New Year Numerology (Part 2)

looking ahead to 2023 & the number 7, the seeker

Dec 30, 2022

What is up, swimmers? It’s the end of the year, can you believe? I hope you’re finding some restful moments and navigating this incredibly intangible time of year.

I am writing you this final letter of 2022 from a Mercury Retrograde miracle—we made our connecting flight home with literal minutes to spare! After a couple of weeks of canceled flights and travel date changes, it feels like an extra win to have not gotten stuck somewhere along the way. Especially when our pup is slated to come home tonight. (By the time you’re reading this, I’m hoping to have my face absolutely buried in his Frito-smelling fur!)

Fortunately, the family was happy to see us, the holidays gatherings were warm, and the only real casualty of the season was the podcast I was going to record for you. So thanks for your understanding, and I hope that my love of the written word is enough to help this information fly off the page.

In some ways, this whole mess has felt like a fitting end to a rather turbulent year.

2022, which boasted six (6) energy, put us through our paces. Or rather, it messed with our perception of pacing. Time moved slower, sometimes faster, until (at least for me) the construct seemed to altogether fall apart at the seams. We were encouraged to let go, to surrender and indulge in rest and intentionality before moving into action.

It also highlighted our relationships, emphasizing honesty, accountability, and responsibility. For many, the changes started last year, in the messiness of the five (5) year. But for most, myself included, there were shifts that took place in 2022 that rocked the boat, creating opportunities to address unhealthy dynamics, boost or create boundaries where necessary, and in some instances, walk away from entire relationships.

On the flip side, perhaps you found this year to be a soothing experience of expanding into deeper love and awareness with yourself and others. Relationships may have been clarified or strengthened in beautiful ways. Maybe you’re now able to look in the mirror with a newfound sense of self and grace and growth. Even if that all feels wildly out of reach, hopefully these themes were at least sprinkled throughout the year for you.

The final weeks of this calendar year also provided an odd, but enlightening preview of the energy we will be sailing through next year in 2023: liminal, illuminating, it is what it is (but what IS it?) Seven energy.

Seven is the Seeker

Seven tends to lead us down twisted, dark paths, plunging us into darkness to further our foray into surrender, while promising clarity and awe at the end of the road.

It’s not always an easy ride, so while I would never deter you from moving into 2023 with hope and excitement, I also want to prepare you for the possibility that the external energies of this new year may feel intense.

The number seven does its best work in the inquiry phase of things, believing that the best questions lead to better questions. It’s happy to sit like a dog with a bone, chewing on the same ideas for hours, waiting for the moment when the magic key unlocks the door to monumental understanding. It desires enlightenment through initiation and persistence. Baptism by fire. But this isn’t always a comfortable energy to sit in for an entire year, and may provide plenty of feelings of confusion and frustration.

Curiosity, the thing that usually kills the cat, could actually be a saving grace this year. It will keep you energized, interested, and eager; providing enthusiasm for all of the many puzzles you’ll likely engage with this year. An inner light to guide your way through the dark. I, for one, am excited to see what we all tussle with, especially in this space together. Seven is absolutely the number of swimming in the soup.

Seven is the Chariot

The Chariot is in the initial line or spiral of the Tarot, which can speak to our developing identity, as well as the way we perceive ourselves in the world around us. In this phase of things, we still have quite a bit of agency and malleability over our sense of Self. Despite having little control over what pops up along our travels, we are absolutely still in the driver’s seat of our lives, and free to react and respond as we’d like.

However, we may find that as we keep moving down the highway, parts of our proverbial car will need to be replaced. Or we might even find ourselves needing to trade the whole thing in for a newer, more aligned model.

In her essay, Living Between Stories, Sophie Strand writes observes this process of change through the lens of the hermit crab:

The curious moment occurs when a hermit crab, spilling out of its shell, exceeding its narrative, finds another shell, a little too big. Instead of trying to enter into this spacious shell, it waits patiently, sometimes for up to eight hours, for another, slightly bigger hermit crab to arrive and take the big shell, discarding a protective home more suited to the original hermit crab. Sometimes as many as twenty crabs will congregate and perform a truly amazing ritual called a vacancy chain. When they have finally assembled, the crabs will quickly evacuate and exchange shells, each claiming the new one that best suits their size. What does it feel like to be that first hermit crab, overflowing its shell, waiting beside another shell that it also cannot properly inhabit? What does it feel like to be so soft, unprotected, and incapable of immediately producing a new story? The hermit crab says wait. And he also says, we never reach the next story on our own. We need a group. A group of people all willing to vacate and exchange their stories.

