The Hidden Truth of Your Name: A Complete Guide to First Names and What They Say About the Real You - Softcover

Nomenology Project

Softcover

ISBN 10: 034542266X ISBN 13: 9780345422668

Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc., 1999

Synopsis

From the secret wisdom of Kabbalah, the Runes, and Numerology--an unprecedented guide to unlocking the hidden power of your name.

Your name is not only your calling card, it also may determine how your life will unfold. Mystics have studied the energies associated with names for centuries, but The Hidden Truth of Your Name is the first book to synthesize their fascinating findings into one compelling resource--offering in-depth profiles of 750 American names. Created by a team of linguistic experts and specialists, this beguiling reference guides you through the illuminating intricacies of three ancient systems of divination--and shows you how to apply them to create a subtly nuanced portrait of any name you choose.

- KABBALAH--This ancient Hebrew system of letter-and-number analysis helps you discover what the mathematics of your name adds up to in terms of work, relationships, and spiritual energies.

- THE RUNES--The letters of this old northern European alphabet, for centuries an honored source of religious and magical values, open surprising windows to self-discovery and change.

- NUMEROLOGY--The key numbers of your name contain potent truths about the positive and negative aspects of your true nature--and your destiny.

Complete with the principle colors, gemstones, and herbs that harmonize with each name, this delightfully accessible book at last gives you the means to uncover the hidden truth and unique traits of your name.

About this title

About the Author

The Nomenology Project is a team of writers and editors led by internationally renowned practitioners Alan Oken, Kathleen Deyo, Jonathan Sharp, and Edward Aviza.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts

THE FORGOTTEN POWER OF NAMES

This is the million-dollar question: Did Hercules start out with a great name,or did he make his name great by making the most of it? Your name is a suit ofclothes you are given at birth, a suit you grow into or out of, strain at theseams, or wear elegantly and effortlessly like a custom-made affair. Our parentsgive us our names, and we do our best or our worst with them without ever reallyunderstanding how our names influence our lives. But what if you could actuallyknow what powers and personality traits a name possessed?For example, think of a little girl named Brittany. The influence of the nameBrittany is monumental: In a nutshell, Brittany is tenacious, independent,single-minded, and very, very direct. That's all well and good for Brittanyherself, but what about her parents? There may be little harmony in that houseuntil Brittany packs up and goes off to college. That's a long time for everyonein Brittany's family to wait for a little peace and quiet. But if her parentsunderstood the effect Brittany's name has on their daughter, her parents couldbe empowered with knowledge that would allow them to see their daughter in a newlight. Instead of engaging in a continual battle of wills with Brittany, herparents could work with her to enhance her strengths and mitigate her weaknessesas she matures.

This book is the key that unlocks the mystery of names so you can deal with theBrittanys in your life and improve your understanding of yourself and others byarming yourself with the knowledge that comes from truly understanding thepersonality traits inherent in a name?what a name gives you, what it takes awayfrom you, and what it can really do for you if you give it a chance. Once youhave brushed up on your own name's strengths and weaknesses, there are 717 othername interpretations in this book to check out. Reading a name's entry will tellyou whether or not a new boss named George could be supportive, or a new lovernamed Kathy might be inclined to want children.

What's to know about a name, besides the origin or derivation of the thing?Plenty. There are powers that are inherent in a name, and there are verydistinct ways in which a name can control one's destiny, for good and bad. Thepowers associated with names have been studied by mystics for centuries, butthis is the first book to digest their findings for the layperson. By readingthe expert interpretations in this book, anyone can understand the influences oftheir name as well as the influences of the names of people in their life,whether they are already familiar with the work of numerologists, rune masters,and kabbalists or are reading about these arts for the first time right now.

Your name is not only your calling card, it is also something that uniquelydistinguishes you from everyone else and may even determine, to a large extent,who you turn out to be in your lifetime. The name you "wear" affects not onlyhow others perceive you but also how you perceive yourself. If you trulyunderstood the meaning of your name in all its mysterious and hidden aspects,could you use that knowledge to affect your own destiny? Would it be possible totake advantage of the inherent power of your name to alter the direction of yourlife for the better?

