arithmancy

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós, “number”) + -mancy.

Why this word is great

ARITHMANCY — [Noun] The practice of divination by converting names into numerical equivalents and interpreting their mystical significance. From Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós, "number") + -μαντεία (-manteia, "divination"). Unlike "numerology" (which broadly ascribes meaning to numbers in life) or "geomancy" (which reads patterns in earth or sand), arithmancy is a precise, almost algebraic mysticism—a cipher of letters into digits, digits into fate. It is the scratch of a quill tallying the value of a lover’s name, the hushed calculation of a king’s reign reduced to a single ominous sum, or the quiet dread of discovering your own number and finding it wanting. There is comfort in believing the universe can be solved, even if the answer is cruel.

noun

Divination using numbers that are the equivalent of letters of a name“Of this roote last spoken of [astrology], springs innumerable branches; such as the knowledge of natiuities; the Chiromancie, Geomantie, Hydromantie, Arithmantie, Physiognomie: & a thousand others: which were much practiced, & holden in great reuerence by the Gentiles of olde.”