Quendalon/Numerology

Exalted Numerology

The number one signifies unity and purity. It represents Creation, the Realm, the Empress, the Blessed Isle, the central direction, the lotus, the unicorn, the sun and the eternal flow of Essence. It is auspicious in matters of virtue and inauspicious in matters of vice.

The number two signifies balance, convergence, opposition and stasis. It represents the dualities of male and female, sun and moon, light and dark, wet and dry, hot and cold, love and hate, life and death, Heaven and Earth. Likewise, it represents the Immaculate Order, the element of air, the cypress, the tortoise, and the northern direction. The number two generally indicates that matters shall continue as they are, making it auspicious where the current situation is beneficial and inauspicious where the current situation is perilous or prone to stagnation, especially in matters of ambition and war.

The number three is the number of generation. It represents birth, inspiration, change, the element of fire, wheat, the rooster, the moon, the season of spring and the southern direction. It is generally auspicious, particularly in family matters and creative endeavors.

The number four is the number of incompletion. On the one hand, it signifies inadequate preparation, physical inadequacy, spiritual weakness, moral deficiency, damage, decay and death; on the other hand, it signifies purely earthly matters, mundane affairs, governance, stability, architecture and animal nature. It represents the walls of a house, the four cardinal directions, the element of earth, the season of winter, ghosts, the snake, the mistletoe and the Underworld. The number four is auspicious in matters dealing with mundane order, hierarchy, structure and stability, while it is inauspicious in matters of spirituality, morality, love and wisdom.

The number five signifies perfection, wholeness and completion. It represents the Dragon-Blooded, the five elements and the five cardinal directions, the Five Immaculates and the Elemental Dragons, the Celestial Maidens, music, the crane, the cherry blossom, and the five senses through which we may perceive all of the glories and wonders of Creation. It is almost universally auspicious, except when directly associated with baneful things.

The number six is that which oversteps natural boundaries, which goes beyond that which is sufficient. It signifies excess, surplus, impropriety, passion, debauchery, and represents the Wyld, the dandelion and the grape, the wolverine and the locust, hungry ghosts, and the city of Nexus and the Guild. It is inauspicious in most contexts, though it may be deemed auspicious in matters of sensuality, luxury and pleasure.

The number seven is the number of Heaven, destiny and sorcery. It represents the seven heavenly bodies, the dragon and the Imperial Manse. It is auspicious in matters of importance, in the doings of the great and the powerful, in occult workings, and in moments of transition and transformation. It is inauspicious in small matters and mundane doings, indicating change and upheaval to come.

The number eight is the number of boundaries, and signifies the meeting of different forms of order and states of being. It represents law, borders, treaties, continuance of existing policy, bamboo, the wolf and the dog, the element of water, the four diagonal directions and the Threshold. It is auspicious in pleasant situations and matters of stability, while it is inauspicious in unpleasant and unstable circumstances.

The number nine signifies growth and expansion. It represents the Imperial Houses, the element of wood, rice, the hare, the season of summer and the eastern direction. It is generally deemed auspicious, except in matters of illness and strife, where it is inauspicious.

The number ten signifies attainment, wisdom, contemplation and transcendence. It represents the phoenix, the season of autumn and the western direction. It is auspicious in complicated situations and in matters requiring thought and deliberation, and inauspicious in simple situations and in matters demanding quick decisions and decisive action.

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I really like this. I was wondering if you had any particular sources, or just made most of it up? Also, how would you suggest doing higher numbers -- deriving them from these, or giving them their own values, and if the latter, any suggestions for which higher numbers should have particular independent value?
~ Shataina

Thanks! I drew some inspiration from both classical Qabala-derived Western numerology and from classical Chinese numerology, but mostly I based it on an internal logic derived from the core numbers of the setting. Five is the perfect number for all sorts of reasons (five elements, five Maidens, five directions, blah blah etc). Therefore, four had to be a number of incompletion and six had to be a number of surfeit. Seven became a potent positive number because of the seven Celestial Incarna. Etc. Higher numbers would derive their meanings from lower ones through appropriate mathematical conversions. Thus, the number twenty would be positive in terrestrial matters (the flawed four of the material realm perfected by multiplication with five) and negative in celestial matters (the perfect five of the celestial realm corrupted by multiplication with four). - Quendalon

<nod> I thought there might be some of the first two in there, but I don't know much at all about them to be sure. That said, since they did influence you, do you have any suggestions on where I could look to learn more about those (particularly Chinese numerology) -- book titles, or whatever? I aim to learn.
~ Shataina

Nothing specific really; honestly, for the basics, you can get by with a few Internet searches. Poke around some random numerology websites and see what comes up. - Quendalon

This is neat. I imagine 35 would be a particularly auspicious number for something of great importance, then. I'd say 3125 (5-squared) would be even more awesome, but I doubt most numerology goes that high. (Still... a name made up of 3-1-2-5 (Be-A-Ba-Bo, maybe not...) or 31-25 (Ho-Gi... yeah, no)) I like this a lot - I'll probably adapt it somewhat for a tabletop game I hope to run this summer :) - Cheyinka

Interestingly, the Sidereals are often referred to as the Five-Score Fellowship. Five, multiplied by 4, and then back to 5 - fixing a corrupted idea, perhaps? - FrivYeti

The entry for three seems a bit off to me. There are, after all, three circles of sorcery, three circles of necromancy, three aspects to the Perfected lotus. These all seem to reflect seriously important aspects of Exalted's metaphysics, but doesn't seem to match the definition given for three. Also, I've always thought that eight was important in some cultures because it mixed 5 + 3. Any reference to an eight-fold way, for example, usually comes from a culture that places importance on five and three as well. - Wordman

Food for thought. It's been a few years since I wrote this, so it's due for some hindsight-sharpened tinkering. - Quendalon

Eye and Seven Despairs, Disciple of Seven Forbidden Wisdoms, Seventh-Degreed Physician of Maladies, Seventh Legion, Seven Tigers Rebellion... I'm sure there are more examples. This number seems quite significant in Canon. And definitely not auspicious! Just food for thought. Can this awesome Numerology explain why this may be? :) nikink