Arithmancy -- Third Years and Up

[thestormcomes]

[Newcomers to the subject will find Professor La Fère standing stoically at the front of the classroom, wand (pine, phoenix feather, 10", and unsurprisingly unyielding for those of you who care) on the desk beside him. An owl lurks in the corner of the room, still slightly ruffled from Professor Buckingham's charms.]

As you are all undoubtedly aware by now, Arithmancy is most often used to predict the future, but it should not be mistaken for anything remotely similar to the study of Divination. We work with numbers, we do not gaze senselessly into the crystal ball, and unless you were born a skilled Seer there is no point in attempting to scry the results of your O.W.L.s.

[He was a student once. He knows how it is.]

You will be working from three books this semester: L. Wakefield's Numerology, M. Carneiro's Grammatica, and Vector's New Theory of Numerology. Reading is required, not suggested. You will complete seven essays and take three tests including your O.W.L., which is cumulative. We build from the ground up, and the first chapters of each book are just as relevant and important as the last. For the time being, wands away.

[Because Olivier is feeling especially generous today (or rather, he's a bit worn out from wrestling his owl away from another professor), all levels of Arithmancy, from beginners to advanced, get to have a little more fun than usual.]



Today we will be using the Agrippan Method for calculating the value of one's name. Each of you has a chart on your table.

[He begins writing on the blackboard with his wand.]

Find each corresponding number for every letter in your name. Mine is provided above as an example.

O L I V I E R D E L A F E R E
6 3 9 4 9 5 9 4 5 3 1 6 5 9 5

You "reduce" your numbers by adding them together until you achieve a single digit, like so.

6 + 3 + 9 + 4 + 9 + 5 + 9 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 5 + 9 + 5 = 83
8 + 3 = 11
1 + 1 = 2

With your final number, you can refer to a rather amusing personality chart on the back of your copy of Agrippa's Method. The Chaldean Method is similar, as you can see in your textbooks on page two-hundred and fifty-seven, but the letters were based on the Hebrew alphabet, rather than the Latin one.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions should you have them.

[For students, professors, or ghosts who wish to interact with Olivier outside of lectures, he will most likely be in his office located in the largest tower beneath the Astronomy classrooms.]

Comments

[urnewkingbitch]

Quick question, Prof. We usin' our full names or does it matter?

[thestormcomes]

Full names, Mister Strider, to ensure you achieve the correct numeral. You may use the equation to determine your friends' respective numerologies, as well.

[urnewkingbitch]

[He sighs. He hates his full name.]

Man.

[Well, first, he takes a look at what a 2 means and he's hard-pressed to keep from laughing.]

So, Professor, you're actually a sweet guy?

[Action]

[endlessbeato]

[Beato was paying close attention to the timbre of his voice, the sternness of his gaze, his handsome features, oh wait, she's still in class, woops, better wipe that dreamy look off of your face, girl Professor La Fere's lecture. She quickly whips out her textbooks to find the charts. Maybe if she's lucky, their numbers will be compatible?]

Let's see...2, 5, 1, 2, 9, 9, 3, 5, 7, 6, 3, 4, 1, 4, 9, 2, 8...add those together...80...so that would be 8...

[She flips to the personality chart.]

"Eight indicates the possibility of great success in business, finance, and politics. Eights are practical, ambitious, committed, and hard working. They can also be jealous, greedy, domineering, and power-hungry. Eight is said to be the most unpredictable of numbers and can indicate the pinnacle of success or the depths of failure; the potential to go either way is present from the beginning."

...Sounds more like my father than it does me...

[Her gaze flicks up to her Professor again, trying her best to mask her distaste for her results.]

Professore La Fere, will we receive extra points if we use the Chaldean Method as well?

[Action]

[thestormcomes]

This is a very old exercise, Miss Goldsmith, the magic of which has been diluted over thousands of years. They may not describe you to the letter - my own description is hardly accurate.