To this point, it’s worth noting that the seventh house in astrology is all about partnerships. Lean on others, bring them into the fold, and allow them to fill in your gaps.

Seven is what is know and unknown

Thanks to seven’s love of questioning, knowns are both precious and rare this year. Be firm and clear in what you know, and perhaps at times, a bit brutal, too. They say “when you know, you know.” This is a year to practice that knowing. If you know what you must do, take action where you can.

It can be a real luxury to feel certain while wandering through the wilderness. Bask in this feeling when possible. But know that it can also be fantasy. If you don’t know something, be honest about that, and wait for more information or clearer skies. Be patient with yourself and trust that all things will come together in due time. Take gentle care of your nervous system throughout periods of shedding and realignment.

The Truth (with a capital T!) is that there is no need to know everything, and seeking ultimate knowledge is, in and of itself, is a fool’s errand. Do not let that quest become the carrot that dangles in front of you, leading you in a direction that you’re largely unaware or not in control of.

Socrates is attributed with saying, “I know only one thing: that I know nothing.” He perceived those who claimed to be all-knowing to be ignorant, encouraging a more realistic and freeing acceptance that at the bottom of every rabbit hole lies a whole bunch of unanswerable questions. It is not weak to admit what you do not know.

Knowledge without humility is ego.

Seven is about spirituality and secrets

Everything comes to the light eventually, especially during an esoteric cycle like a seven year. Harkening back to our agency, it would be wise to practice choosing what to bring to the light this year. We may be grappling with big, otherworldly inquiries and thought experiments, but do not forget that we are also human beings with boots on the ground in this reality. Do not be surprised when things are unearthed or uncovered.

Be especially cautious around sneaky or dishonest, Seven of Swords behavior, as this year ups the chances that you’ll be found out. Just ask Andrew Tate, who engaged in a misguided, internet battle with climate activist Greta Thunberg, and ended up revealing his location to Romanian officials, who swiftly arrested him for human trafficking.

Another way we might engage with secrecy is that things might feel illusive, or frustratingly just beyond our grasp or comprehension. This is okay. Sit in it as long as you can without making things more difficult on yourself. Discomfort does not equal a lack of safety. Stretch your limits this year, and be careful and aware of imbibing too much! Coping mechanisms, addictions, and the desire to escape may all feel heightened this year. Take a sober (wink) look at how you hold yourself through tougher, or more stagnant, experiences. Again, do not be afraid to ask for help, support or community when you need it. It’s so much easier to sit in the dark alongside someone else than it is to go it alone.

Spiritually speaking, this year could find you between systems of belief. You might experience major shifts in your personal practices, the structures through which you find divine connection, and major swings between gnosis and crisis. Change is inherently neither positive or negative, so try and shift your perception, again, getting curious about what’s revealing itself to you.

In January, here on SITS, I’m going to be sharing two conversations with spiritual pals that I greatly respect and admire. The first is with Hanna Williams, an artist, spiritual teacher, meme-maker, and much, much more, who shared with me that she thinks of God as being a cycle of experiences of revealing and concealing. We talk about how when we’re in spiritual doubt, we’re actually more available for divinity to make itself known to us. Yes, it might get frustrating, but that’s just as much a part of spiritual seeking—not to mention being human—as the wondrous moments of awe and connection.

In the Gospel of Thomas, Yeshua (Jesus) says, “Let one who seeks not stop until one finds. When one finds, one will be troubled. When one is troubled, one will be astonished, and one will reign over all.”

Seven is Grace. Surrender. Delight.

Next year, in 8-ruled 2024, we’ll tussle with BIG STUFF—power, money, karma, action. We’ll get to do, after a long year of practicing faith, trust, and pixie dust.

For now, devote yourself to the mysteries. Let yourself get a little lost. Hang out in questions that you can’t answer. Spend ample amounts of time spinning your own webs and tales of meaning. Analyze and synthesize and practice and craft. Stay in it long enough to find the juicy center or the inevitable conundrum.

Until next time, just keep swimming!

xx, Rebecca

PS. A beloved friend, colleague and client of mine just wrapped up a personal seven year, and shared with me that something we talked about in our Year Ahead session really came in handy throughout her experience: the delineation of what is private, personal and public.

Not everything about you, and what you’re going through, is for everyone. Especially not when you’re in flux. Try filtering what you share through those three buckets—what is private, meaning for just you, your partner, your closest confidantes; what is personal, meaning what might be shared with a larger audience, but is still a bit close to the chest; and what is public, meaning it’s available for everyone.

Try it out, see what you think. Let yourself be surprised by what falls into the different categories.

Thank you for reading swimming in the soup. This post is public so feel free to share it.