Your Life Path number is calculated from your full date of birth and is considered, in numerology, the single most important number in your personal chart — a broad summary of your life's overall direction and character.
Step 1: Write out your full birth date
Start with your complete date of birth as three separate parts: month, day, and year. For example, someone born on November 23, 1990 would work with 11 (month), 23 (day), and 1990 (year) separately before combining them.
Step 2: Reduce each part to a single digit
Add the digits of each part together until you reach a single digit — unless you land on a master number (11, 22, or 33) along the way, in which case you stop there. Continuing the example: month 11 is already a master number and stays as 11. Day 23 becomes 2+3=5. Year 1990 becomes 1+9+9+0=19, then 1+9=10, then 1+0=1.
Step 3: Add the three reduced numbers together
Sum the three results from Step 2. In the example: 11 + 5 + 1 = 17.
Step 4: Reduce the final total (checking for master numbers)
Reduce this total to a single digit the same way, again stopping early if you land on 11, 22, or 33. Here, 17 becomes 1+7=8 — so this example's Life Path number is 8. If your total from Step 3 had itself already been 11, 22, or 33, you'd keep it as that master number rather than reducing further.
A worked example, start to finish
Birth date: November 23, 1990 → Month: 11 (master number, kept as-is) → Day: 23 → 2+3 = 5 → Year: 1990 → 1+9+9+0 = 19 → 1+9 = 10 → 1+0 = 1 → Sum: 11 + 5 + 1 = 17 → Final reduction: 1+7 = 8 → Life Path Number: 8.