Beyoncé's Life Path Number Actually Isn't 4

Beyoncé is the ultimate Virgo icon, embodying the perfectionism, work ethic, and devotion to self-improvement characteristic of this pragmatic earth sign. But the ancient practice of numerology can highlight a whole other side of people’s personalities, so knowing Beyoncé’s life path number can reveal even more about what makes this star tick.

In numerology, everyone has an entire chart full of significant numbers that are calculated in different ways — similar to the complex nature of a birth chart in astrology. However, the life path number is widely considered one of the most important. This number symbolizes a person's motivations, aspirations, and the major themes that color their life — when you align with your life path number’s meaning, you might feel more like you’re on the right track, or like you can understand yourself on a deeper level.

The life path number is calculated by adding up each individual digit in a numerical birth date, and then repeatedly doing so with the sum of the numbers until they total out to a single digit. Beyoncé was born on September 4, 1981, so when you add the numbers in her birth day, month, and year, it comes out to 32 (9+4+1+9+8+1). Those two digits then add together to 5, making that Beyoncé’s life path number.

Let’s dive into the qualities of a life path 5 and examine how Beyoncé reflects this numerological energy.

Life Path 5: The Adventure-Seeker

The number 5 falls precisely in the middle of all the single-digit numbers that comprise the life paths, so its vibrations symbolize a turning point and a shift. That’s why people born under this life path number are so good at embodying transitions and changes. They love embarking on new adventures and pushing the limits of their comfort zone, and they thrive when they feel like they can shake things up. Life path 5 people are highly adaptable to new situations and circumstances, and that’s because change isn’t scary for these risk-takers — to them, life’s inevitable twists and turns are what make things exciting.

Life path 5 people like Beyoncé crave freedom and independence above all else, so they don’t like feeling bound to any one routine, expectation, or way of doing things. Variety is the spice of life for this numerological crew. The change-maker energy of life path 5s can be incredibly inspiring to the people around them, often motivating others to broaden their own horizons and allow curiosity to lead the way. As one of the most decorated musical artists in history with a career spanning more than three decades, Beyoncé’s exemplifies this on a massive scale.

How Beyoncé Embodies Life Path 5 Energy

It’s easy to see Beyoncé’s life path 5 influence when it comes to the many adventurous risks and bold pivots she’s made throughout her career. Unlike some of her pop peers, Beyoncé doesn’t follow a safe or simple one-size-fits-all formula for success, and she’s constantly challenging and reinventing herself as an artist. For example, she isn’t afraid to stir up conversations by bringing her political beliefs into her art or weaving her cultural experiences into her music. And remember when she dropped her self-titled Beyoncé album back in 2013 without a single lick of promotion beyond a surprise social media post? Like a true life path 5, Beyoncé isn’t afraid to break the rules and experiment with new ways of doing things.

In recent years, Beyoncé appears to be tapping into her destiny as a life path 5 even harder. Ahead of the release of Renaissance in 2021, she shared a statement on her website about her creative process and intentions for the record: “[Creating this album] allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving,” she said. “My intention was to create a ... place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.”

Perfectionism and overthinking are two tough habits stereotypical of Virgos, so it’s interesting to see Beyoncé challenge these qualities while more openly embracing her life path 5 desires for freedom and adventure. Additionally, her fearless genre pivot into country music this year with Cowboy Carter landed her the title of the first Black woman to top the country charts. True to her life path number, this pioneering artist isn’t afraid to go against the grain and try on a new look.

It’s also interesting to note that the number 5 in numerology is associated with the planet Mercury, the cosmic ruler of Virgo, Beyoncé’s zodiac sign. And because Virgos are known for being routine-oriented and organized, people often forget that they are one of the zodiac’s four mutable signs, making them especially flexible and adaptable — qualities highlighted by Beyoncé’s life path number. Obviously, given her prolific career, she likely has a rigid and very Virgoan schedule to stick to. But prioritizing her independence and allowing herself to follow her curiosity into new territories is key for her to align with her life path 5 spirit.

Nina Kahn is Bustle’s resident astrologer and tarot reader.