With a bit of effort and the information available in this book, you'll be ableto learn enough about the meaning of your name to be able to truly embrace itssecret powers. By knowing and comprehending the meaning and significance of yourname, you will come to understand yourself more clearly and more fully. Armedwith this understanding, you will be able to develop a deeper self-knowledgethat will help you make the most of your life by utilizing the strengths andinfluences of your name to your benefit.

After you've learned how to analyze and understand the significance of your nameand how it shapes your personality, you'll be able to work out the meanings ofthe names of your coworkers, friends, family, or anyone else you want tounderstand better. As you learn the deeper meanings of their names, you'll bemore in tune with the temperaments and tendencies of the people in your life.And by considering how the personality characteristics of others correlate withyour own traits, you will be able to deepen your relationships by building uponthings you have in common with others and by avoiding areas of potentialdiscord. If, for example, you discover that someone you will soon be workingwith has a name that indicates a feisty, argumentative temperament, you willknow what to expect when dealing with them. By deepening your understanding ofothers, you will be able to create stronger and more lasting relationships inall areas of your life, from your work and social relationships to your intimaterelationships with family, friends, and lovers.

In addition, by understanding the power and deep significance of names, you willbe better equipped to choose names for your children when the time comes for youto do so. Choosing a name for your child can often be a daunting task with fewguidelines for the decision other than your own preference or sensibility. Howdo you know if a girl named Grace really will be poised or if a boy named Clintwill be adventurous? By understanding the meanings and energies that aparticular name bears, you will be able to choose a name for your child thatwill equip her to embrace the challenges of life with strength and certainty. Bygiving your child a powerful and meaningful name, you will help her begin lifewith one of the greatest gifts you can give, a good name.

Finally, this book will teach you how to create name interpretations of your ownbased on the ancient arts of the Kabbalah, numerology, and runes. These mysticalforms of divination have been used for centuries to glean insights into aperson's destiny. In the pages that follow, you will learn from experts how tobegin to use these techniques yourself to create original interpretations of notonly first names but any name. Your first name plays the most powerful role indetermining your destiny because this is the name most associated with you.However, middle names and last names also have an impact on your life, and byinterpreting these, too, you can gain a fuller understanding of your personalityand the personalities of others. If you have a friend with a very unusual namenot interpreted by the experts in part II of this book, you will still be ableto determine the key characteristics of his name by doing your own analysis. Asyou become more adept at creating your own interpretations, you will also gainadditional insights into almost any name you choose to study, whether it isalready listed here or not, for as you will see, name interpretation is ascience based on instinct. Like reading tarot cards or astrology charts, thereis no one right or wrong way to define a name's characteristics, and everyone'sanalysis of a name will vary a little bit according to the methods ofinterpretation they use. These methods are thousands of years old, and themysteries they reveal are constantly changing as new practitioners learn tounlock their magic.

THE EVOLUTION OF NAME ANALYSIS

In ancient times the symbolic meaning of names was an assumed part of theiroverall significance. For people in most ancient cultures, a name was far morethan simply an identifier; it was a way of truly and essentially knowing theperson or thing named. Choosing a name for a child was not taken lightly, asthat name would necessarily prove to be a source of strength or weakness forthat individual throughout his or her life. As an example of the powerfulinfluence of names in ancient cultures, consider that in ancient Egyptiansociety, one's name was thought to be integral to the very essence of a person'sexistence. In fact, according to Egyptian beliefs, the name was a living part ofthe person as much as the body, soul, or personality of that individual. It wastherefore critical in ancient Egypt that a child be named immediately at birthso the "coming into existence" of the infant would be properly accomplished; achild without a name was almost as terrible to imagine as a child without asoul!

