January's Energies & The Number 8

2024 and the Number 8

For those fascinated by numerology, the year 2024 reveals an important pathway. When we add its digits (2+0+2+4), we arrive at the number "8." This number—symbolized by a vertical infinity sign, or two circles sitting on top of one another—represents the connection between our earthly self (bottom circle) and our cosmic self (top), the merging of the soul with its earthly form. But what does this actually mean for those of us who’ve been just truckin’ along on this long strange trip we call life?

(yes, I’m hearing Jerry Garcia as I’m writing this)

🎵 Sometimes The Light's All Shining On Me, Other Times I Can Barely See

Lately It Occurs To Me, What A Long Strange Trip It's Been 🎵

Okay, that. But let's take a look at that trip and what the merging can mean. As explained by my kundalini teacher, Guru Singh (who happened to be a friend of Jerry’s and is a musician himself), the number 8 signifies the "pathway of abundance." But this abundance, he says, also “embodies light.” That was the connection that caught my attention when reading his blog. To me that meant not just the “stuff” of abundance, but the good stuff. The embodied Light and the path it lives in:

Us. 

If you’re in my weekly Reiki circle (see below if you want to join; it’s free!) you know my “word” for the new year is Radiance, and my theme for 2024 is to be aware of how I can make that radiance really shine. How do I not get caught up in the darkness of the world, in its fears, in its anger and hate, and how can I dig deep into the good and allow it to shine?

Guru Singh links 8 with Lakshmi, who is known in Hindu mythology as the goddess of prosperity (hence the theme, abundance) and who has 8 manifestations (see below). The root word “laks” in her name means to “understand our aim or goal”—ie, the path. A great wordsmith who is always looking deeper into the root of words, Guru Singh asks us to delve into the linguistic connections. For instance, "laks" can be transliterated into the Latin "lux"—which is the root of the word “luxury.” And “lux,” he points out, means light. This wordplay suggests that the pathway to abundance is illuminated by our own inner light.

The pathway to abundance is illuminated by our own inner light. Maybe you’ve heard this before. You’ve read The Secret, you’ve a spiritual person, you’ve heard echoes of it in your religion. But wouldn’t it be great if this year was the year abundance really spread? What if the good light reached absolutely everyone?

Now I’m singing the Allman Brothers:

🎵 Gotta let your soul shine, Shine till the break of day 🎵

"This year is about enhancing both lightness and abundance in our lives,” says Guru Singh. “It's about harnessing the 'light field' within us, recognizing that our bodies operate through three key forces: chemical, electromagnetic, and optical (light)."

This is where physics and metaphysics meet. Where the body meets the spirit. Where manifestation of our divine light can materialize in our world in wondrous ways. 

How do you let it shine? Practice glowing. (Remember that old movie “Cocoon”?) Meditate. Run your spiritual energy by taking an activating class like Kundalini, or learn how to give Reiki. Sing loudly in church or anywhere someone can hear you. And smile.

Or just be more giving, more present in presenting your light.

For fun, you can try to engage with the number 8 itself. Guru Singh highlighted a few aspects of the number in his blog: 

• an octave in sound;
• the full spectrum of a rainbow in light; 
• the number of chakras, which includes the eighth chakra (the aura).

If you put your attention on 8, something is bound to stir. And so play with it. Play with the vibration of music; of color; play with the light of your own aura. Maybe examine one of Lakshmi’s 8 manifestations. Myth, literature, art, music, storytelling–they’re ways to engage, not just passively experience someone else’s story. In fact, we are each other’s stories. How can we engage with them to let in more light?