17. Numerology has been around for as long as humans have used numbers, though it was banned by the Catholic Church around 1,700 years ago
Even since humans first came up with systems of numbers, they have been looking to them for guidance and an insight into how the universe works. In fact, the first instances of people practicing numerology can be traced right the way back to the days of Ancient Egypt and of the Babylonian civilization, more than 4,000 years ago. However, according to most scholars, it was the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras who really turned it into a discipline, believing that numbers could not only explain the way things are, but the way things are going to be as well.
In his later years, Pythagoras set up his own movement, akin to a cult. With his loyal followers, he attempted to find clues to the workings of the universe in numbers. Several centuries later, St. Augustine of Hippo built upon the foundations laid down by Pythagoras and combined numerology with early Christian philosophy. For instance, the number 7 came to be seen as a sign of impending good fortune (since God created Earth and everything on it in 7 days), while other numbers were taken as a sign of bad fortune ahead. The First Council of Nicea, held in the year 325, ruled numerology to be against the teachings of the Christian Church. The number of people practicing it fell considerably and have never recovered, even though numerology still has believers to this day.