In part, the importance of names was based on the theology of the Egyptians.According to one of the Egyptian creation myths, the god Ptah created theuniverse by pronouncing the names of all things; the very act of speaking thenames of things brought them into existence. Since the name of someone orsomething was so intimately tied to its very being, the preservation of anindividual's name was an important part of his or her ability to survive both inthis life and in the next. For example, an important aspect of Egyptian funerarytheology involved the nightly reunion of the ba, which is loosely translated tomean "personality" or "spirit," with the physical body of the deceased. Onequestion the Egyptians faced was where the ba would go if the body weredestroyed. The solution was to provide a statue or likeness of the person towhich the ba could return. But as anyone who has seen Egyptian statuary mightwonder, how would the ba know which statue to return to? The answer was simple:A statue would have the name of the individual carved into it. The name wouldeffectively transform the lifeless image into an appropriate nightly restingplace for the ba by imbuing it with the very essence of the person whose namewas carved into it. A nasty consequence of using a name to "claim" a statue,however, was that once you were gone, someone else might come along and usurpthat statue for himself by cutting out and replacing your name with his own! Andit was critical for a person to ensure the continuation of his or her namebecause if that name were wiped out or entirely forgotten, there was a distinctand terrifying possibility that he or she would simply cease to exist.

Although other ancient cultures differed in their specific views of thesignificance of names, most of them shared a common perspective that the namewas a crucially important part of who a person was. The choice of an appropriatename was so vitally significant in ancient societies that parents would oftenconsult oracles or religious authorities for assistance in assigning a namebefitting their child. If an oracle was not consulted, parents might name theirchildren on the basis of their physical characteristics, their place of birth,their relationships, or even the expectations parents had for their futureachievements. Illustrious parents would pass down the power and significance oftheir names by using prefixes such as "son of" or "daughter of" to indicate thatthe child was expected to continue, and even reinforce, the glory of theparents' name. Religious customs also played an important part in the namingconventions of many cultures; children in pagan societies were often named afterthe favorite family gods just as children in monotheistic societies were givennames to inspire religious sensibilities and an awareness of the fact that therewas only one God (for example, Elihu, which means "my God is He," or Elijah,meaning "my God is Jehovah").

The name was not only essential to truly understanding a person but could alsoprovide tremendous power over that person. In many ancient religions, includingthe Israelite and Egyptian religions, God or the gods had many different names,some of which were more powerful than others. Many of these names were hidden orsecret names that were rarely, if ever, pronounced. Speaking a name with theappropriate accents and sound quality would literally provide power to move thegods to do one's bidding, and the secret names of the divine being or beingswere known only by a select few among royalty or the priesthood. Because of thepower inherent in divine names, knowledge of the secret names of gods was also akey element in magical and religious rites. By knowing the various names ofgods, one could literally manipulate them to obtain favors or gifts, or toguarantee an appropriate harvest or a victory in battle. But the inappropriateuse of a name could bring down divine wrath to such an extent that the universeitself could be devastated, and it was considered blasphemous to inappropriatelyutter the name or names of divinities.

The symbolism of names did not involve only the use of whole words. The ancientsalso believed that individual letters contained intrinsic meaning that, whencombined to form words, produced varied textures and layers of significance thatwould provide clues to the mystical or hidden meanings of those words. When thewords were names of people, the meanings would reflect not only the physicalaspects of a person's life but also the complexities of an individual'spersonality and spirituality. The philosophy of the critical importance ofletters as mystical manifestations of the thoughts or intentions of the divinewas expressed powerfully in the arcane tradition of the Kabbalah, which was thename given in the twelfth century to the ancient mystical traditions of theJewish people. According to kabbalistic teachings, God created the universe fromthe letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in much the same way as the Egyptian godPtah created the universe by his spoken word: "Twenty-two elemental letters. Godengraved them, carved them, weighed them, permuted them, and transposed them,forming with them everything formed and everything destined to be formed." (1.Daniel C. Matt, The Essential Kabbalah (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco,1995).

