates that he, according to Javane and Bunker, should be the universal lover of humanity, patient, kind, and understanding. A career in which he would be in service to others, such as in the medical or educational field, are good possible choices. The unreduced Life Lesson Number 18 suggests that Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin is further a very sensitive person having an unusually vivid imagination, intense emotions, and feelings. Rest is especially important for him to stay healthy in body and mind. He would be a good counselor or advisor. On the negative side, if not balanced, he could become touchy and irritable. Correspondences to the Tarot: The Moon, and astrology: the Sun (and Pisces).

~ The Life Lesson Number is what you must learn. ~

Soul Number

Your Soul number is said to represent your real personality, the you that is only known to you, as Javane and Bunker put it. According to them, this number indicates what you have been in previous lifetimes. It reveals something of accumulated growth in past lives and becomes an underlying force that influences the actions of your present life. Javane and Bunker go on saying if the soul urge remains repressed by outer circumstances, and the soul fails to accomplish its purpose, it may need to repeat the same vibrational urge in a future life until it finds true expression.

Your Soul Number is derived from the vowels in your name. Use your full name at birth, including middle names. Vowels are A, E, I, O, U. The letter Y can be either a vowel or a consonant. This depends on how your name is pronounced. Whenever the letter Y sounds like E it is considered a vowel. This is the case with names like Betty, Sybil, and Timothy. The letter Y is considered a consonant in names like Lyle, Murray, and Sherryl.

In their book, Javane and Bunker say that the letter W is considered a vowel when it follows D or G as in the names Dwight or Gwendolyn because, according to them, the letter W in these names makes a vowel sound. I think this may be incorrect. According to my own acoustic perception, the letter W does clearly make a consonant sound in Dwight and Gwendolyn. When trying to figure out what is the right approach, I came along an article at the website of the CK-12 Foundation where it says:

“The letter <w> is usually a consonant. It is a vowel only when it teams up with an <a>, <e>, or <o> to spell a single sound—as in the words draw, few, and low. So the letter <w> is a vowel only in the two-letter teams <aw>, <ew>, and <ow>. Everywhere else <w> is a consonant. It is a consonant when it spells the sound it does at the front of way, and it is a consonant when it teams up with <r> and <h>— as in write and who.”

I couldn’t find any information about the letter W being considered a vowel after D or G. In her book Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order (Whitford Press, 1988), Faith Javane repeats what was already said in Numerology and The Divine Triangle, and the additional information she gives does not really shed any further light on the subject. Maybe you, my dear reader, have some insights on this? Please let me know in the comments section.

Now let’s calculate Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin’s Soul Number. As we have learned, we use his full name at birth without prefixes or suffixes. That means the name we use is Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin (without the Sir). We write the value of each vowel above it. After doing this, we add all numbers together and write the result in its unreduced and reduced form on the right.

Sir Nepumuk’s Soul number is 50/5. According to Javane and Bunker, Soul Number 5 claims the right for freedom, physical and mental. Variety of self-expression is essential for this number. Travel and change is their desire. Number 50 suggests that Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin is further romantic, creative, imaginative, and intensely emotional. He is devoted to his family and considered a socializer who enjoys conversation and people. Lecturing, speaking, mathematics, and science would be fitting career choices. On the negative side, number 50 brings loss of or betrayal by friends, and family troubles. Sir Nepumuk Fridloin Goblin could get enslaved by his need for freedom neglecting all responsibilities. Correspondences to the Tarot: Ten of Cups, and astrology: third decan Pisces.

~ The Soul Number is what you already are. ~

Outer Personality Number

Your Outer Personality Number is said to symbolize how you appear to other people, and what they might expect from you because of the image you represent to them. This number is not necessarily who you really are. Javane and Bunker see this number as the mask we represent to others and through which other basic vibrations are expressed. Your body language, mannerisms, and the way you dress are expressions of your Outer Personality Number.

Your outer personality number is calculated adding the consonants of your full name at birth. Consonants are all those letters other than vowels. The value of each consonant is written below the name. The result is again written as unreduced and reduced numbers. Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin’s Outer Personality Number is calculated as follows.