[Save for the "withdrawn, moody, self-conscious and indecisive" part. But she doesn't need to know that.]

As for the Chaldean Method, why don't you tell me what you know about it?

[Action]

[endlessbeato]

Of course!

[She is all-too eager to please.]

Like you said, Professor, the Chaldean method uses the Hebrew letters as the root, not Latin. You would think this would mean that "Chaldean" is a Jewish name, but that's not accurate. "Chaldean" is actually an old-fashioned name for the Aramaic language and its speakers - so technically, the Chaldean method is much older. The biggest difference between the two methods, though, is that the number 9 is not used in the Chaldean method.

If we were to use the Chaldean method instead of the Agrippan method, you would be...

[She pauses, doing some calculations in her head.]

...a 9. I find that to be a much more accurate description of your personage, if I may say so.

[She gives him a shy smile and hopes she hasn't said too much.]

[action]

[airplanecups]

[stares at the personality chart.]

...I don't know what that word means.

[action]

[thestormcomes]

[EYEROLL.]

Which word, Mister Hudson?

[airplanecups]

..."Perceptive."

[itsahotone]

[Santana, who is really only taking this class for reasons other than actually being at all interested in the incredibly boring subject, gets the number one. And narrows her eyes at the description. Some of it is pretty fitting, obviously, but.]

I am not a loner.

[She's just better than most everyone else.]

[thestormcomes]

[Other reasons? What reasons might those be? This is incredibly challenging course material, after all.]

No?

[Ah, Slytherins. Just like their Head of House, they're always so damned proud.]

What aspects of this do you disagree with, Miss Lopez?

[akapeanut]

Five...

[Frown.]

I hate travelling.

[thestormcomes]

[How many times does he have to say that this is simply for fun? Kids these days.]

And as you can see, Miss Lass, I am the finest portrait of being sweet-tempered.

[hamburellakind]

A loner and a leader? Wow.

[He doesn't seem pleased.]

[thestormcomes]

[Guess who's lurking over your shoulder?]

Disappointed?

action;

[walkingdesuno]

[ he tests both methods, not bothering to write them out on his parchment ]

...Hm, the Agrippa method seems to fit me better.

action;

[thestormcomes]

What are the results of both, in your particular case?

[bicorn]

[ It takes her awhile to come up with both of her final numbers as she worriedly checked and re-checked her calculations, having to make some adjustments along the way and not being satisfied until she achieved the same numbers three times. Math in any incarnation is obviously not Brittany's strong suit. ]

[thestormcomes]

Is there a problem, Miss Pierce?

[One wonders why the poor girl registered for this class in the first place.]

[doesntmiss]

[Mumbling to himself...] ...is eightyseven and... okay, ninetytwo is eleven is two...

[Clint glances at the chart and scoffs.]

Not so sure about sweet natured. But nobody believes in this kind of stuff, right?

[thestormcomes]

This is an exercise for fun, Mister Barton.

[Olivier glances over the young man's calculations.]

It is highly unlikely that any of these are especially accurate, though. Do you disagree with your assessment?

[itsalluseless]

Completion and achievement, huh? Should I take this to mean I'll get perfect scores on my O.W.L.s?

[thestormcomes]

That all depends, Mister Ushiromiya.

[He raises an eyebrow.]

[epiccombo]

[As far as Puck is concerned, Arithmancy is not up there with the most useful subjects either. He's not sure what he's doing taking the class anyway.

But that's why he's taken up residence in the back of the classroom, pretending to pay attention, but once in awhile, sneaking in an odd doodle or insulting scrawl of some kind directly onto the pages of his school book.

Compliments of Noah Puckerman.]

[thestormcomes]

...Mister Puckerman.

[Olivier knows he's doodling, it's ridiculously obvious; Noah isn't even trying to hide it. This sort of behavior is unacceptable in his classroom. Time to call him out.

Trick question:]

Perhaps you would like to explain the differences between Arithmancy and Numerology?