Each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet was thought to contain a kernel ofmystical truth that, when meditated upon individually and in combinations, couldbring the spiritual seeker to union with God, the source of all things. Bydeeply understanding the meanings of letters and words, the student of Kabbalahwas able to penetrate into the mysteries of the universe by entering intocommunion with the mind of the divine. And by uttering or writing words andletters, the mystic could literally attune his vibrations with the highervibrations of the energy that sustained the entire universe. In Kabbalah, eachletter contains within itself the potential to be a path of ascent from themicrocosm of the individual human life to the macrocosm of all existence andultimately to the divine spirit. Since each letter of an individual's name wasso pregnant with meaning and significance, analyzing a name using kabbalisticmethods could yield a tremendous amount of insight into a person's character andpersonality. Today this ancient form of name analysis is gaining in popularityonce again, and using the techniques described in this book, one can gainvaluable insight into the hidden meanings of hundreds of names.

The letters of other ancient languages such as Egyptian and Chinese were alsoconsidered to have intrinsic meaning that extended far beyond their mere use asthe building blocks of words. [One such collection of symbols that has enjoyed amodern renaissance is the Futhark, the letters of which are known as runes. TheFuthark is a northern European alphabet whose origins are uncertain but whichwas known to have been used throughout Europe since at least 200 b.c.e.] Therunes are widely used today as an oracle, and "casting runes" has become apopular method of divination as well as a means of gaining deeperself-knowledge. By analyzing the ancient symbolic characters of one's name inthe Futhark, an individual might be able to obtain a greater understanding ofhis or her own personality. By looking at both the runic and kabbalisticinterpretations of a name, an even more detailed picture of a particular namewill be revealed.

Ancient peoples not only saw meaning in letters and words but also considerednumbers to be extremely significant as aspects of the universal order. Eachnumber represented a concept that reflected the essential nature of a particularattribute of the universe. According to some ancient philosophical systems, theanalysis of numbers was the key to a complete knowledge of the mysteries ofexistence. The most famous ancient philosopher of numbers, Pythagoras, lived inGreece circa 550 b.c.e. and taught that all things could be reduced to anumerical value that would provide the means to understanding their nature.Because numbers were a fundamental building block of the universe, they wereobviously associated with all things that existed, including, of course, wordsand letters. In the kabbalistic tradition, the study of the correspondencesbetween letters and numbers was known as gematria. According to the science ofgematria, each letter in the Hebrew alphabet corresponded to a specific number.When words were analyzed for their numeric values, hidden meanings could beunearthed that would shed light on mysteries that were normally beyond the graspof ordinary intellectual comprehension. Of course, the letters of otheralphabetic systems, such as Greek, Egyptian, and the Futhark, also containednumerical correspondences that could be used to analyze the hidden meanings ofwords and names, and the people who used these languages were well aware of thedepths of their significance.

By combining divination and the consultation of oracles with the analysis ofwords, letters, and numbers, ancient peoples were able to create names forthemselves and their children that were extraordinarily rich in symbolic value.A person in ancient society would have little doubt about the meaning of his orher name, as this knowledge would be deeply ingrained from an early age. And bydeeply understanding how their names affected their lives and destinies, theancients were able to possess the great depth of self-knowledge and personalstrength that was the natural result of being in tune with the energy of theirnames. By taking advantage of the power of one's name and avoiding the pitfallsassociated with any weakness of that name, a person could literally shape his orher life into a true reflection of the destiny implied by that name, and thuslive in greater harmony with the natural order of the universe.

