The Numerology of the Number 9

Global awareness

by Hans Decoz

Ordinarily, I try to keep the math to a minimum when I discuss an aspect of Numerology. In the case of the number 9, however, the math highlights a philosophical observation that is unique, interesting and very revealing. So bear with me, please, because from a purely mathematical perspective, the 9 stands apart. Here is why:

When you multiply any number by 9, then add the resulting digits and reduce them to a single digit, it always becomes a 9. For example, 6 x 9 = 54, reduce 54 to a single digit by adding them together: 5 + 4 = 9. Similarly, 8 x 9 = 72, and 7 + 2 = 9. Or 23 x 9 = 207, 2 + 0 + 7 = 9, and so forth. There is nothing coincidental about this peculiarity. Try it. Any number, no matter how large, multiplied by 9 reduces to 9. From a numerological perspective, the 9 simply takes over, like the infamous body snatchers. Any number that was initially increased by a factor of 9 loses its own identity and instead takes on the characteristics of the 9. No other number has that quality. 

A different, but no less distinctive and revealing, attribute of the 9 is that when you add (as opposed to multiply) it to any other number, then reduce that number to a single digit, it always comes back to itself, as if nothing was added at all. For example, 5 + 9 = 14, 1 + 4 = 5. Or 7 + 9 = 16, 1 + 6 = 7. 24 (which reduces to 6) + 9 = 33, 3 + 3 = 6. Again, have some fun, try it on a bunch of numbers.

This, from a numerological perspective, is actually the exact opposite of what happens when you use the 9 to multiply, because when adding it, increasing the amount by 9, it does not change anything to its initial single digit value. When multiplying, the 9 takes over ... when adding, the 9 does nothing. For a math junkie like myself, with a philosophical streak to match, this is pure beauty. It symbolically touches at the core of the magic that underlies this creation. But enough about math, let's look at the personality of this unique number.

The last of the cardinal numbers, the 9 is the most worldly and sophisticated of all numbers. The 9 has some similarities with the 6. However, whereas the 6 as a symbol of motherly (or fatherly) love, giving its love and care to friends, family and the immediate community, the 9 offers it to the world at large; the 9, more than any other number, has global consciousness. Looking at the shape of the symbol is, as always, quite telling. The 9 is like the 6 upside down, a symbol of her offering sympathy and compassion to everyone; a reservoir of giving with a generous downward spout.

The 9 understands the connections between all of mankind. It is a humanitarian, and sees no real difference between its neighbor next door and the person living in a very different culture and environment on the other side of the world. The 9 is the least judgmental of all numbers, the most tolerant and the most conscious. 

The Numerology of the Number 9 | Tarot.com -- Continued »