English Ordinal Gematria Cipher
English Ordinal is the simplest English gematria cipher. Each letter gets its position in the alphabet, so A = 1, B = 2 and Z = 26. Many people simply call it "simple gematria".
The English Ordinal table
How it works
Write the word, replace every letter with its alphabet position, and add the numbers. Spaces, digits and punctuation are ignored. The method mirrors the Hebrew ordinal method (Mispar Siduri), where each Hebrew letter is numbered 1 to 22 by position, but applied to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet.
Worked examples
- Light: L (12) + I (9) + G (7) + H (8) + T (20) = 56
- Wisdom: W (23) + I (9) + S (19) + D (4) + O (15) + M (13) = 83
- Karma: K (11) + A (1) + R (18) + M (13) + A (1) = 44
Example values in English Ordinal
Where it comes from
This is a modern convention rather than a traditional Jewish method. It is popular because it is easy to do by hand and gives small, easy-to-compare totals.
Frequently asked questions
Is English Ordinal the same as simple gematria?
Yes. Most websites use "simple gematria", "English ordinal" and "ordinal" for the same A = 1 to Z = 26 table.
Why is it the most popular cipher?
It needs no memorized table beyond the alphabet order, so beginners can check the result themselves in a minute.
Other ciphers
- Reverse Ordinal
- Reduction (Pythagorean)
- Reverse Reduction
- Sumerian (x6)
- Jewish English
- Francis Bacon
- Chaldean
- Latin (23-letter)
- Hebrew (Mispar Hechrachi)
Gematria and numerology are traditions of interpretation, not sciences. Results are provided for education, curiosity and entertainment and are not a prediction or professional advice.