Monday, December 22, 2008

the meaning of 46 & 2

46 & 2 by Tool

original lyrics:

My shadow's
Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in
I wanna feel the changes coming down
I wanna know what I've been hiding in

My shadow..My shadow
Change is coming through my shadow
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions

I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within

My shadow
Change is coming
Now is my time
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty six and two ahead of me

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through

See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me
Soften this old armor
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side
Step into the shadow
Forty six and two are just ahead of me



I found this amazing interpretation somewhere on the internets, i wish i knew who wrote it so i could credit him.


This is one of Tool's most amazing songs, and really sums up the entire theme of Ænima. This song is about growing, changing, and moving towards the next level of human evolution and conciousness. It's deeply rooted in Jungian theory.

Basically, it's believed that there are three levels of human evolution and each has it's form of conciousness. There's the 1st level with 44 chromosomes. These are primitive peoples like the ancient aborigines in Australia who did not percieve anything outside of themselves. They only saw one large conciousness with no distinguishment between organisms. Then there's the second level with 46 chromosomes. That is us. We are a chaotic disharmonic conciousness that is basically used as a stepping stone between the first and third levels. The third level is 48 chromosomes. (Or 46 & 2, with 2 being the sex chromosomes x & y). This is the higher level of conciousness. Our destination.

But this is where the Jungian theory comes in. It is believed that you can not reach this third level of evolution without first delving into yourself and basically cleansing your conciousness for the next jump. That's where the Shadow comes in. The shadow is basically everything about that is unseen that you are uncomfortable with or hate. This is also known as the Anima (hence the name of the CD).

The last part of the song sums all of this up...

"See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me
Soften this old armor
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side
Step into the shadow
Forty six and two are just ahead of me .."




10 comments:

Nick (SBJ) said...

Great post. I got the gist of what this song was trying to convey, but I had never heard of Jungian theory. So glad I read this.

Mr. Wright said...

Great song, great intended meaning, but here are the facts about chromosomes. Evolution doesn't always mean a higher chromosome count:

Number of Chromosomes:

Fern 480
The ultimate goal.
White Ash 138
Carp 100
Goldfish 94
Sweet Potato 90
Turkey 82
Chicken
Dog
Duck 78
78
78
Identical Triplets!
Horse 64
Cow 60
Silkworm 56
Cotton 52
Amoeba 50
Chimp
Tobacco 48
48
Identical Twins!
Human 46
Bat 44
Wheat 42
Soybean 40
Cat 38
Starfish 36
Apple 34
Alligator
Onion 32
32
Identical Twins!
Frog 26
Opossum
Redwood
Kidney Bean 22
22
22
Identical Triplets!
Corn
Marijuana
Carrot 20
20
20
Identical Triplets!
Lettuce 18
Honeybee 16
Garden Pea 14
House Fly
Tomato 12
12
Identical Twins!
Fruit Fly 8
Penicillium 2

Anonymous said...

good post, except -- and I see this repeated all over the place in regard to this album -- anima is *NOT* the same as the shadow. the two are both Jungian archetypes, and they represent different parts of our minds. the anima is a male's feminine aspect. the shadow is simply all of our untapped potentialities and denied thoughts (so it has both a light and a dark side to it). it can be thought of as very similar to the idea of the unconscious mind. the anima may be inside the shadow part of the self (repressed into the unconscious) before we integrate it into our true self, but it is not synonymous with 'shadow'. anima reintegration may be part of digging through one's shadow...but again, they're not the same. this reintegration, putting back together pieces of the mind that have been fragmented, is also one of the themes of the song Schism. Jung is key to understanding all of Tool's work, not just this song. also, this stuff is real, not just some made up hokum. very much worth looking into for your mental/spiritual health...psychodynamic therapy can help open up a way into this.

Starla said...

thanks for your input, anon. I am always looking for "ways" to delve deeper into the inner self.

Anonymous said...

Tool suggested a higher conscience in most of there music for a reason. Spiral out tool-a-gins��

Unknown said...

Does anyone know what these verses would mean?

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through

I would think it's just him reciting all the things that he has suppressed in his shadow, because maybe he has to do all of these things in his shadow to ascend? However, doesn't make sense that one would suppress love, giving, and especially learning, unless one is repressing those feelings as they pertain to certain/specific things (e.g. repressing feelings of love for the same sex due to anima/animus.)

Unknown said...

I think he is speaking on moving through each set of chromosomes to get to the 48

Unknown said...

to Unknown: It's all open to interpretation but when you ask what those lyrics mean... I mean, to me, it's just obvious. He's not saying all the suppressed things he 'needs' to get through.. he's just talking about living... in general, as a whole. 'I choose to live and grow and love and give and feel and cry and move and learn and DIE' The words are as they are: Living/Experiencing life as fully and completely as possible. Feel everything to the core, to reach potential.

Anonymous said...

Most of us humans wouldn't choose to cry, kill die, be paranoid, or to hate or fear. We choose only the traits which we deem are "good" traits, like giving, loving, growing, and living.

The shadow contains all the things which we've rejected, but in order to transcend the effects of the shadow, or to integrate it into your being, you must embrace it. This verse is about choosing to embrace all your hidden "negative" or rejected tendencies just as much as the positive ones. This is how you become whole.

Anonymous said...

As far as all the chromosome stuff. Well, maybe. But the MORE chromosomes you have does not mean you are moving FORWARD, so if that is the idea, it is misplaced. All the evidence points to humans - like their nearest relative, chimpanzees - having 48 chromosomes a million or so years ago. Nowadays most human beings only have 46. A man in China was found that only had 44. Normally this would not be a good thing, but since he had the same amount of GENES - just arranged differently, he was fine. Some argue that evolution will lead to LESS chromosomes (but more genes packed onto each one).

Whether its what Maynard had in mind or not - who knows - but the chromosome guy Drunvalo Melchizedek is just a new age quack if you ask me. Interesting to use in a son - but I doubt Maynard buys into that guys drivel.