Symbolism is Everywhere, Sum 41 - 13 Voices Cover Art

Recently there has been a big hullabaloo over in Sum 41 fandom. Someone leaked Sum 41's new album cover and the list of the new songs on the album. Everyone was buzzing about it. "Is it real?" Personally, I knew it was real because it is simply a more polished version of something Deryck used for the Happiness Machines back when he was dipping his toes in the water and getting re-acclimated to performing live again after his brush with death and year long recovery. I had already made the comparison then of the Happiness Machine symbol to a Phoenix and posted it on Instagram but took it down later.

Shortly after the buzz started, Sum 41 and Hopeless Records made the official announcement because the proverbial cat was already out of the bag. Yes, the leak was real.

Fans had a lot to say about the album art and some were pretty critical saying how awful it was. I had my own thoughts I put out there and some of them were about the symbolism of the album art that they all were obviously missing and oblivious to. Because I am a prolific dreamer, I have learned a lot about symbolism. I feel strongly that all of those same symbols can be applied in our waking state too. Deryck may not have consciously known the symbolism that was tucked neatly into his creation, but our subconscious always knows.
 
Part of my comment on Facebook:
I read some of the comments. Some of you have no vision or understanding about how art mimics something and eludes to it. There is a lot of symbolism here. The shape of the cross combined with the winged dragons mimics a PHOENIX without actually portraying a phoenix. Phoenix, of course, is a symbol of death and rebirth. The red of the wings represents both fire and taking flight. The skulls represent death. A circle is feminine energy and speaks of cycles....things coming full circle. It also represents the ring that Deryck wears on a necklace. The straight lines of the cross are masculine and with the two together you have balance...yin and yang, masculine and feminine.

"Number 13 is made up of the attributes and energies of the numbers 1 and 3. Number 1 brings it vibrations of new beginnings, striving forward, motivation and progress, attainment and fulfillment, uniqueness and individuality. Number 3 relates to optimism and enthusiasm, communication and self-expression, inspiration and creativity, expansion and growth, manifesting and manifestation. Number 3 also relates to the Ascended Masters. Number 13 is the number of traditions, hard work, organisation and right judgement. The Number 13 is also a feminine number and suggests that you tap into your intuition."
http://sacredscribesangelnumbers.blogspot.com/2011/06/angel-number-13.html
 
I touched upon the meanings in my comment but what I want to do is look at the symbolism with more depth.

Right away the first thing I see is that the cross and dragon combination mimics the look of a Phoenix.

Phoenix - death and re-birth, transformation, change, metamorphosis, feminine, flight, fire, new beginnings

If you know about the use of the Phoenix in Asian culture, you know that usually where there is a Phoenix, you will also see a Dragon. Many traditional Asian weddings will use the Phoenix and Dragon image as a symbol of balance and unity. Traditionally the Phoenix in Asian culture is considered feminine and the Dragon is considered masculine. Essentially what you have when they are together is a prettier version of yin and yang symbol.  In the album art they are part of the whole. They are hidden in plain sight. Maybe your eyes will only see the dragons and not the phoenix, but they are together as one being much in the same way that humans are a balance of both masculine and feminine.

Dragon - strength, courage and fortitude, masculine, fire

These dragons have wings which speak of flight reaching new heights as does the phoenix because of their ability to fly and rise above. Dragons are often associated with fire as well and are often depicted spewing forth fire from their mouths.

At first glance you see a cross. It looks like a Celtic cross to me and my research into Celtic crosses showed me that no one really agrees on a definitive answer, so I will break it down as I did before and describe what I personally see.

Because I have been following the band for 2 years and studying Deryck like he is a subject in school, I know that the cross I have spotted him wearing recently is relatively new. He mostly just wears a ring as a pendent as though it is a good luck charm.

Circle - feminine, cycles, coming full circle, sun, fire element

The cross is actually a pretty interesting symbol and goes back way further than Yeshua/Jesus and the crucifixion. We tend to think of Christianity when we see a cross, but the symbol was used long before Yeshua came into being.

"Jung suggests that the cross has its origins in humanities discovery of fire, and as such, is in reality a fire symbol derived from primitive man's rubbing of two sticks together in order to start a fire for warmth, protection, and the creation of tools. It is interesting to note, that words signifying cross, such as krois, krouz, kreuz, crux, cruz, or croaz, possess etymological similarities with words signifying fire. The roots ak, ur, or os, all signify cosmic light or fire."

http://www.esotericonline.net/m/group/discussion?id=3204576%3ATopic%3A10350

So again we have another symbol of fire. Two lines symbolizing two things coming together to create something powerful and valuable.

Cross - fire, creation, coming together

Now when the circle is on top of the cross, the inside of the circle then becomes the element of earth. Also it resembles the medicine wheel of the Native Americans which represents the 4 elements, 4 directions, etc.

Cross in Circle - earth, 4 elements, 4 directions, 4 seasons

Two skulls are depicted below the circle. They appear to have smoke coming out of their eyes which gives a sense of smoldering ashes. Skull, of course, is a powerful symbol of death, but, it is also part of the skeletal system and is bone. Bones are the strength and foundation of our core physical beings. Without them we would have a hard time moving around this fleshy vehicle. They are support.

Skull - death, ashes, change, endings, past

Bones - strength, support, foundations 

Interestingly, the skulls are placed in a position that could be seen as support and the foundation. It could also be viewed as the ashes of who he used to be....his former self.

We see the number 2 twice with two dragons and 2 skulls.

