How they became followers of numerology

One evening on the terrace, Bérénice recounts a bit feverishly, her professional and romantic uncertainties, when her friend Elise stops her: “Give me your date of birth!” She also adds the numbers of the day and month of birth to 7 (total numbers for 2014) and announces: “You are in year 9! Be careful, it will be a revolution!”. This follower of numerology explains to him that each number from 1 to 9 corresponds to a particular period of life (expansion, slowdown, stabilization, renewal…) and that the ninth year marks the end of a cycle for Bérénice, who is about to finish her studies and return her apartment. A few weeks later, echoing the horoscope of Susan Miller, high priestess of the fashion world, Bérénice learns that she has been hired by the company where she was on an internship. “It’s quite amazing. Since then, I still wonder about the thing”.

Would the alignment of the planets, the day of our birth and the combinations of numbers have an impact on our destiny? Many are asking the question. Like François Mitterand, Catherine de Medici or Galileo before them. Once thought of as fortune teller crap, numerology and astrology are experiencing a revival of hype in a world where the future is increasingly uncertain. The horoscope pages that end magazines are no longer enough. We now consult astrologers, numerologists, seers and we rely on their risky science to know when to invest, resign or leave someone. “We are in the midst of an economic, political, psychological and even spiritual crisis. People are lost, they are floundering and need meaning in their lives, explains François Notter, numerologist and author of a dozen books on the subject. questions, they turn to numerology. Often they discover after the fact the real reasons for their coming”. Are they mad? Neither does anyone who avoids scaffolding and black cats. Like them, they are looking for a way to reassure themselves, de-dramatize… and put a little mystique in their lives. Immerse yourself in the galaxy of numbers and stars.

On Ebay, the prediction costs between two and twenty euros

Aurélie has been consulting since, when she was 18, her mother offered her her first session with a clairvoyant. On the program: birth chart, then card draw. “She told me truthful things about my personality and my surroundings, says the 26-year-old young woman. I had the feeling that she knew me as a friend”. Victim or not of the Barnum effect (which assumes that everyone recognizes themselves in statements made to the general public), Aurélie finds the comfort she lacks. But limited to an annual consultation by her student budget, the young graduate then questions the clairvoyants unearthed on Ebay about fifteen times a year. “Immediate purchase is easy via Paypal, the choice of indicator is vast… I rely on customer comments”. A question, a doubt about a friend, a love, a job offer… Aurélie sends her question and gets an answer by email within 24 hours. Between two and twenty euros the prediction, its budget does not exceed 150 euros annually. Cheaper than a shrink. To find out what the new year has in store for her, she cross-checks the predictions of three different seers to remove any doubt. “You have to admit that there are totally false predictions! But we can’t blame them, it’s not an exact science. We can only blame the lack of confidence that lives in us! keep the best by telling yourself that anything can happen and that you remain in control of your destiny”.

With the arrival of the Internet and applications, it is above all this kind of “consumption” of the divinatory arts that is enjoying great success. To the chagrin of Alain de Chivré, president of the Federation of Francophone Astrologers, who campaigns against this discount and folkloric practice of astrology. “It’s a ridiculous sausage. We are against horoscopes, against predictions. But people want magical answers to know if their wife will come back or if their son will have the baccalaureate”, notes this astrologer with 30 years of experience. experience. In the end, the 700 astrologers he considers “serious” in France do not really benefit from this growing enthusiasm.

“Predictions are pollution for the soul and the spirit”

On the numerological side, François Notter also condemns deterministic predictions. “These are pollution for the soul and the spirit, the fifty-year-old gets angry at the flow of machine guns. Generating fear or saying that you have “a good or bad theme”, it is not encouraging”. Introduced to shamanism in Africa at a very young age, the one who claims to “explode a glass” with a simple look, channeled his energy by specializing in numerology in the 80s. Later, he created his own current of humanist numerology which rejects all determinism. According to him, the symbolism of the numbers “propose, invite and suggest” lines of thought to the person according to his theme. Out of the question to receive a check to send a consultation by email, without having seen, heard, perceived the person. François needs to meet the other and to work together several times. “When doing the birth chart, I only use 5 to 10% of the possibilities. It’s like we were presenting a huge menu card, and people were only content with an aperitif, a main course and a dessert”, regret the one who asks 150 euros for a consultation. From the date of birth, surnames and first names and the rank of arrival in the family, the jovial François Notter can calculate 120 combinations which will trace a trail. To his great disappointment, most of his clients only come once a year, to revise their theme, “a bit like a radio that we do once a year”.

For Leo, the horoscope is more of a spiritual accessory to living his life than prophecy. ” I don’t expect the horoscope to validate my future, it’s too passive. I seek comfort to make my decisions. It also teaches me to be more serene, more humble and to accept that everything is not depends not only on my will but also on chance and other influences that escape us. Leo relies solely on the international reputation of “digital gurus”, without paying a penny. Every week, the 25-year-old young man consults online the horoscope of Rob Brezsny, a sort of Californian Dumbledore-like guru on a macrobiotic diet published by International mail. Rather than talking about the decans and the inclination of the Moon, he prefers to illustrate his predictions with metaphors about the lives of people or the dragibus of our childhood. Leo also receives a daily topo from Susan Miller, Élise’s famous astrologer, via an app.

“It all started after a painful breakup. A friend reassured me by telling me that it was completely normal according to Susan Miller, since at that time, Mercury was retrograding and was no longer in the orbit of the Earth. for twenty days, which scrambled communication. Suddenly, astrology was no longer a wacky thing but a reading of the movement of planets, energies, magnetism and connections between people”. As soon as Mercury’s period of exile is over, his other half returns to circle around him. The day Leo leaves for Los Angeles for three months, Susan Miller announces to him “a perfect day to go on an adventure or on a trip”.

There, he was surprised at how widely accepted and valued astrology was. “You don’t meet a person who doesn’t ask you for your date of birth to deduce your astrological sign. All my friends there told me that between Leo, my sign, and Gemini, my ex’s, love can’t work! California is the most cutting edge and visionary place when it comes to our future and our needs. This is where the movie industry, wellness, gluten-free and Silicon Valley… They are always ahead of all our needs!”

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