What is Gematria?

Gematria is a Kabbalistic method of interpreting the Hebrew scriptures by calculating the numerical value of words based on the letters that form the word.

The practice of Gematria is millennia old and was used to find the true meanings and essence through scripture passages. The fascinating art of turning letters and words into numbers has since been applied not only to those scriptures, but also nearly anywhere language is used.

It’s truly as easy as ABC 123.

Deriving numbers from letters can be very insightful when seeking the fullest understanding of topics. One premise that each person should have before fully exploring Gematria is the complete understanding of the numbers 1 through 9. Once the true understanding of those numbers is gained, your world can be unlocked…with Gematria.

At this point, we recommend reading letters and numbers if you haven’t already.

Gematria is actually very simple. Anyone that knows the following can comprehend the ancient art of Gematria:

• Must know your alphabet
• Must know how to count
• Must be able to add

That’s it! Yes, a 2nd grader can learn this. (And they probably should…)

Using the English language, here is one of the most basic ciphers in English:

When using the rules of Pythagorean reduction, the next cipher we re-discover is the Reduction Cipher, or Pythagorean Reduction Cipher. Take a look at the table below. Notice that when the letter J (10th letter) is listed that the value is reduced to one single digit, which is the sum of the two digits of its ordinal value of 10 (1+0=1). Also notice that Z (26th letter) becomes an 8, as 26 is reduced to 2+6 to equal 8.

Since there are two sides to every story, we have to consider the opposite of the ciphers mentioned above. For every left there is a right. For every up there is a down. For every top there is a bottom. You follow the idea… opposites.

For every forward there must be a reverse.

And the Reverse English Ordinal cipher was born.

Since there are two sides to every story, we have to consider the opposite of the ciphers mentioned above. For every left there is a right. For every up there is a down. For every top there is a bottom. You follow the idea… opposites.

For every forward there must be a reverse.

And the Reverse English Ordinal cipher was born.

The four ciphers above are referred to as the “Four Base Ciphers” of the English language. You will notice that the majority of your examinations and deciphering will have the highest accuracy and meaning when you stick to these four ciphers.

There are dozens of others ciphers that have been created over the course of time. Other ciphers based on the English language have slight variations from the four base ciphers. For example, Francis Bacon devised an English cipher that differentiated between upper and lower case letters, giving additional values to capital letters. Other ciphers give the letter A a different starting value, such as 36 in the Satanic cipher, in which Z ends with a value of 61.

Although ciphers can be devised all sorts of ways, it is important to note that the four base ciphers are typically the most relevant when dealing with the English language and English Gematria.

Take a look at some words and names for yourself at gematrinator.com.