A Phonetic Isopsephy

“Isopsephy” is a numerological practice (similar to the kabbalistic/qabbalistic practice of Gematria). The idea is that each letter has a numerical value which can be added together, and words with the same numerical value are “related,” or correspond to one another. Regardless of whether these correspondences are based on some actual measurable underlying phenomena is up for debate; as a tool for seeing internal connections between concepts that can give additional insight into those concepts, it’s an essential component of any practicing weirdo’s toolbox.

I’ve long maintained that it would be interesting to try to generate a system like this based on phonetics/phonemes for various reasons. A phonetic isopsephy could:

• minimize the risk of cultural appropriation;
• allow for a more universalist method of calculation;
• allow a method of analysis independent of more problematic personality cults which have dominated this practice for the past century or two;
• be used in reverse, to create mantras or identify the names of spirits/voces magicae based on the correspondences as translated to pure sound.

I was recently inspired to develop this system, and it’s ready for play-testing. Based on my research, the smallest number of phonemes which can be used in the largest number of linguistic structures and still “make sense” is around 28. This is undoubtedly subjective and ; a system incorporating every sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet would be so unwieldy that it would be more trouble than it’s worth.

Different people pronounce different words in different ways, based on region, dialect, cultural trends, and time period. This is fine. This is meant to be a subjective method of analysis, like Tarot cards, for which the Wheel of Fortune may represent something completely different depending on the read, its position in the spread, and the socio-cultural background of the reader and the querent. I may end up with a different value for a word or concept than someone in a different part of the country. This isn’t a flaw; it’s the opportunity to add another layer of meaning.

I also wanted the system to possess a kind of logical progression. Since many other numerological systems base their correspondences on mythological or cosmological processes, I decided to develop a progression of emanation from Void/Chaos/Potential to Unity. My personal interest is Hellenic/Hellenistic spiritual practice, so the correspondences I came up with proceed accordingly. That said, if you do decide to incorporate this system into your own practice, the universality of the system allows for the identification of similar correspondences in any system. Feel free to develop your own list of correspondences– consider this open source.

Analysis is phonetic, so when generating a value:

• Silent letters can be ignored;
• Dipthongs and biphonetic letters can be broken down into their component phonemes or the phonemes that best represent their sounds (for example, ou in soul can be assigned /o/, and q can be assigned /k/+/w/);
• Diacritics or pitch modalities add a level of complexity that is outside the current scope of this project; once this system has been play-tested and rolled out more comprehensively, we can look at those in some kind of supplemental fashion.

Want an initial word list? Download this CSV: Phonetic Isopsephy Word List – Sheet1 (Fair warning: I did use AI to produce this list because this seems like the kind of task appropriate for it.) Want to add to it? HMU for an invite to the Liminal Earth Discord where we’ll be working on maintaining the list.

Go to it and have fun! Please feel free to generate your own correspondences and word lists– drop me a message here with thoughts, suggestions, etc., or DM/@ me on BlueSky (@broccoliwizard.bsky.social)