THE CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE

Although the significance of words and names has largely been obscured in themodern age, which tends to discount mystical and spiritual phenomena, the factremains that our names continue to have significant power to influence us. One'sname evokes a reaction from his or her companions and can powerfully affect aperson's self-esteem. For example, in every society throughout the world,children with unusual names are often ridiculed by their peers. The contemporarysignificance of a name, however, is much more than simply whether or not itleaves us open to embarrassment. Over the past few years there has been atremendous resurgence of interest in traditional spirituality and religion. Forexample, people of Western religious traditions such as Christianity, Judaism,and Islam now choose names for their children based on favorite saints, biblicalpersonages, or sages from their respective traditions. People from many othercultural backgrounds have rediscovered the power and meaning of using names thatreflect their pride in their roots, their families, and their national orcultural origins. By using and understanding the meaning of these names, they'vefound a way to maintain a living link with their own histories that addsrichness and depth to their contemporary lives.

In addition to a reawakening of traditional forms of religion and spirituality,there has also been a tremendous growth of interest in mysticism, divination,and other methods of gaining deeper self-awareness such as numerology, runes,tarot, and the Kabbalah. Because of the revival of interest in thesemetaphysical disciplines and philosophies, the ancient ideas about the meaningand significance of names have become popular again. An increasing number ofpeople are making efforts to consider a wider variety of options for theirchildren's names based on the metaphysical and spiritual consequences of thosenames. More and more, people are beginning to realize that their own namespossess power that they can tap into for personal strength and growth, and thatthe names of others can be used as tools for improving their relationships.There is a growing suspicion that perhaps the ancients weren't as far "off thewall" as the modern scientific mind-set has always assumed. The renewed interestin matters long ago written off by science as irrelevant superstition has led toa newfound respect for the wisdom and knowledge of ancient cultures and arediscovery of many of their forgotten secrets.

And as science itself continues to discover that things in the world are moreintimately connected than ever before thought possible, the idea that a name, abirth date, or a place of birth can have a significant influence upon a person'slife and destiny becomes more and more feasible. The belief in a deepexistential connection among all things allows for the possibility that our nameis fundamentally correct for us. If all things intimately affect and areintimately related to all other things, and if there is a deep well of spirituallife from which we all draw our existence, then the idea that the name we endedup with is the right name for us becomes a plausible concept indeed. Because ofthe amazing and paradoxical discoveries in fields such as quantum physics, manyrational and intelligent people are replacing an overt skepticism with awillingness to accept that there are things we simply may never understand butthat are nonetheless quite real and affect our lives in ways we have yet toimagine. To conceive that the name we are assigned to "wear" throughout ourlifetime has meaning for us should seem a small leap of the imagination whencompared to some of the incredible truths science has discovered in this centuryabout the workings of the universe on both the micro and the macro levels. Andto imagine that a name contains power in its own right as a bundle of energy ora set of vibrations should not be any more of a challenge to an open mind.

To get a sense of how a name possesses a certain "feel" or energy, consider thefact that everyone has at one time or another heard phrases such as "you don'tlook like a Tom" or "I think you're more of an Ellen than a Mary." We tend toassociate stereotypes with certain names based on our experiences of peoplebearing those names. However, despite our tendency to stereotype, there arecertain energies associated with names and words, just as the ancients taughtfor thousands of years. Although the way people respond to your name istypically caused by personal impressions and experiences, there is a certain"truth" to your name, and you probably identify very strongly with it becauseyou have a sense that it is "right" for you. As you use this book to become moreconscious of the symbolism and meaning of names, you will be able to utilizetheir power to influence your destiny more directly as well as gain valuableinsight into the character and personality of others whose names you analyze. Ifyou find that your name doesn't quite "fit" you in some way, you may need toanalyze it in light of your personality to see just where discrepancies can beuncovered and dealt with. The problem may simply lie in the fact that youhaven't taken full advantage of the power of your name and therefore you aren'tdrawing strength and energy from it as you should. On the other hand, you mayfind after careful analysis of the meaning of your name that it simply doesn'tfeel right to you, in which case you may need to consider the possibility ofeither changing your name outright or changing the name you allow people to usewhen addressing you. For example, a good nickname or a variant on your givenname might fit your personality more closely, and using this means of referringto yourself will give you the opportunity to take advantage of the power of yourname in a way that suits you.

