Forget your fear of numbers, they hold the key to unlocking our personalities, numerologist Benny Vervliet tells NAOMI LEACH
3 is the magic number, lucky number 7, Friday the 13th, the 27 club, 666, even the year 2012 – whether we realise it or not, our daily lives are loaded with assumptions and superstitions about the meaning of different numbers. If numbers were not powerful, why do so many people feel intimidated by mathematics? And why do others pay homage with Sudoku and mental arithmetic games, revelling in the clean, uniformity of numbers? These symbols are compelling because they are universal. Although their significance first intrigued ancient civilisations, the art of Numerology is still thriving and informs people about their life’s path to this day.
“Numbers in our world relate to money and exams. We are judged by numbers. But numbers are just a means of calculation, just a name of a frequency. I have the belief that everything can be reduced to numbers. Everything has a frequency in life. Everything we can touch and see has a frequency which can be measured with a number. Humans are a material which has a frequency. Life has a frequency. We reduce this measure and give a number,” explains Numerologist Benny Vervliet, who is bringing his Numerology workshops to Cyprus this week.
Numerology began in ancient times and it is disputed whether the Egyptian, Persians or Chinese invented it. There are now 20 to 30 different types of numerology but just four major types – Pythagorean, Chinese, Caldian Indian and Kabbalah.
A person doesn’t have just one number in Numerology, instead several numbers are attributed to each person based on calculations of their date of birth and name. There are eight important numbers to consider in a person’s chart. These calculations give an insight into their personal characteristics.
“We calculate and can tell how they will react to a certain situation, their strengths and their weaknesses and how they live,” says Benny.
The aim of the workshop is to teach people numerology so that they can learn about themselves, their friends and their families. Numerologists believe that our personal numbers are at the heart of explaining our moods, our relationships and our successes. By using this tool, participants are encouraged to find out why they may be struggling in life and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Benny uses the numbers 1 to 9 and master numbers 11 and 22 in his numerology charts which are based on ancient Chinese and Pythagorean teachings. Each number has distinctive personality traits associated with it.
The life path number (the purpose of a person’s life) is one of the most important numbers to discern. It is calculated by adding up all the numbers in a person’s date of birth, for example 13 April 1983 would become 1+3+4+1+9+8+3=29 then 2+9 = 11. The attitude number (how you are perceived in the world) 1+3+4=8 also plays a large role in social interactions. Some believe that the expression number is your destiny number because it is concerned with long-term goals. This and your soul number, which represents the real you or how you would like to be in a perfect world, are found by using your name.
It’s not every day you get compared to Jesus so when Benny excitedly revealed that I shared my life path number (11) with the holy one, I had to sit up and listen.
“You’re like Jesus, a messenger. 11s have a message to convey, they are the angel of inspiration, for instance Jesus had a message but it’s not important whether you believe it or not he was just the messenger. You’re an angel but don’t see yourself as an angel,” warns Benny.
He continues enthusiastically, describing personal relationships, experiences at work and aspirations which may have been thwarted by the interaction of my life path and attitude number. He details the concerns of my inner world and what motivates me. In most areas, he is accurate.
Benny concedes that the numbers we are born with are not as fixed as early numerologist once thought. Through education and experience we can take on the qualities of other numbers.
“These are the cards you’re dealt but you can change it, play the game. Live. Pythagoras believed in karma but Chinese karma is not written in stone. The Chinese see it as opportunities whereas Pythagoras saw it as challenges. There are different outlooks,” he explains.
Benny learned these outlooks while studying Chinese numerology under the renowned Master Liu in Malaysia. He has also travelled extensively. Born in Belgium, he now resides in Hungary, having lived in the US, Spain, Turkey and Malaysia. As a child to a diplomat mother he lived in Uruguay and Brazil also. Benny teaches Numerology and Crystal Therapy worldwide and has run workshops in Thailand, China, South Africa and Cyprus.
Twelve years ago, after three months of watching, a Chinese numerologist in a Malaysian coffee shop first unlocked the secret of numbers for Benny.
“People would line up for him. They came to see him about when is a good time for marriage or buying a new house or when should we invest, for every question of life,” he says.
In Malaysia, Benny found people were concerned with favourable dates (every day has a different energy number value), addresses and auspicious numbers, such as 8 for business success. Westerners tend to be more interested in personal readings.
On the Cyprus workshops participants will be taught what each number means and how to do the most important calculations, looking at themselves, their friends and family’s charts. By creating their own matrix, participants should be able to calculate 100 people’s numerology charts.
“You can expect to have a different outlook on things. The least you can expect is to go home and have a party game,” jokes Benny.
Numerology workshops
Nicosia Workshop: January 14-15. The Institute for Inner Sciences, 27 Gladstone Street, Nicosia. To participate contact [email protected] or +357 99420196 with Gilly McKay Dimitriou
Limassol Workshop: January 21-22. R Place, 1 Reginos & Orestis Street, Fassoula, Limassol. To participate contact [email protected] or 99 801314 (Francesca Pinoni)
Price for two-day workshop including material and lunch on both days is €100. Benny will be in Cyprus until January 24 and is available for private consultations via email, [email protected]
