This book is a beginner's guide to the art of Numerology.  This is a system which links the letters of the alphabet with numbers, and allows you to derive a numerical value for any given proper name.  The value of the name can then be compared with various nouns, adjectives and adverbs which contain the same numerical value when analyzed in the same way.  Thus, a person's traits, and fate, can be established numerically from their given names/s.

The concept has deep roots in the Cabala, and various magical systems.  Like the philosophy underpinning the 'I Ching', the vast complexities of the macrocosm are assumed to be reflected in the daily minutiae of the microcosm, and so any system of fortune-telling sufficiently complex should provide interesting results.

In the case of Ellis Taylor, a system of numbers attached to letters is proposed to provide us with an understanding of the world.  Naturally, this is not based upon a mainstream scientific paradigm, but Ellis Taylor argues that it works nonetheless, having spent many years discovering numerical correlations between words and names.

In the book, he uses the name Tony Blair as his central example, and shows how the usage of dates important to the Prime Minister establish a pattern in his life.  It is an intriguing study, certainly, and the author's enthusiasm for the system can be infectious.

Ellis Taylor allows himself the opportunity to make various social and cultural remarks, many of which hit the spot.  He is clearly an individual endowed with much wisdom, and is an enjoyable author to read.  The book can be a little technical at times, and reads a little bit like an Appendix. Presumably this is necessary to facilitate the reader's learning, and to allow one to make use of the system personally.  And this is where the Numerology system will really prove itself.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient wisdom and divination, and it would be interesting to find out if the system operates well when put into practice generally.

You can order your copy through Amazon.com here:

Living in the Matrix

If you live in the UK, you can obtain your copy through Amazon.co.uk here:

Living in the Matrix

Book review by Andy Lloyd, 12th July 2005

Books for review can be sent at the author/publisher's own risk:

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