His Outer Personality Number is 62/8. Number 8 suggests that Sir Nepumuk appears affluent and in control. He can manage business and affairs of commerce. Sir Nepumuk emanates personal power and strength. He seems to possess physical stamina and endurance. Well made clothes of good material are important to him. If not balanced, he could misuse his power and become cruel. Materialism could overcome Sir Nepumuk’s better judgment. Number 62 suggests that Sir Nepumuk has further an analytical and discriminating mind and a desire for knowledge. He is clever, and inventive and could succeed in detailed work, such as chemistry, pharmacology, or any science involving experimentation. Correspondences to the Tarot: Eight of Swords, and astrology: first decan Gemini.

~ The Outer Personality Number is how others see you. ~

Path of Destiny Number

The Path of Destiny Number shows what you must do in this lifetime, the path you must walk, what you came here to manifest, and what you must be. Javane and Bunker say that you may modify this somewhat by name changes, but that the Path of Destiny Number is always the power behind any change, and will persist in its desire for expression throughout life.

Your Path of Destiny Number is calculated using all letters of your full name at birth. Since you already have calculated the number the vowels and the consonants make in your name, you now only need to add these two numbers together. For Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin this looks like this.

As you can see, Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin’s Path of Destiny Number is 4. There are only 78 Tarot cards. Number 112 reduces to number 4. Sir Nepumuk has therefore only one single-digit number as Path of Destiny Number. Number 4 suggests that his destiny is to build tangible and useful products. Javane and Bunker call this number “the builder of the world”, the rock upon which all earthly substance is formed. Number 4 emanates stability. Others will easily rely on a number 4 person to get the job done efficiently and properly. There is a tendency to self-denial in order to fulfill duties, either real or imagined. Number 4 knows that what is worth having is worth working and waiting for. Sir Nepumuk might handle money well and find the financial world a fertile spot for his talents. Correspondences to the Tarot: The Emperor, and astrology: Earth (and Aries).

~ The Path of Destiny Number is what you must do. ~

4. Your personal year and personal month number

The personal year runs from the birthday of one year to the birthday of the next year. To calculate your present personal year number, simply add the day and month of your birth to the year of your last birthday.

In Sir Nepumuk’s case (who is, believe it or not, still among us), we would add 5+1+2020 to get the number of the current year he is in. Again, we add the number of the year first: 2+0+2+0=4. After that, we add all numbers together: 5+1+4=10/1. Sir Nepumuk is currently in a 10/1 personal year. Number 1 symbolizes new beginnings, decisions, action, and independence. This is the start of a brand new cycle for Sir Nepumuk. In this year the foundations for a whole new cycle are laid out. Sir Nepumuk should make plans for the future and act accordingly in confidence. Number 10 suggests further that this is a year of intuition, fortune, luck, and a turn for the better. Correspondences to the Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune, and astrology: Jupiter (and Mars).

You can also calculate the number for each month of your personal year by adding the number of the month in question to your double-digit personal year number. If we would like to know, which vibration the month of May in the current personal year for Sir Nepumuk carries, we would add number 5 (May is the 5th month) + 10 (the year 2020 being a 10/1 personal year for Sir Nepumuk). The month of May 2020 carries a 15/6 vibration in Sir Nepumuk’s case. Number 6’s keywords for personal months are family, health, service, and listening to other’s problems. Number 15 suggests further that opportunities for progress can come through a radical change in Sir Nepumuk’s lifestyle that releases him from present limitations and allows him a freer expression. Correspondences to the Tarot: The Devil, and astrology: Venus (and Capricorn).

It is also possible to calculate a number for all three four-months periods in your personal year. This may not be the most used part of the system, so I’m not going into it here. If you are interested in this, please see Javane’s and Bunker’s book, pages 39 to 41.

5. Your life cycles and the Divine Triangle

Now we come to the really interesting and unique part of this system. According to Javane and Bunker, we live our lives in nine-year cycles, incorporating the universal principles of the numbers 1 through 9.

This means every first year of each cycle (our 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th, 37th, 46th… year) is a new beginning as symbolized by number 1. Note that you are, for example, in your 28th year after your 27th birthday. In whatever stage of your individual life cycle, you are in the present time, by looking back nine years from now you may find that you were experiencing a similar type of experience as you do now.

Although we all do start and end our nine-year cycles at the same age, the vibrations of these cycles are different for everyone. This is because they are based on our birthdate and name at birth. To calculate and visualize your personal life cycles, Javane and Bunker use a figure which is based on the Pythagorean theorem. They call this figure the Divine Triangle or the blueprint.