"Number 2 resonates with the vibrations and attributes of service and duty, balance and harmony, adaptability and diplomacy, co-operation and consideration, receptivity and love. Number 2 also relates to partnerships and relationships, intuition and insight, faith and trust and your Divine life purpose and soul mission."

And because 2 shows up twice we can add them together and get 4...as does the 1 and 3 of the "13 Voices"

"Number 4 resonates with the vibrations and energies of practicality, organization and exactitude, service, patience, devotion, application, pragmatism, patriotism, dignity, trust and trust-worthiness, endurance, loyalty, mastery, building solid foundations, conservatism, determination, production and hard work, high morals, traditional values, honesty and integrity, inner-wisdom, security, self-control, loyalty, conscientiousness, reality and realistic values, stability and ability, progress, management, justice, seriousness, discipline, system and order, maintenance, constructiveness, dependability and conviction. Number 4 also represents our passion and drive and encourages us to work harmoniously yet diligently to achieve our goals and aspirations. Number 4 is the number that represents the four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, and the four sacred directions, North, South, East and West."

I already discussed the number 13 earlier but when you take 2+2+1+3 it equals 8. 8 is the number of abundance.

What about those voices? lol There are 13 of them. When you think about voice and the idea of 13 voices, I tend to think of 13 tones and resonances because no two voices are going to be alike. 13 voices in his head? Maybe. lol And maybe we can see it as 13 musical notes or tones. 13 different vibrations.

I almost forgot about the colors.

Black is dominant in this album cover and it is the yang/feminine part of the yin/yang symbol. Shadows are often seen as black but our shadow selves are nothing to be afraid of. Black is often the color of stones that are grounding and/or used for protection.

Red is the color of the root chakra. We often see red as being fiery. It is our survival center. I found this bit particularly apt from this site:

"The energy of Muladhara allows us to harness courage, resourcefulness and the will to live during trying times. It connects us with spiritual energies of our ancestors, their challenges and their triumphs."

And when you put it all together, it tells a pretty personal story about Deryck Whibley and all that he has endured in the last 2 years.

If you liked the number meanings, please make sure you visit the Sacred Scribes to find the meanings of the numbers showing up in your life. http://sacredscribesangelnumbers.blogspot.com/p/index-numbers.html

Manifesting, Gardening and Taking Action

I have been working hard towards achieving a specific goal and manifesting something in my life that I dearly want. Lately it feels like something that was stuck has become unstuck. Something has shifted and finally I am seeing movement in the direction I have been working toward. This makes me very happy but also makes me think about all of those well meaning people who said one or more of these things to me:

"If it was meant to be, it will happen."

"You don't have to do anything except just be"

"Relax and do nothing."

"Just let go and let happen what will happen."

"Stop trying to force things and let it just happen."

"Law of attraction...don't focus on it."

"Let it go and wait for your intention to manifest."

I am paraphrasing and these are just estimations of what people have said to me. Had I listened to all those well meaning bliss ninnies to just let it go, relax and do nothing...NOTHING is exactly what I would be getting right now. I would see no movement at all. I would be seeing no fruits of my labor. Sometimes the things we want and set up pre-birth for our lives requires a lot of work and perseverance. And just maybe that fire that drives us to keep going and not "let it go" knows something that those well meaning fuckwits don't know. I know what my guides have been pushing for better than they do. Giving up and doing nothing is not what they have been pushing me to do.

Making effort and taking action is not a bad thing and too much in the spiritual community people are preaching sitting back on our laurels and doing nothing because it will all magically come to you. Here in the physical world we have to take physical action to make our intentions happen.

All of this preaching about creating what you want in your reality with your thought is pretty much useless if you never dare to take a risk and take actions toward actually forming the reality you want to see. I am not saying there shouldn't be balance because I think there should, but just putting your hands behind your back and thinking everything will magically come to you, you are in for a rude awakening. I can say, "I really don't like it when people litter." and then I walk past a piece of litter I see and do nothing. I have just become part of the problem and my thoughts and actions are not matching. I am saying and thinking one thing and yet doing another.

If I say "I am hungry" and I try to manifest food with my thoughts alone and there is a store next door with food but I am so convinced that I can manifest it with my thoughts alone that I do nothing and end up starving to death, shall we say that was fate and meant to be? No. You would say I was a dumbass and should have walked my ass over to the store and bought some food.

Sometimes you have to take ACTION to make your intentions come to fruition.

When you grow a vegetable garden, you don't throw out your seeds willy-nilly and do nothing after. It takes a lot of work and care to produce a productive garden. You first have to break up the soil, remove the grass and weeds. You have to provide ample fertilization for what you are intending to grow. Then you have to form your rows and plant the seeds; mounds if you are planting squash; string and support for creeping vines and tomatoes. You have to take each plant into consideration and give them what they need. There is no one size fits all if you want to have a variety of plants in your garden. And after you plant them, you have to continue to watch them, nurture and care for them.  If it is a big enough garden, you may need to bring in a colony of bees to help make sure your flowers get pollinated. You have to make sure they have water. You have to try to keep the weeds out. You have to make sure critters aren't eating the fruits of your labor. If you are a really loving and doting gardener, you will end up with a beautiful productive garden. You will have many varieties of fruits and vegetables to harvest. But none of that happens without getting your hands dirty, getting on your knees and really giving it your best effort. It takes dedication, time and perseverance to grow a garden. None of that magically happens by simply wishing it into existence and using thought alone to manifest here in this 3D reality.

ALL of the above paragraph can be used as metaphors and examples for our lives. If you want to grow a garden in your life, it takes action....it takes matching your thoughts with action. When you do that, just watch as you see your life take shape and blossom.