What's your Life Path Number? The simple sum to help reveal your destiny

Remember back when your maths teacher was droning on about Pythagoras? It turns out the legendary mathematician had a lot more going for him than just triangles. In fact, Pythagoras was something of a mystical guru - the ancient Greek was so fascinated by numbers because he believed they could reveal the secrets of the universe.

Today, some of his theories underpin the study of numerology, which says you can reveal the path your life will take and even your destiny through a few simple sums.

How? Let’s get started with an easy one – your birthday. Add up the day, month and year and you’ll reveal your Life Path Number.

But there’s more. Pythagoras thought everything was interrelated. He thought letters connected with numbers. If you add up the numbers connected to the letters in your name, it’ll reveal your Destiny Number, and with it the traits that will help you to achieve your goals.

Most of the time we add the numbers together over and over until we are left with a single digit, but there are a couple of exceptions: 11 and 22 are known as Master Numbers and stand on their own as double digit numbers.

Your life path number

The sum total of your birthday, you Life Path Number reveals the key themes of your life and your character.

To work it out, start with the day you were born on. If this is a double-digit number (10 or above), add these together to get a single digit, unless you were born on the 11th or 22nd – these are Master Numbers.

Next take the month – 1 is January, 12 is December. Again, if you were born in October or December, add the two digits together to make a single one; if you were born in November, stick with the 11.

Finally add all four digits of the year you were born together, again until you get a single digit, 11, or 22. Then add all of these – day, month, and year – together to reveal your Life Path Number.

Number meanings

• 1 - Independent, pioneering, active, a leader
• 2 - Balanced, egalitarian, empathetic, sensitive, harmonious
• 3 - Creative, communicative, innovative, escapist, connective
• 4 - Solid, practical, grounded, hard-working, responsible
• 5 - Spontaneous, vivacious, brave, free-thinking
• 6 - Supportive, gentle, straightforward, empathetic, nurturing
• 7 - Clever, perfectionist, analytical, detail-oriented
• 8 - Magnetic, ambitious, successful, a leader
• 9 - Wise, spiritual, experienced, an old soul
• 11 - Intuitive, psychic, hyper-aware, a healer
• 22 - Dynamic, industrious, dependable, transformative, creative

Use your name to discover your destiny number

1. Do the Sums

Grace’s date of birth is 15th May 1994. To find her Life Path number, we start by adding up 1+5 to make 6. May is month number 5. Then we add theyear together: 1+9+9+4. This makes 23, so we add 2+3 to make 5. Finally we add all the numbers together: 6+5+5 makes 16. This is still a two-digit number, so we add 1+6 and reveal that Grace’s Life Path Number is 7.

2. Show your working out

To find your Destiny Number, first you need to work out the root number of each of your names. Grace’s full name is Grace Lily Rose. GRACE becomes 7+9+1+3+5, which is 25. That turns into 2+5, making her first name a 7.

We repeat the process for her middle name (LILY, 3+9+3+7; 22, a Master Number) and surname (ROSE, 9+6+1+5=21, 2+1=3).

3. Add it up

Finally we add together all of the root numbers: 7+22+3. That gives us 32, so we add the 3 and 2 together, and reveal that Grace’s Destiny Number is a 5. As a Life Path 7 Grace is very methodical and detail-oriented, but her Destiny Number 5 is telling her to loosen up, laugh and live a little!

Why not try...

All crystals have Vibrational Numbers. Carrying a crystal with a Vibrational Number the same as your Destiny or Life Path Number can help you to unlock your full potential. Not sure where to start? Read our lunar guide Kirsty Gallagher's guide to crystals for raising your vibe.