In chapter three of their book, the authors guide the reader into understanding the meaning behind geometrical shapes, starting with the four basic shapes—the circle, the line, the trine, and the square. Right at the beginning of the chapter they write:

“Geometry is the visual tool of the spirit world through which we can uncover any information needed to promote our understanding of ourselves and the world around us—in short, our evolution.”

Below a picture of the Divine Triangle / blueprint. This figure is not randomly chosen. There is a deeper meaning to its components—the triangle, the square, and the cross. The triangle represents the three parts of the mind, which according to Javane and Bunker are mind, soul, and spirit. The square shape symbolizes the physical body and matter. The cross (lines A to E and C to G) represents the descending spirit into matter.

We start our journey at point A. Our life then unfolds following a nine-year period sequence. Each line of each square represents nine years. The squares, however, are different in size. What we can draw from this is that, based on the Pythagorean theorem, wisdom contains the experiences of youth and power. Let’s have a look at what the Pythagorean theorem is about.

The Pythagorean theorem

The theorem states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The theorem can be written as an equation: where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle’s other two sides.

Below an illustration of the theorem. The red square contains nine smaller squares. The blue square is built of 16 squares. The purple square contains 25 smaller squares, which is the sum of the squares in the red and blue square (9+16=25).

Below a short 5-minute video illustrating further the Pythagorean theorem. It is noteworthy that the theorem seems to already have been known to the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Indians well before Pythagoras lived.

How to fill in the blueprint

For this part of the system, we use our birthdate and our first and middle names. If you don’t have any middle names, go with your first name. The last name is never used on the blueprint because it is not uniquely your own but a family vibration.

Write the first letter of your name and its corresponding number in its unreduced and reduced form above line AB. Go on in counterclockwise direction writing your second letter above line BC. Continue with the next letters until you come to the end of your first name. Make a mark (X) on the corner coming after the last letter of your first name. This symbolizes an important time/event in your life. Go on with your middle name if you have one. If not, repeat the procedure using the letters of your first name until you have made a full circle around the figure coming back to point A.

After this, place the month of your birthdate next to the left line (AD) of the triangle. Place the day of your birth under the bottom line (DG) of the triangle. The year of your birth is placed on the hypotenuse (GA) of the triangle. Write the numbers in their unreduced and reduced forms. Finally, add the unreduced number of the four sides of each square and place the result in the center.

Let’s now take the template and fill in the blueprint for our example Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin. We place his birthname (remember, only first and middle names!) and birthdate in a counterclockwise direction around the figure. The starting point is line AB. For Sir Nepumuk Fridolin Goblin we fill in the blueprint using his first name Nepumuk, and middle name Fridolin.

In our example, the first letter is N and its corresponding number is 14/5. The next letter is E and its corresponding number is 5. We’re going on until we come to the last letter of Nepumuk, which is K. The letter K is placed on line GH. We place a mark (X) on the corner after letter K. We continue using Sir Nepumuk’s middle name Fridolin placing letter F on line HI. The next and last letter to put in the figure is letter R.

Now, we write Sir Nepumuk’s birthdate next to the lines of the triangle starting with his month of birth (January = 1) which we put next to line AD. Sir Nepumuk’s day of birth (5), we place below line DG. The year (1245=12/3) is placed next to line GA.

Finally, we add all the unreduced numbers in the youth square together. For Sir Nepumuk, this would be 14+5+16+1=36/9. We put the result in the middle of the square. We proceed in the same manner with the other two squares as well as with the triangle. Note, that the result of the lines of the triangle is the Life Lesson Number. Below you can see the completed figure.

Each number on each side of the figure represents the vibration for a nine-year period. The number in the middle of each square represents the energy valid for the whole period of the square. Sir Nepumuk’s youth period carries the vibration of number 36/9. The power period holds a 60/6 vibration, and the wisdom square carries a 47/11 energy.

As you may have noticed, Sir Nepumuk is far beyond age 81. What happens after age eighty-one? Here Javane and Bunker say, that those not in possession of their mental faculties at this age must begin their youth squares over again with the first letter of the first name, as in childhood. If the person, however, keeps his/her wits about him-/herself after eighty-one, we are guided to do the calculations in the same way as instructed earlier but this time with new letters on the lines. We would simply continue were we finished using the next letter of the name we assigned to the wisdom square.