While many people are discovering that names have a tremendous significance on amystical or spiritual level and are therefore drawn toward a more in-depth studyof their many meanings, others simply find that they identify closely enoughwith their name on an intuitive or feeling level to make the most of that namein their lives. For example, you may know that your parents named you after agreat king, a saint, a sage, a famous actor or sports hero, or even a belovedrelative or relatives. You don't have to walk in that person's footsteps to drawinspiration and power from his or her name because you can consciously adopt acertain grace or finesse for yourself based on the power of that name. Someonenamed Alexander (or Alexandra) doesn't necessarily have to be a world conquerorto take advantage of the power of that illustrious name! However, an Alexandermay find that he is comfortable with a leadership role in his work or dailyactivities, and he should easily be able to draw strength from his name in hisleadership position.

To say that a name has a certain specific influence or effect on one's lifeisn't to say, of course, that because someone is named Alexander at birth hewill become a powerful leader simply by virtue of that name. A good name isanalogous to a talent that someone is born with: An individual may have aparticular gift for music, for example, but if that innate ability is notdeveloped and exercised, it will simply go to waste. To truly take advantage ofa congenital musical talent, an individual must spend many painstaking hourslearning the techniques required to play a musical instrument or working out arange of vocal skills that will transform a naturally beautiful voice into amagnificent instrument. In much the same way, a name gives a person certainpotentials and characteristics that must be understood, embraced, and developedby that person if the power of the name is to be fully utilized. So while anAlexander may have a gift for intelligence and leadership, if he squanders histalents by not pursuing a path that enables him to take advantage of thesestrengths, the power of his name will never be completely expressed in hislifetime.

Another issue to consider in regard to the inherent qualities of a name is thateven a good name can have both positive and negative influences on a person'slife. While the natural leadership strengths of an Alexander may be a positivecharacteristic in many respects, there is always potential for the abuse of thatpower. There is a danger that Alexander's great pride and tremendous ego maybecome overbearing to others or that his ambition will lead him to harm othersas he continues his pursuit of self-aggrandizement. By learning both thestrengths and weaknesses of your name, you will be able to improve your areas ofweakness and exploit your areas of strength by intentionally choosing to buildskills that match the influences of your name. And by learning the strengths andweaknesses of other people's names, you will be able to work off their names'powers to improve your relationships with them. As with any tool that can helpyou improve yourself and your future prospects, the benefits you receive from anin-depth knowledge of a name depend upon your own level of awareness and yourwillingness to make positive changes in your life to achieve your goals whennecessary. You must be willing to find ways to use the power of names creativelyand constructively before those names will be able to impart their power to you.

If you acknowledge the tremendous power inherent in names and are inclined tolearn more, keep reading. In this book you will learn how to discern andunderstand the many meanings of your name so you can use that knowledge toincrease your personal power. You'll also be able to use the information in thisbook to help you name a child appropriately and in such a way that he or shewill be able to draw strength from that name throughout his or her lifetime.Equally important, you will learn to analyze the names of your friends, lovers,and coworkers to gain a better understanding of what makes them tick. Forexample, you may feel uncomfortable asking for a new boss's astrological sign,but once you know her name, you'll be able to use this book to get immediateaccess to the information you need best to interact with her.

Regardless of whether you accept the ancient teachings about the meanings ofletters, words, numbers, and sounds, the fact remains that our names are afundamentally important part of who we are. By learning as much as possibleabout your name and the names of those you know, not only will you have a betterunderstanding of the influences and energies that affect you and others, butyou'll also know more about how other people see you and react to you because ofthe name you bear. Armed with this knowledge, you'll have the opportunity totake steps to improve the quality of your life by developing skills that allowyou to fully embrace the power and energy of your name.

