The ledger
Every system in the series, when it is first attested, what that date rests on, and how well evidenced it actually is. This is the table the rest of the category does not print.
The six ratings
| Rating | What it means | Volumes |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence-informed | Rests on published research, named in the chapter where it applies. | 2 |
| Part evidence, part tradition | Some of it is well supported and some is inherited. Each chapter says which. | 6 |
| Widely used, weakly validated | Popular frameworks whose research base is thinner than their reputation. | 2 |
| Traditional | Centuries of observation with no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. | 11 |
| No research behind it | Included for the questions it asks, not for the claims it makes. | 1 |
| Tested, and it failed | The theory has been checked and did not hold up. The book leads with that. | 1 |
All 23 volumes, by attestation
| # | Volume | Attested | On what basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Dream Symbols What Recurs at Night, Read by Six Voices | c.1275 BCE | Papyrus Chester Beatty III, the Egyptian dream book | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 02 | The I Ching All 64 Hexagrams, Read by Six Voices | c.800 BCE | the Zhouyi core text, Western Zhou | Traditional |
| 03 | The Nine-Year Cycle Numerology, Read by Six Voices | c.500 BCE | the Pythagorean number tradition | Traditional |
| 04 | The Five Elements Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit — Read by Six Voices | c.450 BCE | Empedocles on the four roots | Traditional |
| 05 | The Twelve Signs The Zodiac, Read by Six Voices | c.400 BCE | the Babylonian twelve-sign zodiac | Traditional |
| 06 | The Stones Crystals, Read by Six Voices | c.315 BCE | Theophrastus, On Stones | Traditional |
| 07 | Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine, Read by Six Voices | c.300 BCE | Warring States wuxing theory | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 08 | The Three Doshas Ayurveda, Read by Six Voices | c.200 BCE | the Caraka Saṃhitā; Vedic roots earlier and undated | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 09 | Open the Book at Random Thirty-Four Passages of Wisdom, Read by Six Voices | c.100 BCE | the sortes tradition of Homeric and Virgilian lots | Traditional |
| 10 | The Runes The Elder Futhark, Read by Six Voices | c.150 CE | the earliest Elder Futhark inscriptions | Traditional |
| 11 | The Arranged Room Feng Shui, Read by Six Voices | c.300 CE | the Zangshu; siting practice attested earlier | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 12 | The Ogham The Celtic Tree Alphabet, Read by Six Voices | c.350 CE | the earliest ogham stone inscriptions | Traditional |
| 13 | The Seven Centres The Chakras, Read by Six Voices | c.900 CE | the tantric systematisation of the centres | Traditional |
| 14 | The Tarot All 78 Cards, Read by Six Voices | c.1440 CE | the Milanese trionfi decks; divinatory use from c.1780 | Traditional |
| 15 | The Lenormand All 36 Cards, Read by Six Voices | 1799 | the Game of Hope; the Lenormand deck proper from 1846 | Traditional |
| 16 | The Cycles Biorhythms, Read by Six Voices | 1897 | Wilhelm Fliess on periodicity | Tested, and it failed |
| 17 | The Sixteen Types Personality Type, Read by Six Voices | 1943 | the first Briggs–Myers type indicator | Widely used, weakly validated |
| 18 | Two of You Attachment, Type, and Love Languages — Read by Six Voices | 1958 | Bowlby's first attachment papers | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 19 | The Nine Types The Enneagram, Read by Six Voices | 1968 | Ichazo's Arica teaching; Naranjo's transmission from 1970 | Widely used, weakly validated |
| 20 | The Five Types Human Design, Read by Six Voices | 1987 | Ra Uru Hu's account of the system's reception | No research behind it |
| 21 | The Eight Phases The Moon, Read by Six Voices | contemporary | lunar reckoning is ancient; the reflective practice is not datable | Part evidence, part tradition |
| 22 | The Pattern Atlas Twelve Loops You Get Stuck In, Read by Six Voices | contemporary | written for this series; no tradition claimed | Evidence-informed |
| 23 | Ten Practices Small Things That Work, Read by Six Voices | contemporary | written for this series; each practice's own lineage is named in its chapter | Evidence-informed |
Volume numbers are positions in this chronology, not the order the books were written.