In Sir Nepumuk’s case—since he surely is in good mental condition—we calculate a new youth square continuing were we finished. The last letter on line IA was R. Next letter of his middle name Fridolin is I, so we place the letter I on line AB, the letter D on line BC, and finally the letter O on line CD finishing the youth square. We now add all numbers together and write the result in the middle of the square. Notice, that the number of line AD stays the same since it is the month of birth. The calculation is 9+4+15+1=29/11. Eleven is a master number meaning that we do not reduce this number. Sir Nepumuk’s new youth cycle holds the vibration of 29/11.

There is an important modification after age eighty-one. Each line of the new youth square equals now twenty-one years instead of nine years as in the first square. Javane and Bunker say, that up to age eighty-one, we have completed nine cycles of nine years. After that, we live under a trinity or three seven-year spiritual cycles. We have reached a higher level of consciousness; therefore each new line covers twenty-one years. Based on this, completing the new youth square takes another 63 years. Finishing the whole new Divine Triangle figure takes 189 years at which Sir Nepumuk is 270 years old.

Sir Nepumuk has turned 775 years this January. There are—surprisingly—no instructions on how to continue after completing the second round of the Divine Triangle. Maybe we go from there in seven seven-year cycles? The book does not give any further explanations why each line after age eighty-one represents a twenty-one year period rather than any else. Why three times seven and not three times nine?

6. Correlations between the Divine Triangle and astrology

Interestingly, the direction in which the figure is filled in goes counterclockwise, which is the same direction the planets move through the zodiac. This is called the secondary motion in astrology.

There are other correlations with astrology, too. For example, the first square covers age 0 to 27 and is called the youth square. At our 27th birthday, we enter the power square. Astrologically, age 27 marks roughly the beginning of our first Saturn Return, which represents a period where we shift from childhood into adulthood. The exact Saturn Return takes place around age twenty-nine. During the first twenty-nine years, our mind and character are formed. Javane and Bunker also mention that the soul enters the body at point A, which marks birth. This is in alignment with what ancient astrologers generally thought to be the case—the soul enters the body with the first breath.

At age 27, our soul arrives at point D in the figure. Javane and Bunker point out that this is the first time our soul comes into contact with the fire of spirit (the triangle), whose awareness it lost when entered the body. Awareness and transformation are keywords for this period. The fire of spirit can burn and destroy, as well as rekindle and transmute—experiences also closely associated with the Saturn Return. The second time our soul comes in contact with the triangle (spirit) is at age 54 before entering the square of wisdom. This coincides roughly with the beginning of the second Saturn Return which is exact around age 58.

Even more correspondences with astrology can be found. According to the teachings of traditional Hellenistic astrology, not every part of the birth chart is active at all times but unfolds itself during the life of the native. Which part of the chart is active, we can calculate by using so-called time-lord techniques. The most used one in ancient times is the one we today call annual profections. This technique shows which place and sign of your chart are active during which year. The ruler of that sign is your time-lord for the given year.

The ages on the corners of the Divine Triangle figure (0, 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81) coincide with certain ages at the four angles in a profection wheel. The angles in an astrological chart are the first, the tenth, the seventh, and the fourth sign from the Ascendant. These are the so-called turning points in an astrological chart. The four angles are the most active places in the entire chart. This fits the meaning of the corners of the Divine Triangle figure that do also symbolize the “turning points” from one period to the next.

Below a graph, which is used for calculating annual profections. The wheel displays which place of your birth chart is activated at what age, counting from birthday to birthday. For example, your 9th birthday is activating the tenth place in your natal chart, your 47th birthday activates the twelfth place and so on. The starting point, age 0, is marked with a green circle. This is the first sign in your birth chart and called the Ascendant.

7. Additional information in Javane’s and Bunker’s book

Besides containing a lot of delineations for each number, the book reveals further the meaning of each letter, including the first vowel in your first name. You can learn how to calculate your line experiences as revealed by the calculations of the major and minor process.

The book gives also interpretations for missing numbers in your name, which are sometimes called “karmic numbers”. Further, you can read what your Power Number is and when it will be activated. There are also some notes on number compatibility. The book examines further the chart of Edgar Cayce. Bible symbology is also an interesting subject in which the book gives some insights.

