power over Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Dark Clouds on the Horizon – Photo: L. Weikel

Numeric Palindrome

Realizing today’s post is #77, I’m even more acutely aware of the abundance of repeating numbers today. Of course, lots of people have referenced the 02/22/2022 (on a TWOsday, no less) occurring today. There are a plethora of interpretations of what significance this date could hold. We could also write it the way Europeans do: 22/02/2022, which actually is even cooler when you think about it. It creates a numeric palindrome. It also creates, in this configuration, three 22s in a row, each separated by zeros.

You may recollect that, in numerology, 22 is a Master Number – indeed, it’s known as the Master Builder Number. As Alison Baughman enumerates in her book, Speaking to Your Soul Through Numerology*, some of the ‘positive’ attributes associated with this number are:

Mastery through self-enterprise, Master Organizer, Master Planner, visionary, practical idealism, dreams into reality, ambitious, intuitive, methodical, disciplined, natural leader, wise, confident.

And of course the corollary to that are the potentially ‘negative’ attributes:

Narrow-minded, judgmental, humorless, blunt, crude, intolerant, opinionated, stubborn, repressive, rigid, slow, uncompromising, limited, overwhelmed, controlling.

If you examine those key words, it’s not hard to see that a dominant theme underlying both the positive and negative attributes of ‘22’ is power. When 22 energy is being harnessed in a balanced manner and used with integrity and compassion great things can be achieved and even tangibly created. But when 22 energy is being manipulated for the acquisition of personal power and aggrandizement? It can turn toxic and wreak devastation wherever it’s wielded.

History

It is fascinating to entertain the possibility that Putin holds more stock in numerology than one might think. For instance, on August 8, 2008 (08/08/08), Russia invaded Georgia, with the aid of two self-declared separatist states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The parallels to what happened today (on 22/02/2022), including Russia relying on ‘separatist states,’ is fascinating. Finally, today’s date also happened to be the 8^th anniversary (exactly) of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

There is a pattern to his behavior. And while I grant it could be ‘coincidence,’ I suggest there is at the very least symbolic significance to the timing of these occurrences – if not some inherent energetic impetus behind the numbers themselves, subtly propelling the aggressive (humorless, blunt, overwhelming, and repressive) behavior.

While I recognize there are a lot of different ways people were suggesting today’s date could be used as a powerful day of manifestation or dreaming, and perhaps it was, my attention was focused instead on watching the power plays at work in the world.

And on a smaller scale, we were probably well-advised to monitor how we might be wielding and potentially abusing our power, too – especially in relationships where an imbalance of power might exist. Perhaps it was especially easy (or tempting) to go overboard with power today, even if we ordinarily use great discretion and temperance when exercising it. We also might reflect on whether those in a position of power over us in our personal lives potentially misused it.

Reflection

Obviously, the day is over by the time you read this. I nevertheless hope you’ll take a moment now to reflect on these power dynamics. In retrospect, can you see how this may have played out or in some way been reflected in your own life experiences yesterday?

Sometimes reflection is actually more persuasive than anticipation. That’s because there’s always the possibility that we will get caught up in confirmation bias and see what we expect to see or have unfold in our life. But if we have no specific expectations ahead of time, and these influences are nevertheless felt, the whole scenario can at least give you pause to say, “Hmm.”

Personally, I saw it reflected in a couple ways in my life. First in a doctor/patient scenario I witnessed and again in a close personal relationship where power dynamics were at play, influential, and potentially triggering.

No territories were annexed or invaded in my little world, but there were definitely some warning shots and skirmishes at the borders.

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(T+77)

Tonight’s sky – Photo: L. Weikel

I Just Can’t

I woke up this morning and was feeling remarkably ‘down.’ This feeling was as pervasive as it was unexpected. There was no obvious reason for it, either – dietary or otherwise.

But then, the day unfolded, and I made the mistake of reading news headlines.

I have to admit it: My stomach has been hurting all day. I’ve felt a little short of breath all day.

Honestly, I feel as though there is nowhere to look anymore that is not shocking, awful, and hateful. The blatant racism, misogyny, corruption, and deliberate attack on the rule of law being spewed and inflicted on our country is beyond the pale.

My heart hurts for our country. My heart hurts for our integrity. My heart hurts for our children – yours, mine, and everyone else’s.

My heart hurts for the soul of us all – and by that, I mean everything we stand for, believe in, and hold sacred.

If we don’t take a stand now, when everywhere we look we’re slapped in the face with vile divisiveness, cruelty, and utter corruption and self-dealing, we never will.

So Many Secrets/So Many Compromised People in Power

It broke my heart to read that so-called leaders of the Republican party such as Lindsey Graham were actually condoning Trump’s hate-filled racist rants of yesterday and today. His comments do not reflect simple policy-related differences of opinion with my own views. His comments reflect a fundamental abrogation of everything I was taught our country stands for.

Yes, I’m calling Graham out. Why? Because Donald Trump may be the biggest liar to ever cross the doorstep of the White House (and yes, I am saying with absolute lack of equivocation that he is the single biggest serial liar to ever cross the threshold of the White House), but we knew he was an ignorant con-man for decades. We knew it when he declared he was running. We’ve known it all along. All we had to do was read the background. All we had to do was open our eyes and read.

But Lindsey Graham? I remember a time when he appeared to be a man of principle. A man who had courage and integrity. So I have to say…this behavior of his, including his kowtowing to Trump since the inauguration, tells me there’s something about Lindsey Graham we don’t know. I think we have yet another example of a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a power that has the dirt.

The case that’s unfolding with Jeffrey Epstein is horrific. But you know what? I read about it at the very beginning of Trump’s candidacy. I was aware of the young girl who dropped her case because of death threats. I was aware of Alex Acosta. This has all been readily available. It is not ‘fake’ news. It is entirely documented.

This Is All About Power OVER

And it is all related. The utterly malignant foundation of so much of what goes on in our country is tied to and inextricably bound up in rampant, unabashed, unchecked, abuse of power. Power over women, power over young girls, power over little boys, power over the homeless, power over the defenseless, power over the poor, power over the black and brown in our country (and outside – you know, entire ‘shithole’ countries).

This has gone on for so long, they laugh and clink their glasses behind their billion dollar enclaves and think they’ll rule the world forever. But they’ve become sloppy, which comes from feeling they can live their exploitive, debauched existences out in the open, simply because they hold so much power.

Well, we’re the ones who have the power. We’re the ones who must look each other and ourselves in the eyes and act in a way that serves something greater.

I believe in us. But really, we must, must, must look at the raw truth of what is unfolding before our very eyes. And we must do it NOW.

Let us stand together and say “ENOUGH.”