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

Animal Totems and Messages From Our Guides

Akita mani yo!
Lakota for "observe everything as you go."
Messages are around us all the time. We need only to pay attention to see them. Messages come to us as animals, insects, cloud formations, recurring numbers, colors, signs, syncs, songs and dreams. Open your eyes and pay attention. What message is the Universe trying to convey to you today?

I posted the above on my Facebook timeline recently along with the same photo. It is a motto I try to live by. I learned the Native American phrase in my 20s when I took a short course about Native American Spirituality. I loved the saying and never forgot it. I didn't realize then that I would become someone looking up animal totems every time an animal out in nature crosses my path. Not only am I looking up my own messages for myself, I am posting the meanings to other people's animal/insect photos. lol

 

Just today guitarist Nuno Bettencourt posted on his Instagram page photos of a praying mantis that joined him on stage with Rhianna. I can't help myself. The meaning of the totem seemed to fit how hectic his life has been. He has just finished touring with Extreme and had been doing 6 big gigs with Rhianna and Eminem. The mantis was telling him it was time to slow down and go within.

 

Sum 41 front man's mum posted a frog she saw. Again, the opportunity to give her Frog's message couldn't be passed up.

Today I heard a bird call I had never heard before. (click on the third one down titled "peough (red-shafted)" to hear the call I heard. http://birds.audubon.org/birds/northern-flicker ) It was loud so, of course, I had to go look to see who was calling to me. It was a male Red-shafted Northern Flicker. He was quite a pretty bird and one I had never seen before in the 8 years I have lived in Oregon. A Flicker is a type of woodpecker and I could have settled for the meaning of just a simple woodpecker, but he was special. I wanted to understand what his specific message was for me. Thankfully some people out there already did my work for me, but should you come across an animal you don't know the meaning for, a way to seek out what they have to teach is to learn about their habits and what makes them unique. Flickers spend a lot of time on the ground unlike traditional woodpeckers. There are some interesting Native American tales about the Flicker and how he got his color. The two sites I linked above had some interesting information about Northern Flicker Totems.

The other day I found a perfect blue feather in my back yard. And, yes, my back yard has more clover than grass and the local bees like it that way. lol I knew the feather was likely from a scrub jay because that is the variety I have seen before that would fit the color. I have also seen a Stellar's Jay, but the one I saw in the back yard had a lot more black than the one pictured here.

I collect these gifts and say a silent "thank you" and then discover what their message is. With the blue color, you can interpret it as having to do with the throat chakra which is all about communication. I sometimes look up the symbolism of the colors as well as the chakra meaning. One of my favorite people who talks about the meaning of colors is Elizabeth Harper. She does a Colorscope forecast every week and I have learned a lot from her weekly videos. One day I saw two red vehicles run red lights and then later in my Facebook feed, saw a theme of giraffes and took them to be a message for me.  The red light runners combined with the giraffes was a message about taking a risk and sticking my neck out. I am not a big risk taker and my guides were telling me it was time to take some risks.

Let's talk about numbers. Numbers are everywhere and when you suddenly start noticing a number showing up for you over and over again, pay attention and find out what they are trying to tell you. I once had the number 333 turn up 3 times in a two hour period of time during a walk. There are tons of numerology sites out there, but my "go to" site seems to be the Sacred Scribes site.  While a lot of the "angel messages" sound the same, they do speak of the numbers' individual meanings and that is really the important part because that is where you will be able to get a clearer idea of the number message.  When I see 5 repeatedly, automatically I think "change".  The number 9 is about completion and the end of a cycle. The number 6 speaks to me of family. As you read the number messages, you start to get a feel for what each number represents.

There are so many ways to get messages from our guides and loved ones on the other side. When you start paying attention, you suddenly realize how much they communicate with us on a regular basis. There are no coincidences. Once you understand that, you can stop explaining things away as "just a coincidence". Look around. What message is the Universe trying to convey to you?