8. About the astrology assignments in the system

At the beginning of chapter three which deals with the geometrical background of the figure used in the system, Javane and Bunker write: “Through the authors’ research, logic, work, meditation and intuition, the following concepts have emerged. Many ideas presented here have been accepted for ages, some are relatively recent, and the remaining are totally new, surfacing for the first time.”

Before introducing the reader to the Divine Triangle, we read in chapter four: “The information that is about to be revealed to us is unique. To our knowledge, it has never been published before. Very likely it was lost in the great fire that destroyed the fabulous library at Alexandria many centuries ago. Priceless parchments containing the wisdom of many masters were lost. Faith’s teacher learned the method for using this blueprint from the master K.H. who, according to some sources, was formerly Pythagoras. Perhaps Pythagoras taught this method to his disciples.”

Javane and Bunker assume that part of their system is ancient in origin. However, it has to be noted that in their astrological assignments and interpretations, they use what was at their point in time thought to be a valid evolutionary concept. In their assignments of planets to numbers and zodiac signs they use Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—planets not yet discovered in Pythagora’s days. They also included a hypothetical planet called Vulcan, which ten years later in Javane’s book Master numbers: Cycles of Divine Order (1988) replaces Mercury as the ruler of Virgo. Also in that book, Venus gets removed from her rulership over Taurus and Earth is assigned instead.

Another vague change of rulership found here is that of switching rulers between the signs of Leo and Sagittarius. Javane suggests that Jupiter (instead of the Sun) rules Leo and that the Sun (instead of Jupiter) rules Sagittarius. In a footnote in Appendix A, she says: “I believe that this change in rulership of the fire trinity (the spiritual element) may be acceptable in the coming Aquarian Age. Here the Sun is placed at the pinnacle position until that time when the prophesied discovery of new planets will release the Sun (as the Power of the Zero) to take its rightful central position in the esoteric agenda.” One can only speculate what she may have meant by that statement and how she came up with this suggestion.

Fate had it, that during the last thirty years, we finally got translations of ancient astrological texts in modern languages. These texts give us now the more than ever needed background of astrological doctrines, among them the assignments of the seven visible wandering stars to the twelve signs of the zodiac.

A tool that ancient astrologers used to teach their students was the so-called Thema Mundi, the mythical birth chart of the world. It reveals, among other things, the how and why about the assignments of planets to the signs of the zodiac. When understanding the philosophical and spiritual background of astrological teachings you will not have to ponder about any attempt to change the tradition. If you are interested in learning the ancient teachings of astrology including the Thema Mundi, I highly recommend you getting a copy of Chris Brennan’s book Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune (Amor Fati Publications, 2017). There is also a course that teaches the art of Western astrology in-depth, for those of you who really want to go down the rabbit hole.

It has to be kept in mind that at the time of writing Numerology and The Divine Triangle and Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order, there were only some translations of a few of the foundational teachings of Western astrology available which had unfortunately gone out of favor in those days, so Javane and Bunker naturally went with what they got and what was popular. Since much of the ancient teachings where lost, it is quite understandable that an urge was growing to put more meaning into the remaining pieces by, as we have seen, adding additional planets or doing some changes into the system.

There may have been an intuition in Javane about some missing doctrines, though—namely that of the triplicity lords. Each triplicity (set of three signs of four elements) has three rulers. The fire triplicity—Aries, Leo, Sagittarius—is ruled by the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn. The primary ruler of each triplicity in a given astrological chart is based on the sect of the chart (diurnal or nocturnal). In a day chart, the primary ruler of the fire triplicity is the Sun. In a night chart, Jupiter takes over the role of the primary ruler. In both cases, Saturn functions as the participating ruler. This, however, does not mean any change of rulership over the signs. It is just about the rulership of the entire triplicity, not the individual signs.

There is an interesting graph in the appendix of Numerology and The Divine Triangle. The graph is basically a zodiac wheel containing assignments of the Minor Arcana (Tarot keys 23 to 78) to the signs, seasons, and elements. In the graph, the king, queen, and page of each suit correspond to the cardinal sign which governs the same element. The knights represent the entire season. Each ace rules an entire element. The appendix contains also five tables showing the assignments of each Tarot key to the 36 decans of the zodiac.

When reading the interpretation of the compound numbers, you’ll see that Javane and Bunker use the modern assignments of planets to the decans (based on triplicity including Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), not the traditional one based on the Chaldean order. Just something to keep in mind. There are other assignments of the decans, too. If you are interested in reading more about these, I recommend having a look at the following article by astrologer Rok Koritnik: The secret meeting of East and West – Understanding divisional and/or harmonic charts – Part 2.