DIVINING WITH NAMES: THE ANCIENT ART OF ONOMANCY

Because ancient cultures believed that words could manifest power in the world,the counsel of the wise often recommended that people keep silent as much aspossible and speak only when necessary: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace,is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man ofunderstanding." ( (Prov. 17:28) With words, a person could literally createeffects in the world that might have disastrous consequences not only for thatindividual but also for the society as a whole. Not all words were consideredequally powerful, however, and there were certain magical words that could havegreater effect. The secret names of gods or other spiritual beings such asangels were not only used in magical rites to obtain favors but were also key tounderstanding future events through the process of name divination, which isalso called onomancy. By analyzing the names of gods or spiritual beingsassociated with places, people could determine whether it would be beneficial tothe society at large to construct a temple or other building on that site. Forinstance, if a particular place was associated with a god or an angel whose namemeant "gracious provider," a diviner or priest might determine that the landwould benefit from that god's favor if a temple dedicated to that god were builton the site. Similarly, divination using a person's name was believed to be ableto reveal a great deal about that person's overall life path. Knowing one'spotential and the influences expected to affect one's life as implied by his orher name gave someone a distinct advantage because he or she could consciouslymake use of the power of that name to avoid its pitfalls and embrace itsstrengths. By working with a name's strengths and attempting to lessen theimpact of any negative characteristics of the name, a person could positivelyaffect his or her life's course for the better.

These days, the same techniques of name analysis and name divination can be usedto determine the general path of someone's life just as astrology is frequentlyconsulted for guidance. If you understand the subtle nuances of meaning in yourname, you will be better able to determine your life's purpose. Consider again,for example, the name Alexander. If you think of some of the qualities ofAlexander the Great (perhaps the most famous person bearing this name), youshould get an immediate sense of the energies behind it. Someone given Alexanderas a birth name is likely to have a natural propensity for leadership roles inhis life, whether that means an executive or managerial position in a company ora preeminent position in some other career or activity. Alexanders are veryadept at mental activity and deep thought, and they are quite willing and ableto act on their ideas. This name bears a tremendous amount of creative energyand potential that, if tapped into with wisdom and self-awareness, can result insuccess in any chosen field. A simple divination based on this name indicatesthat an Alexander should consider putting his energy into developing hisleadership and interpersonal skills so that he can better fulfill his destiny asa thinker, creator, and person of action.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR FIRST NAME

Your first name is the name you use as your primary identifier on a day-to-daybasis, and therefore it expresses your personality traits and destiny mostpowerfully. The sound of your name carries certain vibrations that, when spoken,release your energy into the presence and awareness of whoever has spoken it.However, the very sound of your name has power associated with it because it iscomposed of different letters that not only have meaning individually but alsohave meaning when combined to form your specific name. To understand your firstname enables you to take advantage of its energy so you can assimilate it intoyour personality and your life and thereby positively affect your destiny.Again, by consciously trying to improve yourself through the process ofintegrating the strong points of your name with your personality and shunningits weaker points, you'll be able to utilize its power to your long-termbenefit.

Your middle name complements and adds energy to your first name and is thereforealso very important to understand in terms of its influence upon the energies ofyour first name. However, if you tend to "go by" your middle name, that namewill be the "sound" or energy associated with you, and will therefore have astronger influence on your personality than your first name.

Also, you need to consider how you use your name to get a better sense of howthe energy associated with it plays upon your life. For example, if your name isThomas and the most common way people address you is to call you Tom or Tommy,then the influence of the name Thomas is altered because you are shortening ormodifying its spelling and its sound, and therefore its energy. You also may usedifferent forms of your name at different times and in different circumstances,depending on who is addressing you and your relationship to that person. Usingdifferent forms does not necessarily lessen the influence of the "primary" formof the name in your life (Thomas, in this example) but rather allows you toexpress the diverse aspects of your personality, depending on the contexts inwhich the name is used to address you. For example, Thomas may be an appropriateform of address in your professional life or career, whereas Tom might be theform your friends use, and Tommy the form used by intimates such as your wife orfamily members. The variant you use most of the time will have the strongestinfluence on your life and personality, and if you choose to change the forms ofaddress people use with you, you'll be able to modify the energies andvibrations they receive from their interactions with you.