What each volume cannot establish
Every book in the series states its own limits in its own front matter. All 23 statements, verbatim.
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (c.1275 BCE) rests on Papyrus Chester Beatty III, the Egyptian dream book; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.800 BCE) rests on the Zhouyi core text, Western Zhou; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.500 BCE) rests on the Pythagorean number tradition; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.450 BCE) rests on Empedocles on the four roots; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.400 BCE) rests on the Babylonian twelve-sign zodiac; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.315 BCE) rests on Theophrastus, On Stones; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (c.300 BCE) rests on Warring States wuxing theory; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (c.200 BCE) rests on the Caraka Saṃhitā; Vedic roots earlier and undated; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.100 BCE) rests on the sortes tradition of Homeric and Virgilian lots; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.150 CE) rests on the earliest Elder Futhark inscriptions; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (c.300 CE) rests on the Zangshu; siting practice attested earlier; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.350 CE) rests on the earliest ogham stone inscriptions; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.900 CE) rests on the tantric systematisation of the centres; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (c.1440 CE) rests on the Milanese trionfi decks; divinatory use from c.1780; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Centuries of observation, no demonstrated mechanism. Read as a mirror. The attestation date given for this system (1799) rests on the Game of Hope; the Lenormand deck proper from 1846; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
This has been tested and did not hold up. The chapter leads with that. The attestation date given for this system (1897) rests on Wilhelm Fliess on periodicity; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Widely used, weakly validated. The research is named and its limits with it. The attestation date given for this system (1943) rests on the first Briggs–Myers type indicator; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (1958) rests on Bowlby's first attachment papers; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Widely used, weakly validated. The research is named and its limits with it. The attestation date given for this system (1968) rests on Ichazo's Arica teaching; Naranjo's transmission from 1970; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
No research supports this system. It is included for the questions it asks. The attestation date given for this system (1987) rests on Ra Uru Hu's account of the system's reception; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Some of this is well evidenced and some is tradition. Each chapter says which. The attestation date given for this system (contemporary) rests on lunar reckoning is ancient; the reflective practice is not datable; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Parts of this rest on published research, named where it applies. The attestation date given for this system (contemporary) rests on written for this series; no tradition claimed; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Parts of this rest on published research, named where it applies. The attestation date given for this system (contemporary) rests on written for this series; each practice's own lineage is named in its chapter; it dates the system, not any claim the system makes.
Questions this table gets asked
What does the attestation date mean?
The earliest point at which the system itself is attested as a named practice — not the age of any claim it makes. The I Ching's core text is Western Zhou; that dates the book, not the accuracy of hexagram 24. Every date here is given to the century and names what it rests on.
Why are three volumes undated?
Because no defensible date exists for them and inventing one would be worse than leaving the column empty. The Eight Phases, The Pattern Atlas, Ten Practices sit at the end of the series saying so. Lunar reckoning is ancient, but the reflective practice built on it is not, and there is no honest way to date it.
What does 'tested, and it failed' mean?
Exactly that. Biorhythm theory makes a specific, checkable claim — three cycles of fixed length running from your date of birth — and it has been checked and does not hold. That volume leads with the finding rather than burying it, and then keeps the part that survives: people are genuinely cyclical, just not on that schedule.
Why publish this at all? It can only lose you sales.
It loses the sale to a reader who wanted to be told that the stone works. It wins the reader who has been quietly embarrassed by every other book in the category. The second reader is the one this series was written for.
Does a low rating mean the book is not worth reading?
No. Human Design has no research behind it whatsoever and is one of the more useful volumes in the series, because the questions it asks about how you spend energy are good ones regardless of where they came from. The rating tells you what kind of confidence to hold it with, not whether to read it.
Who decides these ratings?
The publisher, using a fixed six-point scale applied to every volume, and stated in each book's own front matter. Nothing independent has reviewed them. That is a fact about this catalogue and it is printed here rather than left to be discovered.
Can I see the full contents before buying?
Yes. Every chapter title in the series — 481 of them — is published on the volume pages, along with each book's sources and its own statement of what it cannot establish.