The cards of the Major Arcana (keys 0 to 22) are assigned to the zodiac signs and the planets, again including Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and the hypothetical planet Vulcan. It is interesting to compare the assignments of numbers to planets and signs in Javane’s later book Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order. The table below will be of help in doing this.

As you can see, the numbers in the left table are the ordinal numbers of the Tarot keys. That is why these do not match the numbers associated with the signs and planets in the right table. This leads one to conclude that the assignment of the astrological correspondences in Numerology and The Divine Triangle is rather to the Tarot than to the numbers themself. However, in their delineations, for the numbers 0 to 22 (Major Arcana) Javane and Bunker use (with a few exceptions) both, the ordinal number of the Tarot key and the planet assigned with the number as displayed in the table above on the right.

9. Final thoughts

I think Javane and Bunker have put a lot of effort into writing Numerology and The Divine Triangle. This book is definitely one of the more insightful works in the field. The mix of different approaches, the overlapping of symbolism, and the resulting discrepancies, however, do make it difficult to do any consistent research on correspondences to actual astrological birth charts. The correspondences with the 36 decans again are more straightforward, but only possible for numbers 23 to 78, excluding the numbers represented by the knights and aces which are associated with an entire season (knights) or element (aces).

I think the system in itself using the Devine Triangle figure for calculating life cycles is worth investigating further. The correspondences with annual profections is definitely an intriguing discovery. Only the astrological assignments and some of their delineations do seem a bit odd here and there, as I have mentioned above. For that reason, I personally would give priority to the interpretation of the numbers based on the Tarot in this book. This, after all, seems to be the actual foundation of the system. So, if you are familiar with the Tarot, this numerology system will be most interesting to you.

Of course, you can always reduce any number to a single digit and work only with the basic numbers 1 to 9 and their symbolism, leaving aside double-digit numbers and the interpretation based on the Tarot. It would be also interesting to compare the results for each number calculated in this system using the Chaldean or other conversion charts. Additionally, one could also use the traditional decan rulership assignment and see how this turns out. Of course, this would be a huge project.

There is still one thing left I was wondering about. In calculating your Life Lesson Number you can choose whatever format you like to write your birthdate, the result is always the same. However, when transferring your birthdate into the figure of the Divine Triangle, you start with the month continuing in counterclockwise direction next filling in the day, and finally the year of your birth. Javane and Bunker use always the format MM.DD.JJJJ in their calculations. So, this is consistent with the way they advise filling in the birthdate into the Divine Triangle. I am just wondering if it wouldn’t be more logical to start with the smallest time span—the day—continuing with the month and finishing with the year. After all, the left side of the triangle as well as the left square—representing youth—are the smallest of all.

In conclusion, despite the references to Pythagoras, the interpretations of the numbers in this system are based on some more modern concepts. This has to be kept in mind if one is searching for a more ancient approach to numerology symbolism. Otherwise, I do think, this system can be of good help for anybody who aims to reflect on his/her life.

This was part 3 of my series Investigating Correspondences Between Numerology and Astrology. In part 4 I will introduce you to a numerology system called »The Spiritual Numerology of Moses«, channeled by Frank Alper and taught by Nicolas David Ngan.

Sindy 🕊️

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Sources and further reading:

Denver Tarot Convention. A Sky Full of Cards: The Decans and the Pips. https://denvertarotconvention.com/a-sky-full-of-cards-the-decans-and-the-pips.

Hobgood, K. Pythagoras and the Mystery of Numbers. http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Fa06/Hobgood/Pythagoras.html.

Infogalactic. Decans. https://infogalactic.com/info/Decans.

Javane, F. and Bunker, D. Numerology and The Divine Triangle. Whitford Press, 1979.

Javane, F. Master Numbers: Cycles of Divine Order. Whitford Press, 1988.

Javane, F. und Bunker, D. Zahlenmystik. Das Handbuch der Numerologie. Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, 1995.

The Astrology Dictionary. Decans. http://theastrologydictionary.com/d/decans.

Wikipedia. Pythagoras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras.

Wikipedia. Pythagorean Theorem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem.

Wikipedia. Koot Hoomi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koot_Hoomi.

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