Why the number 8 is associated with Business & Money

Do you know where the meanings associated with numerology come from? And why number 8 is associated with Business, and Money?

When I started doing Destiny Readings 4 years ago, I’d include elements of numerology as it resonated so much with me. But tbh I really only had a surface level understanding of the roots.

Now that I have a new divination offering, which draws from multiple traditions, I’ve been back down the rabbit hole. 

Let’s go down there together!

Pythagorean numerology goes back to Ancient Egypt and how they understood mathematics to be the building blocks of creation & the emergence of the first gods.

Let’s look at each of the numbers 1-9

Number 1

The universe begins as 0 ie nothingness. Atum is the number 1: the first single point to exist, rising alone from the dark primordial ocean of Nun (primordial chaos).

So 1 is pure potential, unity, and independence. The pioneer, the beginning of all action.

Number 2

1 ÷ 2. Atum felt lonely, so he spat out two twin children: Shu (the god of dry air) and Tefnut (the goddess of moist air). This was the first time the universe split into opposites.

So 2 is duality, reflection, and balance, partnerships and choosing between things.

Number 3 

1 + 2 = 3. The twins, Shu and Tefnut, got lost in the dark waters of Nun. Atum sent his divine Eye to find them.

When they returned safely, he wept tears of joy and those tears became the first humans.

One creator father plus two twin children equals the first family unit.

1 creator father + 2 twin children = 3 gods. When they unite, they create something entirely new: the first humans.

So 3 means - Creation, growth, and communication. Joy, self-expression, and the first spark of life.

Number 4

2 + 2 = 4. Shu and Tefnut fell in love and gave birth to twins for their own - Geb (the Earth) and Nut (the Sky).

The universe now had four distinct walls: air, moisture, earth, and sky. 

2 parents + 2 children = 4 physical boundaries. You now have the 4 corners of the world: North, South, East, and West 

So 4 means - stability, boundaries, foundations, the physical world and the work it takes to build things. 

Number 5 

4 + 1 = 5. Geb and Nut loved each other so tightly there was no room for life to grow. The physical world was locked in its four-sided box.

So Ra separated them and Nut was forbidden to give birth on any day of the 360-day year. 

Thoth gambled with the moon and won 1/72nd of its light, enough to create five extra days outside the calendar year. On these five magical days, Nut gave birth to Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the elder.

4 existing corners + 1 extra magical element = 5 new gods born

So 5 acts as the unpredictable element that shakes up the stability of 4. It means, change, emotion, drama and the spark of life.

Number 6 

A great war broke out between Osiris and his jealous brother Set. Set tore out the eye of Horus and scattered it into pieces. 

Thoth divides the shattered eye into six fractional pieces: 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64 = 63/64. The missing 1/64 is the divine spark Thoth adds himself to make the eye whole.

The six pieces correspond to the six ways humans perceive reality: the five senses plus thought.

6 therefore means healing & fixing what is broken. Because it’s a mirror image of 3 - it scales up family into community.

Sidenote: 64 shows up as a significant number in i-ching and in genetics (hence the Gene Keys).

Number 7

To protect her baby Horus from the evil Set, Isis hid in the marshes of the Nile. She was guarded by seven magical scorpions: Tefen, Befen, Mestet, Mestetef, Petet, Thetet, and Matet.

In sacred geometry, six circles placed around one central circle fit perfectly and lock the center space as a sealed, unbreakable ring.

Isis uses exactly seven scorpions to form this protective configuration around her infant son.

So 7 means, and absolute protection but it also means mystery, inner wisdom, deep magic and the spiritual study required to understand it.

Number 8

The Ogdoad are the 8 primordial gods that held up the earth and kept the chaotic dark waters of Nun from flooding the world.

Their pairs are Nun and Naunet (water), Kek and Kauket (darkness), Heh and Hauhet (infinite space), Amun and Amaunet (hidden wind).

The Ogdoad is built on this symmetry: four male frog gods paired with four female snake goddesses.

8 is 4 repeated & mirrored - so you get double the foundations & stability which then becomes power, civilisation (and business), legacy (& by extension wealth).

You also get repeated cycles, karma & infinity. 

Number 9

With Atum, his two children, his two grandchildren, and his four great-grandchildren, the nine supreme gods took their seats on the cosmic throne as the Ennead, the governing council of the universe. Creation was complete.

1 (Atum) + 2 (Shu/Tefnut) + 2 (Geb/Nut) + 4 (Osiris/Isis/Set/Nephthys) = 9. Nine is the final single digit and cannot grow further without returning to 1.

So 9 means absolute finality, wisdom, and closure, the end of a cycle, perfection, and humanitarian achievement.

Don’t ask me what happened to Horus the elder & why he isn’t one of the 9. Long story.

Final note if you’ve made it this far. The Ancient Egyptians had no concept of master numbers. That is a much more recent development, as is the idea of life path, Destiny numbers etc. 

If you want to learn more about those, let me know.

Originally posted on Threads