Your last name, of course, carries the energies of your family and your nationaland cultural heritage. While the influence of your last name is typically lesspowerful on you than the influence of your first name because you are primarilyassociated with your first name in your day-to-day life, your last namenevertheless affects the energies available to you in your first and middlenames by bringing its power to bear on those names.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK TO ANALYZE NAMES

The information in this book is designed to teach you how to interpret andanalyze names from the perspective of three of the most popular metaphysicalsystems used today: the Kabbalah, the runes, and numerology. In the followingsections you'll be given an overview of the process of working out an analysisof any name using methods from each of these systems so you can begin to workwith the various meanings of your name and the names of other people in yourlife to learn more about how these names affect your life. With this basicinformation, you should also be able to begin a preliminary analysis of themeaning of your last name on the basis of the inherent meanings and numericalcorrespondences of its letters.

In part II you will find a comprehensive listing of interpretations for 718 ofthe most popular names in use today. One of the most fascinating aspects of nameinterpretation is the variety of results each system offers. While the threesystems you read about in this book often complement one another, it is notuncommon for there to be significant differences in the interpretation of aname. You may want to weight more heavily the system of thought that seems mostreflective of you and your personality. If you're doing your own basic nameanalysis with the information provided in this section, you'll be able to usethese analyses to check your work. Keep in mind that much of the informationyou'll discover on your own about a name will be very personal, and yourinterpretation may include different nuances and meanings from the analyses inpart II. That's not necessarily an indication that your work is incorrect asmuch as it may simply show that you've considered your current situation andpersonality traits when working on your own analysis. Each of us is subject tomany influences that affect our personality and the way we express the energiesof our name, so if you find that your name analysis in part II isn't a precisereflection of who you know yourself to be at this stage in your life, there's noreason to think that it is entirely inaccurate. If you carefully consider thedetails of the analysis, you should find that the general sense of theinterpretation is an accurate picture of traits and characteristics that defineyour personality and behavior tendencies.

Consider again the name Alexander. A person named Alexander will tend to havestrong leadership qualities as a primary personality trait, but if your name isAlexander and you don't happen to be an all-powerful military leader, it doesn'tmean you've disgraced the power of that illustrious name! To find how yourname's influence acts upon and shapes your character, you need to consider otherareas in your life where you naturally bring leadership skills to bear. Ifyou're a father, for example, are you doing your best to foster your child'scharacter and good behavior? Are you leading by example or just by words andrules? Are you, in a positive and nurturing sense, the true head of yourhousehold? In your career, even if you aren't a manager or executive by title,do you often find yourself in situations where you're called upon to providehelp or guidance to other people because of your skills and ability to leadothers toward their own success? Remember that leadership is more than simplythe act of taking charge and manipulating things to your own benefit. Leadershipalso involves helping others achieve their goals and facilitating success forthe entire group; Alexander the Great may have been a pretty amazing fellow, butwithout a cadre of talented generals, he probably wouldn't have gone nearly asfar.

With the extensive information available in part II, you'll have information atyour disposal that will give you important insights into the character andpersonality of other people in your life. You will also have a tremendousselection to choose from when you need to find an appropriate name for a childor for yourself if you should decide to change your birth name. Remember thatselecting a name is much more than simply picking a label with which to identifysomeone. A name carries great power in a person's life, influences his or herpersonality and development, and becomes part and parcel of a person's overallidentity, for better or worse. The energies associated with a particular namecan provide strength to bolster the confidence of someone who may naturally lackit, or further weaken someone who may be in need of additional strength. With agood name and an understanding of the meanings and energies behind that name, aperson can make great strides toward improving his or her situation in life.

Copyright © 1999 The Nomenology Project. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0-345-42266-X

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 034542266X
• ISBN 13: 9780345422668
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 816