Numerology: Working Out Your Mulank and Bhagyank

Numerology analyses temperament and life tendency from the numbers in a date of birth. In the Indian tradition each number is linked to a planet, which makes it a useful complement to chart reading.

Its practical advantage is simplicity. It needs neither a time of birth nor a place, only the date.

Calculating the mulank

The mulank comes from the day of the month.

If the day is between one and nine, that is the mulank.

If it has two digits, add them until a single digit remains.

Someone born on the twenty third: two plus three is five, so the mulank is five.

Someone born on the nineteenth: one plus nine is ten, then one plus zero is one, so the mulank is one.

Calculating the bhagyank

The bhagyank uses the whole date, including month and year.

Take a birth date of the twenty third of March nineteen ninety. Adding two, three, zero, three, one, nine, nine and zero gives twenty seven. Two plus seven is nine, so the bhagyank is nine.

The ruling planets

In the Indian system each number has a planet.

One belongs to the Sun, two to the Moon, three to Jupiter, four to Rahu, five to Mercury, six to Venus, seven to Ketu, eight to Saturn and nine to Mars.

This is where numerology meets Vedic astrology.

What each number indicates

One brings leadership, confidence and independent decision, sometimes with a streak of obstinacy.

Two brings sensitivity, imagination and cooperation, with some fluctuation in decisions.

Three brings knowledge, discipline and a capacity to guide. Such people often become teachers or advisers.

Four brings originality and an unconventional approach, and a life with more ups and downs than most.

Five brings communication, commercial sense and adaptability. Such people learn quickly.

Six brings an eye for beauty, sociability and an inclination towards comfort.

Seven brings reflection, spirituality and a preference for going deep rather than wide.

Eight brings persistence, patience and long range thinking. Success tends to come late but to last.

Nine brings energy, courage and a readiness to contend.

How the two relate

The mulank describes outward temperament and immediate reaction. The bhagyank describes the larger direction and purpose of the life.

When the two numbers are friendly, temperament and life path agree and things feel coherent.

When they conflict, a person feels a persistent tension between what they want to do and what they find themselves doing.

Where the method stops

Numerology is useful, and its limits should be stated.

Hundreds of thousands of people share any given date. Their lives are not alike. Detailed prediction from a mulank alone is therefore not defensible.

A Vedic chart adds the time and place of birth to the date, which makes the analysis specific to one person rather than to a date.

On changing a name

Letters carry numeric values, and adjusting the spelling of a name to balance them is an accepted practice.

It should not be treated as transformative. Changing a spelling does not alter the planetary positions in a chart.

The sound and practical use of a name make it worth some thought, but no more than that.

A balanced approach

The best use of numerology is alongside a chart rather than instead of one. Where both point the same way, the conclusion is worth more confidence. Where they disagree, the chart is the more detailed instrument.